Wade (Bob) papers, 1938-2010

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Summary

Title:
Bob Wade papers
Dates:
1938-2010
Extent:
41.4 Linear Feet 66 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Bob Wade papers, Collection no. 6149, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Background

Scope and content:

The Robert A. Wade papers document Wade's career writing noir mysteries with his partner H. BIll Miller (who died in 1961) until Wade's death in 2012. THe collection inculdes personal and business correspondence, diaries, first editions of their books, ledgers, typescripts, draft manuscripts, hand-corrected galley proofs, dust jackets, scrapbooks, magazines, newspaper clippings, notecards, and rejection and fan letters.

Biographical / historical:

Robert (Bob) Wade, together with his longtime partner H. Bill Miller, wrote more than forty mystery novels, several of which were adapted for film. The most famous of these was "Badge of Evil" which was adapted into the Orsen Welles film "Touch of Evil."

Wade and Miller first met at violin lessons when they were both 12 and they began writing together a few months later. They attended San Diego State University together, and when Wade was drafted in 1942, Miller enlisted with him.

After WWII, they began their writing career in earnest and published their books under several pseudonyms including Whit Masterson, Wade Miller, Will Daemer, and Dale Wilmer. The partnership came to an end when Miller died of a heart attack in 1961. Wade continued to publish, but gradually transitioned to writing under his own name and began to focus on writing screenplays and encouraging film adaptations of his previous works. Wade died in 2012.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Johnson Rare Books Archives, November 27, 2017.
Arrangement:

Arranged in 14 series: Correspondence, Diaries, Contracts, Writing Process Files, Manuscripts, Plays, Personal Files, Photographs, Scrapbooks, Ephemera, Audiovisual Materials, Publications, Artifacts, and Books.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Jacqueline Morin
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2019-04-29 14:54:59 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections 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], Bob Wade papers, Collection no. 6149, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900
specol@usc.edu
Website