The Gilbert Cates Papers are organized in two parts. Part 1 consists of materials received in the Archives in 1969. Designated the Original Collection, these papers date 1957-1968 and document Cates' work in television, motion pictures, and theater as well as other professional and personal activities. Part 2 is designated the 1984 Additions and consists of papers received in the Archives between 1970 and 1982 and organized in 1984. These papers date 1954 to 1982. The material in this part of the collection contains nearly complete production information on 25 projects in theater, motion pictures, and television, as well as limited material on unproduced projects and projects by other producers in those media. In addition, the papers include 16 unproduced scripts and general material related to Cates' career.
Material in Part 1 of the collection is grouped into six subseries: Television, Motion Pictures-Produced, Motion Pictures-Unproduced, Theater, General, and Films and Videotapes. Within these subseries, the material is arranged alphabetically by title.
Part 2, the 1984 Additions, is divided into ten subseries: General; Theater-Produced; Theater-Unproduced; Theater-Other Producers; Motion Pictures-Produced; Motion Pictures-Unproduced; Motion Pictures-Other Producers; Television-Produced; Television-Unproduced; and Scripts. Filed with the appropriate subseries is microfilm comprised of scrapbooks kept by Cates for eight productions in theater, film, and television - mostly reviews and congratulatory letters. The 83 tape recordings cover a wide range of activities in Cates' professional career; almost all are either 7 inch or 10.5 inch reels. Many consist of theater productions from his years at Syracuse University as well as television and radio interviews. Others document the background of his theater, motion picture, and television productions, such as vocal and sound effect “takes.” The most complete run includes 30 tapes from the television production After the Fall. Each tape is listed within the series and/or production with which it is associated.
The GENERAL subseries contains personal and general business papers (most are business-related), and 23 tape recordings. The personal material includes a course outline entitled “Fencing for the Theater,” undated, by Gilbert Katz (Cates), as well as his 1964 master's thesis, “The 1964 European Circus,” and production information from his years as a student producer/director at Syracuse University.
General business records include appointment books from 1962 and 1968; contracts with Cinestar, Inc., 1974; résumés of actors and actresses in search of employment, circa 1978-1980 and Cates' résumé, circa 1958; script reports on unproduced projects, 1967-1971 and 1980; and several story outlines. There is correspondence as well, much of which concerns unproduced scripts, 1965-1980. Other correspondence concerns Cates' search for jobs in the late 1950s, possible employment with Cates' office and/or productions, 1963-1969, and general business matters, 1964-1980.
Most of the 23 tape recordings in this section document the productions with which Cates was associated while at Syracuse University, including radio programs and plays. Other recordings include an evening in a class he taught on musical comedy (1957), commercial radio spots, and numerous radio and television interviews conducted with Cates from 1960-1973.
The THEATER-PRODUCED subseries contains production information on seven plays produced and/or directed by Cates between 1968-1980, listed chronologically by date of production. The bulk of the material documents You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running, which ran from March 1967 to January 1969. In addition, the play enjoyed a successful national tour, reaching 17 cities in the U.S. and Canada between October 1967 and September 1968. A London production, however, was not as well received. Material from the play includes casting files, contracts, correspondence, box office statements, budgets, operating statements, scrapbook, scripts, stage manager's daily reports, and files on each of the stops of the national tour. Some information is also included on the Detroit production of January 1969, which featured the Broadway cast.
Robert Anderson's I Never Sang for My Father, produced by Cates in association with Doris Vidor, opened in January 1968 and ran through May of that year. Material on the play includes casting files, contracts, correspondence, box office statements, budgets, investors files, weekly expense sheets, promotion/reviews, scrapbook, script, and stage manager's daily reports. In addition, there is limited information on the play's Philadelphia and Boston runs and an unsuccessful London production.
Similar production material, including tape recordings, exists for The Chinese and Dr. Fish, produced by Cates in March 1970; Solitaire/Double Solitaire, produced by Cates, Albert Schiff, and Roy Nevans in September 1971; and Voices (previously known as The Others), directed by Cates in April 1972. There is limited information on both The Price, directed by Cates at the Long Wharf Theater in Connecticut, May 1971, and Tricks of the Trade, produced and directed by Cates in November 1980. Numerous revised scripts for the latter are included in the collection.
The THEATER-UNPRODUCED subseries contains material on three unproduced plays, 1968-1969: The Boat; Hunger and Thirst; and How Tall Is Toscanini?/It Rained on My Picasso. The bulk of the material concerns The Boat, and includes budgets, casting files, contracts, correspondence, and scripts.
The THEATER-OTHER PRODUCERS subseries contains miscellany such as programs, reviews, and correspondence on three plays unrelated to Cates' career: Hello, This Is the Bottom Drawer (1980); Lamp at Midnight (circa 1966-1969); and The Trial of A. Lincoln (1970-1971).
The MOTION PICTURES-PRODUCED subseries contains almost complete production material from six films produced and/or directed by Cates between 1966 and 1980, listed chronologically by date of release. The most detailed include I Never Sang for My Father (formerly Strangers), released in 1970; Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (formerly Death of a Snow Queen), released in 1973; One Summer Love (formerly Dragonfly), released in 1976; The Last Married Couple in America {1980); and Oh God, Book II (1980). Material on Oh God, Book II includes eight script revisions. Motion picture papers include contracts, correspondence, budgets, cast payroll, distribution staost complete production material from six films produced and/or directed by Cates between 1966 and 1980, listed chronologically by date of release. The most detailed include I Never Sang for My Father (formerly Strangers), released in 1970; Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (formerly Death of a Snow Queen), released in 1973; One Summer Love (formerly Dragonfly), released in 1976; The Last Married Couple in America {1980); and Oh God, Book II (1980). Material on Oh God, Book II includes eight script revisions. Motion picture papers include contracts, correspondence, budgets, cast payroll, distribution statements, call sheets, casting files, daily production reports, script books, set designs, promotion, reviews, scrapbooks, scripts, and a few tape recordings. There is limited information on Rings Around the World (1966), and The Painting (1962).
The MOTION PICTURES-UNPRODUCED subseries includes limited information (such as correspondence, budgets, contracts, treatments, and scripts) on 18 unproduced films considered by Cates between 1967 and 1978. They are listed alphabetically.
The MOTION PICTURES-OTHER PRODUCERS subseries includes miscellany on four films considered by Cates but ultimately produced by others, including Breaking Up; Burnt Offering; Ice Castles; and To Find a Man.
The TELEVISION-PRODUCED subseries contains material on eleven programs produced and/or directed by Cates between 1961 and 1978, listed chronologically by date of broadcast. The bulk of the material concerns To All My Friends on Shore (CBS, February 25, 1972), and After the Fall (NBC, December 3, 1974), and includes contracts, correspondence, budgets, call sheets, casting files, daily production reports, set designs, promotion, reviews, scrapbooks, and scripts. In addition, the 30 tape recordings from After the Fall provide a complete overview of sound production for the program, and include vocal and orchestral “takes,” mixes, and editing.
Similar but less detailed information exists for Opening Night at the New York World's Fair (NBC April 22, 1964), The Affair (ABC, November 20, 1973), Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye (NBC, January 26, 1977); Monte Carlo Circus Festival (CBS, February 16, 1977); Off Campus (CBS, June 8, 1977); Ford's Theater 10th Anniversary (NBC, February 2, 1978); Stubby Pringle's Christmas (NBC, December 17, 1978); and The Gift of the Magi (NBC, December 21, 1978). There is also limited information on International Showtime (NBC, 1961-1965) and three game shows: Camouflage (ABC, 1962); Trace That Face (NBC, 1967); and Punchline (ABC, 1968). In addition, there are four tape recordings from the game show Haggis Baggis (NBC, 1959).
The TELEVISION-UNPRODUCED subseries includes miscellany (such as correspondence, budgets, contracts, and scripts) for more than 20 unproduced television programs, listed alphabetically. Note that a program entitled Circus is listed twice, due to the fact that two different programs by that name were considered - one in 1967 and another in 1972. Also included is material on unproduced and unnamed game shows, many of which are attributed to Jack Farren; papers on an untitled project by Barbara Howar; and a tape recording of the proposed game show, King of the Hill.
The SCRIPTS subseries contains 20 scripts by both major and minor playwrights, including A.E. Hotchner and Robert Anderson, that were not produced by Cates. They are listed alphabetically, and wherever possible, have been dated.
