Evening star., 1953-05-06
Threat 10 Teacher
In House Red Probe
Revealed by Ve|de
BY the Assoeioisd Press

NEW YORK, May 6.-Repre-
sentative Velde, Republican, OF
Illinois, chairman of the House
Committee on Un-American Ac-
tivitieS, said today a woman wit
ness who named as Communists
a number of persons in the New
York City schools had been
threatened with bodily harm.
The witness, Mrs. Dorothy
Funn, Brooklyn Negro teacher,
testified Monday she had been a
member of a teachers cell for
. number of years.
Mr.. Velde said Mrs. Funn still
Is under the jurisdiction of this
committee" and that ANY fur
ther threat of bodily injury to
her will be referred to the FBI
for investigation"
In her testimony Monday Mrs.
Funn said she was legislative
representative in Washington
from 1943 to 1946 for the Ma
tional Negro Congress, which she
described as a Communist front.
She listed "a past or present
New York City school employees
and AZ persons in Washington
and Baltimore as having been
known to her as Communists.
Stander Refuses Answers.
Earlier today Lionel Stander,
movie actor, declined to tell the
committee whether he ever was
a Communist Party member be-
tween 1885 and 1948. He also
said he would decline to answer
anything else you ask me along
those lines"
The actor did testify. however,
that he is not now a Communist.
Shortly after he made a gen.
eral statement, Stander was ex-
cused. He was informed by Mr..
Velde that he would remain un-
der subpoena for possible fu-
ture testimony.
AS he left the stand there was
widespread applause from spec
tatorS. Stander clashed several
times with committee members
and charged the committee was
not interested in investigating
certain kinds of subversive ac-
tivities which he knew about.
He said the committee sought
Ito entrap" him.
In offering to name Names"
Stander, in an apparent refer
ence to Band Leader Artie Shaw,
who agreed in testimony Monday
that he had been a "dupe" of
Communists, stated:
But, I'm not a dupe, or a
dope, or a NOPE, or a moe. or
"a schmoe."
Dance Arranger Testifies.
Yesterday the House probers
heard Jerome Robbins, Broadway
dance arranger, tell of a Com
munist theatrical cell. They ex-
pected to hear testsimony today
from the wife of Abe Burrows,
writer-director.
Robbins testified yesterday at
q public hearing of the Commit
tee while Mr.. Velde was taking
testimony in private from Mrs.
Burrows, who is ill.
Mr.. Velde said he would make
Mrs. Burrows testimony public
today.
The committee is holding
week-long televised hearings
into Communist infiltration of
education and entertainment.
8 Named as Cell Members.
Robbins-whose dancing tri-
umphs include the choreography
for such Broadway hit musicals
as "The King and I" and Call
Me Madam"-testif1ed yesterday
that he belonged to the Com
munist Party's theatrical tran
sient group" from 1943 to 1947.
He named eight persons whom
he said he knew as members of
the cell. He said it derived it's
name from the travelling lives
led by its members.
Among the eight he named
were one-time screen writer Ed-
ward Chodorov. who wrote Kind
Lady" and his brother, Jerome
Chodorov, who co-authoried the
play, my Sister Eileen" and
helped adapt it as the current
Broadway musical hit, wonder
full Town."
Recruited Into Party.
Others named by Robbins were
Actor Lloyd Cough, Actress
Madeleine Lee, Elliott Sullivan,
Lionel Berman, Edna Ocko and
Lettie Stevens.
Robbins said Miss Stevens re-
cruited him into the party and
that he knew Berman as a party
organizer. The witness said he
thought Sullivan was an actor,
but he did not identify Miss
Ocko.
There was no immediate COM
ment from any of those named
by Robbins.
In addition to Robbins. other
witnesses were writer Arnaud
d'USseau and Cedric H. Belfrage,
editor of the weekly magazine,
National Guardian"
D'USSeau-co-author of such
Broadway hit plays as Deep
Are the Roots" and Tomorrow
the World"-refused to say
whether he ever had been a
Communist.
Belfrage, a British citizen, re-
fused to answer almost all ques-
tions about his career on the
ground Of possible self -incrim-
tnation.