Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Finding Aid to the William Capobianco Papers, 1947-1992
Coll2013.102
Coll2013.102
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: William Capobianco Papers
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.102
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.1 linear feet.
1 archive box + 2 archive cartons
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1978-1992
Date (inclusive): 1947-1992
Abstract: Correspondence, screenplays, drafts, clippings, photographs, health records and other personal documents relating to gay screenwriter
William J. Capobianco (1947-1992), who co-wrote
Tenebrae (date unknown) and
Medea (1978). The collection includes other screenplays and short story drafts, as well as correspondence with Joe Callahan and
David Sherlock. Photographs document the retail store LA Leathers in Los Angeles.
creator:
Capobianco, William J., 1947-1992
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1. Personal papers
Series 2. Screenplays and writings
William J. Capobianco was born on July 6, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in an Italian Catholic home, Capobianco attended
Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School and St. John's Preparatory School in Brooklyn. He was interested in theater from a young
age and participated in shows during his school-age years. He graduated from St. John's University in 1969 with a Bachelor
of Arts.
Capobianco was a screenplay writer in Los Angeles. He wrote the screenplays
Windows on the Square (unknown year),
Body Talk and
Eatz/
Love on the Menu. He co-wrote
Tenebrae (unknown year) and
Medea (1978), the latter of which was planned to star famous drag queen Divine in an adaptation entitled
The Divine Medea. Capobianco also worked at the specialty retail shop LA Leathers, creating leather pieces and clothing.
During the 1990s, Capobianco was diagnosed HIV positive. He received treatment and care starting in 1991 until his death in
1992 in Los Angeles.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Date and donor of acquisition unknown.
[Box/folder #, or item name] William Capobianco Papers, Coll2013-102, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
Formerly boxes #103-342 and 103-344. Collection processed by Jennifer Darwent, October 2013.
This collection consists of correspondence, screenplays, drafts, clippings, photographs, slides and other personal documents
relating to gay screenplay writer William J. Capobianco (1947-1992). The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence
and screenplay drafts.
The first series documents Capobianco's personal life and history. The correspondence documents Capobianco's ties to gay friends,
especially in New York, and his relationships with his mother and sister. There are materials and diplomas from schools and
theater programs that Capobianco attended. Medical records document the care he received from 1991-1992 for AIDS-related illness.
The second series includes final drafts for
Tenebrae (unknown year) and
Medea (1978), as well as drafts of other screenplays, such as
Body Talk,
Windows on the Square and
Angelcake. There are short stories and notebooks filled with various writing and drafts.
The photographs show Capobianco at work at the store LA Leathers, his family members and his school-age class portraits.
Two buttons, "Stop LaRouche No on 64" and "Rawhide NYC," have been separated from the collection and placed with the ONE Archives
button collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
AIDS (Disease)
Correspondence
Gays' writings, American
Gays--Correspondence
Leather
Screenplays