Finding Aid for the Victor Mansfield Shapiro Papers, 1915-1967

Processed by Manuscripts Division staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 1999
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Victor Mansfield Shapiro Papers, 1915-1967

Collection number: 135

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA

Contact Information

  • Manuscripts 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
  • URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
Processed by:
Manuscripts Division staff
Revised by:
Evert Volkersz, December 1968
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, November 2002
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Victor Mansfield Shapiro Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1915-1967
Collection number: 135
Creator: Shapiro, Victor Mansfield
Extent: 8 boxes (4 linear ft.) 1 oversize box
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Victor Mansfield Shapiro was a independent publicity man for the Hollywood film industry. The collection consists of public relations and promotional materials relating to the motion picture industry, including questionnaires, codes, biographies, scrapbooks, clippings, photographs, and tapes of interviews with transcripts.
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.

Administrative Information

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.

Restrictions on Access

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 Victor M. Shapiro, 1952, 1966-67.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Victor Mansfield Shapiro Papers (Collection 135). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4233763 

Biography

Shapiro was an independent publicity man for the Hollywood film industry.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of public relations and promotional materials relating to the motion picture industry, including questionnaires, codes, biographies, scrapbooks, clippings, photographs, and tapes of interviews with transcripts. Documents publicity campaigns of Mae West, Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Rudolph Valentino, and Louis Wohlheim. Also includes a diary of Gone with the wind, written by unit publicity man Ferguson, and the story outlines, Rogues gallery and Thumb prints, written by Victor M. Shapiro and Howard Estarbrook.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:
  1. Mae West (Box 1).
  2. Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, Fox Film Corporation, Gone with the wind diary, Louis Wohlheim material, miscellaneous (Boxes 2-4).
  3. Sydney Fox, a love story, Movies, Past, present, and future, biographical material, distribution contracts, and scrapbooks (Box 5).
  4. Photographs (Box 6).
  5. Unedited transcript of taped interview with the UCLA Oral History Project (Box 7).
  6. Tapes recorded during UCLA interview (Box 8).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Shapiro, Victor Mansfield--Archives.
Motion picture industry--Public relations--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources.


 

Mae West

Box 1

Christmas cards from Mae West, covering 3 years.

Box 1

Press invitation to Mae West and Friends for Rector's afternoon tea, from 5 to 7. Thursday, October 14, 1937, Major Studios, 1040 N. Las Palmas.

Box 1

My diary Every day's a holiday.

Box 1

Every day's a holiday. Screenplay, by Mae West. Hollywood. 1937.

Scope and Content Note

Complete screen play, complete script.
Box 1

Major news releases about Major Productions, Paramount Pictures, written by Vic Shapiro.

Scope and Content Note

[Mae West's pictures, her remarkable personality, her biography, etc. Hollywood, 1937]
Box 1

Publicity and color on Mae West.

Scope and Content Note

Feature stories, biographical releases, newspaper pieces, and background materials. Mostly Major Pictures, after Miss West left Paramount.
 

Fox Film Corporation

Box 2, Folder 2

Telegrams, letters, and ledger sheets in connection with the splendid 1931/1932 Fox Film Corporation Annual compiled by Victor M. Shapiro and declared to be the finest ever published (1931).

Box 2, Folder 3

Mailing pieces from the studio, introducing Debs of 1931, Spencer Tracy, Elissa Landi, and Linda Watkins (Hollywood).

Box 3

Annual. 1931/1932, compiled by Victor Y. Shapiro.

Box 3

Facts about 1931-1932 Fox films.

Box 3

Departmental resume and available facilities of Movietone City and Western Avenue. 1935.

Scope and Content Note

[A confidential directory and handbook of information relating to the Fox Studio, mainly for new employees]
Box 3

3 publicity pictures, for the moving picture Women Of All Nations, featuring Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, and Grata Nisen.

Physical Description: Envelope containing the pictures states This is an asbestos envelope. Save contents.
Folder 9

Box-office faces set box-office paces. 1932-1939.

Scope and Content Note

[Photographs and biographical information of the leading Fox Film players] Hollywood, 1931.
Box 2, Folder 1

Association of Motion Picture Advertisers.

Scope and Content Note

Gridiron skit of evolution of the press agent, from The Caveman, The Roman, and The Showman, at the annual Naked Truth dinner, in New York City.
Box 2, Folder 4

Goldwyn, Sam.

Scope and Content Note

Postcards, feature stories, mailing pieces, and a telegram, mostly written by Victor N. Shapiro, publicizing A Thief in Paradise, His Supreme Moment, In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter, and Cytherea.
Box 2, Folder 5

Gone With The Wind diary. Confidential (March-May 1939).

Scope and Content Note

Written by Unit Publicity Man Ferguson, according to Victor M. Shapiro. The material is remarkable and valuable and consists of all that went on during the shooting - for the use especially of New York Press Book. Hollywood, 1939.
Box 2, Folder 6

Lloyd, Harold.

Scope and Content Note

A large number of mailing pieces on highly successful Harold Lloyd productions, including From Has To Mouth, Safety Last, His Royal Slyness, Number Please, A Sailor Made Man, Never Weaken, and other pictures. Hollywood, Pathé Distributors.
Box 2, Folder 7

Parentage money maker.

Scope and Content Note

Distinctive ad helps that sell seats. Frank J. Sent presents Hobart Henley's thought film of real life, Parentage. New York.
Box 2, Folder 8

Pathécomedy.

Scope and Content Note

Mailing pieces on Will Rogers, and Mack Sennett 2 reel comedies. In addition, a campaign book for exhibitors, A Pathé Serial. Jack Dempsey, Daredevil Jack. Hollywood.
Box 2, Folder 9

Shapiro, Victor M. Personal file of Victor M. Shapiro, Independent Publicity Man.

Scope and Content Note

Contains rich source material in the form of codes, biographies, newspaper clippings, questionnaires, ads, mailing pieces, etc. Codes of ethics of the Independent Publicists Association, and Standards of Practice of same. Hollywood.
Box 2, Folder 10

Shapiro, Victor M. Duties of a unit publicity man.

Scope and Content Note

Musts on each production. Hollywood, 1931.
Box 2, Folder 11

Valentino, Rudolph.

Scope and Content Note

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings on Rudolph Valentino's last days, in Philadelphia, in August 1926. [Mr. Victor M. Shapiro, Valentino's representative, wrote many of the articles, especially on Rudy and His Daily Dozen (Blondes)]. Philadelphia, 1926.
Box 2, Folder 12

United Artist Corporation.

Scope and Content Note

Large illustrated trade ad; the answer to the brilliant Where the Hell Am I Going gag, by Victor M. Shapiro. Also, a 12 point list of rules to be followed, in News Releases. Also, 1928 United Artists booklet on John Barrymore, in The Tempest.
Box 3

Association of Motion Picture Advertisers.

Scope and Content Note

Ticket of admission consisting of a cartridge (empty) with only a $10 admission ticket inside. For the Fourth Annual Revel The Naked Truth, Hotel Astor, New York, March 29, 1924. Combustible, T.N.T., on outside of cartridge. New York, 1924.
Box 3

Motion picture daily. Studio number. January 19, 1934. Section 2.

Box 3

United Service Organizations for National Defense, Incorporated, Los Angeles Area.

Scope and Content Note

U.S.O. printed material - 1942. [Included is the statement written by Vic Shapiro and Staff, Facts about the Hollywood Guild and Canteen.].
 

United Artists Corporation

Box 3

A handbook of general information for sales managers and salesmen of United Artists Corporation.

Box 3

United artists theatre.

Scope and Content Note

[Dedication and preview, Monday, December 26, Broadway, Los Angeles, 1927].
Box 3

Pictures [Annual] 1926/27-1928/29, compiled by Victor M. Shapiro.

Physical Description: 3 vol.
Box 3

Vitagraph-Lubin-Selig-Essanay, Incorporated. Who's who in V.E.S.E. plays.

Box 3

Wolheim, Louis.

Scope and Content Note

Telegrams, letters, and newspaper clippings in connection with the Wolheim face lifting gag, a brilliant publicity stunt engineered by Victor M. Shapiro, which received enormous publicity for Wolheim and his current pictures and for United Artists Corporation.
Box 3

Thumb Prints [story outline], by Howard Estabrook and Victor M. Shapiro. (Temporary title) Hollywood. 1931.

Box 3

Rogues' Gallery: Story outline. By Victor M. Shapiro and Howard Estabrook. Hollywood. 1931.

 

[Material Contributed in 1966]

Note

Gifts to the University of California of Los Angeles at Westwood during 1966 from Victor M. Shapiro, 1400-1/2 N. Havenhurst Drive, Los Angeles 90446 for the Library's project on Oral History.
My donations of original handwritten manuscripts, photographs and clippings center around a Motion Picture Press Agent's experiences both in Hollywood and New York. They cover the industry, its stars, pictures, trade press, etc. from 1917-1947.
The material contributed in 1966 is contained in 21 envelopes. Each is numbered in red crayon in the right hand corner. The following describes what is contained is each envelope.
Box 4

1. Summary of material donated, exclusive of the following manuscripts.

Box 4

2. Organization of a Publicity Department in New York and Hollywood.

Box 4

3. Handwritten data relative to no.2.

Box 4

4. What is a Movie Press Agent and why?

Box 4

5. Biography of Victor M. Shapiro.

Box 4

6. Randolph C. Lewis - editor and press agent.

Box 4

7. Harry L. Reichenbach - greatest movie press agent.

Box 4

8. Experiences publicizing Rudolph Valentino.

Box 4

9. Experiences publicizing Will Rogers.

Box 4

10. General material, clippings and 3 photographs.

Box 4

11. General material, clippings and 3 photographs.

Box 4

12. Experiences publicizing Gloria Swanson.

Box 4

13. Written material for taping on Gloria Swanson.

Box 4

14. Written notes on Mary Pickford.

Box 4

15. Material for taping Mary Pickford.

Box 4

16. Notes on motion picture trade press.

Box 4

17. Experiences as Vice President and General Manager of Hollywood Quigley Publications.

Box 4

18. Manuscript on Pearl White, Sol Wurtzel and Lois Moran.

Box 4

19. Notes on Pearl White, Sol Wurtzel and Lois Moran.

Box 4

20. Notes on Norma Talmadge, Elissa Landi and Sid Grauman.

Box 4

21. Manuscript on Norma Talmadge, Elissa Landi and Sid Grauman.

Box 5

Envelope Sydney Fox, a Love Story. Taped March 9, 1967.

Box 5

Envelope Movies, Past, Present and Future. Final version with some material not taped. 1967.

Box 5

Folder with biographical material.

Box 5

Distribution contracts. 1924-1928.

Physical Description: 2 folders.
Box 5

Scrapbooks.

Box 6

Photographs.

Box 7

Unedited transcript of taped interview with the UCLA Oral History Project.

 

Tapes Recorded During UCLA Interview

Box 8

16 hours of tapes (9 tapes) recorded by Victor Shapiro with the Oral History Program at intervals from April 21, 1966-March 9, 1967.

Box 9

Des Moines Register. 1936.

Scope and Content Note

Forty full-page sheets of the Register, describing the publicity stunt of Victor M. Shapiro, in which Mae West invited 8 Mid-Western bachelors to be her guest in Hollywood for 8 days, all expenses paid.
Box 9

Vitagraph Studio. Hollywood[?]. 1915.

Scope and Content Note

Scrapbook, comprising trade paper ads, exhibitors ads, heralds given to exhibitors, and layouts and copy done by Victor M. Shapiro.