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Underwood (Agness M.) Collection
URB.AMU
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Agness M. Underwood Collection
Creator:
Underwood, Agness, 1902-1984
Identifier/Call Number: URB.AMU
Physical Description:
30.20 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1916-1992
Date (bulk): 1949-1980
Abstract: Agness Underwood was a Los Angeles
newspaper woman for forty-two years. During the 1930s and 1940s she was one of the city's
best-known court and police reporters. In 1947, she became city editor of the
Herald Express, a post she held for seventeen and a half years.
During that time, she was the only woman city editor of a major American metropolitan
newspaper. No man had ever held the job more than four years, and during her editorship she
helped push the
Herald's circulation up over 700,000, which
made it the largest afternoon daily in the West at that time. The
Agness M. Underwood Collection consists predominantly of articles, correspondence,
newspaper clippings, photographs, speeches, typescripts, and galley proofs for her book
Newspaperwoman, which combine to document both her
journalistic work and family life.
Language of Material:
English
Agness Underwood was a Los Angeles newspaper woman for forty-two years. She started her
long and successful career in the newspaper business as a switchboard operator in 1926, when
she was hired on temporarily by the
Los Angeles Record. Her
first newspaper experiences began on a part-time basis under the wing of Gertrude Price,
helping with the Cynthia Gray Christmas Basket project sponsored by the
Record. From time to time, Underwood was also given assignments
covering junior women's clubs events. For the next four years Underwood worked on a more or
less part-time reporter status.
In 1931, events and assignments increased, which quickly showed her talents. Underwood's
big chance came on May 20, 1931, when, "Los Angeles officialdom was shaken by the shooting
and killing of Charles H. Crawford and Herbert F. Spencer by an unidentified assailant in
Crawford's office on Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood." She began "grubbing" and came up with an
exclusive interview with a suspect's parents, providing her first city side by line: "Mrs.
Clark Says Son is Innocent." A second interview covering the murders was with the wife of
slain newspaperman Herb Spencer. Underwood's crime reporting career had begun.
In 1935, Underwood moved over to William Randolph Hearst's
Los
Angeles Herald and Express
and remained with the paper until her retirement in
1968.
During the 1930s and 1940s she was one of the city's best-known court and police
reporters. She became well known for her sharp news sense in compiling a long record of
scoops and exposés while covering many famous crimes and Hollywood related stories.
Headlines for Underwood's reporting included: "Find Thelma Todd, Film Star, Dead in Mystery"
(December 16, 1935); " Missing Inglewood Tots Found Murdered" (June 28, 1937); "Girl in
Dance Murder Probe Tells Downward Path" (November 23, 1944). Underwood also sat front row
for the trials of Charlie Chaplin and Errol Flynn.
In 1947, she became city editor of the
Herald Express, a post
she held for seventeen and a half years. During that time she was the only woman city editor
of a major American metropolitan newspaper. No man had ever held the job more than four
years, and during her editorship she helped push the
Herald's
circulation up over 700,000, which made it the largest afternoon daily in the west at that
time. With a sawed-off baseball bat on her desk and a starter pistol in her drawer, she ran
a staff of hard-nosed reporters and photographers who endeared her with the name "Aggie."
Relationships were based on concern, respect and honest affection. Underwood's record as a
woman in the hectic world of big city journalism was unparalleled, and it made her a legend
in her time.
Underwood retired from the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner in
1968, eventually moving to Greeley, Colorado to live with family. She passed away in 1984.
Agness was survived by two children and five grandchildren.
The
Agness M. Underwood Collection consists predominantly of
articles, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, speeches, typescripts, and
galley proofs for her book
Newspaperwoman,
which combine to document both her journalistic work and family life.
Other material in the collection includes certificates, greeting cards, memorabilia, oral
history and video tape interviews, memoranda, notes, a series of publications including the
Eight Ball Final and
Just One
More,
a record album, and related biographical items. The collection has been
divided into six series:
Biographical Records
(1929-1985),
Correspondence
(1930-1982),
Newspaperwoman
(1949),
Personal and Family Papers
(1916-1992),
Published Material
(1922-1983), and
Non-Manuscript Material (1920-1989). Series I,
Biographical Records, contains awards, indexes, memos, newspaper clippings, news
articles, notes, resolutions, speeches, and related items of a biographical nature. The
files are arranged alphabetically by type of material. Series II,
Correspondence,
has been divided into two subseries.
Subseries A,
Chronological (1930-1981), is correspondence filed
chronologically, and Subseries B,
Alphabetical (1941-1982), is
correspondence filed alphabetically by name of correspondent. Series III,
Newspaperwoman,
contains articles, newspaper clippings, and reviews of Underwood's book,
Newspaperwoman. The series also contains the galley proofs and a
typescript of the book. Arrangement is by nature of the material. Series IV,
Personal and Family Papers,
includes an
address book, family correspondence, libel suit documents, newspaper clippings, property
documents, radio scripts, and family memorabilia. The series is arranged alphabetically.
Series V,
Published Material, includes three subseries: Subseries
A,
Newspaper Clippings (1922-1983), consists of newspaper
clippings arranged alphabetically by author and chronologically thereafter. Subseries B,
Other Publications (1932-1982), contains other publications
written by or about Underwood's work, arranged alphabetically by article title. Subseries C,
"
World Famed Hollywood was Formerly an Incorporated City,"
(1953), consists of reproduced materials and research related to the incorporation of the
City of Hollywood and is arranged alphabetically by creator. Series VI,
Non-Manususcript Material includes an interview given by Underwood and music by
Ray Undewood. A transcript of the Underwood interview is filed separately. This series also
includes photographs, records, 16mm film shorts, video tapes, a name plate, Underwood's
typewriters, and transparencies.
Series I: Biographical Records, 1929-1985
Series II: Correspondence, 1930-1982
Subseries A: Chronological, 1930-1981
Subseries B: Alphabetical, 1941-1982
Series III:
Newspaperwoman, 1949
Series IV: Personal and Family Papers, 1916-1991
Series V: Published Material, 1922-1983
Subseries A: Clippings, 1922-1983
Subseries B: Other Publications, 1932-1982
Subseries C: "World Famed Hollywood was Formerly an Incorporated City" Research
Materials, 1953
Series VI: Non-Manuscript Material, 1920-1989
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
1996, 2004, 2011
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Agness M. Underwood, 1983
Other Information:
This collection was processed with generous support from the Tom W. Reilly estate.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Dr. Tom Reilly, Robert G. Marshall, Han Xiaoquan, David Bray, March 1987
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Albums (Books)
Documents
Photographs
Audiovisual materials