Title: Ralph Bellamy Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1904-1980

Creator:

• Bellamy, Ralph, 1904-1991

Call Number: U.S. Mss 190AN; Micro 773; CA 622

Quantity: 2.2 cubic feet (5 archives boxes), 1 reel of microfilm (35 mm), and 1 film (16 mm)

Repository:

Housed at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives and Museum Collections; owned by the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research

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 Ralph Bellamy, a noted actor whose career has spanned more than five decades and encompasses all major areas of entertainment - theater, motion pictures, radio, television, and writing. Documentation of Bellamy's theatrical work is especially rich, although all aspects of his career are covered. Included in the collection are biographical materials, an oral history interview transcript, awards and certificates, newspaper clippings and reviews, correspondence, and transcripts of Bellamy's Congressional testimony concerning income tax averaging legislation. Within the production files are programs from productions of the Ralph Bellamy Players (Des Moines, Iowa, 1926-1928); several programs, scripts, and other papers regarding plays, motion pictures, and television mini-series; and extensive information concerning Bellamy's portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello (theater, 1958-1960; film, 1960). Also in the collection are drafts, typescripts, and a printed copy of Bellamy's memoirs, When the Smoke Hit the Fan (Doubleday, 1979).

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0190an

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Actor Ralph Bellamy was born in Chicago, Illinois on 17 June 1904 to Charles Rexford and Lilla (Smith) Bellamy. He was raised in Wilmette, Illinois, where his interest in acting developed. During his years at New Trier High School, Bellamy headed the dramatic club. He made his professional stage debut in 1921 with William Owen's Shakespearean troupe. Bellamy then joined a Chautauqua road company (1922) and stock companies which performed in Evansville, Indiana and Madison, Wisconsin (1922-1923). One of his fellow actors was Melvyn Hesselberg, who later became better known as Melvyn Douglas. In 1924 Bellamy became a member of a repertory troupe operated by the Beach and Jones Company and the following year joined another troupe managed by John Winninger. From 1928 to 1930 Bellamy performed with his own troupe, the Ralph Bellamy Players, in Des Moines, Iowa, Nashville, Tennessee, and Evanston, Illinois.

In 1929 Bellamy made his Broadway debut in Town Boy. He then appeared with stock companies in Rochester, New York, where he acted in Holiday and Coquette and other plays. He returned to Broadway in 1930 in Roadside. Although both of his Broadway shows had brief runs, on the basis of these appearances Bellamy signed a motion picture contract with Joseph W. Schneck. His first film was The Secret Six (1931). During the following five decades Bellamy appeared in approximately 100 films; noteworthy among these are Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932), Spitfire (1934), The Awful Truth (1937), His Girl Friday (1940), the Ellery Queen series (1940-1941), The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), Sunrise at Campobello (1960), Rosemary's Baby (1968), and Oh, God (1977).

In addition to his prolific film career Bellamy often returned to the Broadway stage. He appeared in Tomorrow the World (1943); State of the Union, which won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Drama Prize in 1946; Detective Story (1949) and Sunrise at Campobello (1958). In addition he co-produced and directed Pretty Little Parlor, which had a brief run in New York in 1944.

Bellamy also worked in both television and radio. He starred in the television series Man Against Crime, Eleventh Hour, The Survivors, Most Deadly Game, The Hunter, and others. He has appeared in several television movies and mini-series, including The Missiles of October (1974), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award. Bellamy also guested on several radio programs, notably Cavalcade of America and the U.S. Steel Hour, and broadcast for the United Nations in the late 1950's.

Among the honors and awards which Bellamy has received for his acting are an Emmy (1950), an Emmy nomination (1974), and a Tony award (1958). He was also nominated for an Oscar for his work in The Awful Truth (1937).

In addition to his acting career Bellamy served as president of the Actors Equity Association (1952-1964) and director of the American Arbitration Association (1962-1964). In 1932 Bellamy was a co-founder of The Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California, and four years later served on the first board of the Screen Actors Guild. He has also been on the board of directors of The Lambs Players. Among his hobbies are painting, collecting art objects (his collection of pre-Columbian and African sculpture has been presented to the Los Angeles County Museum), and freighter travel.

In 1979 Ralph and Alice (Murphy) Bellamy celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. That same year Bellamy's reminiscences were published as When the Smoke Hit the Fan (Doubleday, 1979). Ralph Bellamy died November 29, 1991 in Santa Monica, California.

For more biographical information, see Who's Who in America (41st edition).

The Ralph Bellamy collection illustrates an acting career spanning more than five decades and all major forms of entertainment - theater, motion pictures, radio, television, and publishing. Documentation of Bellamy's theatrical work is especially rich, although all aspects of his career are covered.

Within the GENERAL FILE are located biographical materials, including a biographical sketch and copy of his entry in Who's Who, both annotated by Bellamy, an autobiographical sketch written about 1979, and a film of an interview with Bellamy and his wife on the television series Person to Person. Further information concerning Bellamy's life and career may be found in the bound transcript of an oral history interview done by Ronald L. Davis of Southern Methodist University with Bellamy on 18 May 1977. A folder of awards and certificates represents some of the many honors Bellamy has received; among those present are Pacific Sailfish Club Certificate of Catch, 1947; City College of New York School of Business and Civic Administration certificate of induction to Theatron dramatic organization, 1951; American National Red Cross, 1952; Actors Fund, 1958; The Lambs recognition of Bellamy's performance in Sunrise at Campobello, 1958; National Press Club, 1959; Film Daily's Filmdom's Famous Fives, 1960; American Legion Citation for Meritorious Service, 1966; National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Nomination as best supporting actor, 1974; U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Appreciation, 1978; and a 1979 Award from the Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films. Newspaper clippings of reviews and other articles also illustrate Bellamy's acting career and his activities as president of Actors Equity. Two folders of correspondence consist of letters from stars and entertainment personalities written to Bellamy in response to his requests for anecdotes and reminiscences about the early days of their careers. Many of these anecdotes were incorporated into Bellamy's memoirs. Also present are letters of congratulation following the 1979 publication of his book, and letters of praise for Bellamy's portrayal of FDR in Sunrise at Campobello. Among the prominent correspondents were Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Greer Garson, Melvyn Douglas, James Cagney, Frank McHugh, Dean Rusk, John Chancellor, Pat O'Brien, Charles H. Percy, Frank Capra, Irene Dunne, Walter Kerr, Ed Montagne, George Burns, Steve Allen, Edgar Bergen, William McCaffrey, Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr., Sidney Lumet, Michael Crichton, Jerry Lester, Phil Silvers, Lowell Thomas, Bob Hope, Dore Schary, Lillian Gish, Robert Alda, King Vidor, and Spencer Tracy.

A folder of writings by Bellamy consist of printed and typescript articles concerning actors and acting and his views on Pay-TV, and a book review by Bellamy. Also included are a notebook recording artworks given by Bellamy to the Los Angeles County Museum, printed testimony of Bellamy as president of Actors Equity before the House Ways and Means Committee supporting income tax averaging for actors, and a copy of his 1973 remarks about Pay-TV before the Federal Communications Commission; and miscellany. In the latter folder are a copy of Bellamy's 1924 contract for a Madison, Wisconsin appearance, and other materials.

The PRODUCTION FILES include two bound volumes of programs and additional clippings and papers about the Ralph Bellamy Players. The volumes of programs date from the troupe's two seasons at the Princess Theatre in Des Moines, Iowa, 1926-1928, and are inscribed “To Rexford Bellamy [Ralph Bellamy's father] 'In memory of a very pleasant season' Dua McCurdy.” Other programs include two from 1904 - one from the Castle Square Theatre, Boston, production of In the Palace of the King, and a souvenir of the 40th annual benefit of the Theatrical Mechanical Association, Lodge No. 1, New York; a 1921 program of The North Shore Players, listing Bellamy; and a 1968 program from the CBS Playhouse production of My Father and My Mother, starring Ralph Bellamy. The collection also contains a variety of materials, primarily scripts, illustrating the plays, motion pictures, and television mini-series in which Bellamy appeared. Among these are Circus Saints and Sinners (1958), Condominium (1980), Detective Story (1949), The Heart of the Matter (the original script of which was written by Graham Greene and Ralph Bellamy), Pretty Little Parlor, and State of the Union. There is a short script entitled Nothing, a “protoplay” or a “play which precedes an evening's dramatic program, an introductory play” written by Bellamy and Fenn Germer while Bellamy was in high school. Documenting Bellamy's portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello are research materials consisting of pamphlets, brochures, and other items concerning FDR and his surroundings; notes; a cast list; scripts from both theatre and film productions; a publicity booklet; and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and reviews (some on microfilm). The notes detail the interpretation of the play and the characterization of FDR.

The third series in the collection, BOOKS, primarily concerns Ralph Bellamy's autobiography, When the Smoke Hit the Fan. In addition to an autographed copy of the book there are a handwritten and typewritten draft manuscript, and an annotated typescript of the work. A second volume, A Ship Called Hope, describes Bellamy's tour of several South Vietnamese cities and villages with the staff of the hospital ship Hope in 1961.

Ralph Bellamy papers (Collection number: 224) held at Performing Arts Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles

Ralph Bellamy papers held at the Walter Hampden-Edwin Booth Theatre Library, New York, New York.

Acquisition Information

Placed on deposit by Ralph Bellamy, Los Angeles, California, 1977, 1980. Accession Number: MCHC77-068, MCHC80-099, M89-147

Processing Information

Reprocessed with additions by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt. Further additions interfiled by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1991.

U.S. Mss 190AN	Series: General File
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical Material
Box   1 Folder   2	Transcript of Interview, 1977
CA 622	Person to Person film, 1956 May 11
U.S. Mss 190AN Box   1 Folder   3	Awards, 1947-1979
Box   1 Folder   4	Clippings, 1932-1979
Box   1 Folder   5-6	Correspondence, 1955-1979, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Writings by Bellamy
Box   1 Folder   8	Notebook recording Artworks given to Los Angeles County Museum
Box   1 Folder   9	Testimony Before Ways and Means Committee, 1963
Box   1 Folder   9 (continued)	FCC Hearings, 1973
Box   1 Folder   10	Miscellany, 1924-1927, 1952, undated
	Series: Production Files	⇧
	Ralph Bellamy Players, Princess Theatre, Des Moines, Iowa
Box   1 Folder   11	Programs, 1926 September 12-1927 May l4
Box   2 Folder   1	Programs, 1927 September 10-1928 April 14
Box   2 Folder   1 (continued)	Clipping, 1974
Box   2 Folder   2	Other Papers
Box   2 Folder   3	Other Programs, 1904-1968
Box   2 Folder   4	“Circus Saints and Sinners,” Script Pages, 1958
Box   2 Folder   5	Condominium Publicity File, 1980 Note: MCA TV/Universal's adaptation of John D. MacDonald's Novel
Box   2 Folder   6	Detective Story, Script by Sidney Kingsley; Playbill, 1949
Box   2 Folder   7	The Heart of the Matter, Script by Graham Greene and Basil Dean - Screenplay, Synopses, Notes
Box   2 Folder   8	“Nothing” - a Protoplay by Ralph R. Bellamy and Fenn Germer, circa 1920
Box   2 Folder   9	Pretty Little Parlor, Script by Claiborne Foster, annotated, undated
Box   2 Folder   10	State of the Union (formerly I'd Rather Be Left), screenplay (annotated) by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
	Sunrise at Campobello
Box   2 Folder   11	General Research Materials, Booklets, Pamphlets
Box   2 Folder   12	Speeches, 1958
	Theater Production Note: New York: Cort Theatre, 1958 January 30
Box   2 Folder   13	Notes on Production, Cast List, circa 1958
Box   3 Folder   1	Playscript by Dore Schary, annotated for motion picture(?), 1958
Box   3 Folder   2	Final Acting Script by Dore Schary, 1958 March
Box   5 Folder   1	Two Scrapbooks, 1957-1958
Micro 773 Reel   1	Clippings, 1958-1975
U.S. Mss 190AN	Motion Picture Production Note: Schary Productions, 1960. Warner Brothers
Box   3 Folder   3	Script, including photographs, by Dore Schary, 1960 April 11
Box   3 Folder   4	Publicity Booklet, 1960
	Series: Books	⇧
	When the Smoke Hit the Fan, by Ralph Bellamy (New York: Doubleday, 1979)
Box   3 Folder   5	Book (autographed by Ralph Bellamy)
Box   3 Folder   6-7	Draft Manuscript (Handwritten and typewritten)
Box   4 Folder   1-3	Typescript Manuscript, annotated
Box   4 Folder   4	A Ship Called Hope, by William B. Walsh, M.D. (New York: Dutton, 1964) (Inscribed by the author)