Restrictions on Access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Biography/History
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Title: Jay Riley papers
Collection number: 2277
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.0 linear ft.
(4 boxes, 1 carton and 1 flat box)
Date: 1959-1988, bulk 1970s-1980s
Abstract: Jay Riley was an African American actor who started his career in 1932. He appeared in Broadway productions and also found
roles in motion pictures and television. The collection consists of script material, photographs and a small amount of biographical
information, press clippings, ephemera, books, and audiovisual materials related to Riley’s career.
Language of Materials: English
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization
for safe access. To review these audiovisual materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library 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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jay Riley Papers (Collection 2277). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mercedes Riley; 2013.
Biography/History
James Merriman Riley, professionally known as Jay Flash Riley, Jay Riley, and Joe Riley, was born June 24, 1916 in Scranton,
Pennsylvania. He got his start acting in 1932 with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Theater project. His first
appeared on Broadway in the role of Jack Stanton in Orson Welles's production of
Native Son (1941). Other Broadway appearances include
Carmen Jones (1943),
On the Town (1944),
Finian's Rainbow (1947),
The Wiz (1975), and
Bubbling Brown Sugar (1976). Riley spent time in Europe (ca. mid-1960s and 1970s) and appeared in and produced a stage production of
Trumpets of Our Lord. Additionally, he appeared in films such as
Cleopatra and
The She Beast, and did voice-overs dubbing 200-plus films. Riley's television credits include appearances on
Frank's Place,
Good Times,
Sanford and Son,
Taxi, and
The White Shadow. In 1979, Riley won the Los Angeles Weekly's Lawree Award for Outstanding Performance of the Year for his role in
Bubbling Brown Sugar. In 1988, shortly before his death, he appeared in the MGM film
Memories of Me. He died September 20, 1988 in Los Angeles, California.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of materials related to the career of African American actor Jay Riley. The majority of the materials
are script materials and photographs. Additionally included are a small amount of biographical information, press clippings,
ephemera, books, and audiovisual materials. Script materials represent projects for which Riley may have been involved in
some capacity, such as
Bubbling Brown Sugar,
Trumpets of Our Lord, and
The Wiz. The photographs are professional and/or personal in nature; professional photographs are mostly headshots of Riley. Notably
absent from the collection are items representing his television work and his involvement with foreign-made films, such as
Cleopatra and The She Beast.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged into the following series:
- Series 1. Personal and Biographical Materials
- Series 2. Correspondence
- Series 3. Projects
- Series 4. Photographs
- Series 5. Books and Audiovisual Materials
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Riley, Jay -- Archives
African American actors -- Archives