Ben Margolis
Ben Margolis (April 23, 1910 – January 27, 1999) was an American attorney best known for defending the Hollywood Ten and the Sleepy Lagoon murder suspects, and for helping to draft the United Nations Charter. He was born in New York to Jewish socialist parents from Russia, and his family moved to Santa Barbara, California, when he was a teenager. He studied at Hastings Law School and opened a practice in San Francisco in 1933, forming a long‑running partnership with John T. McTernan.
In 1952, during the early Cold War, Margolis testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and refused to answer questions or name anyone, saying he had no intention of becoming a “stool pigeon” and that the committee had “terrorized … the people of the United States.”
Margolis also commissioned a notable home designed by Gregory Ain and built by his partner James Garrott in 1951. The Ain–Garrott partnership had been active for about 11 years, with projects credited to Garrott & Ain or Ain & Garrott. Ain drew the initial plans, but Garrott later took over the project and supervised construction. Garrott is listed on the original building permits, and a 2004 book credits him as the architect, though Margolis’ son recalls Ain as the architect.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:58 (CET).