Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Richard Meeker Better Angel fan mail
- Dates:
- 1933-1976
- Creators:
- Meeker, Richard
- Abstract:
- Fan mail, 1933-1938, to Richard Meeker, pseudonym of Forman George Brown, 1901-1996, the author of the autobiographical novel, Better Angel. The novel was one of the first works to place homosexuality in a positive light. Brown, his partner, Richard "Roddy" Brandon, and his cousin, Harry Burnett, were founders the Yale Puppeteers and later the Turnabout Theater in Hollywood, California.
- Extent:
- 0.1 Linear Feet 1 folder
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Box #, item] Richard Meeker Better Angel Fan Mail, Coll2014-083, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of Better Angel fan mail, 1933-1938, written to Richard Meeker, the pseudonym of Forman George Brown, 1901-1996. Brown wrote the first novel to place homosexuality in a positive light. The collection also includes a verse to Brown's partner, Richard "Roddy" Brandon, written for Brandon's birthday and their 50th anniversary.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Forman George Brown authored the autobiographical novel Better Angel using the pseudonym Richard Meeker. Better Angel would be one of the first novels to place homosexuality in positive light. It was published during the "Pansy Craze" of the early 1930s. The novel was re-published in 1989 and 1995.
Brown, his partner Richard "Roddy" Brandon, and his cousin Harry Burnett founded the Yale Puppeteers, a traveling marionette troupe during the 1920s. They settled in Hollywood, and together they created the Turnabout Theater, which used trolley car seats that were turned during intermission. The first act was their marionette show performed at the back of the theater. A second act with vaudeville entertainers took place on the main stage in the front of the theater. The theater closed in 1956, a victim of the growing popularity of television.
Brandon died in 1985, Burnett died in 1993, and Brown died 2 days after his 95th birthday in 1996.
- Acquisition information:
- Date and method of acquisition unknown.
- Processing information:
-
Collection processed by Michael C. Oliveira, October 2014.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Sponsor:
- Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2014-12-16 17:53:21 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
- Terms of access:
-
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries 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 #, item] Richard Meeker Better Angel Fan Mail, Coll2014-083, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
- Location of this collection:
-
909 West Adams BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90007, US
- Contact:
- (213) 821-2771