Guggenheim Productions records
Special Collections
Margaret Herrick Library
© 2016
Title: Guggenheim Productions records
Date (inclusive): 1954-2007
Date (bulk): 1960s-1990s
Collection number: 459
Creator:
Guggenheim Productions, Inc.
Extent:
450 linear feet of papers.
Repository:
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Languages:
English
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Available by appointment only.
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are
responsible for obtaining all necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies
or individuals before quoting from or publishing materials obtained from the library.
Guggenheim Productions records, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences.
Gift of Charles Guggenheim, 1999-2002, with additions from Grace Guggenheim, 2005-2016
Guggenheim Productions, Inc., is an American documentary film company based in Washington, D.C., that
specializes in producing historical, social, and political films. The company was founded by Charles Eli
Guggenheim, an American documentary filmmaker and media consultant, who was active in film from the 1950s
through 1990s. Guggenheim founded the company's predecessor, Charles Guggenheim & Associates, in 1954 in
St. Louis, Missouri. He relocated his company to Washington a decade later in order to be closer to the
political center of the country. He was responsible for presidential media campaigns for Adlai Stevenson
in 1956, Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, George McGovern in 1972, and Edward Kennedy in 1980. Through
Guggenheim Productions, Charles Guggenheim went on to specialize in non-fiction films on historical
figures and events, often with a political bent. The principle themes in the company's filmography were
social, political, and architectural. Charles Guggenheim received Academy Awards for the documentary
short subjects NINE FROM LITTLE ROCK (1964), THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD (1989), and A TIME FOR JUSTICE (1994);
and for the live action short subject ROBERT KENNEDY REMEMBERED (1968).
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Guggenheim Productions records span the years 1954-2007 (bulk 1960s-1990s) and encompass more than
450 linear feet. The collection documents the film and television productions and activities of the
documentary film company and its founder, Charles Guggenheim. There is voluminous production material and
scripts for Guggenheim's films, often with prodigious research and correspondence. The production files,
along with the business records, document the company's numerous historical, social, and political films.
In addition to producing and directing hundreds of documentaries, Guggenheim was a pioneer of political
campaign advertisements for television, including the political documentary. There are extensive files on
media campaigns for national and state political candidates. Also of interest are chronological files
comprised of Guggenheim's office correspondence and files relating to the 1969 reopening of Ford's
Theatre in Washington, D.C. The bulk of the collection is from the 1960s through 1990s, files with dates
earlier than 1954 usually contain photocopies of historical research related to the subject of the
documentary, ranging from colonial America in 1575 to World War II.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series: 1. Production files, subseries A-B-C as follows: A. Produced; B.
Presidential libraries; C. Unproduced; 2. Television files, subseries A-B as follows: A. Produced; B.
Unproduced; 3. Correspondence; 4. Subject files; 5. Personal papers; 6. Business papers, subseries A-B-C
as follows: A. General; B. Government; C. Political; 7. Organizations; 8. Oversize; 9. Awards; 10.
Photographs.
Guggenheim, Charles , 1924-2002--Archives.
Guggenheim Productions, Inc.
documentarians
film documentations