The Goetz Papers were received in the Archives in two groups separated by a period of almost thirty years. The first group, designated the “Original Collection” (received in the Archives in 1961 and 1962), is composed primarily of plays and play fragments by Philip Goodman and Ruth and Augustus Goetz and of plays produced (or probably produced) by Goodman. It also contains some unidentified scripts (chiefly by playwrights with whom the family was associated), several short stories by Augustus Goetz, some correspondence of Philip Goodman and Ruth Goetz, legal material and contracts, financial records, and miscellany. The second group, designated the “1987 Additions,” consists of a large quantity of Ruth Goetz's personal and family correspondence and photographs, together with some additional professional correspondence primarily concerning the management of her work. In addition, this part includes papers of literary agent, Leah Salisbury, who represented Mrs. Goetz.
In 1963 the Goetz Papers as they then existed were arranged as general material, plays, screenplays, and other writings. In order to facilitate access, a parallel organizational scheme was used for the 1987 Additions, with the exception of a series that was established for the files of Leah Salisbury. Because of their deteriorated condition, several scripts and stories from the Original Collection were microfilmed and the originals destroyed.
Part 1, Original Collection, 1916-1959
The GENERAL MATERIAL includes separately-arranged files of correspondence of Philip and Lily Goodman and Ruth Goetz, with a single letter pertaining to Augustus Goetz; personal financial account books of the Goetzes' dating from the 1940s; a diary-like book of notes concerning their work, 1947-1956; several watercolor costume designs thought to have been done by Mrs. Goetz during her early career, and photographic portraits of the Goetzes.
Goodman's correspondence contains letters from a number of notables with whom he was involved professionally: James M. Cain, Marc Connelly, Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Don Marquis, Elmer Rice, and Robert Sherwood. There are also numerous letters from biologist Raymond Pearl. Personal letters in both Goodman's and Mrs. Goetz's files concern friendship with W. C. Fields and Sinclair Lewis. Her file also includes a letter from Brooks Atkinson.
The remainder of the Original Collection is arranged by genre, and then by author and then alphabetically by title. PLAYS filed under Philip Goodman's name contain not only works which he wrote (several under pseudonyms), but also several which he produced or which he is thought to have produced. The plays by Ruth and Augustus Goetz include extensive files on The Heiress, for which they also wrote the screenplay. (The motion picture script is not included with the papers.) Of special note is the extensive correspondence with their agent Leah Salisbury. A volume of stills from the motion picture version that was presented to Mrs. Goetz by William Wyler was at one time in the collection but currently is missing from the WCFTR Title File.
For the SCREENPLAYS on which the Goetzes collaborated, the best documentation concerns their work on Carrie. Here there is correspondence with William Wyler, draft pages concerning the revision of the script, typed notes
concerning David Selznick's involvement with the production, and related comments from Clifford Odets.
Prominent in the correspondence filed by production name are exchanges with George S. Kaufman in the files on Franklin Street, The Party, and Ring in the New.
OTHER WRITINGS consists of a file of short stories by Augustus Goetz and a collection of stories, apparently unpublished, on which he collaborated with S. J. Perelman.
Part 2, 1987 Additions, 1931-1983
The GENERAL MATERIAL in the 1987 Additions consists of family, personal, and professional correspondence, family photographs, and financial records. The family correspondence consists primarily of letters to and from Ruth Goetz and her daughter Judith Firth (and later her granddaughter Katie Firth) from 1949 when the Goetzes left her in New York City during the London production of The Heiress to 1983. Mrs. Goetz and her daughter were frequently separated, but the relationship revealed by this correspondence was unusually close and loving. Both photographs and the correspondence document the pattern of women's daily life through several generations. Beyond this value, the letters contain significant supplementary information about Mrs. Goetz's theatrical career and about the lives of her friends and associates such as Oscar and Becky Bernstein and Julius Edelstein. Unfortunately, there is little in the family correspondence about Augustus Goetz or about the nature of the couple's professional collaboration.
The personal correspondence, which primarily documents the period 1953-1975, provides only inferential information about Mrs. Goetz, as it is largely comprised of letters received. Nevertheless, her circle of friends and acquaintances are of great research interest, for it included such literary and theatrical personalities as Frith Banbury, James M. Cain, Constance Cummings, J. B. Priestley, and Chaim Raphael and the families of Alan F. Guttmacher and William Wyler.
The professional correspondence consists of alphabetically-arranged files concerning relationships with agents Irving Paul Lazar, Leah Salisbury, and Marguerite Sciatlel and information on an effort by Mrs. Goetz and others to promote the Dramatists Guild in Great Britain.
Supplementing the personal financial records contained in Part 1 are additional financial notebooks from the 1930s. In addition, the papers include an incomplete file of personal tax forms, inventories of personal property, statements concerning securities managed for her by the Bank of New York and royalties received as a result of Leah Salisbury's management of her literary interests. One file of correspondence included here concerns the disposition of her property in Keller's Church, Pennsylvania.
Documentation on the Goetzes' PLAYS received with the 1987 Additions consists largely of correspondence rather than script material, although there is a typescript and draft pages for Both of Us, an apparently unstaged work. The play material is arranged alphabetically by production title, with the majority of the files concerning Hidden River and The Immoralist. The former concerns the translation and production of a French version of the work, while the files on the second include correspondence with Andre Gide concerning acquisition of dramatic rights to the book and later with Billy Rose concerning his ongoing interest in the play. There is also some correspondence with George Oppenheimer related to Here Today.
Filed as OTHER WRITINGS is a handwritten version and an incomplete, annotated typescript of a diary concerning a trip Mrs. Goetz made to China in 1978.
A large part of the 1987 Additions consists of correspondence and contracts created by Leah Salisbury which were probably acquired by Mrs. Goetz after Salisbury's death. Not only do these files contain valuable information about Hidden River, The Immoralist, and several other Goetz works, but they also contain a rare glimpse of the activities of a prominent literary agent. The files on The Immoralist, which are the most extensive, contain material on various foreign productions of the play and on acquisition of motion picture rights by Eli Landau and other producers.
