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William Bast papers LSC.2290
LSC.2290  
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Description
William Bast was a television and film writer, as well as a friend and biographer of James Dean. The William Bast papers consists largely of scripts written over the course of more than forty years.
Background
William Bast was born in Wisconsin in 1931. While attending college at UCLA he shared an apartment with James Dean. Later, he and Dean moved to New York City independently of one another and roomed together there as well. In 1956, a year after the actor's death, Bast published the first biography of Dean. In the 1960s Bast began writing for television, both in Hollywood and in London. He worked in a variety of genres, including medical dramas ( Ben Casey), science fiction ( The Outer Limits), and crime shows ( Hawaii Five-O). In the 1980s he created, with his partner Paul Huson, the short-lived series Tucker's Witch and The Colbys, a spin-off the wildly popular program Dynasty. Bast and Huson continued their collaboration throughout the 1990s, writing several television movies. In 2006 Bast published a second biography, Surviving James Dean, in which he revealed that their relationship had occasionally been sexual in nature. William Bast died in Los Angeles on May 4, 2015.
Extent
44.4 linear feet (111 boxes)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary 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.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.