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Ardrey (Robert) papers
LSC.0957
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Robert Ardrey papers
Creator:
Ardrey, Robert
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0957
Physical Description:
1.6 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1935-1960
Abstract: Robert Ardrey (1908-1970) was born in Chicago, Illinois. He studied the natural and social sciences at University of Chicago
and lectured on anthropology for two years, but later found himself more interested in drama. He became a playwright and a
Hollywood screenwriter. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings, ephemera and scripts.
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.
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.
[Identification of item], Robert Ardrey Papers (Collection 957). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Helen Ardrey, 1963.
Processed by Brooke Whiting, October 1968, reprocessed by Doug Johnson, November 2016.
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interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
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UCLA Catalog Record ID:
994622183606533
Robert Ardrey was born October 16, 1908 in Chicago; studied natural and social sciences at University of Chicago and lectured
on anthropology for two years, but later found himself more interested in drama, where he was influenced by Thornton Wilder;
his first plays had brief runs, but led to his becoming a Hollywood screenwriter, 1938; wrote film scripts, novels, and plays,
including
Thunder Rock, which was successful in London and filmed in Hollywood; returned to the study of anthropology in 1955, and later produced
four works:
African Genesis (1961),
The Territorial Imperative (1966),
The Social Contract (1970), and
The Hunting Hypothesis (1976) all arguing that man was innately aggressive creature; continued to write screenplays, including
Khartoum; finished autobiography shortly before his death in Kalk Bay, South Africa in 1980.
Collection consists of letters from Ardrey to his wife and children, business correspondence, theater and motion picture scripts,
and financial records. Of particular interest are several letters written by Ardrey during the era of the Hollywood blacklist,
in which he refuted allegations that he was a Communist. There is also a copy of a long letter Ardrey wrote to Elia Kazan
just before Kazan's appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Folders are in the order determined by the previous archivist.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Screenwriters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives.
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
Film scripts.
Ardrey, Robert--Archives.