Eric Allen Johnston (December 21, 1896 – August 22, 1963) was a business owner, president of the

United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group and is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President Will ...

, a Republican Party activist, president of the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...

(MPAA), and a U.S. government special projects administrator and envoy for both Democratic and Republican administrations. As president of the MPAA, he abbreviated the organization's name, convened the closed-door meeting of motion picture company executives at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel that led to Waldorf Statement in 1947 and the

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...

(including firing of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...

), and discreetly liberalized the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the Cinema of the United States, United States from 1934 to 1968. It ...

. He served as president of the MPAA until his death in 1963.

Background

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

, Johnston was born "Eric Johnson" in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

His father, a pharmacist, moved the family to Marysville, Montana, when Johnston was a year old. In 1905, the family moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. The Johnsons divorced in 1911, and Eric's mother, Ida, changed her and her son's last name to "Johnston." He attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, where he joined the Theta Delta Chi fraternity and graduated in 1917. During this time, he worked as a

stevedore A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockwork ...

, newspaper sports columnist, library clerk, and shoe salesman.

Career

When the United States entered World War I, Johnston enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. He was commissioned a second lieutenant, and became a

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

commander at the University of Washington in 1918. He was promoted to captain, fought with the American Expeditionary Force, Siberia in the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, and was named

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in Peking (now Beijing). Johnston acquired some

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, traveled widely in Asia, and successfully speculated in Chinese currency. While in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, Johnston was assaulted by an unknown person. His skull was fractured, which led to sinus infections and lung ailments and his discharge from the Corps in 1922 for medical reasons. Johnston returned to Spokane for its dry climate, where he married his long-time girlfriend, Ina Hughes. He became a vacuum-cleaner salesman, and bought the Power Brown Co., the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

's largest independent appliance distribution business. In 1924, the newly renamed Brown-Johnston Company purchased the Doerr-Mitchell Electric Co., a manufacturer of electrical appliances, ironwork and glassware."Milestones", ''Time'', August 30, 1963. Johnston was elected president of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce in 1931. He became managing trustee of the bankrupt Washington Brick and Lime Co., led it out of bankruptcy, and became its chairman. Johnston also became president of the Wayne-Burnaby Company, a regional electrical contractor.

US Chamber of Commerce

United States Chamber of Commerce Building

As a rising regional businessman, Johnston became active in the national Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed to its tax committee in 1933, elected a director in 1934, and elected vice president in 1941. Johnston became head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after a revolt by younger, moderate business executives pushed several older, conservative candidates aside. He refused to antagonize the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

or the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...

, and advocated labor-management cooperation. Johnston persuaded the labor federations to make a no-strike pledge during World War II. In 1940, Johnston ran in the Republican primary for

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, but placed a distant second place with only 18 percent of the vote. In 1941, Johnston became the youngest person ever elected as president for its one-year term, re-elected three times. In 1942, Johnston took over as president of the US Chamber of Commerce. He served on several wartime commissions for President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, including the Committee for Economic Development, the War Manpower Commission, and the War Mobilization and Reconversion Committee. In 1943, President Roosevelt named him chairman of the United States Commission on InterAmerican Development. He traveled widely in Latin America, reassuring heads of state that the United States intended to protect them in the event of war. In 1944,

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

invited Johnston to tour Russia. Johnston agreed, and Roosevelt appointed him an

emissary Emissary may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment Star Trek * Benjamin Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets, the Bajorans' gods * "Emissary" (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), the pilot episode of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' * "The Em ...

of the United States. Johnston spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union, and was the first American diplomat to tour the Central Asian

Republics of the Soviet Union In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a Federated state, constituent federated political entity with a List of forms of government, system of government called a Soviet republic (system of governm ...

. He met with Stalin for three hours at a time when

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

W. Averell Harriman had yet to present his credentials to the premier. Johnston retired as Chamber of Commerce president in 1945.

MPAA

Johnston was named president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDAA), the predecessor of the MPAA, in 1946. He immediately changed the name of the organization to its current title, the Motion Picture Association of America.

Hollywood blacklist

In September 1947, the motion picture industry came under sharp criticism by the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

for allegedly permitting known communist sympathizers to include pro-communist messages in motion pictures. Spurred by

Red-baiting Red-baiting, also known as ''reductio ad Stalinum'' () and red-tagging ( in the Philippines), is an intention to discredit the validity of a political opponent and the opponent's logical argument by accusing, denouncing, attacking, or persecuting ...

members of the MPAA as well as a fear of government censorship, Johnston agreed to institute a

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

. On November 25, 1947, Johnston was part of a closed-door meeting with 47

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

company executives at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel that resulted in the " Waldorf Statement". Johnston issued a two-page

press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

that marked the beginning of the

Production code

During his tenure at the MPAA, Johnston quietly liberalized the

production code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

. He also engaged in major initiatives to secure a significant American share of the overseas motion picture market, and to reduce restrictions on the screening of American films in foreign markets.

Government appointments

In January 1951, Johnston was appointed administrator of the

Economic Stabilization Agency The Economic Stabilization Agency (ESA) was an Government agency, agency of the United States Government that existed from 1950 to 1953. The creation of the ESA was authorized by the Defense Production Act (, 64 Stat. 798), which was signed into ...

by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

, replacing Alan Valentine. He lasted only a few months in the job. In 1953, President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

appointed Johnston a "Special Representative of the President of the United States" to deal with the

water conflict Water conflict typically refers to violence or disputes associated with access to, or control of, water resources, or the use of water or water systems as weapons or casualties of conflicts. The term ''water war'' is colloquially used in media ...

between

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He worked to solve the Middle East's water problems by negotiating the Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan.The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) commissioned a plan for the development of the Jordan River; this became widely known as "The Johnston plan". The plan was modelled on the Tennessee Valley Authority development plan for the development of the Jordan River as a single unit. See: Shapland, p. 14. In 1958, Johnston traveled to the Soviet Union and met Premier

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

. In 1959, he hosted Khrushchev in both Washington, D.C., and California during Khrushchev's 18-day visit to the United States. JackValenti19

Johnston continued at MPAA until his death in 1963. He was succeeded at the MPAA by

Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association ...

in 1966 after a three-year search.

Personal life and death

Johnston married Ina Harriet Hughes; they had two daughters. During the 1940 Republican Party presidential primaries, Johnston support

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...

. In 1963, while still MPAA president, Johnston suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in Washington, D.C., on June 17. He was hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital, where he suffered a second stroke on July 4. He entered a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

on August 5 and died age 66 on August 22, 1963."Eric Johnston Has Stroke", ''Associated Press'', July 5, 1963; "Eric Johnston in Coma", ''Associated Press'', August 5, 1963.

Awards

* 1947: Presidential Medal for Merit

Legacy

Johnston appears a key character in the play ''The Waldorf Conference'', written by Nat Segaloff, Daniel M. Kimmel, and Arnie Reisman. The play presents a fictionalized account of the Waldorf Conference of 1947 and the beginning of the Hollywood blacklist.

References

External links

*"Asks Rule on Jobs for Communists." ''New York Times.'' November 20, 1947. *Bachrach, Fabian. "Eric Johnston Dies." ''New York Times.'' August 23, 1963. *Canby, Vincent. "A New Movie Code Ends Some Taboos." ''New York Times.'' September 21, 1966. *"The Censors." ''Time.'' January 11, 1954. *Cronin, Patrick M. ''The Evolution of Strategic Thought.'' New York: Routledge, 2008. *Crowther, Bosley. "New Czar on the Job." ''New York Times.'' May 1, 1966. *Dart, Peter. "Breaking the Code: A Historical Footnote." ''Cinema Journal.'' 8:1 (Autumn 1968). *Doherty, Thomas. "A New Lobbyist to Represent Hollywood… Why They Need One." ''Boston Globe.'' July 8, 2004. *Edgerton, Ralph A. "The Eric Johnston Story." ''The Pacific Northwesterner.'' 33:4 (Fall 1989). *"Eric Johnston Has Stroke." ''Associated Press.'' July 5, 1963. *"Eric Johnston in Coma." ''Associated Press.'' August 5, 1963. *"Film Industry to Ban 'Known Communists.'" ''New York Times.'' November 22, 1947. *"Film Leaders to Map Communist Policy." ''New York Times.'' November 25, 1947. *Frankel, Max. "U.S., Soviet Agree to Film Exchange." ''New York Times.'' October 10, 1958. *"From the Word Factory." ''Time.'' January 31, 1949. *"Heads Film Export Unit." ''Associated Press.'' October 2, 1945. *"Johnston Leaving Defense Job Nov. 30." ''New York Times.'' November 16, 1951. *Lawrence, W.H. "Soviet Is Pictured As Big U.S. Market." ''New York Times.'' June 20, 1944. *Loftus, Joseph A. "Johnston Is Named Stabilizing Chief." ''New York Times.'' January 20, 1951. *"Milestones." ''Time.'' August 30, 1963. *"Movies Pledge Aid in Inquiry on Reds." ''New York Times.'' September 30, 1947. *"Movies to Oust Ten Cited For Contempt of Congress." ''New York Times.'' November 26, 1947. *"Old Movie Taboos Eased in New Code For Film Industry." ''New York Times.'' December 12, 1956. *"'Political' Blacklisting in the Motion Picture Industry: A Sherman Act Violation." ''Yale Law Journal.'' 74:3 (January 1965). *Reston, James B. "Johnston Extols Soviet Peace Aim." ''New York Times.'' July 14, 1944. *Schary, Dore. ''Heyday: An Autobiography.'' Boston: Little, Brown, 1979. *Schumach, Murray. "Khrushchev Sets Hollywood Agog." ''New York Times.'' September 10, 1959. *Shapland, Greg. ''Rivers of Discord: International Water Disputes in the Middle East.'' New York: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1997. *"Surprise for Mr. Roosevelt." ''Time.'' June 29, 1942. *Tower, Samuel A. "Critics of Film Inquiry Assailed, Disney Denounces 'Communists'." ''New York Times.'' October 25, 1947. *Tower, Samuel A. "Film Men Admit Activity By Reds." ''New York Times.'' October 21, 1947. *Zeiler, Thomas W. ''Free Trade, Free World: The Advent of GATT.'' Wilmington, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1999.
"The Waldorf Conference."
A play about the Waldorf Conference led by Eric Johnston in 1947. Accessed June 17, 2007.

Accessed June 17, 2007. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Eric 1896 births 1963 deaths University of Washington alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Washington, D.C. Businesspeople from Spokane, Washington Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Medal for Merit recipients Chairpersons of the Motion Picture Association 20th-century American Episcopalians American military personnel of the Russian Civil War United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I