Frank D. La Tourette was a television writer, producer, director, and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1980s. The collection consists of printed materials such as clippings and publications, correspondence, and writings by La Tourette.

Frank D. La Tourette was born in 1914. He studied philosophy and language at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and received an A.B. in 1936; he then attended Gregorian University in Rome, Italy for two years, where he studied theology and languages. After changing career paths, he returned to Denver focusing on journalism at Register College of Journalism where he received a B. Jour. and M. Litt. in 1941. He started his journalism career as a reporter and columnist for the National Register System of Newspaper and then relocated to San Francisco to work as a reporter for the International News Service. In 1944 he became managing director of ABC News, West Coast Division and for the next 22 years he served in various roles as a writer, director, producer and consultant for television studios ABC, NBC, CBS, and 20th Century Fox Television. He was associated with television programs such as the first transcontinental telecast of the Medic, Land of the Giants, President Nixon's return to private life in San Clemente, and segments for network news broadcasts among other credits. He was the recipient of two major awards, the Sylvania Award for Creative Technique in Television in 1954 and an Emmy Award in 1967 for the documentary Vietnam: The Village War. In 1966 he became a member of the University of California, Los Angeles faculty, teaching courses in broadcast news and documentary, television production, and motion picture and television writing. He also served as vice chair of the Motion Picture/Television Division. Frank La Tourette died in March of 1985 in Los Angeles, California.

1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)

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