THE BLACKLISTING

Will Hays (center) shakes hands with Jessy Lasky, as Cecil B. DeMille looks on.

On April 18, 1922, Roscoe Arbuckle became the first actor to ever be blacklisted.

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Statement From Will Hays
April 18, 1922

After consulting at length with Mr. Nicholas Schenck, representing Mr. Joseph Schenck, the producers, and Mr. Adolph Zukor and Mr. Jessy Lasky of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the distributors, I will state that at my request they have cancelled all showings and all bookings of the Arbuckle films. They do this that the whole matter may have the consideration that its importance warrants, and the action is taken notwithstanding the fact that they had nearly ten thousand contracts in force for the Arbuckle pictures.

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Although Hays would (officially) lift this ban on December 20, Roscoe Arbuckle would not be allowed to act in films for the next ten years.