Dan Curry papers, 1967-2008, bulk 1987-1991

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Summary

Creators:
Curry, Dan, Curry, Dan, and Curry , Ubolvan C.
Abstract:
Dan Curry, born Daniel F. Curry, is an Emmy Award-winning fine artist and filmmaker. He is best known --- and has won seven Emmy awards for --- his work as Visual Effects Producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. This collection documents Curry's work as visual effects producer of these series, as well as his work on other motion picture and television projects. The bulk of the collection dates from 1987 to 1992, and includes collected screenplays, montage storyboards, memos, recorded material, and Curry's personal notes and hand-drawn illustrations.
Extent:
7.6 linear feet (12 boxes), 162 audiovisual carriers (72 videocassettes, 90 film strips), and 2 linear feet (2 unprocessed boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Dan Curry papers (Collection 2294). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

With material dating between 1967 and 2008, this collection documents Dan Curry's work as visual effects producer of several Star Trek series, as well as his work on other motion picture and television projects. The bulk of the collection dates from 1987 to 1992, during which time Curry was first visual effects supervisor, then visual effects producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation. As a result, this collection's strength lies in the screenplays, montage storyboards, and memos collected by Curry as well as his personal notes and hand-drawn illustrations pertaining to this series. The collection also contains similar, although a lesser amount of, material for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Most of the recorded material in the collection includes element reels, comp reels, and episode cuts of The Next Generation, but Voyager and Enterprise are also represented. Finally, the collection also consists of scripts, screenplays, and other records documenting Curry's work on various film and television projects.

Biographical / historical:

Dan Curry, born Daniel F. Curry, is an Emmy Award-winning fine artist and filmmaker. Born in New York City in 1946, he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a major in Fine Arts and a minor in Theater. Upon completion of his degree, he joined the Peace Corps and served in Northeast Thailand building small damns and bridges. After his service, he stayed in Asia as a freelance artist where he accepted numerous film, production design, and architectural commissions, a highlight being a commission from the King of Thailand to be a production designer for the Royal Ball.

Upon his return to the United States, Curry worked for a time as a biomedical illustrator and a teacher of fine arts at a small college in New York before attending graduate school at Humboldt State University for a Master's degree in Fine Arts. Upon completion of this degree in the late 1970s, Curry began work in the entertainment industry directing and supervising visual effects, title design, matte painting, and martial arts and weapons design among other elements of the filmmaking process. He is best known – and has won seven Emmy awards for – his work as Visual Effects Producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Additionally, he directed an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993), and occasionally acted in short films and an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). He continues to work on visual effects for various motion picture and television projects while maintaining an online gallery of his artwork.

Acquisition information:
This collection was donated by Daniel F. Curry and Ubolvan C. Curry in November 2015.
Processing information:

Processed by Sabrina Ponce in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) under the supervision of Courtney Dean, 2016.

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Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in four series primarily by project type, and therein chronologically. Files were given the title of the specific Star Trek episode, motion picture, or television project to which their contents relate. The general arrangement reflects Dan Curry's original order where present. The series and subseries of this collection are organized as follows:

  • Series 1: Star Trek, circa 1987-2002
    • Subseries 1.1: Star Trek: The Next Generation, circa 1987-1994
    • Subseries 1.2: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, circa 1993-1997
    • Subseries 1.3: Star Trek: Voyager, circa 1994-2000
    • Subseries 1.4: Star Trek: Enterprise, circa 2001-2004
  • Series 2: Star Trek VHS Tapes, circa 1967-2005
  • Series 3: Motion Picture Projects, circa 1988-1992
  • Series 4: Television Projects, 1990-2008

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains processed audiovisual materials. All requests to access digital materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

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.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the 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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Dan Curry papers (Collection 2294). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website