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Finding Aid for the Kenneth Macgowan Papers, 1915-1970
887
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Title: Kenneth Macgowan Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1915-1970
Collection number: 887
Creator:
Macgowan, Kenneth, 1888-1963
Extent: 88 boxes (44 linear ft.)
3 oversize boxes
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Kenneth Macgowan (1888-1963) was a drama critic for newspapers and magazines, a publicity director, producer and director
with the Actor's Theater (1927-29), and the first department chair at the UCLA Theater Arts Department (1946-58). He was also
interested in the anthropological field of archaeology. His publications include
The theater of tomorrow (1921),
Footlights across America (1929),
Early man in the new world (1950), and
Behind the screen: the history and technique of the motion picture (1965). The collection consists of materials related to Macgowan's careers in theater, motion pictures, and academia as well
as material related to his interest in anthropology.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. 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.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Kenneth Macgowan, 1965-71.
[Identification of item], Kenneth Macgowan Papers (Collection 887). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Macgowan was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, November 30, 1888; graduated Harvard, 1911; married Edna Behre, 1913; drama
critic for
Philadelphia evening ledger,
the New York globe,
Vogue,
Theatre arts magazine, and
Shadowland; publicity director for Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, 1918-19; formed an association with Eugene O'Neill and Robert Edmond
Jones at the Provincetown Playhouse; producer and director with the Actor's Theater, 1927-29; worked at RKO Studios (early
1930s-35), 20th Century Fox (1935-41), and Paramount Studios (1944-46); among his many film credits is
La Cucaracha, the first production in modern Technicolor; instructor and first department chair at the UCLA Theater Arts Department (1946-58);
studied both anthropology and archaeology; publications include
The theater of tomorrow (1921),
Footlights across America (1929),
Early man in the new world (1950),
Behind the screen: the history and technique of the motion picture (1965); he died of cancer on August 27, 1963.
Collection consists of materials related to Macgowan's careers in theater, motion pictures, and academia. Also includes material
related to Macgowan's interest in anthropology and archaeology. Correspondents include Robert Edmond Jones and Lee Simonson.
Includes items related to Eugene O'Neill and the Provincetown Playhouse.
Arranged in the following series:
- Special projects (Boxes 1-12).
- Manuscripts (Boxes 13-22).
- Involvement with little theaters, ca. 1920-30 (Boxes 23-27).
- Motion picture production files (Boxes 28-39).
- Clippings from newspapers and periodicals, ephemera and other material (Boxes 37-53).
- Activities as an educator (Boxes 54-74).
- Additional material, June 1966 (Boxes 75-88).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Macgowan, Kenneth, 1888-1963--Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles--Dept. of Theater Arts--Faculty--Archives.
Motion picture producers and directors--Archival resources.
Theatrical producers and directors--Archival resources.
Theater critics--Archival resources.
- Drawing, De Emp'rer's Palace, by Cleon Throckmorton catalogued separately in the Original Works of Art on Paper (Collection 99). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.