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Greensfelder (Robert) collection of film ephemera
M2478
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Robert Greensfelder collection of film ephemera
source:
Greensfelder, Robert, 1923-2018
Identifier/Call Number: M2478
Physical Description:
7 Linear Feet
(11 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1947-1973
Abstract: Collection of programs, catalogs and other material assembled by Robert "Bob" Greensfelder, who worked in independent film
distribution in the 1950s and 60s.
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was given by Bob Greensfelder to Stanford University, Special Collections in 1977.
Robert J. "Bob" Greensfelder (1923-2018) was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Grace Gleason and Nelson Sutro Greensfelder,
a mining engineer. His childhood was interrupted by his father's sudden death from pneumonia, after which his mother moved
to Spokane, Washington, where Bob graduated from Lewis and Clark High School. In 1941, he entered Reed College. At the end
of his freshman year he enlisted in the Naval Reserve, and was called into active service at the end of his sophomore year.
Assigned to the USS Highlands, he guided troop transport landing crafts onto the beaches during the battles of Iwo Jima and
Okinawa. He was honorably discharged at the rank of lieutenant junior grade in 1946, at the age of 22.
Over the next five years, Bob completed another six semesters at Reed, studied in Mexico City under the GI Bill; drove coast
to coast as a marketing agent for a cooperative venture of California craftspeople; and met and married Jean Greiner Martin,
who had been an artist's model for such painters as John Sloan and Salvador Dali. In 1951, the couple settled in Mill Valley
in Marin County, and for the next 23 years Bob worked in myriad positions in the field of independent and experimental film,
including playing a key role in founding the American Federation of Film Societies, promoting San Francisco's nascent International
Film Festival, distributing independent films through his company, Kinesis, Inc., and serving on the advisory committee of
the Pacific Film Archive.
From 1962 to 1973, he was western manager for Contemporary Films, a widely respected film distribution company with an exceptional
selection of cultural, foreign, art and documentary films. On a direct level, he personally funded and supported the making
of "The End", one of four films by visionary director Christopher MacLaine. In 1967, he was instrumental in helping French
director Agnes Varda create her short film "Uncle Yanco". And he donated his time to produce the film "Dreamwood" by Beat
poet and filmmaker James Broughton.
Meanwhile, life at the Greensfelder household in Mill Valley was anything but conventional. Jean and Bob's residence became
a gathering point for a mélange of artists, writers, filmmakers and intellectuals, some of whom viewed the home of a settled
family with five children as a haven from the tumultuous years of the 1960s. During his years in Marin, Bob served on the
board of ACLU of Northern California, marched against the Vietnam War, was a founder of the Homestead Valley Improvement Club,
and lent support to friends under attack by McCarthy era witch hunts.
For his 50th birthday in 1973, he trekked the mountains of Nepal. Less than a year later, he and Jean moved to the San Juan
Ridge in rural Nevada County, establishing a homestead miles from paved roads or power lines on a large parcel of land close
by Bob's lifelong friend from Reed College, poet, essayist and activist Gary Snyder. Bob became a mentor to many of the homesteaders
who arrived after him, always gracious in sharing his labor and knowledge. He helped found the San Juan Ridge Taxpayers Association
and the Yuba Watershed Institute (YWI); served on the Grand Jury; and worked for decades on committees riding herd on gold
mining proposals. In 2016, unable to keep up with the demands of rural life, he moved to Atria in Grass Valley.
Bob is survived by his children Anne, Sara, Liese and Ben Greensfelder; Liese's husband, Robert Erickson; Ben's wife, Sandra
Bao; grandchildren Ari and Seth Lane, Louis and Rainy Blue Cloud, Tor Erickson, and Zoë Kasten; and greatgrandchildren Chris,
Sarah, Mya, Joaquin, Oisín, Aron and Raúl. He was predeceased by Jean in 2003, their son Peter in 2007, and grandchildren
Karin and Lathan.
--adapted from his obituary in "The Union" January 14, 2019
(https://www.theunion.com/news/obituaries/obituary-of-robert-j-greensfelder/)
[identification of item], Robert Greensfelder collection of film ephemera (M2478). Dept. of Special Collections and University
Archives, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
This collection of exhibition programs, catalogs and other publications documents Robert Greensfelder's long involvement with
independent and art film. Through 1957 he ran Kinesis, Inc., a distribution company started by Brant Sloan in 1951. The collection
contains a Kinesis catalog, and many items are stamped with the company name and address. From 1962 to 1973, Greensfelder
operated the west coast office of New-York based distributor Contemporary Films.
Greensfelder was also involved in assisting film-makers with their work, producing Christopher MacLaine's "The End," James
Broughton's "Dreamwood" and Agnes Varda's "Uncle Yanco," a documentary on Jean Varda, to whom she was related.
This collection primarily reflects his distribution activities, as well as his attendence at many festivals and screenings
both internationally and in the San Francisco Bay Area. While the collection primarily contains printed material, much of
it is annotated by Greensfelder with notes and dates, and there are also hand-drawn intertitles for two early short films
by James Broughton ("Four in the Afternoon" and "Loony Tom").
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Motion pictures -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Greensfelder, Robert, 1923-2018