The Adrian Spies Papers were received in the Archives in two parts. The first part, designated the “Original Collection,” is composed primarily of scripts and miscellaneous materials and dates 1949-1965. The second part, designated “Additions,” dates 1951, 1963-1969 and consists mainly of scripts and related materials documenting Spies' later writings for television and motion pictures.
PART 1: ORIGINAL COLLECTION is arranged into subseries as follows: Correspondence, Scripts: Titled Series, Scripts: General, and Miscellaneous Materials.
Correspondence, 1949-1965,which consists mainly of business letters, is arranged chronologically by date.
Scripts: Titled Series is arranged alphabetically by series title and by script title within each series. Included are scripts for Climax, Dr. Kildare, The Nurses, Playhouse 90, Studio One, The Walter Winchell Files, and others. Also included here are Mr. Spies's award winning scripts: “What's God to Julius” (Dr. Kildare) - Emmy nomination; “Edge of Truth” (Studio One) - Edgar Award; and “Island in the City” (Climax) - Sherwood Award. A film copy of “Edge of Truth” and kinescopes of “Island in the City” are present too.
Scripts: General includes outlines and pilot scripts, as well as those for single shows. These are arranged alphabetically by script title. Included in this subseries is a variety of papers concerning the program Europa 33, demonstrating the evolution of a series.
Miscellaneous Materials include business papers, 1956-1965, photographs of Mr. Spies and the stars of several of his shows on location, dictaphone belts, and other materials.
PART II: ADDITIONS are organized into three subseries: Television, Motion Pictures, and a small file of Miscellany.
Among the Television programs represented are The Bold Ones, Bracken's World, Felony Squad, A Man Called Shenandoah, Name of the Game, The Nurses, The Rookies, Slattery's People, and Star Trek; while Motion Pictures includes Dark of the Sun and Guns for San Sebastian. The amount of documentation varies with each production and may range from brief notes to complete runs of scripts, many of which may be annotated. Of particular interest is a file of correspondence, memoranda, and comments relating to the television series Star Trek. Included are several memoranda from Gene Roddenberry, the series creator, offering general guidelines for writers who authored early scripts for the series. Topics discussed include the personalities of the running characters, sets, technological devices of the future (e.g., phasers, communicators, transporters), and general storylines.
A small file of Miscellany completes the collection and consists of a clipping describing a play Spies authored as a grammar school student, a letter discussing a story idea for a possible television drama, and other writings. The writings include two published versions of “Express Stop from Lenox Avenue,” which originally aired on The Nurses, and an article Spies wrote for his university's 25th class reunion.
