Judy Holliday, whose given name was Judith Tuvim (which roughly translates to "holiday" in Hebrew), was born to Russian immigrant parents in New York City in 1921. As a relative unknown, she landed the lead in Born Yesterday after Katherine Hepburn and Garson Kanin wangled a supporting role for her in Adam's Rib, thus showcasing her talent to the suits who had originally wanted to give it to a better known bimbo. Judy took a busman's holiday of sorts when she was called to testify a couple years later before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee about her association with known Communists. Despite an IQ of 172, she pulled off her dumb blonde act to such dazzling effect that they let her go with just a warning. Although her dithering did not prevent her being briefly blacklisted on radio and TV (but not in films), she was able to avoid naming names. When asked whether books advocating treason and the forcible overthrow of the government ought to be disseminated, Holliday replied: "No, I don't, but I think that brings up the whole question of do you think that people ought to be allowed to say what they are thinking and write what they think. I think, and this is just a theory, that I think it is a lot better to know what people are stirring than to let them stew around subterraneanly." Judiasm turns up 14 times in OhioLINK and Judism twice.(Picture from the the Judy Holliday Resource Center website.)
Carol Reid
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