Papers of Dore Schary, a playwright, motion picture executive, and activist in Jewish and liberal political causes documenting both his personal and professional life. Included are general correspondence; microfilmed scrapbooks; scripts and production material for plays and motion pictures; records pertaining to MGM; non-dramatic writings, speeches (many in recorded form), and an autobiography and a family memoir; home movies and photographs; correspondence, reports, lists, financial records, and speeches from his tenure as national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League and subject files on other organizations with which he was involved such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Committee, and the Democratic Party; and personal and biographical information. Documentation in the production files varies but may include correspondence, notes, variant drafts of scripts, clippings, financial records, publicity, stills, designs, and casting information. Records of Schary's years as executive producer, studio head, and vice-president at MGM include reports of executive meetings, correspondence and memoranda, and scattered financial reports. Also present are papers pertaining to the career of Schary's wife Miriam, painter M. Svet. The collection is arranged in four parts: the Original Collection, the 1968 Additions, the 1977 Additions, and the 1981 Additions. The Original Collection dates 1923-1962 and is organized in these categories: Biographical and Personal Material, General Files, General Writings, and Production Files. The 1968 Additions date 1933-1952 and consist of Production Files only. The 1977 Additions date circa 1920-1980 (though primarily 1956-1977) and again contain Biographical and Personal Material, General Files, General Writings, and Production Files, as well as a new category, Anti-Defamation League Files. Finally, the 1981 Additions date 1924-1980 (primarily 1974-1980) and include the same categories as the 1977 Additions plus a separate category for Disc Recordings. The Original Collection includes other disc recordings, and tape recordings are present in all but the 1968 additions. Some records are present only in microfilm format.
Content types:
Still image, Two-dimensional moving image, and Spoken word
Formats:
Acetate open reel tape, Lacquer disc, Pressed LP disc, Photographic print, and Microfilm
Extent:
74.2 c.f. (203 archives boxes, 1 record center carton, and 1 flat box), 37 reels of microfilm (35 mm), 26 tape recordings, 231 disc recordings, 55 reels of film, and photographs
The first public radio station in western New England, WFCR Five College Radio has provided a mix of high quality, locally-produced and nationally syndicated programming since May 1961. In 2012, the station reached over 175,000 listeners per week, with a mix of classical and jazz music, news, and entertainment. The WFCR Collection contains nearly 4,500 reel to reel recordings of locally-produced radio programs, reflecting over fifty years of the cultural and intellectual life of western Massachusetts. Drawing upon the talents of the faculty and students of the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and UMass Amherst), the collection offers a remarkable breadth of content, ranging from public affairs to community and national news, cultural programming, children's programming, news and current events, scholarly lectures, classical music, and jazz.
Content types:
Performed music, Sounds (Other than music & language), and Spoken word
Formats:
Analog audiocassette and Polyester open reel tape
Extent:
462 linear feet
Repository/Collector:
UMass Amherst Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
A pioneer in organic agriculture in New England, Bill Duesing has been as an environmental educator, writer, artist, and lecturer over for four decades. After graduating from Yale University (1964), Duesing worked as a Cooperative Extension agent before turning to organic principles in the early 1970s. Emphasizing sustainability and greater local food sufficiency, he has been instrumental in developing organic standards for gardening and land care and he has served as both founding president and later executive director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association Connecticut and president of the NOFA Interstate Council. During the 1990s, Duesing produced two radio shows, "Living on the Earth" (WSHU) and "The Politics of Food" (WPKN), and he is author of (1993). The Duesing collection consists of transcripts of his radio show, "Living on the Earth" (1990-2000) and fourteen recordings of "The Politics of Food," which was broadcast monthly over WPKN (89.5 FM) in Bridgeport in 1997-1998. Each half hour segment of "Politics" included news, a fifteen minute interview, recipes, and tips, with interviewees including Mel Bristol, Jac Smit, Vincent Kay, John Wargo, Hugh Joseph, Joseph Kiefer, Julie Rawson, Michael Sligh, Kathy Lawrence, Lee Warren, and Elizabeth Henderson.
Content types:
Spoken word
Formats:
Polyester open reel tape
Extent:
14 items
Repository/Collector:
UMass Amherst Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
Audiotape recordings of interviews conducted with members of the Pioneer Valley community for a public radio program. Titles of the shows that aired include: "Portrait of a Farm Woman," "Hadley: the Portrait of an Endangered Town," Keeping Rural Businesses in Business," and "Shepherds, Bumpkins and Farmers’ Daughters."
Content types:
Spoken word
Formats:
Analog audiocassette
Extent:
0.25 linear feet
Repository/Collector:
UMass Amherst Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
A noted figure in modernist theater, Edward Gordon Craig was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on Jan. 16, 1872, the illegitimate son of the renowned actress Ellen Terry and the architect Edward William Craig. Although the most productive portion of his career was brief, he exerted a strong influence on the field of set design and lighting, and was fairly prolific as a writer on theatre. The six audio recordings that comprise the Craig collection originated from a series of BBC radio talks in the early 1950s. The reel to reel tapes include Craig’s reminiscences of Ellen Terry, Isadora Duncan, the old school of acting, celebrities, and how he played Hamlet in Salford, Lancashire.
Content types:
Spoken word
Formats:
Analog audiocassette
Extent:
0.5 linear feet
Repository/Collector:
UMass Amherst Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
The Milo Ryan / CBS Radio News Phonoarchive is a unique audio time capsule that documents many historic 20th century events. It consists of sound recordings of CBS Radio News programs, public affairs shows, actualities, speeches, interviews, wartime dramas, daily World War II news updates. The recordings capture groundbreaking broadcasts by Edward R. Murrow and his "Boys": William L. Shirer, Eric Sevareid, Tom Grandin, Larry LeSueur, Charles Collingwood, Howard K. Smith, Winston Burdett, Bill Downs, Mary Marvin Breckinridge, Cecil Brown, and Richard C. Hottelet. The collection also includes recordings of programs and speeches made by public figures during and beyond WW II, including Churchill, Eisenhower, Einstein, Hitler, and JFK. As Dr. Donald Godfrey writes in his 1973 article "History Held a Microphone": "There are twenty-two hundred and twenty-seven newscasts. All but a handful originating from CBS. Their newscasts represent every weekday without a miss, from September 7, 1939, with the Germans entering Poland, to April 2, 1945, with the allies entering Germany.... Tapes contain examples of special events coverage: the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, the bombing of Japan, landings in North Africa, the 13 Normandy Invasion, the World Security Conference, April, 1945, the function of the American and Russian Armies, April, 1945, the death and funeral of FDR, and miles of tape on V. E. and V.J. days. Elmer Davis' daily five minute reports are represented in entirety from his debut, September 16, 1939, to February 13, 1941, and occasionally to July 9, 1943. H. V. Kaltenbom edits the news, complete from August 27, 1939, until January 26, 1940, and sporadically thereafter. Our library includes 21 speeches by Winston Churchill, representing 12 hours of this master of language. There are 51 talks by President Roosevelt totaling 24 continuous hours." A detailed description of most of the recordings in the Phonoarchive is available in Milo Ryan's book History in Sound (UW Press).
Content types:
Performed music and Spoken word
Formats:
Acetate open reel tape, Digital audio file (including MP3, WAV, AIFF, etc.), Photographic print, and Text document