Finding aid for the Lorees Yerby papers LSC.2242
Finding aid prepared by Jenifer Becker with assistance from Julie Graham, May 2015; machine-readable finding aid created by
Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Finding aid last modified on 18 March 2016.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Business Number: 310-825-4988
Fax Number: 310-206-1864
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Lorees Yerby papers
Creator:
Yerby, Lorees
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2242
Physical Description:
6.4 Linear Feet
(9 boxes, 1 flat box, 2 shoe boxes, and 2 tube boxes)
Date (inclusive): ca. 1950s-2000s
Abstract: Lorees Yerby was a writer of short stories, plays, screenplays, and novels. In 1957, she and her husband Mike Dutton opened
Coffee House Positano, located in Malibu, California. The collection consists of plays including Save Me a Place at Forest
Lawn, short stories, screenplays, photographs, correspondence, and a small amount of research notes related to Our Fathers
Trilogy.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS UNPROCESSED AUDIO MATERIALS: Audio materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing
and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Josephine Castelli, Pandora Castelli, Cynthia Dutton, Karen Dutton, Michael Dutton, Winston Dutton, and Carmen Spera;
2013.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lorees Yerby Papers (Collection 2242). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
Processed by Jenifer Becker with assistance from Julie Graham, May 2015.
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UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography/History
Lorees Yerby Dutton was born on January 9, 1930 in San Francisco. In July 1957, she and her second husband Mike Dutton opened
Coffee House Positano, located in Malibu, California; the establishment closed in 1963. She wrote short stories, plays, screenplays,
and novels. In 1963, her one-act play Save Me A Place in Forest Lawn was published. Yeby and third husband Bertrand Castelli
produced the satirical film, Richard, about Richard Nixon in 1972. In 1976, she received a Guggenheim Grant for the Our Fathers
trilogy (Nero, Mother England, and Abraham). Yerby later moved to Ocean Park, California, where she died in 1996.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of materials related to the career of writer Lorees Yerby. Included are short stories, plays, screenplays
many of which were unpublished and/or unproduced, and a small amount of photographs, and correspondence. Additionally, there
is a small number of photographs documenting Coffee House Positano, small amount of research for the project Our Fathers Trilogy
and a small number of jottings and written thoughts by Yerby.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged into the following series:
- Biographical Information
- Coffee House Positano
- Correspondence
- Plays
- Screenplays and Teleplays
- Short Stories
- Assorted Writings and Notes.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Archives.
Biographical Information
undated and 1978
Scope and Content
The series consists of photocopied and original clippings containing career and biographical information, handmade telephone
book, and obituary for Michael Dutton. There is no specific arrangement to the series.
box 1, folder 3
Lorees Yerby biographical materials
no date
box 1, folder 4
Lorees Yerby press clippings
no date
box 1, folder 5
Mike Dutton obituary from Telegram Tribute
no date
box 1, folder 11
Slides (from box labeled Our gang)
1978
box 1, folder 2
Telephone book (handmade)
no date
Coffee House Positano
undated
Scope and Content
The series consists of one file of photographs and a mailer for Coffee House Positano.
box 1, file 6
Coffee House Positano related photographs and mailer
no date
Correspondence
undated, 1951, 1962-1964, and 1979-ca. 1990s
Scope and Content
The series consists of photocopied and originals letters to and from Lorees Yerby. Among the correspondents are Bertrand
Castelli, Mike Dutton, David Walker, and Audrey Wood among others. The series is arranged alphabetically.
box 1, folder 13
Letters from Lorees Yerby
1951, 1992, and no date
box 1, folder 7
Letters from Lorees Yerby to Mike Dutton
no date
box 1, folder 12
Letters related to Bertrand Castelli
1988-1990 and no date
box 1, folder 8
Letters to Lorees Yerby
1980s-1990s
box 1, folder 9
Letters to Lorees Yerby from David Walker
1990s
box 7, folder 16
Letters to Lorees Yerby from Audrey Wood
1962-1964, 1979
Plays
1954-1955, 1961, 1973, and 1988-2002
Scope and Content
The bulk of the series consists of scripts. Additionally included is a small number of letters, contracts, and royalty payments
related to Yerby's work Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn, some of which documents attempts for its production after Yerby's
death. The series is arranged in alphabetically by project title.
box 3, folder 2
How to Make the Sun Rise
1973, 1986
box 2, folder 14
The Golden Bull of Boredom
[1955?]
box 2, folder 13
The Last Minstrel
[1955?]
box 3, folder 1
Penchant for Listening (third act)
[1961?]
box 4, folder 16-20
Ragged Dick (5 folders)
c. 1964
box 2, folder 1-12, box 7, folder 1-2
Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn (14 folders)
1986-2002
Scope and Content
Typescripts, contracts, treatments for television, and correspondence.
box 7, folder 6
Snow White, The Opera
1987
Screenplays and Teleplays
undated, 1972, 1977, and ca. 1980s-1990s
Scope and Content
The bulk of the series consists of scripts representing projects written Yerby, including the Our Fathers trilogy and Richard
among others. Additionally included is a small amount of research materials and audio visual materials and a small number
of letters, contracts, and royalty payments. The series is arranged in alphabetically by project title. Audio visual materials
are restricted and require advance notice for use.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
SERIES CONTAINS AUDIO MATERIALS: Audio materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization for
safe access. To review these audio materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
box 6, folder 13-14, box 13, box 11, box 14
Abraham (Part Three of Our Fathers Trilogy) (2 folders)
ca. 1994
box 5, folder 1, box 4, folder 21, box 4, folder 13
Farewell, Youth (3 folders)
no date
box 4, folder 14
Mr. Lincoln's War
no date
box 6, folder 6-12, box 9, box 13, box 11
Mother England (Part Two of Our Fathers Trilogy) (7 folders)
1989
box 9, box 10 , box 11, box 1, folder 10, box 6, folder 1-4, box 5, folder 2-11
Nero (Part One of Our Fathers Trilogy) (15 folders, 18 casette tapes, index cards, sheet music, and 1 roll)
1977, 1986-1988
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Audio materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization for safe access. To review these audio
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
box 4, folder 15
Untitled filmplay (Tentative Title: To Walk a Plank)
no date
box 12, box 7, folder 5
Richard (1 folder and cd and vhs)
1972
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Audio materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization for safe access. To review these audio
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
Short Stories
1971-1975, 1980-1982, and 1988-1992
Scope and Content
The series consists of published and unpublished short stories and a small number of letters and contracts. Included are The
Boy Who Would Be Emperor, A Fairy Tale, and Lillian among others. The series is arranged in alphabetically by project title.
box 3, folder 19
At The Sidewalk Cafe
1982
box 4, folder 2
Beijing Boogie or Mao's Last Nightmare
1988
box 3, folder 9
The Boy Who Would Be Emperor in Cosmopolitan Magazine
1974 Jul
box 3, folder 8
Brenda Starr and Her Quest for the Father of Rock
1974
box 3, folder 7
Ciao, Tita (4 copies)
1974, 1992
box 7, folder 7
A Day In the Sex of Life
no date
box 3, folder 15
Dying in the East Sixties
1981
box 3, folder 10
A Fairy Tale in Cosmopolitan Magazine
1974 Nov
box 3, folder 18
The Faithful Listen to the Gravity of Love
1988
box 4, folder 1
Flight of the Bumble Bee
1988
box 4, folder 9
Letters from Mississippi (2 copies)
1991
box 3, folder 11
Lillian: Or One Week in the Life of a Good Secretary in Cosmopolitan Magazine
1976 Jan
box 7, folder 12
A Manifesto for the Majority
no date
box 7, folder 11
A Modest Proposal
no date
box 4, folder 8
A Monologue on the Self
1989
box 4, folder 3
One At A Time, Please
1988
box 3, folder 13
Past Redemption: A Story for Heavy Drinkers
1974
box 7, folder 9
Rape of the Soul and Cry of the Dead
no date
Assorted Writings and Notes
undated and 1959-1995
Scope and Content
The series consists of random writings, jottings, and notes. Additionally included is what appears to be drafts of letters
written by Yerby. The files are arranged in alphabetically by loose geographic location where the writings originated.
box 8, folder 2
Arcadia Terrace
1976-1979
box 7, folder 14
Assorted writings and notes
c. 1959-1960
box 8, folder 11
Assorted writings and notes
c. 1990s
box 8, folder 12
Biloxi, Mississippi
1991-1992
box 8, folder 9
Coming Comic California
1989
box 7, folder 17
Copyright registrations for various works
c. early 1960s
box 7, file 15
The Culpepper Tree writings and notes
c. early 1960s
box 7undated and 1978, folder 4
box 7, folder 18
Emotional Alphabet (The)
no date
box 7, box 19
Pass Christian, Mississippi
1974-1975
box 8, folder 3
Rancho Santa Fe Ashville
1981-1982
box 8, folder 8
Robert Briffault, The Mothers
1987
box 7, folder 10
Tao in the Kitchen
no date