The collection primarily illustrates Ryskind's career as a newspaper columnist; there are very few materials from his work as a playwright. The papers consist of Correspondence with friends, readers, prominent politicians, and “very important persons” (as selected by Ryskind), Other Papers, Ryskind's Newspaper Columns, and a few Theater Files.
CORRESPONDENCE includes general correspondence, 1960-1978, with friends and admiring readers of Ryskind's syndicated daily Los Angeles Times column. During this time several incidents, issues, and individual column topics drew a voluminous response from readers; among them were the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 1964 election, the John Birch Society, Howard K. Smith, Alger Hiss, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the conduct of the Vietnam War. During the 1960's and 1970's, Ryskind's very conservative political views drew letters from both supporters and foes. Also of interest is the file of Ryskind's columns with readers' delighted or irate notes penned on them. Yet, non-political topics also evoked reader response; a column on the death of Ryskind's dog, Blackie, drew a particularly large response. Ryskind's correspondence with “Very Important Persons” contains letters and telegrams from theatrical and political contemporaries, including letters from William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. Among the personal letters from Nixon is one announcing his intention to run for Governor of California in 1962.
OTHER PAPERS include newspaper articles sent to Ryskind by admirers, and miscellaneous speeches, articles, and other items. Files of RYSKIND'S NEWSPAPER COLUMNS include near-print copy for his columns for both the Los Angeles Times (1962-1964) and Washington Star (1970-1976) syndicates. Since the Los Angeles Times is available on microfilm in the Historical Library, files of his clipped newspaper columns were discarded.
Located in the THEATER FILES are a folder of miscellaneous materials, including contracts and royalty statements; a copy of the final script of Claudia, April 24, 1943; and a photocopied script of A Night at the Opera, written by Ryskind and George S. Kaufman in 1935 for the Marx Brothers. In a letter to Julie d'Acci of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, dated February 1, 1974, Ryskind remarked about the latter script, “I never am sure how faithful it was to [the] screen because we occasionally inserted some new lines that occurred to us as we watched rehearsals. It is apparently the best-liked Marx Bros. film.”
