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Quinn (Anthony) Collection of Scripts
MS.2015.009  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Arrangement
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents

  • Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives
    Title: Anthony Quinn Collection of Scripts
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.2015.009
    Physical Description: 53.75 Linear Feet
    Date (inclusive): 1940-1972
    Abstract: Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) is best known as an actor, starring in such films as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Zorba the Greek (1964), and La Strada (1954), but he was also a writer and visual artist. He was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, then his parents moved to Los Angeles where Quinn grew up in Boyle Heights and Echo Park. Quinn was a boxer for a time and studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright before starting his film acting career in 1936. Quinn was under contract at Paramount and played characters of various ethnicities such as Native American, Crazy Horse, in They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and a Chinese character, Chang Tai, in Island of Lost Men (1939). Quinn was a Mexican national until he became an American citizen in 1947. In 1947, Quinn played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway, replacing Marlon Brando. This led to director Elia Kazan casting Quinn alongside Brando in 1952's Viva Zapata! Quinn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Mexican-American to ever win an Academy Award. He won the award a second time for his performance in Lust for Life (1956). Quinn went on to star in many successful films throughout the 1950s and 60s. He was also active on Broadway. After the success of the TV movie, The City (1971), Quinn reprised his role in the short lived television series, The Man and the City (1971-1972), as the Hispanic mayor of a city in the American Southwest. His acting career continued until his death in 2001. Anthony Quinn was also involved in and had a rich interest in civil rights movements throughout the United States. In 1970, Quinn was a panelist at the Mexican-American Conference. He attended events for La Raza and other groups. In 2001, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival awarded Quinn their Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. The National Council of La Raza gives out an award named for Quinn, the Anthony Quinn Award for Industry Excellence, at the annual American Latino Media Arts Awards.
    Language of Material: English .

    Conditions Governing Use

    The Anthony Quinn Collection of Scripts is the physical property of California State University, Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, Special Collections and Archives.

    Preferred Citation

    Folder title, Series, Box number, Collection title, followed by Special Collections and Archives, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, California State University, Los Angeles

    Arrangement

    The collection is organized into seven series: I. Scripts/Outline; II. Manuscripts; III. Civil Rights Materials; IV. Publications, V. Correspondence; VI. Research Materials; VII. Miscellaneous. Two of the seven series consist of subseries. Series III. Civil Rights Materials is organized into two subseries: a. Civil Rights Materials and b. Oversized Civil Rights Materials. Series IV. Publications is organized into two subseries: a. Newspapers and b. Reports.

    Biographical / Historical

    Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) is best known as an actor, starring in such films as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Zorba the Greek (1964), and La Strada (1954), but he was also a writer and visual artist. He was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, then his parents moved to Los Angeles where Quinn grew up in Boyle Heights and Echo Park. Quinn was a boxer for a time and studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright before starting his film acting career in 1936.
    Quinn was under contract at Paramount and played characters of various ethnicities such as Native American, Crazy Horse, in They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and a Chinese character, Chang Tai, in Island of Lost Men (1939). Quinn was a Mexican national until he became an American citizen in 1947.
    In 1947, Quinn played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway, replacing Marlon Brando. This led to director Elia Kazan casting Quinn alongside Brando in 1952's Viva Zapata! Quinn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Mexican-American to ever win an Academy Award. He won the award a second time for his performance in Lust for Life (1956). Quinn went on to star in many successful films throughout the 1950s and 60s. He was also active on Broadway.
    After the success of the TV movie, The City (1971), Quinn reprised his role in the short lived television series, The Man and the City (1971-1972), as the Hispanic mayor of a city in the American Southwest. His acting career continued until his death in 2001.
    Anthony Quinn was also involved in and had a rich interest in civil rights movements throughout the United States. In 1970, Quinn was a panelist at the Mexican-American Conference. He attended events for La Raza and other groups. In 2001, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival awarded Quinn their Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. The National Council of La Raza gives out an award named for Quinn, the Anthony Quinn Award for Industry Excellence, at the annual American Latino Media Arts Awards.

    Scope and Contents

    The materials in this collection were created from 1940-1972. The bulk of the collection is scripts and outlines collected by Anthony Quinn, a notable MexicanAmerican actor, director, writer, and visual artist. The scripts and outlines contain film scripts, theater plays, teleplays, and pre-production film materials. These include scripts of films and television that star Anthony Quinn as well as many that were never produced. Included in the collection are materials and documents related to Quinn's interest and involvement in civil rights movements from 1960-1972, particularly those involving Mexican-Americans. The materials in this collection also include correspondence and research materials related to film projects, Quinn's appearances, and civil rights.
    Series I: Scripts/Outlines Inclusive Dates: 1957-1972 Arrangement: Alphabetical and there under chronological
    This large series consists of scripts and outlines collected by Anthony Quinn dated from 1957-1972. The series is organized by title and includes screenplays, theater scripts, outlines and other pre-production film materials. Care was taken to keep the materials in their original order to facilitate research. The series is mostly English language, but it includes scripts and outlines in Spanish, French, and Italian as well. The series contains scripts of films starring Anthony Quinn such as The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), A Dream of Kings (1969), and Across 110th Street (1972). It also contains several teleplays from The Man and the City (1971-1972), a show starring Quinn as the Hispanic mayor of a city in the Southwestern United States. There are also scripts and outlines in various stages of development, many of which never made it to movie screens. Other notable materials include Last Resort, an early script by John Milius (The Dirty Harry Films, Conan the Barbarian); and La Strada: A New Musical Play (1968), a Broadway adaptation of the 1954 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar Winner of the same name, directed by Federico Fellini and starring Anthony Quinn. The play is a famous Broadway flop that closed on opening night. The series includes two scripts co-written by Quinn, The Eagle and the Horse, and The Bag Man or Harry the Gent (1966).
    Series II: Manuscripts Inclusive Dates: 1940-1971 Arrangement: Alphabetical and there under chronological
    This small series includes manuscripts of published novels released from 1940- 1971. The series includes a copy of Ladislas Farago's history of German espionage in World War II, The Game of Foxes (1971); and Mayhem in B-Flat (1940), a detective novel from Elliot Paul's Homer Evans books.
    Series III: Civil Rights Materials Inclusive Dates: 1960-1972 Arrangement: Alphabetical and there under chronological
    This small series consists of two subseries: a. Civil Rights Materials, 1960-1972; and b. Oversized Civil Rights Materials, 1966-1971. The series includes information regarding the Mexican-American Conference held at Beverly Hills High School in 1970. Anthony Quinn was a panel member, and the series includes his notes on the event. Also included are informational packets and brochures from institutions such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and CASA (Chicano Association for Student Assistance, UCLA). There are also documents concerning the education of minorities and image stereotyping.
    Series IV: Publications Inclusive Dates: 1968-1971 Arrangement: Alphabetical and there under chronological
    This small series includes newspapers and reports dated from 1968-1971. The series is organized into two subseries: a. Newspapers, 1968-1970 and b. Reports, 1968-1971. Some of the issues included are La Raza Yearbook (1968), El Grito Del Norte (1969), and La Voz de la Alianza (1970). Included in subseries b. Reports are Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Hearings on discrimination in white collar employment and the utilization of minority women workers (1968-1969). Also included is Stranger in One's Land (1970), a publication released by the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights that addresses the Mexican American community's civil rights problems.
    Series V: Correspondence Inclusive Dates: 1967-1971 Arrangement: Alphabetical and there under chronological
    This small series consists of correspondence to and from Anthony Quinn from 1967-1971 regarding film projects, appearance requests, and Civil Rights. Included in the collection are several letters from Quinn to screenwriters rejecting involvement in their projects. Many of the rejected scripts are in Series I: Scripts/Outlines. Another notable folder in the series includes correspondence in English and in Spanish regarding the admission of two Columbian students into UC Berkeley. Care was taken to maintain the original order to facilitate research.
    Series VI: Research Materials Inclusive Dates: 1971 Arrangement: Alphabetical and there under chronological
    This small series consists of Anthony Quinn's research materials. The topics include the Albuquerque city government and the Los Angeles city government. There are also handwritten notes about scripts.
    Series VII: Miscellaneous Inclusive Dates: u.d. Arrangement: Alphabetical and thereunder chronological
    This small series consists of miscellaneous documents included with the collection. One of the items included is a press kit for Battle of Neretva (1969), a Yugoslavian film featuring Orson Welles. The front cover has a copy of the film's poster made by Pablo Picasso.