Summary Information
Michael Vincente Gazzo Papers
1956-1969
- Gazzo, Michael Vincente, 1923-
U.S. Mss 157AN
0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Contact Information
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Michael Gazzo, a playwright, screenwriter, and motion picture actor, consisting of correspondence pertaining to his screenwriting, and scripts for ten works. Those pertaining to the stage (1955) and to the ABC television versions of A Hatful of Rain are most notable.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0157an ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Playwright, actor, and director Michael Gazzo was born on April 5, 1923 in Hillside, N.J. After graduating from an Elizabeth, N.J. high school in 1939, he studied at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Science, receiving a diploma in 1949; and at the Actors Studio, becoming a member in 1952. In 1944 he married Grace Henn with whom he has had three children. During the World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force.
Gazzo's first critical success as a playwright came for his A Hatful of Rain (Lyceum Th., 1955, Nov 9); he tied with Paddy Chayefsky as promising playwright of the year in the Variety Drama Critics poll. He also wrote the screenplay for the movie of the same title released by Fox in 1957; this film was ranked by Film Daily as one of the five best films of 1957. He wrote the play Night Circus (John Golden Th., 1958, Dec 2), and he acted in and directed a number of plays for the Dramatic Workshop and for other off- and on-Broadway productions.
In films Gazzo acted in On the Waterfront (Col, 1954) and The Pride and the Passion (UA, 1957). He wrote the screenplays for King Creole (Par, 1958) and The World of Johnny Cool (UA, 1964) as well as A Hatful of Rain.
He has taught acting privately since 1950 in addition to teaching classes in theater at Studio Six, the Actors Cine Lab, and the Dramatic Workshop
of the New School for Social Research. He is a member of AFTRA, the Screen Writers Guild, and the Dramatists Guild.
Scope and Content Note
The Michael Gazzo Papers, 1956-1969, include correspondence, scripts, and production materials relating to his work as a playwright. In the correspondence are letters with Gazzo's agent Audrey Wood and with Fred Zinneman of Twentieth Century Fox re attempts to adapt his scripts to the screen. There are also letters praising his plays or rejecting them for screen adaptation, invitations to collaborate on screenplays and to present acting classes, and correspondence concerning contract negotiations.
The production material consists mainly of scripts and some other material for ten titles, whose production dates are generally unknown. Arrangement is alphabetical by title. The most completely documented production is A Hate Story for Lovers Only, with a story outline, a scene that evolved into the three-act play, a program from an Actors Studio production, and three revised scripts. There is a final script for the plays Night Circus and A Hatful of Rain as well as a first draft of the script for the ABC-TV special of the latter.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Placed on deposit by Michael Gazzo, New York, N.Y., December 13, 1966, March 7, 1967, and April 8, 1968. Accession Number: MCHC66-113, 67-8, and 68-28
Processed by Eleanor McKay and Alice Siemering, May 20, 1975.
Contents List
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Box
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Folder
1
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Correspondence, 1956, April-1969, February 11; undated
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Production Materials
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Box
1
Folder
2
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And All That Jazz, script, final version
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Box
1
Folder
3
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The Death of the Kitchen Table in Our Fair City, script, first draft
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A Hate Story For Lovers Only
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“The Actor and the Character”
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Story Outline
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1
Folder
5
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Scene which evolved into 3-act play
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1
Folder
6
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Program from production at Actors Studio
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“A Hate Story for Lovers Only”
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1
Folder
7
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Script, second revision
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1
Folder
8
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Script, later revision
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Script, final version
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A Hatful of Rain
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Script, final version
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Box
1
Folder
11
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ABC Television Special, script, first draft, 1967
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Box
1
Folder
12
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It's So Quiet When the Goldfish are Dead, script, final version
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Box
2
Folder
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The Jungle Behind the Billboard, script, final version
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Night Circus, script, final version
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Show Me an Honest Man, script, final version
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Warner Brothers Wants to Know
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Script, first version
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Script, final version
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Box
2
Folder
6
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What Do You Really Know About Your Husband?, script, final version
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