Title: Daniel J. Travanti Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1972-1986

Creator:

• Travanti, Daniel J., 1940-

Call Number: Mss 699

Quantity: 3.0 c.f. (8 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of a Kenosha, Wisconsin native and actor, best-known for his role in the NBC series Hill Street Blues and in the television film Adam. The collection includes personal correspondence, invitations and requests from charitable organizations, fan mail, and letters about Travanti's work with alcoholism recovery groups. Other personal papers include awards, and magazine and newspaper articles about Travanti and other members of the Hill Street Blues cast. There are also scripts and production files illustrating Travanti's acting career, among them materials from Hill Street Blues; the television movies and specials Adam: His Song Continues, Case of Libel, Here's Richard, (a special about fitness expert Richard Simmons), and Murrow, an HBO film about Edward R. Murrow; Night of 100 Stars, a 1985 benefit for the Actors' Fund of America; and the play Twigs.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00699

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Daniel John Travanti was born March 7, 1940, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to John and Elvira (DeAngelis) Travanti. He was the youngest of five children. Travanti received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Phi Beta Kappa (1961), attended Yale School of Drama, and received an M.A. in English literature from Loyola-Marymount University, Los Angeles (1978). He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Emerson College in 1982.

Travanti began acting in New York in 1963 and by the early 1970s he had established a solid career in the theater. His first television role was in Route 66, and from 1973-1979 he appeared in several action/adventure series. He also made many television commercials during this period. In 1980, Travanti created the leading role in the innovative series Hill Street Blues, and was awarded two consecutive Best Actor Emmy Awards (1981, 1982) for his portrayal of Capt. Frank Furillo. He is also well known for his performance as the father of Adam, the kidnapped boy in the made-for-television film Adam (NBC, 1983), and the sequel, Adam: His Song Continues. Travanti's other television movies have included A Case of Libel, Murrow, and Aurora.

The Daniel J. Travanti collection has been arranged into two series: General Papers, and Scripts and Production Materials. Most of the collection concerns Travanti's career since his success on Hill Street Blues.

GENERAL PAPERS include a substantial quantity of general correspondence, consisting of letters of congratulation, thanks, and recognition, requests for assistance, and some copies of outgoing responses; personal letters from family members, friends and acquaintances; and letters of admiration generated by Travanti's work with alcoholism recovery groups. There are also invitations to social and charitable events, generally within the acting community; requests for donations of services or money from individuals and organizations throughout the country; and fan mail. Numerous requests for photographs and autographs, and other routine letters from fans, were discarded.

Travanti's personal papers include awards, both those which he received and those where he appeared to honor someone else; publicity material and correspondence regarding his honorary degree from Emerson College; miscellany; and many magazine articles and newspaper clippings about Travanti and his colleagues.

SCRIPTS AND PRODUCTION MATERIALS include Travanti's copies of scripts from the movies in which he appeared and from a few of the episodes of Hill Street Blues. Since the MTM Enterprises collection at the Wisconsin Historical Society contains a complete run of scripts of Hill Street Blues, exact duplicates found in the Travanti collection were removed. Those that remain are revised versions of scripts in the MTM Enterprises collection. Most of the scripts have been annotated or highlighted to indicate Travanti's part in the production.

There are scripts, a shooting schedule, staff and crew lists, clippings, letters, a script for a commercial, and response mail for Adam: His Song Continues; a script for The Cancer Confrontation (narrated by Travanti); a script and shooting schedule for A Case of Libel; and a shooting schedule and Travanti's portions of the script for Here's Richard!, a special about fitness expert Richard Simmons. From Murrow, an HBO film in which Travanti played Edward R. Murrow, there is promotional material, a letter, and clippings; for Night of 100 Stars, a 1985 benefit for the Actor's Fund of America, there are script portions, programs, a schedule and promotional materials; from the 1977 San Diego Shakespeare Festival, where Travanti was a member of the professional repertory company, there are programs, promotional materials, and staff and cast lists; from a production of Twigs, there are programs and reviews; and there are programs and invitations to the 1985 “Women in Show Business” Gala.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Daniel J. Travanti, Pacific Palisades, California, 1986-1987. Accession Number: M86-418, M86-617, M87-007

Processing Information

Processed by Hans Kaiser and Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, 1987.

	Series: General Papers
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1-6	General, 1980 August -1986 January, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Outgoing Letters, 1983 July-September
	Personal
Box   1 Folder   8-10	1980 May-1986 May
Box   2 Folder   1	undated
Box   2 Folder   2-5	Alcohol and Chemical and Drug Dependency, Correspondence, 1981 April-1985 November, undated
Box   2 Folder   6	Invitations
	Requests for Donations of Services or Money
Box   2 Folder   7-8	1981 April-1983 December
Box   3 Folder   1-5	1984 January-1986 January, undated
	Fan Mail
Box   3 Folder   6-8	1980 May-1982 June
Box   4 Folder   1-7	1982 July-1986 April, undated
Box   5 Folder   1-2	Awards
Box   5 Folder   3	Emerson College Honorary Degree, 1982
Box   5 Folder   4	College Bulletins from Emerson College and Yale, 1984-1985
Box   5 Folder   5-6	Miscellany
Box   5 Folder   7-9	Magazine Articles about Travanti
	Newspaper Clippings and Reviews
Box   5 Folder   10-11	1980-1983
Box   6 Folder   1-6	1983-1986
	Series: Scripts and Production Materials	⇧
	Adam: His Song Continues (The Landsburg Company)
Box   6 Folder   7	Two Revised Final Drafts, by Oliver Hailey, 1986 June 3, June 13
Box   6 Folder   8	Revised Final Draft, 1986 June 18
Box   6 Folder   9	Shooting Schedule, Staff and Crew Lists, Other Production Files
Box   6 Folder   10	Clippings, Letters, Script for Commercial, and Other Papers
Box   7 Folder   1	Response Mail, 1984
	The Cancer Confrontation
Box   7 Folder   2	Script (narration), by Carol L. Fleisher and Linda Otto, 1982 July 7
	A Case of Libel (a Nederlander Production in Association with Global Television Network, for Showtime and First Choice Canadian)
Box   7 Folder   3	Revised Script, by Henry Denker, April 9, 1983
Box   7 Folder   4	Shooting Schedule, Printed Play, Notes, 1983
	Here's Richard!
Box   7 Folder   5	Shooting Schedule, Portions of Script, June 30, 1982
	Hill Street Blues
	“Moon Over Uranus” #2404
Box   7 Folder   6	Script by Anthony Yerkovich, Jeffrey Lewis, Michael Wagner, David Milch, Joseph Gunn, and Seven Bochco, revised 1982 December 6
	“No Body's Perfect” #2415
Box   7 Folder   7	Script by Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, Jeffrey Lewis, Michael Wagner, and David Milch, 1982 October 25
	“Gung Ho!” #2417
Box   7 Folder   8	Script by David Milch, Jeffrey Lewis, and Michael Wagner, 1982 November 12
	“Moon Over Uranus: The Sequel” #2418
Box   7 Folder   9	Script by Steven Bochco, Jeffrey Lewis, and Mark Frost, last revised 1982 December 28
	“A Wasted Weekend” #6401
Box   7 Folder   10	Script by David Mamet, last revised 1986 October 14
	“Say Uncle” #6408
Box   7 Folder   11	Script by John Romano, last revised August 21, 1986
	“A Case of Klapp” #6411
Box   7 Folder   11	Script by Terry Curtis Fox, last revised 1986 June 26
	“The Best Defense” #6412
Box   7 Folder   13	Script by Steve Bello, Robert Ward, and Jonathan Lemkin, last revised 1986 September 5
	“Bald Ambition” #6413
Box   8 Folder   1	Script by Jeffrey Lewis, last revised July 25, 1986
Box   8 Folder   2	100th Show Celebration, 1985
	Murrow (HBO, 1986)
Box   8 Folder   3	Promotional Material, Letter, Clippings, 1985
	Night of 100 Stars (New York, Radio City Music Hall, 1985 February 17)
Box   8 Folder   4	Script Portions, Programs, Schedule, and Promotional Materials
	Shakespeare Festival (San Diego, 1977)
Box   8 Folder   5	Programs, Promotional Material, Staff and Cast Lists
	Twigs (Washington, National Theater and Traveling Company)
Box   8 Folder   6	Programs and Reviews, 1972-1973
	“Women in Show Business” Gala
Box   8 Folder   7	Programs, Invitations, 1985