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Finding Aid to the Ken Dickmann Papers and Photographs, circa 1920-1995
Coll2013.063
Coll2013.063
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Table of contents
Title: Ken Dickmann papers and photographs
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.063
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
25.1 linear feet.
10 archive boxes + 26 archive binder boxes + 4 archive shoeboxes + 1 oversize envelope.
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1970-1995
Date (inclusive): circa 1920-1995
Abstract: Personal papers, writings, theater production records, publicity material, correspondence, photographs, negatives, slides,
and other material, circa 1920-1995, from Ken Dickmann. Materials document Dickmann's life as an Air Force veteran, writer,
performer, director, publicist, and gay activist in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. The collection includes his published
and unpublished articles related to theater and film criticism and issues in the gay community; material from his work in
theater and public relations; and extensive photographs documenting his family and friends, theater and publicity career,
drag performances, travel, and gay and lesbian communities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. Also included are the
correspondence and writings of Dickmann's friend Ron Romovich.
creator:
Dickmann, Ken, 1942-1995
Writer and publicist Kenneth Harold Dickmann was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 27, 1942. After high school in the
midwest, he served for four years in the United States Air Force until he received a dishonorable discharge when it was revealed
that he was gay. However, he successfully challenged and overturned his dishonorable discharge status.
After leaving the Air Force, he lived in San Francisco in the early 1960s where he quickly became involved in the local theater
scene as a performer, writer, and director. He starred in Society for Individual Rights (SIR) productions of all-male musicals,
including
Little Mary Sunshine,
Dames at Sea, and
Silhouettes. He directed the SIRlebrities Capades and hosted the Isadora Duncan Picnics and Bette Bus costume parties. During this time,
he wrote weekly columns for
Kaleidoscope,
Data-Boy, and other publications.
By the 1980s, Dickmann had moved to Los Angeles and was writing theater reviews and celebrity interviews for the
Los Angeles Times,
LA Weekly,
Frontiers,
Edge, and the
Advocate. In addition, Dickmann worked in public relations for Filmex and the American Cinematheque, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
Art Festival, and various film festivals throughout Southern California.
By the 1990s, Dickmann had been introduced to Hawaii by his dear friend Lee Mentley, and was dividing his time between Los
Angeles and Hawaii, getting involved in Hawaiian cultural arts and community organizations. After being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS,
Dickmann spent much of the last years of his life convalescing at Mentley's home until he returned to Los Angeles a few days
before his death. Dickmann died of AIDS-related complications on November 20, 1995 in Los Angeles, and his ashes were scattered
under the ancient Hawaiian temple made famous in the musical
South Pacific.
Source:
Box 1, Folder 1-3, Ken Dickmann Papers and Photographs, Coll2013-063, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
The collection is open to researchers. Access to some materials is restricted due to mold damage. Advanced notice is required
for specified materials.
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.
The collection primarily came from a series of donations by Lee Mentley on December 9, 2011, January 5, 2012, March 15, 2013,
and previous donations in the 1990s. The remaining materials were retrieved by Bill Kaiser from an unknown source, date unknown.
[Box/folder #, or item name] Ken Dickmann Papers and Photographs, Coll2013-063, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
Collection processed by Rachel Roque, September 2013.
The collection, circa 1920-1995, documents Dickmann's childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; his enlistment in the Air Force after
high school, 1960-1963; his involvement in the theatrical scene of San Francisco, circa 1964-1979; and his careers in public
relations and journalism in Los Angeles and Hawaii, 1980-1995. The personal papers, 1942-1995, include academic records, memorabilia,
financial records, medical records, Air Force records, appointment calendars, personal affects and small-scale art projects.
Dickmann's writings include clippings of articles written by Dickmann, primarily related to theater, restaurants, and cultural
criticism; personal writings, unpublished drafts, and notes; and early columns and writings under the pseudonyms Pola del
Vecchio or Ken Fantastic. The performing arts and publicity career materials includes press kits, programs, production material,
and theatrical reviews of productions and events, for which Dickmann performed, directed, produced, or publicized. The correspondence
includes both personal and professional correspondence files. The photographs include photographic prints, negatives, and
slides, documenting among other things Dickmann's experience in the Air Force, theater and drag events in San Francisco in
the 1960s and 1970s, celebrity events in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s, AIDS activism, and Dickmann's life in Hawaii.
The collection also includes manuscripts and writings of Dickmann's longtime friend, Ron Romovich.
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1. Personal papers
Series 2. Writings
Series 3. Performing arts and publicity career
Series 4. Correspondence
Series 5. Ron Romovich
Series 6. Photographs
Lee Mentley Collection [unprocessed], ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
The following record albums have been separated to the ONE audiovisual collection:
Another Side of Sharon McNight, Glendale Records, 1981 (signed by Sharon McNight).
No Camping, Velvet Records, undated.
To Love Somebody, Pearl and Kozmic Blues, Evatone, undated.
The following objects have been separated to ONE's ephemera collections:
Jump rope, rainbow color
LGBTQ calendars (1988, 1993)
Matchbooks from Melvyn's at the Ingleside Inn in Palm Springs, CA
Promotional items from European pride events
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence button. Image of sisters planting a rainbow flag
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence wooden "coin", 1999
Teletubby napkins
"Weho Pride" button
Gay- and lesbian-related clippings (3 folders) and HIV/AIDS-related clippings (1 folder) have been separated to the ONE subject
files collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mentley, Lee
Romovich, Ron
Correspondence
Cross dressing--Competitions--United States
Drag shows
Gay actors
Gay journalists
Gay press publications
Gay theater
Homosexuality and theater
Motion pictures and gay men
Musical theater
Olympic Games (23rd : 1984 : Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs
Theater critics--California