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Finding aid of the Judd Marmor Papers
Coll2007-009
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Title: Judd Marmor papers
Dates: 1943-1998
Collection number: Coll2007-009
Creator:
Marmor, Judd, 1910-2003
Collection Size: 4 archive boxes.
1.7 linear feet.
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: Correspondence, journal articles, drafts,
speeches, notes, legal papers, and subject files created by Los Angeles
psychiatrist Judd Marmor (1910-2003), a leader in the successful movement to
remove homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association's
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders
, in the course of his research on homosexuality.
Materials include several handwritten letters from Evelyn Hooker, as well as
legal affidavits, testimony, and other materials documenting Marmor's role as
an expert witness on behalf of gay plaintiffs--most often to counter the
testimony of Charles W. Socarides, Paul Cameron, and Harold M. Voth--in several
legal cases, most importantly Baker v. Wade in Texas, and Evans v. Romer in
Colorado. The collection also includes several photographs of Marmor, together
with leading activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny, and masked gay
psychiatrist "Dr. H. Anonymous" at the May 1972 annual convention of the
American Psychiatric Association.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection: English
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Box #, folder #, Judd Marmor papers, Coll2007-009, ONE National Gay and
Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Donor and date of gift unknown.
Formerly boxes 103-226 and 104-36. Collection processed by Michael P.
Palmer,
April 18, 2007
Processing this collection has been funded
by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.
Judd Marmor was born in London, England, in 1910, the son of a Yiddish
scholar. He grew up in Chicago, and later moved to New York, where he supported
himself through Columbia College with odd jobs and debating scholarships. He
earned his medical degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in
1933, and went into private psychiatric practice in New York. In 1946, after
serving in the Navy during World War II, he moved to Los Angeles, where he
gained prominence as an analyst to Hollywood celebrities. He was also widely
respected as an analyst and scholar, publishing more than 350 papers and
writing or editing six books, including the classic text
Modern Psychoanalysis, first
published in 1968. He served as director of the psychiatry division at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from 1965 to 1972. From 1972 to 1980 he was Franz
Alexander Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Southern California, and
from 1980 to 1985 adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of
California at Los Angeles.
Marmor had begun to treat homosexual patients who wanted to change their
orientation in the 1940s. Although he originally held the belief that
homosexuality was an illness, his clinical experiences with gay patients and
later his social interactions with gays who were happy with their lives and
emotionally well-adjusted convinced him that homosexuality was not
pathological. His view was supported and influenced by the Evelyn Hooker's
groundbreaking study, published in 1957, which found no measurable
psychological difference between heterosexual and homosexual men. Marmor asked
Hooker to write a chapter for his first book on homosexuality,
Sexual Inversion, published in
1965; she in turn recruited him for the National Institute of Mental Health
Task Force on Homosexuality in 1969. The two became close colleagues and
friends, often lecturing together.
The evolution of Marmor's view of homosexuality as a normal condition
coincided with the growth of gay and lesbian activism. At the 1972 annual
convention of the American Psychiatric Association in Dallas, Marmor, then Vice
President of the organization, participated in a dramatic presentation with
fellow psychiatrist Robert Seidenburg, gay activist Franklin Kameny, lesbian
activist Barbara Gittings, and a gay psychiatrist wearing a mask and
identifying himself as "Dr. H. Anonymous". The following year, Marmor played a
critical role in the campaign to remove homosexuality from the American
Psychiatric Association's
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders
. The issue was so controversial that it was placed
before the full membership, which adopted the resolution to remove
homosexuality from the
Manual in a split vote in
December 1973. The removal of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders
was one of the single most important events in the modern history of the gay
movement, and by taking away part of the basis for disparaging and belittling
gays and lesbians was crucial in breaking down other barriers.
Marmor continued to see patients until shortly before his death. He also
served for many years as advisor to Abigail Van Buren, who wrote the "Dear
Abby" newspaper column and was one of the first national figures to support gay
rights. He and his wife were also serious collectors of art, lending and giving
many artworks to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. He died in Los Angeles at the age of 93, on
December 16, 2003, a day after the 30th anniversary of the American Psychiatric
Association's vote to remove homosexuality from its
Diagnostic Manual.
Source: Obituary by Elaine Woo,
Los Angeles Times, December 20,
2003, p. B20.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection comprises correspondence, journal articles, drafts,
speeches, notes, legal papers, and subject files created by Marmor in the
course of his research on homosexuality. The majority of Marmor?s publications
represented in the collection date from the early 1970s, when he was a leader
in the successful movement to remove homosexuality from the American
Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders. The correspondence includes several handwritten letters from his
colleague and friend, Evelyn Hooker, as well as offprints of several of her
pioneering articles. The collection also contains legal affidavits, testimony,
correspondence, and other materials documenting Marmor?s role as an expert
witness on behalf of gay plaintiffs--most often to counter the testimony of
Charles W. Socarides, Paul Cameron, and Harold M. Voth--in several legal cases,
most importantly Baker v. Wade in Texas, and Evans v. Romer in Colorado. The
collection includes several photographs of Marmor, together with leading
activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny, and masked gay psychiatrist "Dr.
H. Anonymous" at the May 1972 annual convention of the American Psychiatric
Association.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Actions and defenses--Baker v. Wade
Actions and defenses--Evans v. Romer
Baker v. Wade
Cameron, Paul (Paul M.)
Evans v. Romer
Homosexuality--Law and
legislation--Colorado
Homosexuality--Law and legislation--Texas
Homosexuality--Law and legislation--United
States
Homosexuality--Psychological aspects
Homosexuality--Research
Homosexuality--Social Aspects
Hooker, Evelyn Caldwell
Marmor, Judd, 1910-2003
Socarides, Charles W.,
1922-