Cole, Hollywood 10 Writer, Dies

Lester Cole, a screenwriter who was imprisoned as one of the Hollywood 10 for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating Communist influence in Hollywood after World War II, is dead.

His death of a heart attack Thursday in San Francisco at age 81 was reported today. Cole, a founding member of the Screen Writers Guild, was the author of 40 screen plays, among them “The Romance of Rosy Ridge” and “Objective Burma.” He was the third of the Hollywood 10 to die this year. Only Ring Lardner Jr. and Edward Dmytryk survive.