Ben Margolis

Who was Ben Margolis?

Ben Margolis was an American attorney. He is best known for defending the Hollywood Ten and the Sleepy Lagoon murder suspects and for helping to draft the United Nations Charter.

He testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities on September 30, 1952, and refused to answer questions or name names. He told the committee that he had "no intention of becoming one of your stool pigeons," and he told them that they had "terrorized ... the people of the United States."

He also commissioned a noteworthy home by architects Gregory Ain and James Garrott in 1951.