Tom Donovan Papers, 1943-1974


Summary Information
Title: Tom Donovan Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1943-1974

Creator:
  • Donovan, Tom
Call Number: U.S. Mss 153AN

Quantity: 6.0 c.f. (15 archives boxes)

Repository:
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:
Papers of Tom Donavan, a television producer-director known for his work on dramatic anthologies and daytime serials. Of the many programs on which Donovan worked, the collection is best for CBS Daytime 90, Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC), Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (CBS), Love of Life (CBS), Studio One (CBS), United States Steel Hour (CBS), Where the Heart Is (CBS), and A World Apart (ABC). Types of documentation include correspondence, scripts, notes, budgets, set designs, photographs, and reviews. Other sections contain minutes and correspondence pertaining to his activities in the Directors Guild of America and miscellaneous correspondence with other professional organizations.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0153an
 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Biography/History

Tom Donovan was born on August 1, 1922, in Boston, Massachusetts to John J. and Florence R. (Hackett) Donovan. He has one brother, John J., Jr., a commercial artist. As a child, Donovan attended Boston public schools and later Cornell University and Boston's Curry College, where he majored in drama. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1942 to 1946.

After leaving the Army he worked as a projectionist traveling out of Boston showing film classics throughout New England, and also spent a year as stage manager, lighting director, and actor with the Barter Theater of Abingdon, Virginia.

Moving to New York, Donovan worked as stage manager on Broadway in The Vigil (Royale, 1948, May 21). He then became involved with Goodbye, My Fancy (Morosco, 1948, Nov) also on Broadway and with the touring company, where he met his wife-to-be, actress Marie Phillips. They were married in 1951 and at this writing have two children, Kathleen and Kevin.

From 1950 to 1959 Donovan was with CBS-TV as stage manager, progressing rapidly to assistant director then director assigned to the Adventure series with Charles Collingwood. Donovan followed this with The Morning Show with Walter Cronkite. Thereafter, he became known as a director of dramas on such series as Danger!, Suspense, Studio One, Du Pont Show of the Month, Playhouse 90, and The U.S. Steel Hour.

Individual shows for which Donovan is especially noted include “The Time of Your Life” (10/9/58) with Jackie Gleason on Playhouse 90; “Hasty Heart” (12/18/58) on the Du Pont Show of the Month; “The Three Musketeers” (12/4-5/60) and “Vanity Fair” (1/12-13/61) on Family Classics; The Roots of Freedom series (1963-64), a segment of which was filmed in Greece with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne; and “The Old Lady Shows Her Medals,” the final U.S. Steel Hour show (6/12/63), also with Lunt and Fontanne.

From 1964 through 1965 Donovan directed the soap opera Another World on NBC, to which he returned after time out in 1965 for a brief stint with Our Private World. He remained with Another World until launching production of Love Is A Many Splendored Thing in 1967.

In 1968 Donovan began freelancing and did so until 1970 when he took the reins of A World Apart, another daytime drama series, on ABC. One year later, Donovan moved back to CBS to direct Where the Heart Is until 1973. In late 1973 he became executive producer of the short-lived CBS Daytime 90.

Donovan has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, has been awarded one for his contributions to Playhouse 90, and has been given the George Foster Peabody Award for the Adventure series.

Various professional organizations Donovan has been associated with include the Directors Guild of America, as a member of the National Board and the Eastern Council; the defunct Radio and Television Directors Guild, as president; The Players, a fellowship of people in the fine arts world; and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Scope and Content Note

The Tom Donovan Papers, 1943-1974, consist primarily of scripts, correspondence, and production materials for television productions Donovan has been involved in; and of material on the Directors Guild of America. There is also a small file of correspondence arranged by topic, six folders of ABC and CBS television network policy and standards documents, and two folders re his work in the theater. The final arrangement of the collection generally reflects the condition in which Donovan maintained it.

Donovan has been quite active in the professional and collective bargaining organizations in theater and television, which is well illustrated by his correspondence, as well as by his files of ABC and CBS policy and operations documents in Box 14 and by the Directors Guild of America files. The correspondence in Boxes 1 and 2 is arranged by topic, and other correspondence is scattered throughout the collection.

The ABC and CBS network documents include a 1966 ABC standards and policies booklet, a 1965 CBS introduction to color booklet, a 1972 “Daytime Drama on the CBS Television Network,” a folder of CBS correspondence re standards and policies, 1956-1973, and a folder of CBS time records for Donovan and his secretary, 1973.

The Directors Guild of America files include minutes of many meetings from its inception in 1960 to early 1974, and correspondence in the same time period between members and the national office re the purpose and direction of the Guild, its publications, and its responsibilities to the television and motion picture industries. Arrangement is generally chronological.

Two folders in Box 5 concern Donovan's early theater experiences, 1946-1950, and his part in the production of Harvey (Ivoryton Theatre, Ivoryton, Connecticut, 1957, week of September 10).

The television production materials contain items covering many aspects of production, including correspondence, scripts, notes, budgets, set designs, reviews, and other documents. Produced and unproduced materials are arranged together in a chronological file organized by individual episode; occasionally episodes prepared for one series are scattered throughout the file, but there is an index for these series that precedes the container list. The material spans the years 1950 to 1974. The earlier files concern programs for such series as Studio One, the U.S. Steel Hour, Playhouse 90, Family Classics, and The Roots of Freedom. After 1964 there are files on soap operas and daytime shows like Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, CBS Daytime 90, and A World Apart in addition to material for nighttime programs like the Hallmark Hall of Fame, NYPD, and The Story of John Peter Zenger. Box 15 contains set designs for some of these productions, and thirteen oversize set designs have been transferred to the Visual Material section. Photographs found in the collection were transferred to the General Stills Archive of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, but copies were left with the papers.

Administrative/Restriction Information
Acquisition Information

Placed on deposit by Tom Donovan, New York, NY, August 21, 1974. Accession Number: MCHC74-81


Processing Information

Processed by Eleanor McKay and G. Siordia.


Contents List
Series: Correspondence
Box   1
Folder   1
Personal, 1943-1974
Box   1
Folder   2
Casting agency, correspondence and lists, 1957-1973
Box   1
Folder   3
Re novel Emes Morris by Milt Weiner, 1963
Box   1
Folder   4
American National Theatre and Television Academy, re proposed series of television specials, 1963, Dec. 6
Box   1
Folder   5
Conference of Motion Picture and Television Unions: correspondence, minutes, constitution, 1973, Mar.
Box   1
Folder   6
New York City's Office of Collective Bargaining: directory, summary of decisions, 1973
Box   1
Folder   7
Neilsen Ratings, 1st and 2nd reports, April 1974
Box   1
Folder   8-9
Legal correspondence, 1960, 1964-1972
Box   2
Folder   1
Directors Service, Inc., correspondence re pensions and profit sharing, 1966-1967
Box   2
Folder   2
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1956-1974
Box   2
Folder   3
William McCaffrey Agency, 1958-1971
Box   2
Folder   4
Phil Gersh Agency, 1968-1972
Box   2
Folder   5
The Players (Fellowship), 1955-1971
Series: Directors Guild of America Records
Box   2
Folder   6
Radio and Television Directors Guild, policy documents and correspondence, 1955-1960
Correspondence
Box   2
Folder   7
1960-1962
Box   2
Folder   8
1963
Box   2
Folder   9
1964
Box   2
Folder   10
1965
Box   2
Folder   11
1966
Box   2
Folder   12
Basic agreement and correspondence, 1968
Box   2
Folder   13
Contract negotiations with television networks, 1968-1969
Box   2
Folder   14
Minutes, Correspondence, DGA agreement with Director's Service, 1969
Box   3
Folder   1
Minutes, correspondence, by-laws, 1970
Box   3
Folder   2
Minutes, Awards dinner, Annual meeting, 1971
Box   3
Folder   3
Education and Benevolent Foundation, National board meetings, correspondence, 1971
Box   3
Folder   4
Soviet directors' U.S. visit, 1971, Feb.
Box   3
Folder   5
Minutes, 1972
Box   3
Folder   6
Elia Kazan dispute, Proprietary rights, task force on International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Strike, Independent Live and Tape Supplement
Box   3
Folder   7
Negotiations with American Motion Picture and Television Producers, (AMPTP) correspondence of publications committee, awards dinner, general correspondence, 1972
Box   4
Folder   1
DGA-CBS television staff, stage managers, agreement for 1972
Box   4
Folder   2
Minutes, annual meeting, 1973
Box   4
Folder   3
Action magazine, negotiations with AMPTP, disciplinary action, national conventions and elections
Box   4
Folder   4
DGA-CBS agreement for television staff associate directors, 1973
Box   4
Folder   5
General correspondence, 1973
Box   4
Folder   6
(DGA) President's Special Committee on Internal Affairs, Elia Kazan speech, 1973
Box   4
Folder   7
Obscenity and the Supreme Court, 1973-1974
Box   4
Folder   8
Minutes, Action magazine and general correspondence, 1974
Series: Theater - produced
Box   5
Folder   1
Early theater experience as actor, stage manager, lighting director, 1946-1950
Box   5
Folder   17
Harvey (Ivoryton Theatre, Ivoryton, Conn., 1957, week of Sept. 10), correspondence
Series: Television - produced and unproduced
Big Town
Box   5
Folder   2
Two scripts, 1950-1951
Medallion Theatre
Box   5
Folder   3
Article, 1953, August
Mama
Box   5
Folder   4
Telegram, 1953
Morning Show
Box   5
Folder   5
Correspondence, articles
Danger!
Box   5
Folder   6
Correspondence, title cards, 1954-1955
Adventure
Box   5
Folder   7
Correspondence, 1954-1955
Project proposals - script outlines, 1955
Box   5
Folder   8
“Troubled Night”
Box   5
Folder   8
“People Downstairs”
Box   5
Folder   8
“Will Shakespeare - A Program for Television”
Robert Q. Lewis Show
Box   5
Folder   9
Production materials, 1956
Hawk
Box   8
Folder   4
“The Longleat Chronicles” ( 1956, Sept. 15), script, production material, correspondence
Climax
Box   5
Folder   10
Production materials, 1956-1958
Studio One
Box   5
Folder   11
“Star-spangled Soldier” ( 1956, April 21), script, director's notes, production material, correspondence
Box   5
Folder   12
“Snap Your Fingers” ( 1956, June 18). correspondence and reviews
Box   5
Folder   13
“Emmaline” ( 1956, July 16), correspondence
President's (Eisenhower) Birthday Party ( 1956, Oct. 13)
Box   5
Folder   14
Script
Studio One
Box   5
Folder   15
“Babe in the Woods” ( 1957, May 13), script, production material
Box   5
Folder   16
“The Weston Strain” ( 1957, May 27), script, production material
Box   5
Folder   18
“The Night America Trembled” ( 1957, Sept. 10), reviews
Box   5
Folder   19
“Mutiny on the Shark,” Parts I and II ( 1957, Sept. 30), script, production material
Box   6
Folder   1
“Act of Mercy” ( 1957, Oct. 14), reviews
Box   6
Folder   2
“Brotherhood of the Bell” ( 1958, Jan. 6), correspondence, reviews
Note: See Box 15 for set designs.
Box   6
Folder   3
“Trial By Slander” ( 1958, Jan. 20), casting material, script, correspondence, reviews
Note: See box 15 for set designs.
Box   6
Folder   4
“The Laughing Willow” ( 1958, Feb. 3), script, rehearsal schedule, reviews
Box   6
Folder   5
“The Lonely Stage” ( 1958, Feb. 24), script, correspondence, reviews
Box   6
Folder   6
“The Kurishiki Incident” ( 1958, May 12), script, production material, correspondence, reviews
Box   6
Folder   7
“The Man Who Asked for a Funeral” ( 1958, June 23), review
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   6
Folder   8
“Climate of Marriage” ( 1958, July 30), correspondence, reviews
Playhouse 90
Box   6
Folder   9
“Time of Your Life” ( 1958, Oct. 9), script, production material, reviews
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   6
Folder   10
“One Red Rose for Christmas” ( 1958, Dec. 17), correspondence, reviews
Du Pont Show of the Month
Box   6
Folder   11
“Hasty Heart” ( 1958, Dec. 18), script, production material, reviews
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   6
Folder   12
“Dangerous Interlude” ( 1959, Jan. 24), correspondence, reviews
Suspense
Box   6
Folder   13
Staff list, Jan. 1959
Baker's Wife
Box   6
Folder   14
Script, March 1959
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   6
Folder   15
“Little Tin God” ( 1959, April 22), scripts, production material, reviews
Box   7
Folder   1
“Seed of Guilt” ( 1959, Aug. 12), scripts, production material
The Bells of St. Mary's ( 1959, Oct. 27)
Box   7
Folder   2
Script, production material, reviews
Buick Electra Playhouse
Box   7
Folder   3
“The Killers” ( 1959, Nov. 19), script, production material, reviews
Art Carney Show
Box   7
Folder   4
“Call Me Back” ( 1960, Jan. 16), reviews
The Devil and Daniel Webster
Box   7
Folder   5
Reviews
Valley of Decision ( 1960, March 20)
Box   7
Folder   6
Correspondence, reviews
Ninotchka ( 1960, April 20)
Box   7
Folder   7
Correspondence, reviews
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   7
Folder   8
“Game of Hearts” ( 1960, June), correspondence, reviews
Family Classics
Box   7
Folder   9
“The Three Musketeers” ( 1960, Dec. 4-5), correspondence, reviews
Box   7
Folder   10
“Vanity Fair” ( 1961, Jan. 12-13), script, cast recommendations, reviews
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   7
Folder   11
“Devil Makes Sunday” ( 1961, Jan. 25), correspondence
Box   7
Folder   12
“Special Kind of Summer” ( 1961, Feb. 11), script
Way Out
Box   7
Folder   13
Staff, director's contract, 1961, March-April
Greatest Man in the World ( 1961, April 1)
Box   7
Folder   14
Script, correspondence
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   7
Folder   15
“Doubled Edged Sword” ( 1961, July), script reviews
The Dispossessed
Box   7
Folder   16
Revised script, 1961, Sept. 18
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   8
Folder   1
“Man on a Mountaintop” ( 1961, Nov. 15), script, reviews
Breck Golden Showcase
Box   8
Folder   2
“Saturday's Children” ( 1962, Feb. 25), script, production material
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   8
Folder   3
“A Man for Oona” ( 1962, May 12), script
The First Day
Box   8
Folder   4
Production material, script, 1962, June 5
East of the City
Box   8
Folder   5
Pilot episode #1, script, second draft, 1963, Jan. 14
Roots of Freedom
Box   8
Folder   6
“The Golden Age” ( 1963, May), script, production material, correspondence
U.S. Steel Hour
Box   8
Folder   7
“The Old Lady Shows Her Medals” ( 1963, June 12), script, production material, reviews
Roots of Freedom
Box   8
Folder   8
“Athens, Where the Theatre Began” ( 1963, Sept. 11), script, production material
Box   8
Folder   9
“In Defense of Rome” ( 1963, Nov.), script, production material, correspondence
Pieta Special
Box   8
Folder   10
Correspondence, photographs, 1963-1964
Du Pont Show of the Week
Box   8
Folder   11
“A Day Like Today” ( 1964, Feb. 15), correspondence, script
Another World
Box   9
Folder   1
Format, production material, correspondence, 1964-1965
Note: See box 15 for set designs.
As the World Turns (night-time) ( 1965, May 5)
Box   9
Folder   2
Production material
Our Private World
Box   9
Folder   3
Article, 1965
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, 1967-1969
Box   9
Folder   5
Budget, press releases, correspondence
Box   9
Folder   6
Talent lists, music
Box   9
Folder   7
Production materials, personnel applications, script # 152
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Box   9
Folder   8-9
“A Punt, a Pass, and a Prayer” ( 1968, Nov. 20), script, production material, correspondence
NYPD
Box   9
Folder   10
“Who's Got the Bundle?,” 1968, Nov.-Dec., scenic design, script, production material
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Box   10
Folder   1
“Teacher! Teacher!, ” revised script, 1968
By Appointment Only - a series of television episodes
Box   10
Folder   2
Copyright, 1968
The Choice ( 1969, March 30)
Box   10
Folder   3
Scripts re heart transplant, production material, correspondence, reviews
The Prodigal ( 1969, May 1)
Box   10
Folder   4
Script, production material, correspondence, reviews
The Protectors
Box   10
Folder   5
Series projection; guide for writers, 1969
Box   10
Folder   5
“Draw a Straight Man,” production material, script, 1969, July-Aug.
All My Worlds - proposed series
Box   10
Folder   6
Copyright, 1969
Once Upon a World (1970 March 8)
Box   10
Folder   7
Script, director's contract, production material, audience response, correspondence
Note: See box 15 for set designs.
A World Apart
Box   10
Folder   8
Scripts #1, 314, 322, 1970
Box   10
Folder   9
Budget and contracts, 1970-1971
Box   10
Folder   10
Production material, 1970-1971
Box   11
Folder   1
Correspondence, 1970-1971
Box   11
Folder   2
Storyline and character sketches, 1970-1971
Another Spring
Box   11
Folder   3
Production materials, correspondence, 1970
The Sweetest Sounds: A Salute to Richard Rodgers
Box   11
Folder   4
Proposed format, 1970
Reap the Harvest - proposed series
Box   11
Folder   5
Storyline, script #1, 1970
The Guiding Light
Box   11
Folder   6
Production materials, correspondence, 1971
The Story of John Peter Zenger
Box   11
Folder   7
Story outline, 1971, June
Written in the Stars
Box   11
Folder   8
Proposed format, 1971, Sept. 17
Where the Heart Is
Box   11
Folder   9
Series projection, 1971-1973
Box   11
Folder   10
Production material, correspondence
Harriet ( 1972, Feb. 3)
Box   11
Folder   11-12
Script, production material
Note: See box 15 for set designs.
Matinee Today
Box   11
Folder   13
“Report the Melody,” script, production materials, correspondence, 1973
Love of Life
Box   12
Folder   1-2
Budget, writing, director, and other production position applications, 1973
CBS Daytime 90
Writing, director, and other production positions applications, 1973
Box   11
Folder   14
Part 1
Box   12
Folder   1-2
Part 2
Box   12
Folder   3-4
Status reports, budget, properties, 1973
Box   12
Folder   5
Other production material, 1973
Box   12
Folder   6
“Legacy of Fear” ( 1974, Feb. 11), script, production material
Box   12
Folder   7
“My Little Love” ( 1974, Feb. 15), script, production material
Box   13
Folder   1
“Trio for Lovers” ( 1974, Feb.), scripts, production material
Box   13
Folder   2
“Run, Valerie, Run” ( 1974, Feb.), script, production material
Box   13
Folder   3
“The Four of Us,” script, notes, 1973, April-1974, Feb.
Box   13
Folder   4
“The Drifter,” correspondence, script, notes, 1973, Nov.-Dec.
Box   13
Folder   5
“The Guest Room,” correspondence, script, production material, 1973, Nov.-1974, Feb.
Box   13
Folder   6
“For Love of Laurie,” correspondence, script, notes, 1973, Dec
Note: See box 15 for set designs.
Box   13
Folder   7
“Once in Her Life,” correspondence, script, production material, 1973, Nov.-Dec.
Afternoon Playbreak
Box   14
Folder   1
“The Last Bride of Salem” ( 1974, May 8), script, production material
The Norming of Jack 243
Box   14
Folder   2
First draft script, 1974, May 24
Box   14
Folder   3
Untitled, anonymous script, undated
Box   15
Set designs for Harriet, Daytime 90 episodes, Once Upon a World, a Salem Village program, Another World, Studio One's “Trial By Slander” and “Brotherhood of the Bell,” and several other unidentified productions
Box   15
Oversize certificates, 1971, 1973
Series: Network Documents
Box   14
Folder   4-5
“ABC Standards and Policies, I-II,” issued 1966, June 30
Box   14
Folder   6
CBS-“An Introduction to Color,” 1965, June
Box   14
Folder   7
“Daytime Drama on the CBS Television Network,” 1972, May
Box   14
Folder   8
CBS Correspondence, 1956-1973
Box   14
Folder   9
CBS-Time records for Donovan and his secretary, 1973, Oct.-1974, Feb.