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O'Flaherty (Terrence) papers
PASC.0026
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Terrence O'Flathery papers
Creator:
O'Flaherty, Terrence
Identifier/Call Number: PASC.0026
Physical Description:
135 Linear Feet
(332 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1940s-circa1990
Abstract: Terrence O'Flaherty worked as
television critic for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1952-1986. The bulk of the collection
consists of television stills and promotional material collected by O'Flaherty during the
course of his 37-year journalistic career. Additionally included are scrapbooks documenting
his newspaper columns, subject files containing research materials, and a small amount of
correspondence and other writings by O'Flaherty.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access
special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on
this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed
audiovisual materials. For information about the access status of the material that you are
looking for, refer to the Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note at the
series and file levels. All requests to access processed audiovisual materials must be made
in advance using the request button located on this page.
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All
other 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.
[Identification of item], Terrence O'Flahery papers (Collection PASC 26). UCLA Library
Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Terrence O'Flahery, 1986; additions from Lynn O'Flaherty, 2007.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make
them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and
resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level
of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts
more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to
national and local standards and best practices.
Processed by UCLA Library Arts Special Collections staff, pre-1999; additions processed by
Alexandra Apolloni and Julie Graham.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
2551071
Terrence O'Flaherty was born in Iowa in 1917, and raised in Los Angeles. He graduated with
a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and went on to work as a fact checker at
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He served as a communications officer in the US Navy during World War
II. His first newspaper position was with the Santa Monica Independent, in 1949, and in
1950, he began working for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he would remain until his
retirement in 1986.
O'Flaherty was one of the first commentators to write seriously about the then-emerging
medium of television. In addition to writing his widely read television column for the San
Francisco Chronicle, O'Flaherty was involved with a number of other television-related
activities. From 1952 to 1984, he was a member of the board of the Peabody Awards; and in
1961 and 1962, he hosted
PM West, a nightly news show, broadcast from San
Francisco.
In 1974, O'Flaherty was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and in 1988, was presented with
an Emmy Award. In 1995, he published the book
Masterpiece Theatre, a
retrospective look at the PBS series of the same name. Terrence O'Flaherty died of
pancreatic cancer in 2001, at the age of 83.
The collection consists of material related to television critic and newspaper columnist,
Terrence O'Flaherty. The bulk of the collection is television stills and promotional
material that O'Flaherty collected over the course of his 37-year career. The stills date
from approximately 1952-1990, and document television programs from all of the major
networks. The promotional material includes press kits from television programs and
networks, as well as print advertisements, invitations, and other promotional items sent to
O'Flaherty. Also included are scrapbooks of his many newspaper columns.
Also included in the collection is a small amount of cards, notes, and column reader
letters; subject files which appear to have been assembled by O'Flaherty on a range of
television-related themes; television scripts and recordings sent to O'Flaherty to promote
television programing; and a small quantity of O'Flaherty's writings. Additionally, there
publications covering the history, development, economics, sociology and technology of
television. Some of the book publications are signed or contain personal notes to O'Flaherty
and may contain additional news release or promotional material in the item.
Arranged in the following series:
- Scrapbooks
- Subject files
- Writings
- Oral history
- Correspondence
- Stills
- Promotional material
- Publications
- Sound recordings
Morrie Gelman Papers (Collection
292).
Available at Library Special Collections, Young Research Library, UCLA.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Television
Journalists -- Archives
O'Flaherty, Terrence -- Archives