The Michael Douglas Papers primarily document his career as an actor and producer in motion pictures and television. The collection is organized in two main parts. Part 1, the Original Collection, contains materials received in the Archives in 1977. These materials date 1967-1976 and comprise Boxes 1-22A, 1 reel of microfilm, and 1 film. Part 2 consists of materials designated the “1980 Additions.” These materials date 1934-1980 and comprise Boxes 22B-29 (6 cartons and 2 smaller archives boxes). Both Part 1 and Part 2 contain scripts and other records concerning motion picture, television, and theater productions plus a smaller amount of correspondence and other more miscellaneous materials.
Part 1: Original Collection, 1967-1976
The bulk of the ORIGINAL COLLECTION consists of scripts, clippings, correspondence, and miscellany, which have been organized in four subseries: Subject File, Motion Pictures, Television, and Theater.
The Subject File includes correspondence, press clippings, story outlines, and miscellany. The Correspondence, 1969-1976, has been arranged into incoming and outgoing correspondence, with the former subdivided into business correspondence, and personal communications and fan mail. The business correspondence includes requests for donations for various schools and causes; invitations for Douglas to produce the film Blue Collar and a Rolling Stone television special; requests for guest appearances at various functions; congratulatory letters for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest; and sporadic legal correspondence regarding the affairs of Bigstick Productions, Ltd. The personal correspondence includes letters from friends and family, particularly his mother, Diana Dill. A partial list of correspondents includes:
| Business |
October 15, 1974 |
Edmund G. Brown Jr. |
| Business |
April 21, 1975 |
Cesar E. Chavez |
| Business |
August 22, 1975 |
Irving Paul Lazar |
| Business |
May 24, 1976 |
Arthur B. Krim |
| Business |
June 10, 1976 |
Paul Schrader |
| Business |
June 26, 1976 |
Tom Hayden |
| Personal |
April 14, 1975 |
Kirk Douglas |
| Personal |
January 2, 1976 |
Betty Ford |
| Personal |
August 16, 1976 |
Tom Hayden |
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center files include correspondence, financial statements, newsletters, and pamphlets. Douglas spent three years in summer residence at the Center when he began his career and later financially supported its work. The Press clippings are from various magazines and newspapers and focus on Douglas's career from his student days at the University of California at Santa Barbara through his production of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. The Scrapbook, 1969-1972, contains reviews and clippings about several productions with which Douglas was involved. Among these are Adam at Six A.M., “The Experiment,” Hail, Hero, Pinkville (8), The Streets of San Francisco, and When Michael Calls. Miscellaneous correspondence and photos are also included. The Story Outlines are composed of brief synopses and some recommendations regarding the production possibilities of various story ideas.
The Motion Picture subseries contains research materials, synopses, variant scripts, production notes, correspondence, reviews, and promotional materials. The amount of documentation for each film varies. Among the motion pictures are Adam at Six A.M., Hail, Hero, Napoleon and Samantha, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Summertree. There is also research and production material for Faded Glory, a proposed film based on the 1976 Israeli raid at Entebbe to free hostages of an airplane hijacking. These files reveal the efforts of several studios and production companies to be “first” in producing a film on the Entebbe raid. The most extensive amount of material exists for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Of special interest are the variant scripts, which reveal the involved script writing process for this film. Scripts range from the original play adaptation by Dale Wasserman to the final shooting script. Also included is the original screenplay as written by Ken Kesey, author of the novel on which the film was based. In addition, extensive promotional materials document the studio's and Douglas's efforts to mount a major sales campaign for the film.
The majority of the Television subseries consists of scripts for episodes of The Streets of San Francisco, a series in which Douglas co-starred for five years. Occasionally, a revised script is also included for an individual episode. There is also a script for When Michael Calls, a made-for-TV movie in which Douglas starred.
Scripts plus occasional related materials for The City Scene, Love Is a Time of Day, and Pinkville (8), productions in which Douglas starred, are included in the Theater subseries.
In addition there is a script for Muzeeka, a play Douglas directed while at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Part 2: 1980 Additions, 1934-1980
The 1980 ADDITIONS to the collection are composed almost entirely of scripts for films, television, and theater, and have been organized into five subseries: Motion Pictures, Television, Theater, Books, and Miscellany. Many of the scripts apparently were sent to Douglas for his consideration as an actor or producer.
The Motion Picture subseries contains scripts, synopses, treatments, and some research materials. Most of the subseries is devoted to scripts, treatments and synopses sent to Douglas from authors requesting his participation in producing their works. Many of the films were never produced. Among the motion pictures are Altered States, Running, Tilt, Slap Shot, Soldier Blue, and The China Syndrome. The materials for The China Syndrome include variant scripts dating from 1975 to 1977, and research materials, including magazine articles, pamphlets from Pacific Gas and Electric and The Union of Concerned Citizens, engineering drawings of a nuclear power plant, and a few photographs.
The Television subseries consists of scripts from different programs, scripts from television movies, and synopses of Nero Wolfe mystery novels dating from 1934 to 1968.
The Theater subseries is comprised of scripts from various plays for which no production information is known.
The Books subseries are manuscripts or copies of novels and non-fictional works; no additional information is known.
The Miscellany subseries includes a small amount of correspondence, an untitled script, and a catalogue of screen and television properties sent to Douglas from James E. Colaneri.
The Audio Recordings subseries includes 4 tape recordings.
