Title: Ruth Goodman Goetz Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1916-1983

Creator:

• Goetz, Ruth Goodman, 1912-

Call Number: U.S. Mss 28AN; Micro 1177; Item A399; Lot A113-A114

Quantity: 6.6 c.f. (19 archives boxes), 2 reels of microfilm (35mm), and photographs

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Ruth Goodman Goetz, a playwright and screenwriter, together with papers of two members of her theatrical family: her father, Philip Goodman (1885-1940), who was a producer of Broadway plays and musicals, and her husband and collaborator, Augustus Goetz (1889-1957). Also present are papers of agent Leah Salisbury pertaining to her management of Goetz's literary interests. Philip Goodman's papers include correspondence, contracts, agreements, financial records, and typescript copies of plays produced or written by Goodman. The work of Ruth Goodman and Augustus Goetz includes scripts, correspondence, and financial records for stage and screen plays such as Carrie (Paramount, 1952), The Immoralist (1954), The Hidden River (1957), and One Man Show (1945). The Heiress, for which the Goetzes adapted both the stage (1947) and screen (Paramount, 1949) versions, is partially documented, although scripts for neither are present. A large part of the correspondence is letters exchanged between Mrs. Goetz and her daughter over a thirty-year period. Also part of the collection is a typescript journal of a trip made to China in 1978; references to associations with Clifford Odets, S. J. Perelman, and David Selznick; and undated costume plates.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0028an

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Dramatist Ruth Goodman Goetz was born in 1912, the daughter of Lily Goodman and Philip Goodman, a noted writer and producer of plays. Philip Goodman (1885-1940) originally worked as a journalist and owner of an advertising agency. During the 1920s, however, his enthusiasm for the work of Don Marquis prompted him to convince Marquis to write a play around his character, the old soak. The play was produced with that title in 1922 by Goodman and Arthur Hopkins and was a success in New York and on the road. The next year Goodman produced Poppy, casting W. C. Fields in his first true speaking role, and in the years that followed he mounted a succession of plays and musicals including The Ramblers (by Bolton, Kalmar and Ruby, 1926); Rainbow (by Lawrence Stallings and Oscar Hammerstein, with music by Vincent Youmans, 1928); The Wild Man of Borneo, (by Marc Connelly and Herman J. Mankiewicz, circa 1926); and Washington Heights (by Vincent Lawrence, 1931). Prior to his death in 1940 Goodman turned, with less success, to playwriting. Franklin Street, which was a recollection of his youth in Philadelphia, was published two years after Goodman's death.

Ruth Goodman was educated at Miss Marshall's School in New York and in Paris and she worked for a time as a story editor and a costume designer. In 1930 she married Augustus Goetz (1889-1957), a former Wall Street bond salesman and trader, and in the same year began writing plays with him. Their first play, on which they worked for two and one-half years was never produced; their second was produced, but not on Broadway. Their third completed work, One Man Show, opened in 1945. Their greatest success came in 1947 with the production of The Heiress, which was adapted from Washington Square by Henry James. The Immoralist, from the novel by Andre Gide, was produced in 1954, and The Hidden River, from the novel by Storm Jameson, was staged in 1957. Together they also wrote film scripts including an Academy-award winning adaptation of The Heiress in 1949, Carrie (1950), Stage Struck (1958) and Trapeze (1956). After her husband's death in 1957, Mrs. Goetz began a play, Ring in the New, in collaboration with George S. Kaufman, and she also wrote Sweet Love Remember'd, which closed out of town following the death of its star, Margaret Sullivan. Her other plays included Madly in Love (1964) and Play on Love (1970).

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.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Ruth Goodman Goetz, New York, New York, 1961-1962, 1987. Accession Number: MCHC61-32, M87-304

Processing Information

Processed by NMcC, 1963. Portions prepared for microfilming by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1989.

	Series: Part 1: Original Collection, 1916-1959
	Subseries: General Material
U.S. Mss 28AN	General correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1-2	Philip Goodman, 1916-1940, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	Ruth Goodman Goetz, 1924-1930, undated
Box   1 Folder   4	Lucy Goodman, 1929-1955
Box   1 Folder   5	Augustus Goetz, 1945
Box   1 Folder   6	Contracts and agreements of Goodman, 1928-1931
Box   1 Folder   7	Philip Goodman memorabilia, undated
	Goetz family personal financial records
Box   1 Folder   8-12	1941-1949
Box   2 Folder   1	1959, undated
Box   2 Folder   2	Financial miscellany
	Miscellaneous papers
Box   2 Folder   3	Worknotes of Ruth and Augustus Goetz, 1947-1956
Box   2 Folder   4	Miscellany
Box   2 Folder   5	Costume plates by Ruth Goetz(?), undated
WCFTR Name File	Photographic portraits of the Goetzes
	Subseries: Plays	⇧
	Philip Goodman as playright
Micro 1177	Birth of a Hero
Reel   1 Frame   1	Handwritten script, circa 1932
Reel   1 Frame   252	Typescript, Act II, undated
U.S. Mss 28AN Box   2 Folder   3	Script, circa 1932
Box   3 Folder   1	Cadenza for Whiskers, Script, 1936
Box   3 Folder   2	Chorus Disbands, “by Charles Morris,” Script, 1938
	Crossing the Alps, “by Paul Phillips”
Box   3 Folder   3	Two scripts, undated
	Dance, My Heart
Box   4 Folder   1	Script, 1933
Box   4 Folder   2	“Twenty Winters and a Summer,” 1934
Box   4 Folder   2	“Love in Season,” by Paul Phillips, undated
Box   4 Folder   3	Jill and Mr. Jack, by John Bland, undated
Box   4 Folder   4	Man in Celluloid, by Jay Quinn, 1937
Box   4 Folder   5	Sacred Cow, Script, 1928
Box   4 Folder   6	The Sisters, by William Bland, 1934
	A Policeman's Lot
Box   4 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1940-1947
Box   4 Folder   8	Typescript, by Philip Goodman and Gus Goetz, 1935
Box   4 Folder   9	Typescript, by Philip Goodman, February 3, 1948
Box   4 Folder   10	Typescript, by John Bland, undated
Box   5 Folder   1	Typescript, corrected typescript, undated
	Philip Goodman as producer
	Dear Sir by Selwyn and Kern, 1924
Box   11 Folder   11	“Vanity Fair,” Acts I and II, undated
Box   11 Folder   12	Five O'Clock Girl, 1927, Typescript, , undated
	The Old Soak, by Don Marquis, 1922
Box   11 Folder   13	Miscellany
	Rainbow, by Stallings, Hammerstein, and Youmans
Box   11 Folder   14	Typescript, undated
	The Ramblers, by Bolton, Kalmar, and Ruby, 1926
Box   12 Folder   1	Promptbook, undated
	Washington Heights, by Vincent Lawrence, 1931
Box   12 Folder   2	Typescript and program
	The Wildman of Borneo, by Marc Connelly and Herman Mankiewicz, circa 1926
Box   12 Folder   3	Typescript
	Plays possibly produced by Philip Goodman
	Another Language, by Rose Franken, undated
Box   12 Folder   4	Typescript
	Crashing the Gates, by James Cain, undated
Box   12 Folder   4	Typescript, undated
	Jubilee, by James Cain, undated
Box   12 Folder   5	Typescript, undated
	Mister Pie-Eyed, by Don Marquis, undated
Box   12 Folder   5	Typescript
	Untitled play by Vincent Lawrence, undated
Box   12 Folder   6	Typescript
	Ruth Goodman Goetz and Augustus Goetz collaboration
	Franklin Street
Box   4 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1942-1946, royalty statements, , 1945 1946, copyright, , 1942, dustjacket, and clipping, , undated
Box   4 Folder   3	Typescript (annotated), undated
	The Heiress, 1948
Box   5 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1942-1946
Box   5 Folder   5	Publicity and clippings
Box   5 Folder   6	Transfer of rights to Lily Goodman, 1949-1952
Box   5 Folder   7	Notes on casting, 1946
Box   5 Folder   8	Notes on selection of director, 1946?
Box   5 Folder   9	Contracts and agreements with Paramount Pictures, 1946-1948
Box   6 Folder   1	Financial miscellany, 1948-1955
Box   6 Folder   2	Tour statements, 1948-1950
Box   6 Folder   3-5	Production design book, undated
Box   6 Folder   6	Miscellany
Box   6 Folder   7	French translation
	Hidden River, 1957
Box   6 Folder   8	Typescript, 1956
Box   6 Folder   9	Typescript, annotated, undated
Box   7 Folder   1	Typescript, notes, and corrected pages, undated
Box   7 Folder   2	Corrected pages, undated
Box   7 Folder   3	Mimeo script, annotated, undated
Box   7 Folder   4	Mimeo script (“Final and complete acting version”), undated
Box   7 Folder   5	Pages, undated
	I'll Be Waiting, 1945
Box   7 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1945, program, notes
	The Immoralist, 1954
Box   7 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1954
Box   7 Folder   8	Playbill, 1954, and notes
Box   7 Folder   9	Typescript of Act I, undated
Box   7 Folder   10	Clippings, 1954-1955
	One Man Show, 1945
Box   7 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1945
Box   7 Folder   12	Typescript, annotated, 1944
Box   7 Folder   12	Typescript, undated
Box   7 Folder   13	Typescript and notes, undated
Box   8 Folder   1	Typescript, undated
Box   8 Folder   2	Treatment, 1950
WCFTR Theater Title File	Photographs
	The Party, undated
U.S. Mss 28AN Box   8 Folder   3	Typescript, undated
Box   8 Folder   4	Correspondence and pages, undated
	Suffering Cats, 1941
Box   8 Folder   5	Typescript, 1941
Box   8 Folder   6	Typescript, 1941
	Non-collaborative work
	Augustus Goetz
Box   11 Folder   2	Who's Darling? Typescript, 1934
	Ruth Goodman Goetz
Box   11 Folder   4	Ring in the New, by Ruth Goetz and George S. Kaufman, and notes, circa 1958 Typescript
	Unidentified plays
	All in Uniform, 1951
Box   11 Folder   6	Notes, 1937
	The Family Play, undated
Box   11 Folder   7	First pages
Micro 1177	Francis and Sheila, 1936
Reel   1 Frame   329	Pages and notes, undated
U.S. Mss 28AN	Head of the Harem, undated
Box   11 Folder   8	Storyline treatment, undated
Micro 1177 Reel   1 Frame   390	Pages and notes
Reel   1 Frame   643	Untitled script
Reel   2 Frame   1	Untitled script
Reel   2 Frame   74	Untitled script
Reel   2 Folder   108	Untitled script
	Subseries: Screenplays	⇧
	Ruth Goodman Goetz and Augustus Goetz collaboration
	Carrie, 1949
U.S. Mss 28AN Box   8 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1949-1953
Micro 1177 Reel   2 Frame   274	Treatment, 1949, circa May
U.S. Mss 28AN Box   8 Folder   8	Treatment, 1949, May 27
Box   8 Folder   9	Treatment, 1949, June 1, June 6
Box   8 Folder   10	Typescript, 1949, August 19
Box   9 Folder   1	Corrected pages and notes, 1949, August 20
Box   9 Folder   2	Pages for additional scenes, undated
Box   9 Folder   3	Pages sent to Wyler, 1950, January 28, February 1
Box   9 Folder   4	Shooting script, 1950, August
Box   9 Folder   5	Notes on conference with Selznick, 1949, November 9
Box   9 Folder   6	Notes, 1949, May 10, September 15
Box   10 Folder   1	Agreement with Paramount, 1949
Box   10 Folder   2	Expenses, 1949-1950
Box   10 Folder   3	Clippings, 1952
	The Heiress, See the Plays subseries files on The Heiress for material on the film version as well
Box   10 Folder   3a	Is It the Night?, Scenario, undated
Box   10 Folder   4	Sincerely, Willis Wade, Notes, 1955
	Stage Struck, 1956
Box   10 Folder   5	“The Morning Glory,” Typescript, by Zoe Akins, March 5, 1945
Box   10 Folder   5	Typescript and pages, undated
Box   10 Folder   6	Mimeo script and pages, undated
Box   11 Folder   1	Mimeo script, November 12, 1956
	Non-collaborative work
	Ruth Goodman Goetz
	Trapeze, 1955
Box   11 Folder   2	Typescript treatment
Box   11 Folder   2	Mimeo script, undated
	Augustus Goetz
Box   11 Folder   5	Tender Is the Night, 1936
	Subseries: Other Writings	⇧
Micro 1177	Augustus Goetz stories
Reel   2 Frame   162	“Home Is Where You Hang Yourself,” by Augustus Goetz and S.J. Perelman, circa 1939, Draft chapters
Reel   2 Frame   254	Short stories, undated
	Series: Part 2, 1987 Additions, 1931-1983	⇧
	Subseries: General Material
U.S. Mss 28AN	General correspondence
	Ruth Goodman Goetz
	Family correspondence
Box   13 Folder   1	Letters to Augustus Goetz, 1931
Box   13 Folder   2	Correspondence during London opening, 1949
Box   13 Folder   3-8	1955-1963
Box   13 Folder   9	Judy's diary, 1963
Box   14	1964-1983
Box   15 Folder   1-4	Undated
	Photographs
Lot A113	Snapshots Scope and Content Note: 50 snapshots of Ruth Goodman Goetz and family members, a few black & white, mostly color, many instamatic, including 10 taken in India, 4 in Greece, and 32 in France (negatives for 31 of these filed as Whi X15 27711-27750)
Lot A114	Judy Goetz Snapshots and Photographs Scope and Content Note: 34 snapshots of Augustus and Ruth Goodman Goetz, their daughter Judy, and her child. Many are annotated by Judy and show the Goetz family in front of their New York City home, as well as many informal snapshots of family life. There are also five 8 × 10 photos of Judy, her wedding in London, and her infant daughter.
Item A399	Two oval miniature portraits in a brass frame, of Ruth and her brother as children
	Personal correspondence
Box   15 Folder   5-8	1953-1964
Box   16 Folder   1-8	1965-1975, undated
Box   16 Folder   9	Chaim Raphael, 1960-1972, 1980, undated
	Professional correspondence
Box   16 Folder   10	Dramatists Guild, 1976-1977
Box   16 Folder   11	Lazar, Irving Paul, 1949-1956
Box   16 Folder   12	London trip, 1964
Box   16 Folder   13	Russian trip, 1966
Box   16 Folder   14-17	Salisbury, Leah, 1949, 1953-1975
Box   16 Folder   18	Sciatlel, Marguerite, 1951-1958
	Goetz personal financial records
Box   17 Folder   1	Personal account books, 1932-1939
Box   17 Folder   2	Apartment management and remodeling, 1964-1976
Box   17 Folder   3	Dramatists Play Service, Heiress royalties, 1956-1973
Box   17 Folder   4	Inventories of personal property, 1975-1977, undated
Box   17 Folder   5	Kellers Church property, 1949-1964
Box   17 Folder   6-7	Salisbury financial statements, 1949-1973
Box   17 Folder   8	Taxes, 1972-1974
Box   17 Folder   9	Taxes on Judith Firth trust, 1970-1972
Box   17 Folder   10	Account management statements from Bank of New York, 1950-1970
	Subseries: Plays	⇧
	Ruth and Augustus Goetz
	Both of Us
Box   17 Folder   11-12	Typescript and miscellaneous draft pages, undated
	Franklin Street
Box   17 Folder   13	Correspondence, 1941-1942, 1963
	Here Today
Box   17 Folder   14	Correspondence, 1937-1978
	Hidden River
Box   17 Folder   15	Playbill, 1957
Box   17 Folder   16	Correspondence re French production, 1958-1961
Box   17 Folder   16	Typescript of French translation, undated
Box   17 Folder   17	Royalty statements, 1956-1959
	Immoralist
Box   17 Folder   18	Blackburn, Aubrey, correspondence, 1949-1950
Box   17 Folder   18a	Clippings
Box   17 Folder   19	Gide, Andre, rights, 1949-1965
Box   17 Folder   20	Rose, Billy, contract, 1953-1969
Box   17 Folder   21	Salisbury, Leah, 1949-1954
	Madly in Love
Box   18 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1961-1964
Box   18 Folder   2	Publicity and playbills, 1963
	Maurice Guest
Box   18 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1951-1952
	A Night at Sea
Box   18 Folder   4	Miscellany, 1977
	Subseries: Other Writings	⇧
Box   18 Folder   5	Chinese diary and miscellaneous pages of edited transcript, 1978
	Subseries: Leah Salisbury Files	⇧
	Hidden River
Box   18 Folder   6	Contracts, 1956-1959
Box   18 Folder   7	England, 1960-1965
Box   18 Folder   8	Foreign rights, Miscellaneous, 1960-1961
Box   18 Folder   9	Germany, 1963
Box   18 Folder   10	Television rights, 1957-1965
	Immoralist
Box   18 Folder   11	Contracts, 1953-1962
Box   18 Folder   12	Contract and copyrights, 1950-1965
Box   18 Folder   13	England, 1957-1966
Box   18 Folder   14	France, 1962-1968
Box   18 Folder   15	Germany, 1958-1959
	Motion picture rights
Box   18 Folder   16	General, 1956-1968
Box   18 Folder   17	Landau, Eli, 1961-1964
Box   18 Folder   18	Cohen, Alexander, 1965
Box   18 Folder   19	Off-Broadway productions, 1958-1963
Box   18 Folder   20	Publicity, 1953-1969
Box   19 Folder   1	South America, 1958-1962
Box   19 Folder   2	Title controversy, 1967
Box   19 Folder   3	Miscellany, 1961-1971
	Madly in Love
Box   19 Folder   4	Contracts, 1963-1964
Box   19 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1961-1964
Box   19 Folder   6	Casting notes, 1963
Box   19 Folder   7	Motion picture rights, 1963-1970
	One Man Show
Box   19 Folder   8	Contracts, 1944-1945
Box   19 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1945-1960
	Pension Beaurepas
Box   19 Folder   10	Miscellany, 1960
	The Same Only Worse
Box   19 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1958-1962