The Milton and Barbara Merlin Papers of the American Radio Archives (ARA) documents the careers of radio and television writers Milton and Barbara Merlin. The collection contains scripts of radio and television programs, story outlines, presentation material, and correspondence, that range from 1923-1996, the bulk of the material dating from the years 1941-1967.

Milton S. Merlin was born as Milton Stanley Harris in Whittier, California in 1905. His mother Bessie Waktor, married Joseph Zuckerman in 1909, and Milton carried the Zuckerman name through high school (Manual Arts, Los Angeles) and college. After attending the University of California, Southern Campus, Merlin attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a degree in philosophy. Having an avid interest in writing and literature, Merlin gravitated towards poets and other literati while at Berkeley, counting Kenneth Rexroth among his friends there. In the years following graduation, Merlin worked in a variety of jobs related to writing, working in Los Angeles on trade journals and local newspapers, and began a long association with the Los Angeles Times as a book reviewer. By April, 1927, Milton began using the surname Merlin. During this time, Merlin also produced, wrote and directed plays for community theater groups, such as the Santa Monica Bay Music Association. In the 1930's, Merlin began working in the film industry, first joining Paramount in 1933 as an editorial assistant and writer. In 1936, he moved on to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he worked as an assistant producer, writing treatments and editing screenplays for films such as Henry Goes to Arizona, The Kid from Texas, and Burn 'em up O'Connor.

24.5 Linear Feet; (25 boxes)

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

The collection is open for research.