William Hitz, 92; Federal Prosecutor in ‘Hollywood 10’ Trials
William Hitz, 92, a prosecutor of several high-profile cases involving individuals who refused to answer questions before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, died of congestive heart failure on Sept. 25 in Maryland.
A graduate of Princeton University, Hitz earned his law degree from Harvard University. During World War II, Hitz served as a submarine commander in the Pacific.
He worked briefly as an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in 1935.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Hitz was a prosecutor in the contempt of Congress trials of the so-called Hollywood 10.
Hitz was also briefly the general counsel to the Un-American Activities Committee, and made headlines when he resigned after a two-year term rather than take a cut in salary.
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