Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Processing Information
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Scope and Content
Items Removed from Collection
Items not Received
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Ralph Nelson papers
Creator:
Nelson, Ralph
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0875
Physical Description:
65.0 Linear Feet
(116 boxes, 25 oversize boxes, and 7 cartons)
Date (inclusive): 1940-1983
Abstract: Ralph Nelson (1916-1987) was an actor, director, producer, and playwright. He wrote the play
Mail call (winner of the 1943 John Golden prize and National Theatre awards), and won National Theatre awards for
Angels weep and
The wind is ninety. In 1956, he won a Emmy award for direction of
Requiem for a heavyweight (1956), and in 1964, the Golden Globes Humanitarian award for directing
Lilies of the field. The collection consists of television and motion picture shooting scripts, production files, films, tape recordings, phonograph
records, scrapbooks, prints, personal memorabilia, and related printed material of Ralph Nelson. Scripts include
Requiem for a heavyweight,
The director,
Father Goose, and
Lilies of the field.
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.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical 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], Ralph Nelson Papers (Collection Number 875). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ralph Nelson, 1964-83.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language
that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they
could be described more accurately, by filling out the form
located on our website:
Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special
Collections.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Nelson was born on August 12, 1916 in New York City; attended public school there; became an actor, director, producer, and
playwright; worked as an actor, 1933-41; directed for NBC-TV, 1948-49, and for CBS-TV, 1949-52; president of Rainbow Productions
in Los Angeles beginning in 1959; wrote the play
Mail call (winner of the 1943 John Golden prize and National Theatre awards); also won National Theatre awards for
Angels weep and
The wind is ninety; won 1956 Emmy award for direction of
Requiem for a heavyweight, and in 1964 the Golden Globes Humanitarian award for directing
Lilies of the field; also wrote screenplays for
The man in the funny suit,
The flight of the doves, and
The wrath of God; other films directed or produced by Nelson include
Father Goose,
Counterpoint, and
Charley; he died on December 21, 1987 in Santa Monica, California.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of television and motion picture shooting scripts, production files, films, tape recordings, phonograph
records, scrapbooks, prints, personal memorabilia, and related printed material of Ralph Nelson, motion picture and television
writer and director. Scripts include
Requiem for a heavyweight,
The director,
Father Goose, and
Lilies of the field.
Items Removed from Collection
Items Transferred to the Film and Television Archive, UCLA
-
Flight of the Doves (16mm print - 3 reels).
-
Charly (16mm print - 3 reels).
- "Requiem for a Heavyweight,"
Playhouse 90 (16mm print - 3 reels).
-
Soldier Blue (16mm print - 3 reels).
-
The Man in the Funny Suit (16mm print - 1 reel).
-
The Two Worlds of Charley Gordon (16mm print - 1 reel).
- Kinescope: Mama Kinescope of
Mama and The Carpenter.
- "The Richest Man In Bogota" (
Du Pont Show Of The Week).
-
The Outlaw's Reckoning.
- "The Brandenburg Gate" (
Motorola TV Hour).
- "The Trial of Captain Wirz" (
Climax).
- "This Happy Breed" (
Ford Star Jubilee) Reel no.2 only.
- "Hamlet" (
Du Pont Show Of The Week).
-
Cinderella.
- Stock Footage: Bergen, Norway (Fjord shots and Bonfire), London (Piccadilly Circus and Scotland Yard), View from Stavangerfjord
- seagulls, and Shots made in Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Items Cataloged
-
A portfolio of Hirschfeld: impressions of the play of the week (Limited Edition). Hirschfeld, Al (07-AFH-4287). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
-
Illustrations for The complete works of Shakespeare, edited by William Cullen Bryant. Philadelphia, c.1886. Illustrations by Felix Octavius Carr Darley, 1822-1888 (*** PR 2883
D249i). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
- Portfolio of William Blake's paintings for
Paradise Lost. New York,
Date: 1947
(**NC 1115 B58p). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
Items Withdrawn by Ralph Nelson
-
Mama series: "Along Came A Spider," "T.R.'S New Home," "He Jests at Scars" and Makeup test.
-
Requiem for a Heavyweight and
Man in a Funny Suit programs.
Items Sent to Music Library:
- Red Seal records by: Caruso, Tettrazini, Melba, Chaliapin, McCormack, etc. (78 rpm) Originals, at $3.00 each (65 total).
Items not Received
- One framed Lithograph by John Groth.
- Oil painting by Jack Smith for
Fate is the Hunter.
-
Lilies of the Field Script.
Taped Shows Not Received
-
Justice.
-
The Richest Man in Bogota (DuPont Show of the Week),
Date: June 1962.
- The New March of Dimes Presents
What About Linda? (a one hour television film),
Date: January 1961.
-
The Outlaw's Reckoning.
-
The Brandenburg Gate (ABC), One Hour Show.
-
The Trial of Captain Wirz.
-
This Happy Breed.
-
Hamlet.
-
Phone Call for Matt Quade (
Climax).
-
Mama Television Series: "Along Came a Spider", "Penny Candy", and "The Night the Animals Talked". [See Box 78].
-
T.R.'s New Home.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Television producers and directors -- California, Southern -- Archives.
Motion picture producers and directors -- California, Southern -- Archives.
Screenwriters -- United States -- Archives.
Television plays.
Film scripts.
Nelson, Ralph -- Archives