Peter Adair Papers, 1973-1986, bulk 1974-1979

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]

Online content

Online items available

Summary

Creators:
Adair, Peter, 1944-1996
Abstract:
The bulk of the collection centers on the documentary film Word Is Out: stories of some of our lives (1977), a ground-breaking exploration of the lives of 26 gay men and women. A small portion of the collection concerns The AIDS Show: artists involved with death and survival (1986), a production of Peter Adair and Rob Epstein's with Theatre Rhinoceros.
Extent:
79 cubic foot boxes, 31 boxes of various sizes (max. 16-inches x 16-inches x 3-inches) (110.0 cubic feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Peter Adair Papers (GLC 70), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains correspondence, administrative files, transcripts, clippings and ephemera, film and sound footage, and videotapes. The majority of the collection centers on the documentary film Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977), a ground-breaking exploration of the lives of 26 gay men and women. An early working title for the film was Who Are We? and there are occasional references to that title or its acronym WAW. A much smaller portion of the collection concerns The AIDS Show: Artists Involved with Death and Survival (1986), a production of Peter Adair and Rob Epstein's with Theatre Rhinoceros.

Biographical / historical:

Peter Adair was a San Francisco-based documentary filmmaker. He was born in Santa Monica, California in 1944. His father, John Adair, was an anthropologist who studied the Zuni and Navajo, and his mother, Casey, was a housewife who edited John's works and the New Mexico Quarterly, a literary journal. They gave Peter a film camera on his high school graduation and sparked a life-long interest in documentary filmmaking.

Adair is best known for Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives: Conversations with 26 Gay Men and Women. This film was made by Adair with the Mariposa Film Group over several years from 1974-1977. In the film gay men and lesbians from different cultures, eras and walks of life discuss homosexuality and how it is perceived, by themselves and by society, in an effort to increase tolerance and understanding.

In 1978 Nancy Adair, Peter's younger sister, co-authored Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives with their mother Casey. The Mariposa Film Group was Peter Adair, Nancy Adair, Robert Epstein, Veronica Selver, Andrew Brown, and Lucy Massie Phenix. Veronica Selver and Lucy Massie Phenix have continued to work in the documentary film genre. And Rob Epstein is probably the best known of the Group for his critically acclaimed documentaries The Times of Harvey Milk, Common Threads, and Paragraph 175 among others.

In 1986 Adair and Epstein co-produced and co-directed The AIDS show: Artists Involved with Death and Survival. This 57 minute film deals with the impact of AIDS on the gay community, and presents excerpts from Theatre Rhinoceros' production of The AIDS Show, which dramatizes the emotional effect of the disease on patients, their lovers, friends and families. The film includes interviews with the show's creators and performers. In 1988, Peter Adair tested positive for AIDS. He died of complications due to AIDS on June 27, 1996.

Acquisition information:
The Peter Adair Papers were bequeathed to The San Francisco Public Library by Peter Adair in 1996. 3 boxes of additional material were received in 1999.
Processing information:

During processing, the entire collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some metal staples remain.

The pre-interview videotapes were transferred from 1/2-inch open reels to VHS and 3/4-inch masters in 1991. Significant portions of the original film and sound elements were restored from 2007-2009 by UCLA Film & Television Archives in collaboration with the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation. Restoration funded by the David Bohnett Foundation with support from The Andrew J. Kuehn, Jr. Foundation and the members of Outfest. The restored version and many original film and sound elements are at UCLA.

Between 2014-2015, 9 videocassette tapes were transferred to digital format onto 6 discs. The tapes are audition, interview, and master footage from Series 4. The AIDS Show: Leland Moss 2nd interview (3 tapes onto 1 disc); Leland Moss audition reel (1 tape onto 1 disc); Leland reel 15 (1 tape onto 1 disc); Shanti (2 tapes onto 1 disc); The AIDS Show Doc Footage Master x89 (1 tape onto 1 disc); and, The AIDS Show Master x83 (1 tape onto 1 disc).

Arrangement:

The material is arranged into 4 series: Series 1. Word Is Out Files; Series 2. Word is Out Pre-interviews (VHS/master copies); Series 3. Word Is Out Original Film and Sound Elements; and Series 4. The AIDS Show.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Terms of access:

Copyright interest in Word Is Out is held by The San Francisco Public Library.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Peter Adair Papers (GLC 70), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Website