The Breen Letters

I am proud to officially announce The Breen Letters, a special series of articles written by actual descendants of Joseph I. Breen. Through the dedicated work of my friend Promise Pope on Facebook, I have been able to get in personal contact with several of Mr. Breen’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They have proved to be a very unique, kind, and helpful group. In the Facebook group Promise started, the Joseph Breen Appreciation Society, they have shared a lot of fascinating family memories and unique facts that aren’t available elsewhere. When Promise mentioned some of these to me, I realized that this information could be the basis for some wonderful articles written by Mr. Breen’s descendants. So far, I have connected with five grandchildren, one grandchild-in-law, and one great-grandchild. Each of them has different special memories. They have kindly shared many of these with me.

This series is a growing group of articles written by descendants of Joseph Breen. Each article is written in the form of a letter sent to me, filled with stories, recollections, and musings. Each article will be accompanied by photographs shared by the descendant. Every article is published here with full permission from and credit to the author. I extend my thanks to the family who graciously are sharing their history and stories with me to help further our cause on this website.

The purpose of The Breen Letters is to bring Joe Breen closer to you and to reveal his true identity as a man. He has gained the reputation of being a cold-hearted censor, but he was so much more than that. Through intimate information from his own blood descendants, I hope to show the man behind the work, the true and wonderful person. To know the man is to know his work and how he changed Hollywood during his twenty years as head of the Production Code Administration. Scroll down to find links to the real letters from real blood of the real man behind the Golden Era of Hollywood, Joseph I. Breen.

Cordially Yours, Jack Benton

We are lifting our voices in classical song to help the sun rise on a new day of pure entertainment!