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.
