# Are there any Republican celebrities? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238 "2011-10-29T23:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/41 "2011-10-30T16:24:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, if we’re going to quibble over whether Clint Eastwood can be considered a Republican (despite running and being registered as one), I’ll quibble over whether some of those named, such as Victoria Jackson or Fred Grandy, can be considered celebrities. Do you have a cite that Eastwood ran as a Republican? I couldn’t find any mention of his party affiliation in various articles mentioning his Mayoral campaign. I’m not sure its even a partisan office. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/42 "2011-10-30T17:35:37Z")
Eastwood has certainly been a registered republican at times in the past and may be one now. I don’t feel like poking around the CA voter rolls which should tell me. > **[Political life of Clint Eastwood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_life_of_Clint_Eastwood)** > > American actor and director Clint Eastwood has long shown an interest in politics. He won election as the nonpartisan mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in April 1986 and in 2001, Governor Gray Davis appointed the Oscar-winner to the California State Park and Recreation Commission. Eastwood endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election and delivered a prime time address at the 2012 Republican National Convention, where he delivered a speech addressed to an empty chair representing According to that he first registered as an R in 1952 and lately supported McCain for President in 2008. He may not be what YOU, or anyone else thinks of as an R, but he’s got the letter next to his name should he run again. He is, by all accounts, what I would like the republican party to be: actually conservative and pro-business while honestly wanting to avoid government intrusion into private lives. That is, of course, a far cry from what we have now in the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/43 "2011-10-30T17:48:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There may be many more closet conservatives in Hollywood. Having the wrong political opinions is perceived as a hindrance to finding work. Often those who self-identify as conservative hide this fact until reaching some level of fame that will keep them in demand. That’s not to say this is exclusive to Hollywood or conservatives. Or that self identification as a conservative means anything in particular anyway. Where in the world did you get this idea? Is there any proof of this? If not I’m going to assume you pulled this from the fact producing gland located deep inside your gluteus maximus. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/44 "2011-10-30T17:51:35Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Really? You guys got this far and failed to mention Ted Nugent? For shame. That dude needs to be at the top of any kind of ‘republican celebrities’ list. I remember him getting news coverage for trashing Clinton during the '96 election, and I was in middle school. Then when H. C. And Obama were on their Great Never-ending Death March To The White House in ‘08, ol’ Teddy was back telling a crowd of hayseeds that Hillary needed to be shot, or some such. > > Then again, maybe he just doesn’t like the Clintons. Well, it’s supposed to be celebrities, not washed up has-been rock stars. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/45 "2011-10-30T18:05:39Z")
Unless you want to move this thread from Cafe Society to Great Debates, you have no choice except to define someone’s party affiliation as the party they are registered under, the party of the candidates they vote for, and the party affiliation they ran for office under. Of course they don’t entirely agree with someone else who calls themself a member of that party. Nobody entirely agrees with anybody else. Claiming that a Republican in one region of the country would be more liberal on average than one in another part of the country (and therefore not really Republican) is also irrelevant. By the same standard, a Democrat in one region of the country would be more conservative on average than one in another part of the country (and therefore not really Democratic). You can’t define Republican or Democratic according to what a single region of the country believes it to be. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/46 "2011-10-30T18:25:33Z")
We know under what party Eastwood was registered 59 years ago, but we do not know under which party he ran for mayor, if any. We know that he supported McCain in '08 because he’s known him for years, but he also supported Grey Davis (D-CA) for governor. We know that he has opposed all the wars (other than Afghanistan) in the last 50 years, we know that he is for SSM, we know that he is pro-choice, and that he has strong environmental views, and that he is a self described libertarian. That, to me, sounds like he’s an Independent, not an R or a D. Other than supporting Davis and McCain (which sort of cancel each other out), he sounds a lot like me, and I am definitely not an R. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/47 "2011-10-30T18:35:09Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Where in the world did you get this idea? Is there any proof of this? If not I’m going to assume you pulled this from the fact producing gland located deep inside your gluteus maximus. Perhaps you didn’t see the word “perceived” in **Tripolar’s** post. As someone who works in Hollywood, I would say that there’s some truth to the idea that being a Republican can be a hindrance to getting work. [Cite.](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2056187/posts) [Cite.](http://usconservatives.about.com/b/2008/05/07/more-notes-on-hollywood-conservatism.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/48 "2011-10-30T18:58:40Z")
No, Mace. We know far more than that. And you should see it. He registered repubican. 1952. He campaignef or Nixon 68 and 72. **GHWB** considered him for VP in 92.(!!!) > **[Clint Eastwood as VP? George H.W. Bush Considered It](https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/clint-eastwood-as-vp-george-h-w-bush-considered-it/)** > > Get breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Find the top news online at ABC news. He considered him because he was a Republican mayor. James Baker himself said it in some recent interviews archiving info about Bush’s administration. So that’s 92. So he’s a Republican. He’s a left one, yes, but still a Republican. Adapt. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/49 "2011-10-30T19:02:57Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Perhaps you didn’t see the word “perceived” in **Tripolar’s** post. > As someone who works in Hollywood, I would say that there’s some truth to the idea that being a Republican can be a hindrance to getting work. > [Cite.](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2056187/posts) > [Cite.](http://usconservatives.about.com/b/2008/05/07/more-notes-on-hollywood-conservatism.htm) Ah, Free Republic. That bastion of clear thought and rational discussions. Oh and [About.com](http://About.com) with an article where the writer cites another article written by himself as proof. I have proof that this _perception_ is total bullshit. This thread. And the fact that Angie Harmon, Patricia Heaton, Adam Baldwin, Clint Eastwood, Gary Sinise, Adam Sandler, Kelsey Grammer, Joe Pesci, Yaphet Khotto, James Belushi, Drew Carey, Danny Aiello, Dennis Franz, James Caveziel, John Cryer, Janine Turner, Joan Rivers. . . well, I can list Republican actors who get work all the time from here until doomsday. What have you got besides you’re gut feeling and the dumb, racist retards at Free Republic? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/50 "2011-10-30T19:10:54Z")
Sorry if that cite is bs - just popped up on a google search - I’m not familiar with it. I don’t know if many of these conservative actors wear their politics on their sleeve like liberal ones do. Ron Silver claimed that he was blacklisted after stumping for W. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/51 "2011-10-30T19:11:23Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > No, Mace. We know far more than that. And you should see it. > > He registered repubican. 1952. > > He campaignef or Nixon 68 and 72. > > **GHWB** considered him for VP in 92.(!!!) > > [Clint Eastwood as VP? George H.W. Bush Considered It - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/clint-eastwood-as-vp-george-h-w-bush-considered-it/) > > He considered him because he was a Republican mayor. James Baker himself said it in some recent interviews archiving info about Bush’s administration. > > So that’s 92. So he’s a Republican. He’s a left one, yes, but still a Republican. Adapt. And Kerry considered McCain for VP in '04. That doesn’t make McCain a Democrat. If you have a cite that isn’t decades old about his party registration, bring it. Until then, I’m unconvinced. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/52 "2011-10-30T19:17:10Z")
[How about the Baltimore Sun?](http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-07-27/news/bs-ed-conservative-writer-20110727_1_conservatives-black-list-hollywood) > [@](#): > > What is one to think when one major producer-director is asked if conservatives are discriminated against in Hollywood, and he answers, “Well, I hope so.” Or when another well-known producer, when asked what he thinks about the complaint from conservatives that everyone in Hollywood is liberal, says, “I think it’s probably accurate, and I’m happy about it.” > > And yet another well-known producer, when asked if being a conservative is a barrier to entry in Hollywood, answers, “Absolutely.” ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/53 "2011-10-30T19:21:23Z")
FWIW, mayor of Carmel is a non-partisan position. Eastwood may have been a Republican mayor in the sense of being registered as a Republican when he ran, but he wasn’t in the usual sense of being the Republican’s party candidate for an office. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/54 "2011-10-30T19:27:11Z")
How about a recent story about the [lack of work](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1382515/Passion-Christ-actor-Jim-Caviezel-said-Hollywood-shunned-him.html)by one of the actors on your list? > [@](#): > > Since playing the son of God in the 2004 film he said offers had dried up and he is shunned by many within the industry. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/55 "2011-10-30T19:53:26Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > How about a recent story about the [lack of work](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1382515/Passion-Christ-actor-Jim-Caviezel-said-Hollywood-shunned-him.html)by one of the actors on your list? He’s starred in as many movies since Passion then before it, and is now the lead in a CBS TV show produced by JJ Abrams. If Hollywood is blacklisting him, its not doing a very good job. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/56 "2011-10-30T20:35:26Z")
My main point is that there is at least a perception that being a conservative can cost one work in Hollywood, posited by **Tripolar** , and subsequently ridiculed by **Biggirl**. I agree with **Tri** that the perception does exist. This is not to say that conservatives don’t get work, just that their being outspoken about their politics might cost them work. Also, just because an actor is working on one project doesn’t mean that they weren’t passed over for 6 other projects. ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/57 "2011-10-30T21:15:20Z")
Some celebrities of the past who were Republicans: \*Gloria Swanson (campaigned for Wendell Willkie in 1940 and Reagan in 1980) \*Robert Montgomery (media advisor to Eisenhower) \*Mary Pickford (wrote to Westbrook Pegler in 1944 about how depressed she was over FDR winning a 4th term) \*Lillian Gish (active in anti-war causes during 1940-41 and a longtime GOP supporter) \*Helen Hayes (attended several GOP conventions) \*Irene Dunne (very active in Republican causes over the years, named an alternate delegate to the UN by Eisenhower in 1959) \*Randolph Scott (appeared on the Barry Goldwater LP in 1964) \*Corinne Griffith (campaigned to repeal the 16th Amendment, also on the Goldwater LP. Contributed to the George Wallace campaign in 1972, however.) Others who were known to be Republican: Lionel Barrymore, Rosalind Russell, Adolphe Menjou, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Frank Capra, Harold Lloyd. I’ve read anecdotal reports that William Haines, Frank Borzage and Richard Barthelmess were Republican as well. I don’t always have specific cites for the above; I’ve gathered the info from various and sundry books over the last 15-ish years. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/58 "2011-10-30T21:38:27Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > I don’t know if many of these conservative actors wear their politics on their sleeve like liberal ones do. Ron Silver claimed that he was blacklisted after stumping for W. He certainly has a funny definition of blacklisted. If anything, his career picked up after 2000. > **[Ron Silver | Actor, Director, Producer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0798779/)** > > Known for: Timecop, Reversal of Fortune, Find Me Guilty Or maybe he’s just sad that he couldn’t yell “His father is the DISTRICT ATTORNEY!” every week on a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/59 "2011-10-30T21:47:09Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Eastwood has certainly been a registered republican at times in the past and may be one now. I don’t feel like poking around the CA voter rolls which should tell me. > > [Political life of Clint Eastwood - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_life_of_Clint_Eastwood) > > According to that he first registered as an R in 1952 and lately supported McCain for President in 2008. > > He may not be what YOU, or anyone else thinks of as an R, but he’s got the letter next to his name should he run again. > > He is, by all accounts, what I would like the republican party to be: actually conservative and pro-business while honestly wanting to avoid government intrusion into private lives. That is, of course, a far cry from what we have now in the Republican party. Actually, I remember an interview in, I believe it was Rolling Stone, where he said people wrongly assume he’s a Republican but he’s not. He said he’s supported candidates from both parties. Also, I think he said he specifically did not run for Mayor as a Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/60 "2011-10-30T22:02:05Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > [Here’s a list](http://www.listafterlist.com/tabid/57/listid/11770/Politics/Celebrity+Republicans.aspx); I was surprised by a few of these, like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Vincent Gallo. A few general trends: Actors who are over 60, actors who play martial artists or action heroes, country music stars and professional athletes tend to be Republicans. How accurate is that list? It doesn’t provide any cites and frankly I’d like to see an explanation for some of the names on there. For example, I’d like to see evidence that Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and Denzel Washington are right-wingers. Based on statements he made while making Malcolm X, I have a difficult time believing he’s ever voted Republican. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238.md?page=4)