Purchase, 1994 (R13127)
Open for research
Stephen Mielke, 2001; Laura Parker, 1995
Audrey Wood was born February 28, 1905, in New York City to William Wood, a theatre manager, and Ida Gaubatz. Audrey grew up with constant exposure to the art and business of vaudeville and theatre through her father's work. She read and selected plays for her father while still in high school, briefly attended college, and then returned home to care for her mother after her father's death.
In 1927 she took a position as a script reader at the Century Play Company and eventually became head of the department. In 1937 she opened her own agency to represent playwrights and soon after formed a business partnership with William Liebling (1894-1969), a successful agent for actors and director. They married in 1938.
Constantly looking for talented new writers, Wood contacted Tennessee Williams in 1939 and offered her services as an agent. Wood helped guide and focus Williams' writing and under her care he created some of his greatest works, including
During the 1940s and early 1950s, the Liebling-Wood agency represented some of the top talent in the industry. In addition to Tennessee Williams, their client list included writers William Inge and Carson McCullers; actors Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Paul Newman; actresses Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Natalie Wood; and directors Elia Kazan and Joshua Logan.
In 1954 William Liebling retired and the Liebling-Wood agency was purchased by the Music Corporation of America (MCA), where Wood continued her work as an agent. In the mid 1960s she taught playwright workshops at several universities and later received an honorary PhD from Florida State University. Although her professional relationship with Tennessee Williams ended in the late 1960s, she continued to find and develop new writers such as Preston Jones and Arthur Kopit.
In 1981, after completing the manuscript for her autobiography, Wood suffered a stroke, leaving her in a coma that eventually led to her death in 1985.
Correspondence, photographs, business and financial records, playscripts, appointment books, clippings, awards, theatrical memorabilia, and scrapbooks document the personal life and professional activities of literary representative Audrey Wood, her husband and business partner, William Liebling, and their clients. The papers are organized into three series: I. Client Files, 1940-1982, undated (19 boxes), II. Subject Files, 1863, 1900-1984, undated (18 boxes, 15 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder), and III. Financial, 1937-1981, undated (21 boxes).
The papers were previously housed at the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Centre in Waterford, Connecticut, and consist of personal files from Audrey Wood and William Liebling's New York and Connecticut residences, business files from the Liebling-Wood office dating 1937-1954, and files created during her employment from 1954 onwards at the Music Corporation of America (MCA), and its successor organizations Ashley-Steiner Agency and International Creative Management (ICM). The majority of papers are in English, with a small amount of foreign language materials relating mostly to foreign rights and productions of plays.
The earliest material, dating from the mid 1800s, consists of photographs and personal correspondence and records of Wood's family. Business records of her father's work as a theatre manager reflect Wood's early exposure to and interest in stage productions, and include clippings and photographs of late nineteenth and early twentieth century actors, actresses, and plays.
The bulk of the papers date from the late 1930s through the early 1980s. The largest concentration of material is located in the Subject Files Series and includes 10 boxes of photographs as well as numerous lobby cards and posters for various plays and motion pictures. Also in this series are family records, William Liebling's personal records, and the typescript draft of Audrey Wood's autobiography, written with Max Wilk.
Wood is best known for her long, sometimes strained, tenure as Tennessee Williams' agent. This relationship is well documented in the Client Files Series with large amounts of correspondence, both with Williams and with others, regarding his works. Also present are manuscript fragments, contracts, and box office statements for many of his productions, including
Woods' husband, William Liebling, also a well known agent, represented actors and directors. Records relating to his clients are found in the Client Files Series and in the Liebling-Wood Agency files in the Subject Files Series. His personal records and correspondence, including a large amount of correspondence with U.S. Senator Jacob Javits, are filed under Liebling in the Subject Files.
Incoming, outgoing, and third party correspondence found throughout the papers provide great insight into the activities of Wood, Liebling, and Williams. An index to all the letters received by these three is located at the end of this finding aid.
Client files are arranged alphabetically and consist mainly of correspondence and manuscript materials. The majority of the files are for Audrey Wood clients, although several William Liebling clients, such as Pat Hingle and Martha Gellhorn, are present. Some of the files, such as those for Duke Mitchell, were not actual clients of Wood or Liebling and contain materials sent to them in hopes of gaining their help or representation.
The bulk of the series consists of Tennessee Williams materials. Several boxes contain business correspondence between Wood and others about foreign productions of his plays and requests for publishing or presentation of various works. Much of the correspondence is addressed to Williams "in care of" Audrey Wood and was never actually seen by Williams.
Personal correspondence between Wood and Williams dates from Wood's 1939 letter of introduction to Williams offering her services as an agent, through the late 1970s. The majority of the exchanges of correspondence between Wood and Williams consists of photocopies of the originals, which can be found in the Tennessee Williams Collection at the Ransom Center. Correspondents with both Williams and Wood include Hugh Beaumont, Elia Kazan, Jo Mielziner, Irene Selznick, and Williams' mother, brother, and father.
Within the Williams section material is filed under the titles of his works, including correspondence, contracts, box office statements, and clippings. Small amounts of manuscript fragments and outlines are located with
Subject files comprise the largest series in the papers, contain the greatest variety of materials, and span the longest time period. Folders are arranged alphabetically by topic. The original folder titles used by Wood were retained when evident. Materials filed under the headings "Appointment books," "Family," "Liebling, William," "Photographs," "Theatrical memorabilia" and "Works," had no original folder titles and were assigned these headings.
Audrey Wood's family records contain a large number of photographs and personal documents, such as naturalization papers and marriage certificates, of the Wood and Gaubatz families. These are the earliest records in the papers and include her father's records as a manager of the Broadway and Palace theatres in the early 1900s. During this period, Ms. Wood collected reviews, playbills, and photographs of actors and actresses associated with her father's business. These materials, plus lobby cards and posters from works by her clients form the bulk of the "Theatrical memorabilia" files. Photographs are located with the "Casting" materials due to their overlapping dates and similar nature to the existing photographs Wood filed under that heading.
William Liebling's personal records include a large amount of correspondence, predominantly relating to several United Nations and U.S. government associated theatrical ventures he promoted in the late 1950s and 1960s. His correspondence with Jacob Javits, Hubert Humphry, and other politicians reveal his thoughts on Vietnam, crime, race relations, and other political and social topics. Also in his records are photographs, clippings, and official documents associated with his service in the U.S. Army during World War I.
The "Liebling-Wood Agency" records focus mainly on legal and administrative operations and include client lists, literary property lists, and contracts. The majority of the agency records consist of correspondence files, much of it between Wood and Liebling.
Typescript drafts, notes, and research materials for Audrey Wood's memoirs provide in-depth biographical information and anecdotal stories about numerous clients. Other works by Wood include articles about her career intended for magazine or newspaper publication.
The materials in Series III include both personal and business financial records for Audrey Wood and William Liebling. The bulk of the records date from the 1950s to the 1980s. A large portion of the series documents Wood's and Liebling's numerous stock investments and theatrical production investments. Annual financial reports as well as income tax returns track their business success from the late 1930s to the early 1980s.
Ledgers and check carbons document Liebling-Wood office expenses and royalty payments to clients. Bills and receipts document their business travel and entertainment expenditures and day-to-day purchases of clothing, appliances and other items. Records on their home and rental property in Westport, Connecticut, are also located here.
Correspondence is found throughout the series. General Correspondence is grouped together and includes topics such as utility, credit card, and bank statements; solicitations for donations to charitable causes; and letters to friends regarding loans.
Also included are probate and appraisal records for William Liebling's estate, insurance records, salary pay slips, and payments for Audrey Wood's medical expenses after her stroke.
Names in