Edward Chodorov: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Edward Chodorov:

A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

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	Repository:	The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
	Creator:	Chodorov, Edward, 1904-1988
	Title:	Edward Chodorov Papers
	Dates:	1936-1997
	Extent:	22 boxes, 2 oversize boxes (9.87 linear feet)
	Abstract:	This collection contains Chodorov's notes, proposals, and scripts for produced plays, movies, and unrealized productions, including typescript drafts of Kind Lady and Oh Men! Oh Women!; business and personal correspondence, including some relating to the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s; other business and personal documents of Chodorov and his wife, including clippings, notes, travel documents, diaries, and address books; and a short story by Chodorov's brother Jerome, a television documentary proposal by his sister Isabelle Chase, and several versions of a play by his wife Rosemary.
	RLIN Record #:	None
	Language:	Most material in English.

Administrative Information

The Edward Chodorov Papers contain materials relating to his long career writing for film and stage. The collection is arranged in four series: I. Works & Related Files, ca. 1941-1993; II. Correspondence 1947-1997; III. Career-Related & Personal, 1936-1995; and IV. Works by Others.

Series I. Works & Related Files includes produced plays and movies, as well as notes, proposals, and scripts for many unrealized productions. Two of the works represented are Kind Lady and Oh Men! Oh Women, both produced on stage and in film. The bulk of the series contains typescript drafts of the works. Chodorov did not keep materials related to his early productions.

The correspondence in Series II. is primarily business related, although there are some personal letters. It is organized chronologically, with some folders also grouped by subject. There are several folders of notebooks, listing outgoing correspondence kept by Chodorov's wife, Rosemary. These record all of the mail, both business and personal, that the couple sent for the years 1970-1980. Of special interest in this series are folders relating to the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s. Chodorov was blacklisted in 1954 and spent the rest of his life trying to reclaim his position and benefits. Throughout the series there are numerous letters to the artist Al Hirschfeld and the journalist Abe Rosenthal, both personal friends of the Chodorovs.

Series III. Career-Related & Personal includes reference files of clippings and notes collected by Chodorov, personal photographs and official travel documents, and diaries. The diaries were kept by Rosemary Chodorov, beginning several years before she met Edward, and continuing after his death. The bulk of the diaries chronicle their daily activities and appointments, both personal and business. There are several folders of address books covering time they spent in England, Europe, and New York.

The works by others in Series IV. consist of a short story by Chodorov's brother Jerome (also a playwright), a television documentary proposal by his sister Isabelle Chase, and several versions of a play by Rosemary entitled "Harry's Whore."

Audio and video cassettes received with this collection were transferred to appropriate departments within the Ransom Center.

Index Terms

People

Chase, Isabelle.

Chodorov, Jerome.

Chodorov, Rosemary.

Hirschfeld, Al.

Rosenthal, Abe.

Subjects

Blacklisting of authors.

Diarists.

Screenwriters United States.

Document Types

Diaries.

Motion picture plays.

Plays.

Container List


Series I. Works & Related Files, ca. 1941-1993
		1932: Biographies and Other Events
Box	Folder
1	1		Typescript
	2-5		Typescript photocopies
	6	Britain's Traditional Americans, typescript photocopy
	7	The Clubwomen (unproduced play), typescript
	8	Colonel Lutz: The Two Boon Companions, The Chief and Hollywood, short story typescript
		Common Ground (play, 1946)
Box	Folder
1	9-10		Published play and photocopy
		The Crow and the Cradle, screenplay typescripts
Box	Folder
2	1		First draft, 10 May 1978
	2-5		Photocopies
	6	Cue for Passion (play, 1941), original cast list, photocopy
	7-8	Decision (play, 1946), published script and photocopies
		Dienbienphu
Box	Folder
2	9		Story treatment and legal papers, 1974-1976
	10		Typescript photocopy

3	1-3	Erskine (unproduced play), typescript photocopies
		Flanagan (presumed title, EC's final play)
Box	Folder
3	4		References, research materials
	5-7		Typescripts, heavily revised

4	1		Typescripts, cont'd
	2	"Give me YNFI," playlet, published version in Los Angeles Times, 26 February 1967
	3	Have I Found You, Julie?, synopsis typescript
		Hell on Wheels (alternate title, Saddle and Go)
Box	Folder
4	4-5		Typescripts
	6-7		Lyrics, songs, research materials
		The Irrational Knot (unproduced play)
Box	Folder
4	8-9		Typescript photocopies

5	1-3		Typescripts, cont'd
	4		Correspondence, contract draft
		Kind Lady (play, 1936; films, 1935 & 1951)
Box	Folder
5	5		Published play
	6-7		Business correspondence, ca. 1960-1981
	8		Contracts, misc. business correspondence
	9		Houston production, correspondence, clippings, 1985

6	1		Samuel French Inc., correspondence re royalties, IRS lien, 1985-1986
	2	Like a Singing Bird, screenplay, first draft continuity, 7 August 1947; correspondence
		Listen to the Mockingbird (play, 1958)
Box	Folder
6	3-6		Original version, typescript and photocopies
	7-8		Revised 1 February 1959
	9-10		Revised version, photocopy

7	1-2		Contracts, correspondence, notes
		The Lynching of Elizabeth Taylor (screenplay)
Box	Folder
7	3		Story pamphlets, film treatments
	4-7		Typescript photocopies
	8		Contracts, business correspondence, 1967-1993

8	1-2		Contracts, cont'd
	3	Mike Romanoff, typescript
		Monsieur Lautrec (play, 1959)
Box	Folder
8	4		Working copy, with notes
	5-6		"Auditions", scripts
	7		Pictures from an Exhibition (alternate title), typescript
		Naked to Walk the Night, screenplay
Box	Folder
8	8		Research materials
	9		Typescript photocopies

9	1		Typescript, cont'd
	2	"The Night They Made a Bum Out of Helen Hayes", television play script, photocopy
	3	Nora, typescript sections
		Oh Men! Oh Women! (play, 1955; film, 1957)
Box	Folder
9	4		"Behold a Wonder" (early title), play synopsis typescript
	5		Typescript
	6		Cuts from script
	7		Published play
	8		Movie royalties reports
	9	One Hot Night in Alabama, synopsis and references
	10	The Opening of a Door (revised version of Kind Lady; play, 1975), final draft typescript, 26 November 1975, program
	11	Paris in the Twenties, proposal
	12	Reflected Glory (screenplay, adaptation of play by George Kelly), typescript
	13	Senior Service, news show proposal

10	1-2	The Spa (play, 1957), published play and photocopy
	3-5	Sunday Father, typescripts, 28 July 1958
	6	Those Endearing Young Charms (play, 1943), published play photocopy
		Traffic in Innocents (screenplay)
Box	Folder
10	7		First script, 18 September 1963
	8		Correspondence re Chodorov vs. Ace Films Inc. and Onslow Square Corporations
	9	Two Boards and a Passion, typescript
		A Very Important Man Is Dead (stage adaptation of Hall of Mirrors by John Rowan Wilson
Box	Folder
11	1-2		Research materials, notes, typescript fragments
	3		Typescript sections
	4		Hall of Mirrors, heavily annotated, and clippings
	5	Miscellaneous writings, includes newspaper and playbill articles


Series II. Correspondence, 1947-1997
Box	Folder
11	6	1947-1949; re My Dear Watson
	7	1950-1956
	8	1954-1959, re passport problems
	9	1954-1997, re Hollywood blacklist

12	1	1957
	2	1958
	3	1959, misc. 1950s
	4	1960
	5	1960-1974, with Leo Kerz
	6	1961
	7	1962
	8	1963
	9	1964
	10	1965-1966, "Letters to do with motion pictures"
	11	1965-1968

13	1	1969
	2	1970
	3	1971-1973
	4	1974
	5	1975
	6	1976-1979, misc. 1970s
	7	1977-1980, teaching, California State University, Northridge; New York University; Showcase Theatre; Fairfield University, Westport
	8	1980-1988

14	1-4	1988, re death of Chodorov
	5-8	Collected correspondence: "Important notes and letters," business correspondence, and miscellaneous
		Outgoing, correspondence record books
Box	Folder
14	9		1970-1972
	10		1972-1975

15	1		1976-1980


Series III. Career-Related & Personal, 1936-1995
		Accounts, record books
Box	Folder
15	2		1969-1971
	3		1971-1978
	4		1979-1985
	5		1986-1990
	6	Address books

16	1-3	Address books, cont'd
	4	Chodorov, Wendy, birth certificate (copy), Christmas card, 1961
		Clippings
Box	Folder
16	5		About EC
	6		re Writer's Guild of America
	7-9	Contracts, various 1936-1967
	10	"Credits," résumé, works lists
		Diaries
			Prior to marriage
Box	Folder
16	11			1950-1951

17	1			1952-1954
	2		1955-1959
	3		1960-1965
	4		1965-1966
	5		1967
	6		1967-1969

18	1		1970-1972
	2		1973-1975
	3		1976-1978
	4		1979-1981
	5		1981-1982

19	1		1986-1988
			After Chodorov's death
Box	Folder
19	2			1989-1991
	3			1991-1995
	4	Financial documents, misc.
	5-6	Memorial for EC, correspondence, program information
	7	Obituaries of EC
		Photograph album
Box	Folder
19	8		Guide, with numbered photograph descriptions
	9		1-19

20	1		20-37
	2		38-54
	3		55-77
	4		78-96
	5		97-111, 113
	6		112, ID and membership cards
	7-9*	"References," clippings, notes, correspondence drafts, misc. (*oversize removed to box 23)

21	1-3	"References" cont'd
	4	Tax forms, 1950-1951, 1961-1963, 1965
	5*	Theatre scrapbook, reviews and clippings (*oversize scrapbook removed to box 24)
		Travel documents
Box	Folder
21	6		International driving permits, immunization records, registration cards
	7		Passports, EC and RC


Series IV. Works By Others
Box	Folder
21	8	Biographies of others that mention EC
	9	Chase, Isabelle (sister of EC). Career, television show proposal typescript
	10	Chodorov, Jerome. The World's Biggest Caper (And How It Grew), typescript
		Chodorov, Rosemary. Harry's Whore
Box	Folder
21	11		"Original script with original names," typescript (titled Eddie's Whore), 1973
	12		Script photocopy, 1978

22	1-2		Script photocopies, nd
	3		Directed reading script, EC copy
	4		Screenplay, typescript photocopy
	5		Correspondence, 1979-1983

23-24		Oversize

Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin

Research

Edward Chodorov:

A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Administrative Information

Acquisition:

Processed by:

Restrictions

Access:

Scope and Contents

Index Terms

People

Subjects

Document Types

Container List

Series I. Works & Related Files, ca. 1941-1993

Series II. Correspondence, 1947-1997

Series III. Career-Related & Personal, 1936-1995

Series IV. Works By Others