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Finding Aid for the Gwen Bagni papers, 1940-2001 (bulk 1948-1987)
1999
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Title: Gwen Bagni papers
Collection number: 1999
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
26.0 linear ft.
(59 boxes and 1 carton.)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1948-1987
Date (inclusive): 1940-2001, (bulk 1948-1987)
Abstract: Gwen Bagni had a decades-long career as a Hollywood writer. She began her screen writing career in the late-1930s, working
in film, radio, and television. Among her many credits are popular radio programs such as
Escape and
Suspense; television series such as
Burke's Law,
Honey West and
Playhouse 90; television films such as
Backstairs at the White House; and motion pictures including
With Six You Get Eggroll. Bagni was also involved with literary projects, including novel versions of
With Six You Get Eggroll and
Backstairs at the White House. The collection consists of script files, material related to book projects, personal and biographical documents, and a small
number of awards and honors. Gwen Dubov Bagni had a decades-long career as a Hollywood writer. She began her screen writing
career in the late-1930s, working in radio, television, and motion pictures. Among her many credits are popular radio programs
such as Escape and Suspense; television series such as Burke’s Law, Gunsmoke, Honey West and Playhouse 90; television films
such as Backstairs at the White House; and motion pictures including With Six You Get Eggroll. She was also involved with
literary projects, including novel versions of With Six You Get Eggroll and Backstairs at the White House. The collection
consists of material related to her career and include script files, material related to book projects, personal and biographical
documents, and a small number of awards and honors.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Creator:
Bagni, Gwen
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Adam Dubov, 2002.
[Identification of item], Gwen Bagni papers (Collection 1999). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Gwen Bagni (also known as Gwen Dubov) was born in 1913, and raised in a traveling vaudeville family. She moved to Los Angeles
in 1937, and worked as a secretary for Paramount Pictures, initially planning to become an actress. She went on to establish
a successful writing career that spanned radio, film, and television.
Dubov's first writing credits for serial radio dramas include
Escape (1950),
Mr. Aladdin (1951),
Night Beat (1951-1952),
Pursuit (1949), and
Suspense (1948). She undertook many of these early projects with her first husband and writing partner, actor John Bagni. The pair
transitioned to television writing, and, among other projects, wrote teleplays for
Four Star Playhouse (1952-1954). Their
Four Star Playhouse teleplay
The Last Voyage, won best teleplay of 1953 from the Writers Guild. Dubov and Bagni collaborated on several motion picture projects, including
Captain China (1950), The Untamed Frontier (1952), and Law and Order (1953). Following John Bagni's death in 1954, Dubov continued
her television work, writing teleplays for CBS'
Climax (1956-58) and
Playhouse 90 (1956). She also wrote the screenplay for the 1956 motion picture
The Lost Wagon. She married and began working collaboratively with writer Irwin Gielgud; one of their 1957 scripts for
Climax was nominated for a Robert E. Sherwood award. Gielgud died in 1961.
In the 1960s, Dubov's reputation as a television writer continued to increase. In 1963 and 1964, she wrote episodes of
Gunsmoke. In 1963, she married actor Paul Dubov. Together with Paul Dubov, she developed the television series
Honey West (1965-1966), wrote fifteen episodes of the show, and functioned as a story consultant. Gwen Dubov's credits throughout the
1960s and 1970s include several television series, including the
Brady Bunch (1970),
Burke's Law (1963-65),
Eight is Enough (1977-1978),
Mod Squad (1968-1979), and
Shirley (1979). In 1968 the Dubovs wrote the script and novel
With Six You Get Eggroll, based on their experiences as a widow and widower, marrying and combining their families. The script was made into a motion
picture starring Doris Day and Brian Keith. Following the success of
With Six You Get Eggroll, the Dubovs co-wrote the novel
What'll We Do On Sunday (1974), and while they wrote a screenplay based on the novel, it was never produced.
She continued her television career through the 1970s with credits that include the television films
No Place for Happy Man for
Playhouse 90 (1975), and
Twenty Shades of Pink for
General Electric Theatre (1976). Her final collaboration with Paul Dubov was the 1979 mini-series
Backstairs at the White House, based on the memoir
My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House, by former White House maid Lillian Rogers Parks. The series was nominated for eleven Emmy awards, including a nomination
for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or Special nomination for the Dubovs. It was awarded the Writers Guild of America
Award for Outstanding Teleplay in the Category of Long Form Series. The Dubovs also wrote a novelization of Backstairs at
the White House as a tie-in to the series.
After Paul Dubov's death in 1979, and Gwen Dubov wrote movies for television, including
Thursday's Child (1982), and the
Eight is Enough reunion (1987). In the 1980s and 1990s, she worked on projects based on the stories of the Hatfields and the McCoys; the
life of Moya Lear; the life of Elizabeth Taylor; and the memoir
Last of the Saddle Tramps, by Messanie Wilkins. Dubov died in 2001 at the age of 88.
The collection consists of material documenting Gwen Dubov's career as a writer for radio, television, and film. Included
is script material from radio, television, film, and stage projects; literary project files, including novels and short stories;
a small amount of personal and biographical material; and a small number of awards and honors. The script material represent
Dubov's work as a writer for radio programs such as
Escape,
Night Beat,
Pursuit,
Suspense, and others; television programs such as
Burke's Law,
Four Star Playhouse,
Honey West, and others; television films including
Backstairs at the White House,
Thursday's Child, and others; and motion pictures including
Captain China,
With Six You Get Eggroll, and others. The scripts comprise both produced and unproduced projects. The literary project files include typescripts and
published books and represent the novels
With Six You Get Eggroll,
What'll We Do On Sunday, and
Backstairs at the White House, and other endeavors. The personal and biographical information is mostly contained in a small amount of press clippings
and writing credit information for Gwen and Paul Dubov. The small number of awards include Dubov's Writers' Guild awards and
nominations, and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominations.
Arranged in the following series:
- Personal and Biographical Material
- Television Projects
- Radio Projects
- Literary Projects
- Motion Picture Projects
- Stage Projects
- Unidentified Projects
- Awards and Honors
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
7092182
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bagni, Gwen--Archives.
Women screenwriters--United States--Archival resources.