Hollywood Museum collection, bulk 1900s-1970s

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Summary

Title:
Hollywood Museum collection
Dates:
bulk 1900s-1970s
Creators:
Hollywood Museum
Abstract:
This collection consists of papers collected for the never-built Hollywood Museum from film and television producer, director, and actor Hal Roach (1892-1992); film producer Sol Lesser (1890-1980); actor William Farnum (1876-1953); and editor and author Pete Martin (1901-1980). Items include scripts, manuscripts, production information, and more.
Extent:
220.08 Linear Feet 159 boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Hollywood Museum collection, Collection no. 2212, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of papers collected for the never-built Hollywood Museum from film and television producer, director, and actor Hal Roach (1892-1992); film producer Sol Lesser (1890-1980); actor William Farnum (1876-1953); and editor and author Pete Martin (1901-1980). Items include scripts, manuscripts, production information, and more.

Biographical / historical:

The Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Museum (known as the Hollywood Museum) was conceived as a repository for American film and television history to be built and operated by the County of Los Angeles. Archival materials were donated in the 1960s, but the museum was never built, and the materials were transferred to the City of Los Angeles. In the 1980s, the collections were dispersed on long-term loan among local archives including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Film Institute, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Natural History Museum, and the University of Southern California. The planned museum was not related to Hollywood Museum on Highland Avenue in Hollywood.

William Farnum (1876-1953) was an American actor during the silent film era and then in motion pictures into the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the highest paid actors of the silent film era. He acted in "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1934), "Cleopatra" (1934), and "If I Were King" (1921).

Sol Lesser (1890-1980) was an American film producer. He produced a number of 1940s and 1950s Tarzan films as well as "Our Town" (1940) and "Stage Door Canteen" (1943).

Pete Martin (William Thornton "Pete" Martin Jr., 1901-1980) was an American editor and author. He was an editor for the Saturday Evening Post from 1927 until 1959, where he created the "I Call On ..." series of magazine articles about Hollywood celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby. He wrote a number of books including "The Story of Walt Disney" (1957).

Hal Roach (1892-1992) was an American film and television show producer, director, and actor. He created Hal Roach Studios. Roach produced "Our Gang" (also known as The Little Rascals), an American series of comedy short films following a group of poor neighborhood children.

Acquisition information:
On loan from the City of Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners, August 21, 1981.
Processing information:

This collection is unprocessed.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Marissa Chavez for History Associates Incorporated
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-02-22 14:08:19 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library at cin@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Hollywood Museum collection, Collection no. 2212, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
Cinematic Arts Library
Doheny Memorial Library, Room G4
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0185, US
Contact:
(213) 740-8383
ctlibarc@usc.edu
Website