Little known fact: in the late 1950's, Ray Bradbury became involved in the National Committee for A Sane Nuclear Policy (also known as "SANE"), an organization devoted to the cessation of all nuclear testing and general nuclear disarmament. SANE had been founded in 1957 in response to the nuclear arms race which erupted in 1950's. (I still remember the home fallout shelter craze, and the "duck and cover" drills in elementary school. Yeah, like hiding under your school desk will protect you from a nuclear weapon.) A number of celebrities and national figures became involved in the National Committee for A Sane Nuclear Policy, including not only Ray, but comedian and talk show host Steve Allen, actor and singer Harry Belafonte, cartoonist Jules Feiffer, psychologist Erich Fromm, Pogo cartoonist Walt Kelly, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and actor Robert Ryan. In around 1983, the Committee merged with a group called the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign and became known as SANE/FREEZE, and later changed its name in 1993 to Peace Action. I don't know when Ray's involvement may have ended. Below is a link to a photo of a brochure issued by the Committee, listing Ray as one of its members. It is undated, but I speculate it is from sometime in the late 1950's.

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I recently came across an item that shows that, in 1960, Ray Bradbury was still actively involved in efforts at nuclear disarmament. The National Committee for A SANE Nuclear Policy held a rally at New York's Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1960. And a program from that event shows Ray's name in several places. The link below will take you to the cover of that program:

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And on this page of the program, Ray is listed as being one of the sponsors of the Committee:

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Finally, the link below will take you to a page in the program titled "Hollywood for SANE", which lists the members of the Hollywood chapter of the Committee. The list is a "Who's Who" of Hollywood celebrities, which includes not only Ray, but such folks as Dana Andrews, Carrol Baker, Harry Belafonte, Claire Bloom, Marlon Brando, Lloyd Bridges, Nat King Cole, Bette Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, John Houston, Don Knotts, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Karl Malden, Lee Marvin, Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Anthony Quinn, Rod Serling, and Joanne Woodward, to name only a few:

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