Walter Winchell papers, 1920s-1960s
Processed by Sue Hwang with assistance from Julie Graham; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
©2014 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: Walter Winchell papers
Collection number: 1904
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.5 linear ft.
(7 boxes, 1 flat box.)
Date (inclusive): 1920s-1960s
Abstract: Walter Winchell gained acclaim as a journalist through newspaper, radio, and television. Most associated with his career are
his gossip columns and political commentary. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings and/or written pieces by
and/or about Winchell, and a small amount of publicity stills and photographs. Additionally there is documentation regarding
his television show,
The Walter Winchell File.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Creator:
Winchell, Walter, 1897-1972
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. 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.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of David Shneidman.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Walter Winchell papers (Collection 1904). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Walter Winchell was born on April 7, 1897 in New York City, NY. In 1910, Winchell launched a career in vaudeville and spent
several years as part of the Newsboys Sextet. In 1915, Winchell teamed with Rita Greene in a song and dance act and they toured
until he enlisted in the Navy in 1917. Winchell officially started his journalism career in 1922, working for the
Vaudeville News. In 1924, he went to work for the
Evening Graphic, as dramatic critic and was given a Broadway column. By 1929, he was with the
New York Daily Mirror, where he contributed a gossip column to until 1963. He made his radio debut in 1930 on CBS's
Saks on Broadway, a 15-minute program devoted to show business news. In 1932, he began hosting
The Jergens Journal, a show that mixed entertainment news with matters of national importance.
Winchell gained fame as an American journalist and was the subject of frequent analysis, comment, and controversy. Despite
this, his entertainment news reports and his weekly radio program brought him a huge audience and great influence from the
1930s to the 1950s. He was frequently censored for expressing his hatred of the Nazi Party in Germany and unfavorable remarks
of certain Congressmen. After World War II, he was concerned with the spread of Communism and supported Senator Joseph McCarthy
and the "Red Scare" investigations. Winchell also hosted
The Walter Winchell Show (ABC, 1952-1960),
The Walter Winchell Show (NBC, 1956), and
The Walter Winchell File (1957-1958), which featured crime stories that Winchell had covered while working with the New York City Police Department.
He was also the unseen narrator of the television drama series
The Untouchables. Winchell died in Los Angeles, CA on February 20, 1972.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of materials related to the career of journalist, Walter Winchell. The bulk of the files comprise
correspondence, much of it incoming letters from a variety of individuals. Additionally, there are clippings and /or written
pieces by and/or about Winchell, and a small amount of publicity stills and photographs and documentation regarding his television
show,
The Walter Winchell File.
The files were purchased by the donor and are original files from Walter Winchell that were auctioned at Butterfields. Most
of the file titles have been maintained; a small number of file titles were supplied by the processor.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Winchell, Walter, 1897-1972--Archives
Journalists--United States--Archival resources.
Box 6, Folder 17
ABC Photos - publicity of Walter Winchell.
Box 6, Folder 7
Adolf Berle.
(1941-1943).
General note
Correspondence and telegrams.
Box 7, Folder 1
Assorted correspondence.
(1924-1929).
Box 6, Folder 6
Assorted correspondence.
(1935, 1940s-1950s).
General note
Mostly incoming.
Box 7, Folder 25
Assorted correspondence.
(1940s-1960s).
Box 3, Folder 10
Assorted correspondence.
(1941-1963).
Box 7, Folder 24
Assorted correspondence.
(1953, 1955, 1958-1959).
Box 7, Folder 2
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1930).
Box 7, Folder 3
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1931-1932).
Box 7, Folder 4
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1933).
Box 7, Folder 5
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1934).
Box 7, Folder 6
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1935).
Box 7, Folder 7
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1936).
Box 7, Folder 8
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1937).
General note
Incoming, with three replies.
Box 7, Folder 9
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1938).
Box 7, Folder 10
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1939).
Box 7, Folder 11
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1940).
Box 7, Folder 12
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1941).
Box 7, Folder 13
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1942).
General note
Incoming, with one reply.
Box 7, Folder 14
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1943).
General note
With Current Biography periodical with Winchell's entry.
Box 7, Folder 15
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1944).
General note
Incoming, with one reply.
Box 7, Folder 16
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1945).
Box 7, Folder 17
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1946).
General note
Incoming, with four replies.
Box 7, Folder 18
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1947).
General note
Incoming, with one reply.
Box 7, Folder 19
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1948).
Box 7, Folder 20
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1949).
Box 7, Folder 21
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1950).
Box 7, Folder 22
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1951).
Box 7, Folder 23
Assorted correspondence.
(ca. 1952).
Box 7, Folder 26
Assorted correspondence.
(no date).
Box 2, Folder 7
Awards (Walter Winchell).
(1940s, 1956).
General note
With a libel notice and a radio script of broadcast Sunday, March 26, 1944.
Box 6, Folder 20
B.
(1940s-1960s).
General note
Incoming correspondence, telegrams, and clippings.
Box 6, Folder 2
Bache robbery.
(1962 July).
General note
Clippings relating to Winchell's aid to FBI in the Bache and Co. stock theft case.
Box 4, Folder 1
Beacon - Levand.
(1942-1943, 1952).
General note
Correspondence and clippings.
Box 4, Folder 9
Contract - Radio Car.
(1956-1961).
General note
Forms and permit documents. Photographs of Winchell for permit.
Box 6, Folder 1
Daily Mirror Contracts.
(1937-1942).
Box 4, Folder 6
Damon Runyon Memorial Fund correspondence.
(1966).
Box 4, Folder 7
Damon Runyon Memorial Fund News Clippings.
(1950s-1970s).
Box 1, Folder 13
Danton Walker.
(1937-1938, 1942).
General note
Correspondence and clippings.
Box 6, Folder 3
Down Memory Lane by Guy Magley - booklet.
Box 5, Folder 6
Earl Wilson.
General note
Mostly letters or notes from Wilson to Winchell and clippings.
Box 2, Folder 18
Ed Weiner.
(1940s-1950s).
General note
Correspondence and clippings.
Box 6, Folder 9
Georgie Jessel.
(1930s-1940s, 1960).
General note
Tearout from Esquire magazine and telegrams.
Box 6, Folder 8
Hoffman, Irving.
(1937, 1947-1950, 1968).
General note
Letters to Walter.
Box 3, Folder 1
James J. Walker.
(1946 Nov).
General note
Reactions to Winchell's piece about Jimmy Walker.
Box 6, Folder 11
Jergens Lotion.
(1930s-1940s, 1952).
General note
Correspondence and telegrams.
Box 6, Folder 10
Jergens, Andrew.
(1936-1937, 1957, 1960).
Box 5, Folder 11
John E. Rankin.
(1940s).
General note
Regarding statements Rankin made about Winchell.
Box 3, Folder 11
Leland, Louis.
(1941-1944).
General note
Correspondence and clippings.
Box 2, Folder 9
Letters to Walter Winchell.
(1930s, 1942, 1969).
General note
Clippings and articles.
Box 8, Folder 2
Magazine tearouts written by and about Walter Winchell.
(1930s, 1940s and 1960).
General note
Magazines: DAC News, Liberty, Newsweek, Photoplay, Radio Guide, The Saturday Evening Post, and Spot. The Dance Magazine, Liberty,
Photoplay, and Radio Stars. The Billboard April 1933, Liberty Aug. 1942, and Radio Guide Feb. 1935 covers only -- no text.
Box 5, Folder 14
Mentions about Walter Winchell.
(1930s, 1953, 1967).
General note
With photographs.
Box 2, Folder 13
Miscellaneous Stories by Winchell.
(1964-1968).
Box 6, Folder 18
NBC Publicity shots of Walter Winchell.
Box 2, Folder 8
Notes to Winchell and clippings.
(1969).
Box 3, Folder 2
Portrait of the Father of Our Country.
(1938 Feb-Mar).
General note
Reactions to Winchell's piece.
Box 5, Folder 16
President's Day.
(1933).
General note
Correspondence with attachments and clippings.
Box 6, Folder 12
Quiz Kids John Lewellen.
(1945 Jan-Feb, May).
General note
Correspondence.
Box 3, Folder 4
R.
(1930s-1940s).
General note
Incoming correspondence.
Box 5, Folder 12
R.
(1930s-1950s).
General note
Letters to Winchell, telegrams, and clippings. With a script titled Winchell Story by Sig Herzig and Arthur Eddy.
Box 3, Folder 5
R (folder 1 of 2).
(1940s, 1960s).
General note
Incoming and outgoing correspondence.
Box 3, Folder 6
R (folder 2 of 2).
(1940s, 1960s).
General note
Incoming and outgoing correspondence.
Box 3, Folder 12
Raft, George.
(1967 Mar, June-July).
General note
Correspondence, photographs, and clippings.
Box 2, Folder 15
Readers Digest.
(1960s).
General note
Winchell submissions.
Box 2, Folder 4
Recht and Co. car leasing.
(1967-1971).
General note
Letters and clippings regarding car leasing advertisements.
Box 1, Folder 8
Revlon (TV).
(1957-1958).
General note
Letters, press release, and telegram.
Box 2, Folder 16
Riviera Sun.
(1964 Aug-Oct).
General note
Winchell submissions.
Box 5, Folder 7
Roney Plaza Hotel.
(1958, 1966, 1968).
General note
Correspondence regarding Winchell's stay at the hotel.
Box 2, Folder 1
Rosemarie Productions (Danny Thomas) - AFTRA contract.
(1964 Oct).
Box 1, Folder 11
Ross Danzig (Bart Ross) - Walter Winchell Show: Time of Your Life proposed series.
(1959 Dec, 1960 Jan-Feb).
General note
Proposal and letters.
Box 3, Folder 7
Rowan and Martin.
(1960, no date).
General note
Letter and telegram.
Box 3, Folder 8
Russia.
(1940s).
General note
Letters, clippings and tearouts.
Box 6, Folder 13
Salem Methodist Church speech.
(1947 Oct).
Box 2, Folder 12
Senator David Walsh.
(1942 May).
General note
Regarding statements Winchell made about Senator Walsh.
Box 1, Folder 14
Sol Rosenblatt.
(1957-1958).
General note
Correspondence.
Box 2, Folder 17
Stars and Headlines.
(no date).
General note
Taken from various columns about people in entertainment; written by Winchell.
Box 2, Folder 10
Stories about Walter Winchell.
(1938, 1940s, 1950s, 1964).
General note
With draft of one-minute speech.
Box 2, Folder 14
Stories By Walter Winchell.
(1939, no dates).
Box 5, Folder 10
This Is New York.
(no date).
General note
Questionnaire and photograph.
Box 1, Folder 12
Topics by Tinney.
(1939 May).
Box 5, Folder 9
U.S. Naval Reserve correspondence course.
(1935).
General note
Course material (course reader?).
Box 4, Folder 4
W.
(1940s-1950s).
General note
Correspondence.
Box 4, Folder 3
W.
(1940s-1960s).
General note
Correspondence.
Box 5, Folder 5
W.
(1942, 1960s).
General note
Incoming and outgoing correspondence and clippings.
Box 2, Folder 6
W.W. Autobiography and Pictures.
(1952 Jan, 1960 Sept).
General note
Articles, postage stamps, photographs and clipping.
Box 2, Folder 3
Wake Up and Live.
(1937 Apr).
General note
Telegram and inter-office correspondence.
Box 5, Folder 1
Wall Street.
(1958, 1959 Jan).
General note
Appears related to pieces on stock market.
Box 4, Folder 10
Walsh and Walsh Insurance.
(1967-1968).
General note
Policy information.
Box 1, Folder 3
Walter Winchell T.V. poll.
(1958 Jan-Feb).
General note
Appears to be related to Walter Winchell File program.
Box 2, Folder 11
Walter Winchell Articles.
(1940s).
General note
Mostly about Walter Winchell.
Box 5, Folder 13
Walter Winchell Back in Show Biz - one page ad for Variety.
(1967 Sept).
Box 1, Folder 9
Walter Winchell File - clippings (folder 1 of 2).
(1956-1957).
Box 1, Folder 10
Walter Winchell File - clippings (folder 2 of 2).
(1958, 1960-1961).
Box 1, Folder 6
Walter Winchell File - correspondence and contracts (folder 1 of 2).
(1958-1959, 1961).
Box 1, Folder 7
Walter Winchell File - correspondence and contracts (folder 2 of 2).
(1957 March and no date).
General note
Two pilot scripts. One titled The Walter Winchell File; one titled The Walter Winchell Show.
Box 1, Folder 4
Walter Winchell File (The) - press releases.
(1957 Dec).
Box 8, Folder 1
Walter Winchell File (The) - program.
(no date).
Box 1, Folder 5
Walter Winchell File (The) - publicity material.
(1957).
Box 4, Folder 5
Walter Winchell Foundation.
(1960s).
General note
Balance statements and clippings.
Box 6, Folder 4
Walter Winchell in Let's Go to Press - program.
(no date).
Box 2, Folder 5
Walter Winchell Music Publishing - letters.
(1965 May-Jun).
Box 5, Folder 8
Walter Winchell Productions - Albert Zugsmith.
(1960-1961).
General note
Correspondence from Albert Zugsmith, photograph, waivers, and forms.
Box 6, Folder 15
Walter Winchell Publicity Photos.
Box 6, Folder 16
Walter Winchell Publicity Photos.
General note
With what appears to be two childhood photographs.
Box 6, Folder 14
Walter Winchell Show - one page ads.
(No dates, 1956 Oct).
General note
With Facts, Figures and Film newsletter.
Box 1, Folder 1
Walter Winchell Show (The) - script material.
(1956).
Box 1, Folder 2
Walter Winchell Show (The) - ratings and correspondence.
(1956-1958).
Box 5, Folder 15
Walter Winchell's Writings.
(1940s).
Box 4, Folder 11
Washington Contest.
(1938).
General note
Correspondence regarding beauty contest. With unrelated clippings.
Box 4, Folder 8
Wechsler, James.
(1950s-1960s).
General note
Correspondence and clippings. With transcript of Novick testimony.
Box 3, Folder 3
Western Newspaper Union.
(1940s).
General note
Correspondence regarding Winchell columns.
Box 3, Folder 9
Western Union.
(1935, 1967).
General note
Outgoing telegrams sent by Walter Winchell.
Box 5, Folder 4
Westrick, Gerhard.
(no date, 1940 Jul-Aug).
Box 2, Folder 2
Winchell Offers.
(1931 Apr, 1935 Mar).
General note
Appears to be entertainment related.
Box 4, Folder 12
Winchell Orchids.
(1933 Mar-Apr).
Box 6, Folder 19
Winchell Stock Pictures (headshots).
(1959).
Box 4, Folder 2
Winrod, Gerald.
(1942-1943, 1952).
General note
Correspondence and clippings.
Box 5, Folder 2
Wisdom Society.
(1965 Sept, 1967 Sept; 1967 Nov-Dec).
General note
Correspondence.
Box 5, Folder 3
World Journal Tribune.
(1966 Sept-Oct; 1967).
General note
Letters and clippings.