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George Zuckerman Papers, ca. 1930-1974

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Zuckerman, George, 1916-
Title
George Zuckerman Papers
Dates
ca. 1930-1974 (inclusive)
Quantity
18.45 cubic feet (35 DOC boxes, 1 F20 box, 1 F31 box, 1 F2D box)
Collection Number
06005
Summary
Screenplays, scripts, manuscripts, notes, books, and other miscellaneous materials of this screenwriter, playwright, and author.
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
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English, , Spanish, , French, , German, and , Italian
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

George Zuckerman, nationally known screenwriter, playwright, and author, was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 10, 1916. He started writing short stories when he was a teenager. Zuckerman attended and graduated from the University of South Carolina. While he was a student there, he published short stories in the school’s literary magazine The Carolinian, including The House of Six-Fifty O’Clock (March 1938) and Death Ends At Eighteen (November 1939). Zuckerman turned to writing novelettes during the mid-1940s and gained national exposure with works such as Crosstown (1945), The Victims (1946), and The Case of Lela Cade (1949). His novelettes were published in several magazines including Cosmopolitan, Collier’s, and Esquire.

Zuckerman began writing motion picture screenplays in 1947, starting with La Forteresse. Often drawing upon his earlier literary efforts for material, he enjoyed great success as a screenwriter for over a decade. He earned screenwriting credits in seventeen movies, including Trapped (1949), Under the Gun (1951), The Square Jungle (1955), and The Tarnished Angels (1958). A number of prominent actors and actresses appeared in Zuckerman’s screenwriting efforts, including Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Lauren Bacall.

Zuckerman turned to other creative endeavors in the 1960s. He wrote the dialogue for the 1964 musical Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis Jr., which had a successful run on Broadway. He also started writing novels during this decade, often using material from his theatrical works. His first novel, The Last Flapper (1969), was loosely based on the life of Zelda Fitzgerald, the widow of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. He wrote and published two more novels in the 1970s: Farewell Frank Merriwell (1973) and The Potato Peelers (1974).

George Zuckerman was married to Blanche Zuckerman. The couple had two children: Gregg and Laurie. George Zuckerman passed away on September 30, 1996.

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Content Description

The George Zuckerman Papers contain screenplays, manuscripts, notes, books, and other materials pertaining to his writing career. They are primary documents of his activities as a screenwriter, playwright, and author, from the 1930s to the 1970s, with original material regarding his screenplays, novels, plays, novelettes, and short stories. The materials record the development of his works from conception to final form. They also reveal much about his development as a writer, documenting his progression from short stories to novelettes, screenplays, plays, and novels.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

Gregg Zuckerman and Laurie Zuckerman hold copyright to the George Zuckerman Papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, box Number, Folder Number, George Zuckerman Papers, ca. 1930-1974, Collection Number 06005, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series I consists of materials regarding Zuckerman’s motion picture screenplays, containing both his produced and proposed motion picture efforts. Series II contains the original manuscripts, correspondence, and notes for his novels. Series III contains manuscripts and notes from his playwriting efforts. Of particular interest are the materials regarding Golden Boy, which was a successful Broadway production. Series IV and Series V cover Zuckerman’s novelettes and short stories respectively. These two series document the early stages of his writing career, with original manuscripts and a few works in their final published form in magazines. Series VI consists of three scripts documenting Zuckerman’s occasional work in radio and television. Series VII contains copies of all three of his published novels and an issue of Film Comment magazine. Series VIII consists of broadsides and posters for movies in which Zuckerman was a screenwriter.

Related Materials

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by George Zuckerman at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

George Zuckerman and his daughter Laurie Zuckerman donated the papers to the American Heritage Center in two shipments in 1975 and 2002.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in March 2004.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • Fiction--20th Century.
  • Motion picture authorship.
  • Motion pictures, American.
  • Playwriting.
  • Theater--United States.

Occupations

  • Authors, American.
  • Dramatists, American.
  • Screenwriters.

Processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig
2005

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

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