Collection Guide
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Cunningham (Janet) papers
LSC.2355
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Janet Cunningham papers
Creator:
Cunningham, Janet
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2355
Physical Description:
25.8 Linear Feet
(53 boxes, 7 shoe boxes, 3 flat boxes, and 1 oversize flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1967-2018
Abstract: Janet Cunningham moved from New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) to Los Angeles in 1978 with her son Beau to pursue a career as a
Hollywood writer. In 1981 she opened the Contemporary Artists Space of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) nightclub and gallery next door
to the Zero Zero Club on Cahuenga Boulevard, where she hosted punk music shows, theater, and art exhibitions; screened films
and videos; and served NOLA-inspired red beans and rice to artists and fans. Cunningham spent most of her career in Hollywood
as a casting agent with her Creative Artists Service of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) agency where she employed punks as paid extras
in films, television shows, and music videos. The Janet Cunningham papers range in date from 1967-2018 and contain Cunningham's
handwritten diaries, C.A.S.H. files, photographs, audio and audiovisual materials, personal files, punk rock memorabilia,
and NOLA files related to her documentary on the survival of African culture within New Orleans.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
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.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Copyright to portions of this collection has been assigned to the UCLA Library Special Collections. The library can grant
permission to publish for materials to which it holds the copyright. All requests for permission to publish must be submitted
in writing to Library Special Collections. Credit shall be given as follows: The Regents of the University of California on
behalf of the UCLA Library Special Collections.
The photograph of Beau Cunningham, Janet's son, taken by photographer Gary Leonard in box 36, folders 4 and 5 may be accessed
but shall be restricted from all duplication and publication until 2023 May 22.
Janet Cunningham's diaries, contained within boxes 1-6, are restricted from duplication and publication until 2023 May 22.
During this period, her diaries will be accessible for reading and incidental quotation.
[Identification of item], Janet Cunningham papers (Collection 2355). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Kathryn Gillum; Gift; 2018.
Processed by Kelly Besser, 2018.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
8782820
Janet Cunningham moved from New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) to Los Angeles in 1978 with her son Beau to pursue a career as a
Hollywood writer. In 1981 she opened the Contemporary Artists Space of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) nightclub and gallery next door
to the Zero Zero Club on Cahuenga Boulevard where she hosted punk music shows, theater, and art exhibitions; screened films
and videos; and served NOLA inspired red beans and rice to artists and fans. The same year she opened C.A.S.H., Cunningham
was invited by the University of California, San Diego graduate program of sociology to deliver her "Punk as a Social Movement"
lecture for a course on social upheaval. Cunningham spent most of her career in Hollywood as a casting agent with her Creative
Artists Service of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) agency where she employed punks as paid extras in films, television shows, and music
videos. Her casting credits for film include
Valley Girl,
Night of the Comet, and
Cafe Flesh. She also cast music video extras for the following artists: Rockwell, Billy Idol, Ramones, Stray Cats, Blue Oyster Cult,
Oingo Boingo, Josie Cotton, Bangles, Plimsouls, and Wasp. In addition to her work with C.A.S.H., Cunningham also worked as
a writer, actor, production designer, art director, and landscape designer. Between 1996 and 1998, she produced, directed,
and shot a documentary in NOLA about the survival of African culture within the city. After a battle with cancer in March
2018, Cunningham passed away at Garden Crest Rehabilitation Center in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her son
Beauregard Baker predeceased her in 1986.
The Janet Cunningham papers range in date from 1967-2018 and contain Cunningham's handwritten diaries, Contemporary Artists
Space of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) files, Contemporary Artists Service of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) files, photographs, audio and audiovisual
materials, personal files, punk rock memorabilia, and New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) files related to her documentary on the
survival of African culture within New Orleans.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Diaries, 1967-2008
- Series 2: Contemporary Artists Space of Hollywood and Creative Artists Service of Hollywood (C.A.S.H.) files, 1980-2010
- Series 3: Personal files, 1970-2018
- Series 4: New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) files, 1996-2018
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS PROCESSED AND UNPROCESSED AUDIO AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Special equipment will be required for viewing.
All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
PORTIONS OF THIS COLLECTION HAVE BEEN DIGITIZED. Please consult digital facsimiles instead of originals.
COLLECTION CONTAINS UNPROCESSED DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. All
requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
The American Hotel and Al's Bar Project records (Collection 2305). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Darby Romeo collection of zines (Collection 1746). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Punk zines and ephemera collection (Collection 2276). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
S.A. Griffin collection of underground poetry, Scott Wannberg, and The Carma Bums (Collection 2248). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Razorcake/Gorsky Press, Inc. records (Collection 2284). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Punk culture and art -- United States
Nightclubs -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives
Alternative spaces (Arts facilities) -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives
Alternative rock music -- California -- Los Angeles
Cunningham, Janet -- Archives