Wealth & Money Quote by Richard Widmark

Widmark’s offhand reminiscence is doing something more strategic than nostalgia: it normalizes Elia Kazan. “Old friend” isn’t just biography, it’s a moral alibi, a way of framing Kazan as a working pro you knew before he became The Name Everyone Fights About. By planting the origin date - 1938 - Widmark pulls Kazan out of the HUAC-era glare and drops him into the hustling ecosystem of prewar radio, where survival is measured in gigs, not grand statements.

The phrase “eating money” is the tell. It’s industry slang with a hard edge, evoking rent, meals, and the quiet panic of staying afloat. Kazan “picked up” jobs; Widmark “met him” on shows. No mythology of genius, no auteur halo. Just two guys crossing paths in the labor market of entertainment. That choice matters because the Kazan story is forever being narrated as either heroic artistry or moral betrayal. Widmark steers it toward livelihood: a director doing what directors do to pay the bills.

Then comes the gentle credentialing: “Later on I was in a play he directed.” It’s a subtle stamp of intimacy and legitimacy, offered without drama. The subtext is clear: whatever you think of Kazan’s politics, Widmark’s relationship predates the controversy and is rooted in craft. It’s a way of saying, almost defensively, that loyalty in Hollywood often begins where ideology ends: on a set, on a mic, in the shared scramble to work.