Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- William Wolf Melnitz papers
- Dates:
- ca. 1920-1989
- Creators:
- Melnitz, William W.
- Abstract:
- William Wolf Melnitz (1900-1989) was a theater director in Europe (1923-1939), a professor in the Theater Arts Department at UCLA (1947-60), author, and the first Dean of the College of Fine Arts at UCLA (1961-67). In 1967/68 he became a Professor of Communications and Director of Performing Arts in the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania and later, a Professor of Theater and Director of the Max Reinhardt Archive at SUNY Binghamton (1969 to 1973). The collection consists of Melnitz's correspondence, research notes, drafts, books and theater reviews, education and employment documents, photos, playbills, production notes, course material, lectures, materials about Max Reinhardt and other material relating to Melnitz's career.
- Extent:
- 17 linear ft. (1 document box. 11 cartons)
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], William Wolf Melnitz Papers (Collection 516). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection consists of correspondence, research notes, drafts, books and theater reviews, education and employment documents, photos, playbills, production notes, course material, lectures, materials about Max Reinhardt and other material relating to Melnitz' career as theater director, student, professor, author and university administrator.
Portions of the collection are in German.
- Biographical / historical:
-
William Wolf Melnitz was born in Cologne, Germany on April 14, 1900; he studied Theater Arts at the universities of Cologne and Berlin (1920-23); was director in various German theaters (Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Frankfurt/Main, Kassel, Münster) from ca. 1923 to 1935; then became director in Vienna, Austria (1935-38) and later, director in St. Gallen, Switzerland (1938-39). He emigrated to New York City and married Ruth Alice Beyer Nathanson in 1939, then moved to Los Angeles to work with Max Reinhardt (1941). He started at UCLA as a teaching assistant and lecturer in the Department of Germanic Languages (1942-ca. 1947), then received his MA (1943) and Ph.D. (1947) in German from UCLA. He became instructor, professor and Chair of new Theater Arts Department at UCLA, where he taught courses in theater history, German Expressionism, Brecht, Reinhardt; worked with Kenneth Macgowan to add Film to the Department (1947-61); during this period, he co-authored two plays with Kenneth Macgowan, The living stage (1956) and Golden ages of the theater (1959). He was Acting Dean of the new College of Fine Arts at UCLA in 1960/61 and started the Theatre Group with John Houseman around 1960 as well. From 1961 to 1967 he was the first Dean of the College of Fine Arts, UCLA, which was expanded to include the Dance Department; in 1967/68 he was Professor of Communications and Director of Performing Arts, The Annenberg School, University of Pennsylvania; was Professor Emeritus of UCLA in 1968/69 and was Professor of Theater and Director of the Max Reinhardt Archive at SUNY Binghamton from 1969 to 1973. Melnitz died on January 12, 1989.
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- ©2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2014-05-27T14:33-0700 ; supplementary encoding and revision by Caroline Cubé using Notetab Pro.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary 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], William Wolf Melnitz Papers (Collection 516). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988