From Spurs to Screen: Wyoming Boy Makes It Big In Hollywood

Posted on January 24, 2014 by ahcadmin
20140124124139720_0003

The cast and crew (possibly) of the silent film “The Adventures of Peg o’ the Ring” (1916). Wally Wales is to the right of the woman at center (man with the taller hat). Francis Ford (director) is on the far right, and John Ford (assistant director) is to the left of the woman. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 1, Folder 4. UW American Heritage Center.

Sometimes those “film cowboys” featured in Westerns in the 1920s-1950s were actually real cowboys. One such authentic cowboy-turned-Hollywood star is Wally Wales (also known as Hal Taliaferro). Wally Wales was born Floyd Taliaferro Alderson in 1895 in Sheridan, Wyoming.  His first job was working on a ranch owned by the Wyoming governor and senator, John B. Kendrick, where he slept under a blanket of stars and sang cowboy songs around a campfire. He later moved to Montana with his two younger brothers. Known as “Bones,” “Big Bones,” and “Little Bones,” the three brothers operated a ranch called “Bones Brothers Ranch” near Birney, Montana (now on the National Register of Historic Places). The site was immortalized by a short story in “Nomad’s Land” by Mary Roberts Rinehart, written after she had visited the ranch.

Wranglers at the Bones Brothers Ranch. From L to R: Little Bones, Gene Wood, Vern Thompson, Don Bard, Henry Bullen, Irving, Jr., Big Bones (Wales not pictured), undated. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 3, Folder 6. UW American Heritage Center.

Wranglers at the Bones Brothers Ranch. From L to R: Little Bones, Gene Wood, Vern Thompson, Don Bard, Henry Bullen, Irving, Jr., Big Bones (Wales not pictured), undated. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 3, Folder 6. UW American Heritage Center.

While his brothers continued to run the ranch, in 1915 Wales set off for different pastures. He worked briefly as a stage driver in Yellowstone National Park. He then went to Billings, where he saw a Western being filmed. Highly amused by the film cowboys, Wales decided to head to Hollywood to try his luck at the silver screen. He first worked on the Universal Studios ranch, carrying water to horses. He got a few bit parts, then left for a stint in the Army. He came back to Hollywood, but continued with minimal luck. After years of trying to make it big, he finally moved to Arizona where he got a job as an oil worker. Right at this time, producer Lester F. Scott, Jr. decided he’d like Wales to star in his Westerns. He had to go down to Arizona in person to convince Wales to return to Hollywood. Wales agreed, and ended up making over thirty Westerns for Scott over a three year period. In fact, it was Scott who gave him the stage name Wally Wales – because Wales resembled both the silent film star Wally Reid and the then Prince of Wales (Edward VIII).

Still from the silent Western Tearin’ Loose (1925), starring Wally Wales and Jean Arthur. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 2, Folder 1. UW American Heritage Center.

Still from the silent Western Tearin’ Loose (1925), starring Wally Wales and Jean Arthur. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 2, Folder 1. UW American Heritage Center.

Wales ended up appearing in 220 films between 1921 and 1964, successfully transitioning from silent films to sound motion pictures. Around 1936, Wales changed his stage name to Hal Taliaferro.

Wally Wales’s make-up kit, complete with mustache drawer. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 7. UW American Heritage Center.

Wally Wales’s make-up kit, complete with mustache drawer. Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 7. UW American Heritage Center.

Wales never lived the true celebrity lifestyle, preferring to stay at home, practice his stunts, and train for his films. He also enjoyed drawing and sketching. He took great pride in his cowboy roots, and although his Hollywood career began by watching and laughing at the “film cowboys,” he feared he was losing his authentic cowboy credibility. After “making it big,” he recalls a conversation he had with an old, “true” cowboy. After proclaiming that he was a former cowboy himself, the old cowboy looked at him and replied that he was “no cowboy…just one of them dude movie cowboys.” Wales said that he would have felt better if the cowboy had punched him in the nose. Wales died in 1980, in Sheridan.

Publicity book for Breed of the West (1930). Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 5, Folder 1. UW American Heritage Center.

Publicity book for Breed of the West (1930). Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 5, Folder 1. UW American Heritage Center.

Wally Wales in a publicity photo for Breed of the West (1930). Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 2, Folder 4. UW American Heritage Center.

Wally Wales in a publicity photo for “Breed of the West” (1930). Wally Wales papers, #5643, Box 2, Folder 4. UW American Heritage Center.

The American Heritage Center has the papers of Wally Wales. The collection contains mainly stills, advertising, and publicity materials for films in which Wales appeared. It also contains photographs of the Rocky Mountain West, including Yellowstone National Park, Thermopolis, and the Bones’ Brothers Ranch in Montana; a diary and sketchbook from a trip he took to the Bahamas; and a make-up kit complete with a mustache drawer. Also included in the collection is a neat series of cabinet card photographs featuring late 19th century stage stars.

The collection is full of fascinating photographs, clippings, and other interesting items documenting the life of this Wyoming native-turned-Western film star.

Posted in Hollywood history, motion picture history, newly processed collections, popular culture, Western Films | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Arapaho Language Dictionary Cards and Audio Recordings Now Available Online

Posted on January 17, 2014 by ahcadmin

Are you interested in learning more about the Arapaho language? You might be interested in a digital collection at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The AHC has digitized and made accessible online more than 1,600 English-Arapaho dictionary cards and audio recordings of Arapaho language and music from the Zdeněk Salzmann Arapaho Indian research papers.

Zdeněk Salzmann was a leader in the field of anthropological linguistics. His primary research interests focused on American Indian linguistics, Czech and Slovak languages and cultures, and Czech settlements in Romania.

His study of the Arapaho language began in 1949, when a faculty member in the Sociology Department at Indiana University suggested it for Salzmann’s thesis work. Salzmann traveled to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming for the summers of 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, and 1962 to conduct the project. In 1963, he finished his thesis entitled “A Sketch of Arapaho Grammar.”

English-Arapaho dictionary card, Zdenek Salzmann papers, #10396, Box 19. UW American Heritage Center

English-Arapaho dictionary card, Zdenek Salzmann papers, #10396, Box 19. UW American Heritage Center

Salzmann’s research papers include photocopied materials from U.S. and foreign published journals and books, personal notes and research cards, cassette tapes, and film reels that document his research and life’s work on Native American cultures and languages.

English-Arapaho dictionary card, Zdenek Salzmann papers, #10396, Box 20. UW American Heritage Center

English-Arapaho dictionary card, Zdenek Salzmann papers, #10396, Box 20. UW American Heritage Center

Links to digitized items and additional information about Salzmann’s papers can be found in the online finding aid or through our digital collections at: https://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~29~29

Supporting Wyoming’s Indian Education for All

Salzmann’s papers, along with the AHC’s extensive archival holdings and its K-5 Teaching Resources – Indigenous Tribes of Wyoming exhibit, serve as valuable resources for educators implementing Wyoming’s Indian Education for All mandate.

These primary source materials—including photographs, documents, manuscripts, and more related to Wyoming’s Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes—are available through digitized resources, online exhibits, and with assistance from Reference Department staff to help teachers educate students about the cultural heritage, history, and contributions of Wyoming’s tribal nations while supporting Wyoming Social Studies Standards.

For more information about the Center’s resources, contact the AHC’s Reference Department at ahcref@uwyo.edu.

Posted in Language Preservation, Linguistics, newly digitized collections | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Investigating Heart Mountain Relocation Camp with the Lester Hunt papers

Posted on January 10, 2014 by ahcadmin

The American Heritage Center has digitized about 220 documents regarding the Heart Mountain Relocation Center and a 1949 film titled “Wyoming and Its Natural Resources” from the Lester C. Hunt papers.

Telegram to Lester Hunt from Joseph O'Mahoney, Lester Hunt Papers, #270, Box 1, Folder 13. University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.

Telegram to Lester Hunt from Joseph O’Mahoney, Lester Hunt Papers, #270, Box 1, Folder 13. University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.

Lester Calloway Hunt was the 19th governor of Wyoming from 1943 to 1949 and a United States senator from 1949-1954. He earned a D.D.S. in 1917 from St. Louis University and established a dental practice in Lander, Wyoming, in 1919 and continued his practice until 1934.

In 1932 he was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives as a Democrat and also served two terms as Secretary of State from 1935 to 1943. As Wyoming’s secretary of state, Hunt designed the state’s iconic “bucking horse” automobile license plates.

Hunt was elected governor of Wyoming in 1942 and 1946, and U. S. Senator in 1948, a position he held until his death in 1954.

This collection contains subject files and other materials related to his political and personal life.

Links to digitized items and additional information about the Lester C. Hunt papers can be found in the collection inventory. To explore the broader story of Heart Mountain, visit our online exhibit.

Posted in Heart Mountain, Heart Mountain Relocation Center, newly digitized collections, Under-documented communities, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Irwin Kostal: Mastermind of Many 20th Century Musicals

Posted on January 8, 2014 by ahcadmin

The AHC has recently processed the papers of Irwin Kostal, an American composer, orchestrator and arranger in the 20th century. Kostal’s most well-known projects include work on The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Sail Away  and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Kostal was also involved with the orchestration of the original stage show for West Side Story in 1957 and he shared an Academy Award for his work on the score of the 1961 movie version.  Kostal also won an Academy Award in 1965 for his work on The Sound of Music and was nominated for Academy Awards three other times. In addition, Kostal conducted the digital re-recording of Disney’s 1940 film Fantasia.

Kostal’s papers at the AHC focus mainly on Kostal’s work on Broadway, with original and copy scores from the musicals Tenderloin, Fiorello!, Sail Away and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Kostal’s collaborations with Julie Andrews, the star of the film versions of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, are documented as well, in addition to Kostal’s work on a variety of television shows and commercials.

However, the centerpiece of the collection (in my humble opinion) is the material related to Kostal’s work on the film version of West Side Story. The West Side Story materials are important not only because of the continuing popularity and influence of the work, but also because of the creative process the materials document through the inclusion of inserts detailing the transition from West Side Story (the musical) to West Side Story (the movie).

"I Feel Pretty!" First page of the song, "I Feel Pretty," from "West Side Story." Irwin Kostal papers, Box 36, #3423. UW American Heritage Center.

“I Feel Pretty!” First page of the song, “I Feel Pretty,” from “West Side Story.” Irwin Kostal papers, Box 36, #3423. UW American Heritage Center.

Such transitions are often the responsibility of music arrangers. Arrangers are people that take an existing work and adapt it for presentation through the development of melodic themes, reharmonization and/or adding transitions between songs in a musical work. The Kostal papers provide researchers with an avenue to study these transitions firsthand and help bring greater detail and understanding to one of America’s musical and cinematic classics.

As an institution, the AHC places a great deal of emphasis on collection material that documents the creative process behind the products of popular culture and the arrangement work in the Kostal papers related to West Side Story does a great job of illustrating the creative choices Kostal and the others made in regard to the music ultimately included in the film.

The Kostal papers are a part of the strong holdings the AHC has related to the arrangement and composition of American music in the 20th century. Other examples of AHC holdings include the John Scott Trotter papers, the Perry Botkin papers, the Eugene Poddany papers, the Frank DeVol papers, the Fred Karlin papers, and the Carl Stalling papers, among others.

Posted in Broadway, Composers, Film Music, music, Musicals, newly processed collections, popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Decades of Diversity at UW

Posted on January 7, 2014 by ahcadmin

My name is Chelsea Nelson, and I am the new Carlson Intern at the University of Wyoming American Heritage Center. My job is to organize, categorize, and describe collections related to the College of Arts and Sciences so that researchers can use them. My job is pretty amazing, and the best part is digging through the lives of people and organizations from the past. I get to see some of the very best and brightest that the university has ever had the pleasure to claim and each collection feels like a coffee date with a person I would have liked to have known.

It opens your eyes to the incredible quality of our alumni and the wonderful ways our school has grown with the times. As part of my training, I recently completed processing the University of Wyoming’s Multicultural Resource Center records, a collection of scrapbooks, photographs, pamphlets, and materials documenting UW’s diverse student body.  Although not solely related to the College of Arts and Sciences, this previously hidden (that is, uncataloged) collection gave me the opportunity to learn each step of processing a collection, and had the added bonus of providing access to an extremely important and unique collection.

The University of Wyoming is not typically described as a school rich in diversity, but these records tell a strikingly different story.  Scrapbooks, photographs, and documents show vibrant, passionate, and involved groups of students sharing their cultures and values with the campus and advocating for civil rights.

Image of the MRC’s opening day. Caption reads: “Emeral Henson listens attentively as Simona Arthur explains the significance of an American Indian Pendant,” 1972, box 3, folder 1, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

Image of the MRC’s opening day. Caption reads: “Emeral Henson listens attentively as Simona Arthur explains the significance of an American Indian Pendant,” 1972, box 3, folder 1, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

During the late 1960s, UW began focusing recruitment efforts to attract minority students. UW’s Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) was started in 1972 as the Ethnic Cultural Media Center (ECMC), and served as a hangout and support location for the growing number of ethnic minorities coming to the University of Wyoming campus in the early seventies.

Document describing the opening of the Ethnic Cultural Media Center from scrapbook, 1972, box 3, folder 1.

Document describing the opening of the Ethnic Cultural Media Center from scrapbook, 1972, box 3, folder 1, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

The growing number of minority students at that time allowed the ECMC to be immediately successful, and it became inextricably tied to student organizations on campus including the Association of Black Student Leaders, and Movimento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan (M.E.Ch.A). The ECMC hosted numerous events to raise awareness and acceptance of the many ethnicities, cultures, and other diverse backgrounds represented in the student body.

Activity at the ERMC, photo from scrapbook. Caption reads: “Bobby Bird, Sofia Padilla, Student, Deb,” 1994, box 2, folder 11

Activity at the ERMC, photo from scrapbook. Caption reads: “Bobby Bird, Sofia Padilla, Student, Deb,” 1994, box 2, folder 11, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

Asian New year Celebration, undated, box 1, folder 17

Asian New year Celebration, undated, box 1, folder 17, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

In 1974, the ECMC changed its name to the Multicultural Resource Center.  It also began to integrate other minority groups on campus, most prominently the Walk and Roll Student Alliance, which, as an offshoot of the Disabled Students of Wyoming, battled for, and won, a number of initiatives to make the campus more wheelchair accessible.

Newspaper clipping from scrapbook, 1977, box 3, folder 10

Newspaper clipping from scrapbook, 1977, box 3, folder 10, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

Image documenting inaccessibility of campus buildings,1977, box 3, folder 10,

Image documenting inaccessibility of campus buildings,1977, box 3, folder 10, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

With such passionate involvement in the early to mid-seventies, the MRC quickly established itself as a necessary resource for students on campus to network and support others who had endured the same or similar struggles as members of a minority group. It also became a safe place for those interested in minority rights (whether a minority member themselves or not) to learn about and become involved in the fight for equality and civil rights.  The Center maintained a resource library related to diversity and issues surrounding ethnic and cultural segregation and support. One of the volumes from this resource library is a two-volume set of transcripts from the Hispanics in Wyoming Oral History Project, featuring oral histories with local Hispanic men and women in the nineteen-eighties, exploring Hispanic tradition, culture, and racism within Wyoming

One of the most prominent sets of materials within the collection is a set of scrapbooks spanning the establishment of the ECMC in 1972 through 1999. These scrapbooks include event flyers, newspaper clippings and editorials, photographs, and other documentation of the work of student groups throughout the history of the Center. They represent the integral way in which the Multicultural Resource Center affected the political activeness and pride of students on campus.

Caption reads, “Keepers of the Fire, Spring Powwow,” 1990, box 1, folder 3

Caption reads, “Keepers of the Fire, Spring Powwow,” 1990, box 1, folder 3, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

MEChA event, 1985, box 3, folder 6

MEChA event, 1985, box 3, folder 6, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

The MRC still exists today, continuing to support students struggling with stereotypes on campus, and within our society as a whole. It serves as a place for personal and intellectual exploration on academic excellence, student leadership & advocacy, inter-cultural awareness, and diversity.

Caption reads, “MEChA’s, MRC’s, Keepers, & ABSL’s float for homecoming, 1985” box 3, folder 6

Caption reads, “MEChA’s, MRC’s, Keepers, & ABSL’s float for homecoming, 1985” box 3, folder 6, MRC Records, #541010, UW American Heritage Center.

–Chelsea Nelson, AHC Carlson Intern

Posted in Diversity and inclusion, Interns' projects, newly processed collections, Student Life, Student organizations, Under-documented communities, undergraduate students, University of Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Close Look at Development in Cody, WY: The George T. Beck Papers

Posted on January 2, 2014 by ahcadmin

The American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming has an exciting announcement! We have digitized and made accessible online over 6,000 documents and photographs from the George T. Beck papers. George T. Beck came to Wyoming in 1879, and was a sheep rancher, oil land developer, businessman, and politician in the Cody, Wyoming area. The collection contains correspondence and diaries of the Beck family, a manuscript for George Beck’s autobiography, correspondence, journals and record books relating to his many business ventures, and printed material relating to his political and business careers.

Mr. and Mrs. George Beck planting a tree in the city park in Cody, WY, 1932. George T. Beck papers, #59, Box 31, Folder 4. UW American Heritage Center.

Mr. and Mrs. George Beck planting a tree in the city park in Cody, WY, 1932. George T. Beck papers, #59, Box 31, Folder 4. UW American Heritage Center.

Links to digitized items and additional information about the George T. Beck papers can be found in the collection inventory.

–Jamie Greene, Digital Programs Archives Specialiast

Posted in Digital collections, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Better Learning through Internships: AHC Intern Andrew Worth and Active Learning in the Archives

Posted on December 16, 2013 by ahcadmin

Howdy! My name is Andrew Worth. I am an undergraduate student studying history at the University of Wyoming. As a UW student, I had the opportunity to become an intern at the American Heritage Center and I knew that it would be a great chance for me to get some real world experience.

As an intern at the American Heritage Center I was able to spend time in the processing department, among others. The processing department has an archival function that is the often necessary link between the acquisition of new collections and our making those collections effectively accessible to researchers.  Many newly acquired collections arrive at the American Heritage Center with little or no discernible order to the material-sometimes hundreds of boxes of such disorganized material. Arrangement and description results in published catalog records and inventories about collections that are intended to make the collections usable to researchers.

While in the processing department I had the chance to work with four different collections. Over the course of four weeks I processed the Ernest Laszlo papers, the Benjamin F. Davis collection, the John E. Leet collection, and the Charles G. Roundy papers. These historical characters all have a different story and it is pretty fun to learn who they were and what they did with the life they were given.

A young Ernest Laszlo. Ernest Laszlo papers, Box 6, Folder "Miscellaneous Photographs," #8660. UW American Heritage Center.

A young Ernest Laszlo. Ernest Laszlo papers, #866o, Box 6, Folder “Miscellaneous Photographs”. UW American Heritage Center.

Ernest Laszlo was a Hollywood cinematographer from the 1930s through the 1970s. A native of Budapest, Hungary, Laszlo went to work in the American movie industry in 1926 and was the cinematographer for numerous popular movies between the 1920s and 1970s, including Stalag 17 (1953), Inherit the Wind (1960), Ship of Fools (1965), and Airport (1970)—his collection contains screenplays for all four as well as others. He won an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Ship of Fools in 1966. In addition to his work as a cinematographer, Laszlo was an active member of the American Society of Cinematographers and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Concerning Laszlo and his work, this collection also holds a few other miscellaneous screenplays, miscellaneous clippings, miscellaneous periodicals, a few miscellaneous books, and a few award plaques and award certificates are in this collection as well.

Kim Novak, Ernest Laszlo, and Richard Johnson at the Oscars. E

Kim Novak, Ernest Laszlo, and Richard Johnson at the Oscars. Ernest Laszlo papers, #866o, Box 6, Folder “Miscellaneous Photographs”. UW American Heritage Center.

Benjamin F. Davis (1878-1957) was a livestock veterinarian and cattlemen’s association official in the American West during the twentieth century. Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, Davis earned his veterinary degree from Kansas City Veterinarian College in 1907. From 1911 to 1922, he served as Wyoming State Veterinarian. During the 1930s, he served as the assistant to the chief of the U.S. Agricultural Adjustment Administration’s Cattle and Sheep Section in Denver, Colorado. In addition to his work as a veterinarian, he served as executive secretary of the Colorado Stock growers Association from 1923 to 1949. The collection contains Benjamin F. Davis’ personal and business correspondence as well as Davis’ files concerning the Colorado Stock growers Association, which contains correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, notes, and printed materials. The collection also contains Davis’ notebooks and personal subject files, which hold correspondence, clippings, legal documents, financial documents, notes, and printed materials.

Family portrais of the Leet family, John E. Leet papers, #6805, Box 10, Folder "Family Photos and Miscellaneous." UW American Heritage Center.

Family portrais of the Leet family, John E. Leet papers, #6805, Box 10, Folder “Family Photos and Miscellaneous.” UW American Heritage Center.

John E. Leet was a pioneer real estate businessman and journalist in Denver, Colorado. He was from New Orleans and came to Denver in 1879. Leet’s father, Daniel, had founded Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, but had joined his son’s family in Denver and entered into business with John. John was engaged in various investments and real estate ventures in Colorado and surrounding states. He also wrote columns for various newspapers and owned a cattle ranch (Leetsisle Ranch) near Douglas, Wyoming. His businesses were devastated following the Panic of 1893, and did not recover until after the Panic of 1907. John married Modeste Caillier in 1871, and they had three children, Emma Downing, Laura Roller, and Edmund. Edmund and his wife, Dorothy, lived in Wyoming and operated the Leetsisle Ranch. The collection consists of John Leet’s business diaries from 1888-1889, 1891-1897, and 1899-1920. He recorded expenditures and receipts, business and personal memoranda and noted his and his family’s daily activities. He also commented on the local and national economy and politics. The collection also contains personal diaries of John and Modeste Leet from 1917-1965. These diaries contain personal information and information about the weather and daily lives and events of the Leet Family.

Family portrais of the Leet family, John E. Leet papers, #6805, Box 10, Folder "Family Photos and Miscellaneous." UW American Heritage Center.

Family portrais of the Leet family, John E. Leet papers, #6805, Box 10, Folder “Family Photos and Miscellaneous.” UW American Heritage Center.

Charles Gould Roundy had a diverse background in historical research, writing, geography, conservation study and teaching. He worked as a research assistant at the University of Maine and as a research historian at the University of Wyoming. Roundy researched dude ranching in Wyoming, as well as a variety of topics for the Eastern Maine Development District. This collection contains audio cassette tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted by Charles G. Roundy with persons engaged in the dude ranching industry in Wyoming.

I wanted to be an intern at the American Heritage Center because I am interested in Archives and Museums and I hope to work in either of those fields after I graduate. One of the really great things about the American Heritage Center is that student interns have the ability to work hands on with primary source material. You get to touch and feel authentic historical documents and objects. Every different collection brings something new or different to the table and gives students the opportunity to learn something about history. I felt that I had a unique experience during my internship, in that I was able to interact directly with historical materials.  There’s nothing quite like holding tangible pieces of history in your hands!

–Andrew Worth, AHC Intern

Posted in Accessing historical documents, Interns' projects | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Skeletons, Silly Symphonies, and Stalling: A Musical Journey

Posted on October 30, 2013 by ahcadmin

A stormy night in fall with a full moon… and the skeletons in the cemetery come to life! Do you remember the black and white Disney Cartoon Classic, “The Skeleton Dance”?  This 1929 short, part of Disney’s Silly Symphony series  features dancing skeletons in a graveyard on a dark windy night, set to original music. The concept was developed by and music composed by Carl W. Stalling, whose personal papers are at the American Heritage Center.

stalling sketches_Page_1

Box 1, Folder 6, of the Carl W. Stalling Papers, #5725, UW American Heritage Center.

stalling sketches_Page_2

stalling sketches_Page_3

Box 1, Folder 6, of the Carl W. Stalling Papers, #5725, UW American Heritage Center.

Box 1, Folder 6, of the Carl W. Stalling Papers, #5725, UW American Heritage Center.

These early sketches were located in Box 1, Folder 6, of the Carl W. Stalling Papers, #5725.  You might be more familiar with the animated version, though!

Carl W. Stalling was a noted twentieth century American music composer and arranger. He is most noted for his musical scores for the “Looney Tunes,” a popular Warner Brothers animated cartoon series. Stalling composed the scores for more than six hundred Warner Brother cartoons, and among the most recognizable is “What’s Up Doc,” the Bugs Bunny theme song. Stalling also produced musical scores for Walt Disney productions, and he was a silent film piano and organ player. Stalling received a U.S. patent in 1924 for his tick method of recording and depicting motion pictures. This method became a motion picture industry standard.

 Stalling met Walt Disney in the 1920s, and later they began working together. After several of the Mickey Mouse themed shorts had been completed, Stalling developed his own musical series for Disney with original music (called the Silly Symphonies) and he said,

I was thinking of inanimate figures, like skeletons, trees, flowers, etc. coming to life and dancing and doing other animated actions fitted to music more or less in a humorous and rhythmic mood……I suggested the first subject, “The Skeleton Dance,” because ever since I was a kid I had wanted to see real skeletons dancing and had always enjoyed seeing skeleton-dancing in vaudeville. As kids, we all like spooky picture and stories, I think.[i]

1929 Walt Disney Animation Staff. Carl Stalling is seated at the piano. AHC Photo File: "Stalling, Carl." UW American Heritage Center.

1929 Walt Disney Animation Staff. Carl Stalling is seated at the piano. AHC Photo File: “Stalling, Carl.” UW American Heritage Center.

The Carl W. Stalling Papers contain original music scores and cue sheets done by Stalling for Warner Brothers cartoons and for Walt Disney productions. Also contained in the collection is published music from various composers, much of which is sheet music from the 1920s and 1930s. There are photographs, mostly from the 1940s and 1950s, of celebrities that Stalling associated with, and there are some subject files related to the music industry. A small amount of correspondence and biographical material is also included.

–Ginny Kilander, Reference Department Manager

[i] “An Interview with Carl Stalling,” Box 1, Folder 8: Correspondence and Biographical Material, Carl Stalling papers, #5725, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Posted in Animation, Animation history, cartoons, Disney, Film Music, found in the archive, music | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

James E. Brodhead: A Wolverine Makes Good on Stage and Screen

Posted on August 27, 2013 by ahcadmin
Undated headshot of James E. Brodhead, Box 41, Folder "Biographical Photos, 1941-1970," James E. Brodhead papers, #7389. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Undated headshot of James E. Brodhead, Box 41, Folder “Biographical Photos, 1941-1970,” James E. Brodhead papers, #7389. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

James Easton Brodhead (1932-2012) was a character actor who worked in various motion picture, television, and theatre productions. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in speech in 1954.  From 1950 to 1963, Brodhead appeared in numerous stage and live television productions. In 1963, Brodhead changed careers and became a journalist with Time magazine from 1963 to 1969, covering various stories including the assassination of Robert Kennedy and the ensuing trial of Sirhan Sirhan. He then left Time to write a book on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, and worked as a public relations account executive for a short time. In 1971, he returned to acting full-time, appearing in The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Strongest Man in the World, Kotch, Mame, and General Hospital, among many other motion picture, television, and theatre productions.

Photographic still from the production of the film, "The Apple Dumpling Gang." Notes on the back of the photo indicate that this scene was cut from the final version of the film. Box 41, Folder "Photos--Apple Dumpling Gang," James E. Brodhead papers, #7389. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Photographic still from the production of the film, The Apple Dumpling Gang. Notes on the back of the photo indicate that this scene was cut from the final version of the film. Box 41, Folder “Photos–Apple Dumpling Gang,” James E. Brodhead papers, #7389. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

His collection contains personal and professional files relating to James E. Brodhead’s career as both an actor and a journalist. It includes correspondence, subject and manuscript files from his stint as a writer for Time and other organizations, scripts for productions of which he was a part, and photographs of Brodhead primarily depicting him in his various motion picture, television, and theatre productions.

Brodhead's acting "resume" on the back of a montage of headshots. Box 41, Folder "Biographical Photos, 1941-1970," James E. Brodhead papers, #7389. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Brodhead’s acting “resume” on the back of a montage of headshots. Box 41, Folder “Biographical Photos, 1941-1970,” James E. Brodhead papers, #7389. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The American Heritage Center is pleased to announce that this collection is  processed and an online inventory is available.

Posted in Actors, Journalism, newly processed collections, popular culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Saddle Up with Shane: Exploring Jack Schaefer’s Western Legacy

Posted on August 1, 2013 by ahcadmin
Alan Ladd and Van Heflin posing for pictures from the film Shane", 1951, University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Jack W. & Louise Schaefer Papers, Accession Number 00430, Box 25, Folder 9."

Alan Ladd (left) and Van Heflin (right) posing for pictures from the film “Shane.” Jack  Schaefer Papers, #430, Box 25, Folder 9. UW American Heritage Center.

The film Shane is critically thought to be one of the best westerns ever made. It starred Alan Ladd as the title character, as well as Van Heflin and Jean Arthur. In fact, the film (released in 1953) was based on a book of the same title, written by author Jack Schaefer and published in 1949. You’ll find the Jack Schaefer papers at the American Heritage Center (AHC), in case you’d care to do some research into Schaefer’s creative processes.

The Jack Schaefer papers, 1925-1986, include his original manuscripts of novels, short stories, and scripts. Newspaper publications include over five hundred editorials, primarily from Schaefer’s early journalism career in the 1930s with The New Haven Courier Journal and Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, and hundreds of newspaper reviews of Schaefer’s works in print and in film. Fifty-two American and foreign editions of his books and twelve complete magazines with his articles or short stories provide examples of the diversity of Schaefer’s publications.

Personal and biographical materials include memorabilia and photographs of Schaefer, friends and business acquaintances, plus stills of films and plays for television. Several clippings about Schaefer works are also part of the biographical papers. Correspondence reflects Schaefer’s relationship with book and magazine publishers, film producers, and fans.

Copies of the case file correspondence between Jack Schaefer and Gene Gressley, former director of the American Heritage Center, show the long-term relationship between the two with regard to Schaefer’s donations to the archives, his requests for research information, and his philosophy of writing.

Jack Schaefer, 1959, University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Photofile: Schaefer, Jack, Negative Number 0816

Jack Schaefer holding a bound copy of his book “Shane”, 1959.  Photofile: Schaefer, Jack, Negative Number 0816. UW American Heritage Center.

Here’s some more information about Schaefer himself:

Jack Schaefer, noted 20th century journalist and writer of western novels and short stories, was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1907.  He attended school in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College with a major in English literature in 1929. Graduation was followed by a year of study at Columbia University, then a year of reporting for the United Press. The Depression years were spent as assistant director of education at the Connecticut State Reformatory, associate editor and later editor, 1933-1942, of the New Haven Courier Journal. Then, in 1942 he joined the editorial department of the Baltimore Sun. Gerald Johnson and H. L. Mencken were Schaefer’s colleagues.

In 1949, Schaefer married Louise Deans and his first novel, Shane, appeared in book form. Previously Shane had been serialized in Argosy magazine. The story is seen through the eyes of a young homesteader’s son as a drifter, Shane, comes into the family’s struggle to maintain homesteader rights in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at odds with cattlemen who claimed to rule the range.

After Shane came First Blood in 1953, the tale of a young stage coach driver who reveals courage and achieves manhood during an ambush. Then came a collection of short stories, The Big Range, showing everyday situations in Western life in a dramatic light. Canyon tells the story of the lonely battle of a young Cheyenne Indian who struggles with conformity both within himself and his environment. The Pioneers came out in 1955 followed by Out West, an anthology of western writing. Company of Cowards, a Civil War story, was written at the invitation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The Kean Land and Other Stories appeared in 1959, Old Ramon in 1960, a novel about an old sheepherder who teaches a young boy the ways of range life. Monte Walsh tells the story of the rise and fall of one cowboy and the eventual demise of the cowboy life with the encroachment of civilization. This novel was also made into a film in 1970, starring Lee Marvin in the title role.

Jack Schaefer’s books have been translated into Finnish, Swedish, French, Danish, Indonesian, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish, Slovenian, and German, plus many other languages. Jack Schaefer lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1955 until his death in 1991.

There are many great westerns out there; whether this is one of the best is for viewers to judge!  If you haven’t seen Shane, how about giving it a try the next time you’re choosing a film for movie night?

Posted in Authors and literature, Film History, popular culture, Western fiction, Western Films | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment