Finding aid of the J. Max Turner Writings
Michael P. Palmer
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90007
Phone: (213) 741-0094
Fax: (213) 741-0220
Email: askone@onearchives.org
URL: http://www.onearchives.org
© 2008
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.
Finding aid of the J. Max Turner Writings
Collection number: Coll2008-073
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
Los Angeles,
California
- Processed by:
- Michael P. Palmer
- Date Completed:
- December 19, 2008
- Encoded by:
- Michael P. Palmer
© 2008 ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.
Processing this collection has been funded by generous grants from
the J. Max Turner Trust, William C. Hein, Trustee, and the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission.
Descriptive Summary
Title: J. Max Turner writings
Dates: circa
1954-2007
Bulk Dates: 1976-1999
Collection number: Coll2008-073
Creator:
Turner, J. Max,
1922-2007
Collection Size: 3 archive cartons + 2 archive
half-cartons 1.7 linear feet
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: This collection consists of the writings,
1954-2006, of J. Max Turner (1922-2007). The materials include drafts and final
paper and electronic versions of novels, and final and draft scripts, as well
as performance materials (programs, photographs, and newspaper reviews) of
plays.
Languages: Languages represented in the
collection: English
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Publication Rights
Researchers wishing to publish material from this collection must obtain
permission in writing from ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, which holds
the copyright to the material.
Preferred Citation
J. Max Turner writings, Coll2008-073, ONE National Gay and Lesbian
Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the J. Max Turner Trust, William C. Hein, Trustee, December 2,
2008.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Michael P. Palmer, December 19, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded by generous grants from the
J. Max Turner Trust, William C. Hein, Trustee, and the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission.
Biography
J. Max Turner was born in St. Charles, a small village just west of
Saginaw, Michigan, on July 25, 1922, the son of a coalminer, who abandoned the
family when Turner was a young child. He grew up in Saginaw, graduating from
Arthur Hill High School in 1940. He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy, following
the lead of his four brothers, all of whom were in the merchant marine or the
naval reserve. He continued to serve after the United States entered World War
II, but was mustered out when the navy established a policy that no two members
of a family could serve in the same unit. He later enlisted in the army,
participating in the Normandy invasion and in the Pacific. Early in the 1940s,
despite the fact he had an active homosexual sex life, he married, converting
to Catholicism to do so. After Turner was mustered out, he and his wife
hitchhiked west, and at some time hired on with the Drew Traveling Carnival.
They then returned to Saginaw, where their two sons were born; shortly
afterwards they divorced in a messy court case, his wife accusing Turner of
homosexuality. After the divorce, Turner again took to the road. In Chicago he
associated with members of the Ballet Theatre; in San Francisco he worked for
some time for the madam, Sally Stanford, as one of her "boys", and became
friends with the "male actress" Charles Pierce. He also worked in Morocco as a
clerk for an international construction company before returning once again to
Saginaw, where he worked as a salesman. In 1961, he became manager of the
ladies' shoe department at a department store in Huntington, West Virginia,
where he met William C. Hein, the local district manager for Chevrolet Motors.
The two became partners in 1962, remaining together until Turner's death. Later
that year, Turner and Hein moved to Charleston, West Virginia, where Turner
opened a record shop; for six years the couple also operated a successful
gay-nineties-themed eatery, "Belle's Sandwich Parlor and Public Pub". When
bootleg tapes caused record sales to wane in the 1970s, Turner closed the
record shop and in 1979 the couple opened a lampshade and lamp repair business.
They moved to Tampa, Florida, in 1984, where they also opened a lampshade store
until Turner retired in 1989.
Turner began writing in the early 1950s: his earliest known datable
composition, the poem "Lonely Lover", was written during his time in San
Francisco, and was published in 1954 as "The Tortures of Being Alone". Later,
he was bitten by the acting bug, and for a brief period left his job as a shoe
salesman in Saginaw to become an aspiring actor in New York. He wrote his first
play,
Step Down Into Hell, in the early 1960s; it
was staged by the theater department of West Virginia State College, receiving
decent reviews and attendance. During the 1970s he wrote several novels, three
of which were eventually published in 1999. His humorous book,
Pathetically Yours, Sara Muskoil, was
published in 1977. Turner and Hein had been involved in the response to the
AIDS crisis since the very beginning, and in 1993, after the death of a
particularly close friend, Turner wrote a play,
It Happens! A local production was favorably
received, and from that time until his death Turner concentrated his efforts on
writing plays combating negative stereotypes of gays and lesbians and showing
instead the fullness, healthy humor, and normalcy of GLBT life. Several of his
theater works had local productions, and one,
Mama's Ghost, also had an off-Broadway
run.
Turner died in Tampa on February 26, 2007, at the age of 84; his
survivors included Bill Hein, his partner of 44 years.
Source: J. Max Turner Writings, Coll2008-073, ONE National Gay &
Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists almost entirely of Turner's writings, in
particular his plays. The materials include drafts and final paper and
electronic copies of novels, and final and draft scripts, as well as
performance materials (programs, photographs, and newspaper reviews) of plays.
The collection is divided into six series: (1) Personal, (2) Novels, (3) Plays,
(4) Other Writings, (5) Electronic Media, and (6) Publications.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Drama
Fiction
Gay dramatists
Gay fiction
Gay theater
Humorous plays
Plays
Theater
Turner, J. Max, 1922-2007
Box 1 : 1-2
Series 1.
Personal
1965-2007
Physical Description: 2 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains materials of a personal nature relating to
Turner, including a resume, a biographical account by his partner, Bill Hein,
newspaper clippings, and a photograph of Turner and Hein. The series also
includes certificates of copyright of various of Turner's works.
Box 1 :
1
Biographical materials
circa
1975-2007
Box 1 : 3-9 ; 2 : 1-5
Series 2.
Novels
1976-1999
Physical Description: 12 folders.
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series consists of typescripts and page proofs of Turner's
novels, in particular the three works published in 1999 by Kalinke Books.
Box 1 : 4-5
I Might Have Died Never
Knowing
April 1977
Physical Description: 2 folders.
Box 1 : 6-7
Typescript
circa 1999
Physical Description: 2 folders.
Box 1 : 8
Corrected version
October 21,
1999
Box 1 : 9 ; 2 : 1
Draft
1976-1991
Physical Description: 2 folders.
Box 2 : 4-5
Within the Circle
circa 1999
Box 2 : 4
Circle of Friends
circa 1999
Box 2 : 5
Kalinke Books. Page proofs
1999
Physical Description: Incomplete.
Box 2 : 6-10 ; 3 1-11 ; 4 :
1-3
Series 3.
Plays
1966-2006
Physical Description: 19 folders.
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series consists of materials relating to Turner's plays,
including draft and final scripts, newspaper reviews and other clippings,
programs, photographs, and other production materials, including materials for
the off-Broadway run of Mama's Ghost.
Box 2 : 7
Don't Tie Your Public Hairs In A
Knot
. Script
December 2006
Box 2 : 8-10
A Harvest of Shadows
2002-2003
Box 2 : 8
Script. Original
November 15,
2002
Box 3 : 1
Script
1993
Physical Description: 2 copies.
Box 3 : 2
Production materials
1994,
2006
Box 3 : 5
Production materials
2002
Box 3 : 7-8
Script
1995
Physical Description: 3 copies.
Box 3 : 9
Script. Stage Manager's Copy
1995
Box 3 : 10
Production materials
1996,
1998
Box 3 : 11
Script
1997
Physical Description: 2 copies.
Box 4 : 1
Production materials and correspondence
1997-2000
Box 4 : 2
Paying Respect. Script
1995
Box 4 : 3
Step Down Into Hell.
Program
circa 1966
Box 4 :
4-6
Series 4.
Other Writings
circa
1954-1980
Physical Description: 3 folders.
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains Turner's other writings, including his earliest
datable work, the poem Lonely Lover, three short stories apparently written
around the year 1974, and the outline for a musical spoof written about
1980.
Box 4 : 4
I Saw, I Came, I Went, She Died (The Ted
Bundy Jollies). A Bad New Musical
circa 1980
Box 4 : 5
Lonely Lover (published as
The Tortures of Being
Alone
)
circa 1954
Scope and Content Note
Poetry.
Box 4 : 6
Short Stories
circa 1974
Physical Description: 3 items.
Box 5 : 1-13
Series 5.
Electronic Media
1996-2007
Physical Description: 13 items.
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series consists of computer diskettes and CD-ROMs containing
electronic versions prepared by Turner of his plays and novels. The DVD-ROM was
prepared by ONE Archives staff, and contains copies of all the files on the
computer diskettes.
Box 5 : 1-9
Plays and Novels. Computer diskettes
1996-2007
Physical Description: 9 diskettes : 3.5 inches : 1.44 MB.
Box 5 : 10
Plays and Novels. DVD-ROM (copies of box 5, items
1-9)
December 2008
Physical Description: 1 DVD-ROM.
Scope and Content Note
Copies of Box 5, Items 1-9.
Box 5 : 11
Kalinke Books.
JerryO. CD-ROM
October 1999
Physical Description: 1 CD-ROM.
Box 5 : 12
Kalinke Books.
Seven Valleys. CD-ROM
1999
Physical Description: 1 CD-ROM.
Box 5 : 13
Kalinke Books.
Within the Circle.
CD-ROM
1999
Physical Description: 1 CD-ROM.
Box 4 : 7-10
Series 6.
Publications
1954-1999
Physical Description: 4 volumes.
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series consists of published versions of four of Turner's
works: his poem,
The Tortures of Being Alone (originally
titled
Lonely Lover), the comic
Pathetically Yours, Sarah Muskoil, the
play,
It Happens!, and his novel,
Within the Circle.
Box 4 : 7
It Happens! A drama about love &
AIDS
1993
Scope and Content Note
Play.
Box 4 : 8
Pathetically Yours, Sara
Muskoil
1977
Scope and Content Note
Humor.
Box 4 : 9
The Tortures of Being
Alone
1954
Scope and Content Note
Poetry.
Box 4 : 10
Within the Circle
1999
Scope and Content Note
Novel.
