{"id":9632,"date":"2020-09-19T01:52:21","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T01:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=9632"},"modified":"2020-11-16T00:49:49","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T00:49:49","slug":"joseph-welch-dead-at-only-69-omg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=9632","title":{"rendered":"“Joseph Welch, dead at only 69? OMG!”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Joseph Welch<\/a><\/strong>, at left – “Judge Weaver” in\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder<\/a>\u00a0– at\u00a0<\/em>the 1954\u00a0McCarthy hearings<\/a>…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

\"AnatomyMurder2.jpg\"The other night I started re-watching the 1959 movie,\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder<\/a>, starring\u00a0Jimmy Stewart<\/a>. (I should say, re-watching again<\/strong>. It’s one of those rare classic movies, like\u00a0Casablanca<\/a>, that I can watch over and over again. One law professor said it was\u00a0\u201cprobably the finest pure\u00a0trial movie<\/a>\u00a0ever made.\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

And one of my favorite characters<\/em> <\/strong>in this classic\u00a0courtroom<\/a>\u00a0crime film<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0Joseph N. Welch<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. He plays the judge presiding at the murder trial in Iron Bay, a resort town in the\u00a0Upper Peninsula of Michigan<\/a>. (The regular “UP<\/a>” judge is indisposed, so Judge Weaver – Joseph Welch – is brought in from the\u00a0Lower Peninsula<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Some background.\u00a0Ben Gazzara<\/a>\u00a0plays Army Lieutenant Frederick Manion, who guns down a local tavern keeper, Barney Quill, an hour or more after Quill raped Manion’s wife Laura. (Played by\u00a0Lee Remick<\/a>.)<\/em>\u00a0Stewart<\/a>\u00a0plays defense attorney Paul Biegler, who used<\/em><\/strong> to be the town prosecutor, but lost the election to Mitch Lodwick. (Who feels that – due to the importance of the case – he needs to call in the help of state Assistant Attorney General Claude Dancer, played by\u00a0George C. Scott<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Incidentally, both the film and novel that inspired it were based on an actual Michigan case in 1952. There the defense used the concept of “irresistible impulse<\/a>” – based on an obscure 1886 state supreme court holding – to win an acquittal “by reason of insanity.”<\/p>\n

Two days after trial that<\/em> <\/strong>defendant was judged to be sane by a psychiatrist and released. (Only to be divorced by his wife, also soon after trial.)<\/em> In\u00a0Anatomy<\/a>, Lt. Manion is released as well, but then he and his wife skip town before attorney Biegler can get the lieutenant to sign a promissory note for $3,000. (The amount he agreed to pay Biegler while in jail awaiting trial.\u00a0But note, a “real” defense lawyer would have gotten the promissory note well before that, most likely before trial but at least right after the verdict. That’s why the call it\u00a0artistic license<\/a>.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

But back to Joseph Welch<\/a>: Aside from playing Judge Weaver in\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder<\/a>, he was a “real-life lawyer famous for dressing down\u00a0Joseph McCarthy<\/a>”\u00a0– left, with counsel \u00a0Roy Cohn<\/a>\u00a0– “during the\u00a0Army\u2013McCarthy hearings<\/a>.” For some background on that<\/em><\/strong>…<\/p>\n

June 9, 1954. The hearings were in their 30th day, the result of\u00a0Senator\u00a0Joseph McCarthy<\/a>‘s “aggressive investigations of suspected Communists and security risks” within the U.S. Army.\u00a0(As well as a counter-accusation that Committee Counsel\u00a0Roy Cohn<\/a>\u00a0– at right in the photo above – had pressured the Army “to give preferential treatment to\u00a0G. David Schine<\/a>, a former McCarthy aide and friend of Cohn’s.”)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Joseph Welch served as Army counsel, and on June 9 challenged Cohn to give<\/em><\/strong> his alleged list of “130 security risks” to the U.S. Attorney General<\/a>. McCarthy responded that Welch should “check on\u00a0Fred Fisher<\/a>, a young lawyer in Welch’s own Boston law firm.” Fisher had once belonged to the\u00a0National Lawyers Guild<\/a>, in what Welch considered a youthful indiscretion. McCarthy insisted it was a “Communist front.” When McCarthy continued his attacks Welch responded:<\/p>\n

\n

Until this moment, Senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Fred Fisher is a young man who\u00a0… came into my firm and is starting what looks to be a brilliant career… Little did I dream you could be so reckless and so cruel as to do an injury to that lad. It is true he is still with Hale and Dorr… It is, I regret to say, equally true that I fear he shall always bear a scar needlessly inflicted by you. If it were in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty I would do so. I like to think I am a gentleman, but your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"JosephNWelch.jpg\"McCarthy tried to renew his attack on Fisher, but Welch interrupted. “Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” <\/strong><\/em>McCarthy tried to attack Fisher yet again, but Welch would have none of it. He refused to discuss the matter further, said that if there was a God in heaven it would do neither McCarthy nor his cause any good, then prompted the chairman to call the next witness. “At this, those watching the proceedings broke into applause.”<\/p>\n

For one thing, I’d say we could use a lot more “Joseph Welch” in today’s political arena…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

But what also struck me – as I watched Welch preside over the “Anatomy<\/a>” trial – came when I started wondering how old<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0he was when he did the movie. “I’m guessing, what? 80? 85?<\/strong><\/em>“<\/p>\n

I did some research, and learned that when Welch died he was way<\/em><\/strong> too close to how old I am now. Born in 1890, he played in\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder<\/a>\u00a0in 1959, and died not long after that.\u00a0“Sixteen days before his 70th birthday, and fifteen months after the release of\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder<\/a><\/i>, Welch suffered a\u00a0heart attack<\/a>\u00a0and died on October 6, 1960.”<\/p>\n

Which leads to a personal note: I just turned 69, and 16 days before my<\/em><\/strong> 70th birthday will be next June, 2021. So again: OMG!<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0On the other hand, I’m guessing that Judge Welch didn’t exercise seven hours a week like I do. (Including yoga, weights and hour-bouts of stair-stepping, with a 30-pound weight vest and 10 pounds of ankle weights. See also my 2018 post,\u00a0A Geezer\u2019s guide to supplements<\/a>. For my part, I want to live to at least 120, like Moses<\/a>.) <\/em><\/p>\n

But I’m not the only one “of a certain age<\/a>” these days paying lots more attention to good habits, exercise and nutrition. That\u00a0Christie Brinkley<\/a>\u00a0still looks good too – at a “mere slip of 65…”<\/p>\n

My how times have changed!<\/em><\/h2>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Christie Brinkley<\/a>\u00a0at age 65 – in 2019 – and “Times have indeed<\/strong> changed!”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of the Joseph N. Welch<\/a>\u00a0link in the article,\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder – Wikipedia<\/a>. The full caption: “Welch (left) being questioned by Senator\u00a0Joe McCarthy<\/a>\u00a0(right) at the\u00a0Army\u2013McCarthy hearings<\/a>, June 9, 1954.” See also\u00a0Joseph N. Welch – Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The poster image is also courtesy of,\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder – Wikipedia<\/a>. The “teaser” at the top of the poster reads, “Last year’s No. 1 best-seller … This year’s No. 1 motion picture.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Some notes on\u00a0Fred Fisher<\/a>\u00a0(1921-1989). After the Army-McCarthy hearings, he\u00a0went on to become a\u00a0partner<\/a>\u00a0at Hale and Dorr, Welch’s firm. In 1973\u201374, he served as president of the\u00a0Massachusetts Bar Association<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>Fisher died in 1989 in\u00a0Tel Aviv<\/a>,\u00a0Israel<\/a>, where he was lecturing. In his\u00a0New York Times\u00a0obituary, Fisher was referred to as a “McCarthy target.”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Ironically,\u00a0G. David Schine<\/a>\u00a0– who the Army said got preferential treatment because of Cohn’s pressure tactics – also died “young,” at 68 in a plane crash. He started life as “the wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune,” and after the Army-McCarthy hearings went on to a career in Hollywood, most prominently as a firm producer. Also a musician, he once “conducted the\u00a0Boston Pops Orchestra<\/a>\u00a0in place of\u00a0Arthur Fiedler<\/a>\u00a0at a concert,” at which some members of the orchestra\u00a0refused to play. One musician commented later: “That man ruined my father’s life. No way I was going to play for him.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Christie Brinkley 2020\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>. The image accompanies an article from the UK Home | Daily Mail Online<\/a>, “<\/em>Christie Brinkley, 65, reveals major cleavage in breezy outfit as she is joined by daughter Alexa Ray Joel, 33, for star-studded Polo Hamptons Match & Cocktail Party.” Note: The article and photo were dated 2019, when she was actually 65.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Joseph Welch, at left – “Judge Weaver” in\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder\u00a0– at\u00a0the 1954\u00a0McCarthy hearings… * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * The other night I started re-watching the 1959 movie,\u00a0Anatomy of a Murder, starring\u00a0Jimmy Stewart. (I should say, re-watching again. It’s one of those rare classic movies, like\u00a0Casablanca, that I can watch over and over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9632"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9632"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9893,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9632\/revisions\/9893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}