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Fay and Michael Kanin papers, 1911-1988

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Kanin, Michael, 1910-1993; Kanin, Fay
Title
Fay and Michael Kanin papers
Dates
1911-1988 (inclusive)
Quantity
48.56 cubic feet (50 boxes)
Collection Number
02893
Summary
Fay and Michael Kanin were one of the most prominent husband-wife collaborative teams in the performing arts responsible for writing, directing and producing hundreds of motion picture films, plays, and works of fiction. This collection contains scripts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, production materials and stills. As well as material related to the career of Michael’s brother Garson Kanin, and research and interviews used for character outlines and development for a 1980s project based on South Africa.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must sign a Research Use Agreement before they can use the collection.

Additional Reference Guides

Finding aid available in repository.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Fay and Michael Kanin were one of the most prominent husband-wife collaborative teams in the performing arts responsible for writing, directing and producing hundreds of motion picture films, plays, and works of fiction. The couple collaborated on many projects including the Broadway play Goodbye, My Fancy (1948) and the Western titled The Outrage (1964), based on the Japanese film Rashomon (1950). The couple received an Academy Award nomination for Teacher's Pet in 1958. The couple was blacklisted by HUAC because of ties to the Actors Lab in Hollywood and were unable to find work again until MGM hired the couple for Rhapsody in 1953.

Michael Kanin was born in Rochester, New York in February of 1910. He studied at the Arts Students League in New York City and at the New York School of Design. Michael was an artist and musician before turning to writing, producing, and directing for the stage and screen. His first job was writing and acting in Catskills resort shows with his brother Garson Kanin. In 1939, he was signed to a screenwriting contract at RKO. In 1940, Kanin married his RKO co-worker, Fay Mitchell. Michael, along with Ring Lardner, Jr., received the 1942 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award for their original screenplay, Woman of the Year, which starred Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. He was active in the industry from 1939 until 1969, when he retired. Michael Kanin passed away in California in March of 1993, at the age of 83.

Fay Kanin was a native of New York, born in May of 1917, and attended Elmira College in Elmira, NY prior to moving to California where she graduated from the University of Southern California in 1937. She married Michael Kanin in 1940, and they immediately started writing collaboratively. She was a prolific playwright and screenwriter who along with her husband received the 1958 Academy Award for the best written comedy for their work Teacher's Pet. Fay began solo writing for television and television movies in the 1970s, writing Heat of Anger, Tell Me Where It Hurts, Friendly Fire, and Hustling. In 1975, Universal Studio producers asked Kanin for a screenplay about a bi-racial burlesque theater in 1933 Chicago. Nothing came of it, but in 1985 Kanin adapted her unproduced screenplay for the stage, and the result was Grind. Fay Kanin served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 until 1983 and on the Board of Governors from 2007-2008. She also served as the president of the Screen Branch of the Writers Guild of America, as Chair of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, an officer of the Writers Guild Foundation, and a member of the board of directors of the American Film Institute. Fay Kanin passed away in March of 2013, at the age of 95.

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Content Description

This collection contains scripts, production material, and professional papers from both Fay and Michael Kanin. The scripts series include screenplays, plays, television series and movies. Included in that series are scripts for Heartsounds, Goodbye, My Fancy, Teacher’s Pet, Rashomon, Woman of the Year, and Friendly Fire. Also included in this series are scripts by other authors sent to Fay and Michael Kanin. The professional papers series includes correspondence, contracts, photographs and production stills, magazine and newspaper clippings and production materials for some of Michael and Fay Kanin’s work. Also included is some personal material for the couple, material related to the career of Michael’s brother Garson, and research and interviews used for character outlines and development for a 1980s project based on South Africa.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Use

Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in Collections

The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.

Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Acquisition Information

This collection material was recieved from Michael and Fay Kanin between 1968 and 1997.

Processing Note

This collection was processed by Brittany Heye in November-December of 2024.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Processed by Brittany Heye
2024

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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