Joseph McCarthy

Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age 48 in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in the United States in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread communist subversion.

He alleged that numerous communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the United States federal government, universities, film industry, and elsewhere. Ultimately he was censured by the Senate in 1954 for refusing to cooperate with and abusing members of the committee established to investigate whether or not he should be censured. The term "McCarthyism", coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities.

Today the term is used more broadly to mean demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.

Joseph McCarthy is known for work in acting across film and television. New Release currently presents 24 verified screen credits connected to this profile.

Selected work includes Grierson (1973), Greatest Events of World War II in Colour (2019), Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War (2024), Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), The Lincoln Project (2022), RBG (2018), Too Near the Sun (1966), Where's My Roy Cohn? (2019). The recorded credits span 1964 to 2024, including 21 movies and 3 TV shows.

The filmography below lists available titles, release years and known roles. This profile is updated as additional verified information becomes available.