Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

The collection includes business and personal correspondence, production materials, scripts, photographs, motion picture, and sound recordings related to Richard Wilson and Orson Welles's work in radio, theater, and film from the 1930s to the 1950s. Also included are materials related to each man's later solo careers and personal life.

The Richard Wilson-Orson Welles Papers document many aspects of the two men's creative collaboration in radio, theater, and film for the Mercury Theater and Mercury Productions. Material related to several moments in Welles's post-Mercury Productions solo work and life form part of the collection. Richard Wilson's post-Mercury Productions work is also represented. The collection includes business and personal correspondence, production materials, scripts, photographs, and audio and motion picture recordings.

Materials relating to classic films such as Citizen Kane , The Magnificent Ambersons , The Lady From Shanghai, and Macbeth are included in the collection. The original filming and 1980s-1990s reconstruction, led by Richard Wilson, of the suddenly-terminated Welles film, It's All True (1942) is particularly well-documented.

The Wilson-Welles collection has been divided into seven series: Orson Welles; Richard Wilson; Mercury Theatre/Mercury Productions; Sound; Motion Pictures; Realia; and Bill Krohn: It's All True (1993).

The three primary series: Orson Welles, Richard Wilson, and Mercury Theatre/Mercury Productions have been largely organized by production type (e.g. Theater, Radio, and Film) and then chronologically by project. Completed films, theatrical productions, and radio broadcasts are dated according to their first public showing or general release date. Unfinished or unreleased projects are dated according to the year in which most of the work on the project took place.

Correspondence and business papers for each project are located together under the project name. An important exception to this organizational scheme was necessitated by the fact that Welles frequently worked on several projects simultaneously and a single letter or memo may address several projects. Sets of memos and correspondence are filed with the project to which they are most closely related. Notable examples of overlapping projects and sets of memoranda that address at least two films are Macbeth and Othello (much of the information related to Othello is actually in correspondence in the Macbeth files), and The Magnificent Ambersons and It's All True (much of the information related to The Magnificent Ambersons is contained within the It's All True files).

The Richard Wilson and Orson Welles series also contains material related to both men's families and personal lives.

Forms part of Robert Altman Archive. Includes Business and Financial records and a Chronological series (30 linear feet) that includes daily logs and correspondence for many of Robert Altman's production companies.

The Business and Financial series (68 linear feet) are business records that range from payroll, paid bills, general ledgers, insurance, banking transactions, residuals and other financial documents. There are two sub-series beginning with the Personal sub-series, and ending with the Accounting and General Business sub-series both organized chronologically. The documents range in date from 1969-2007.

The Legal series (7.5 linear feet) are legal documents with the majority of documents originating from three law firms, Lane & Mittendorf, and Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, and Frankfort, Garbus, Klein & Selz all of which represented Robert Altman personally and professionally from 1969-2005. The series largely consists of business and financial documents. The series includes personal, business and financial, real estate and expandable file folders from Jerome Walsh's law office. The majority of files were created by Robert Altman's lawyer Jerome Walsh.

The Chronological series (30 linear feet) includes daily logs and correspondence for many of Robert Altman's production companies. Materials consist of daily logs, desk calendars, daily planners and correspondence consisting of incoming and outgoing faxes created during production of several of his films.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. The Commercials series (1 linear foot) includes materials from Robert Altman's commercial production company, Villains. These materials consist of scripts, storyboards, correspondence, and production notebooks.

Commercials, 1984, 2001-2005 forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. The Commercials series (1 linear foot) includes materials from Robert Altman's commercial production company, Villains. These materials consist of scripts, storyboards, correspondence, and production notebooks.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. The Robert Altman Personal series (14 linear feet, 3 oversized boxes) ranges in date from 1945-2007. The series includes correspondence, legal, and medical documents, topical and award-related material, early work, interviews and clippings, as well as photographs. The Early Projects series contains assorted materials from early projects including movies, TV, commercials, and short films (1 linear foot and 1 oversized box). Forms part of the Robert Altman Archives.

The Robert Altman Personal series (14 linear feet, 3 oversized boxes) ranges in date from 1945-2007. The series includes correspondence, legal, and medical documents, topical and award-related material, early work, interviews and clippings, as well as photographs. The Early Projects series contains assorted materials from early projects including movies, TV, commercials, and short films (1 linear foot and 1 oversized box). Forms part of the Robert Altman Archives.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archives. The Countdown series (.25 linear feet) consists of materials from the 1968 film directed by Robert Altman. The series includes a script, articles and reviews, photographs, contact sheets, negatives and transparencies That Cold Day in the Park series (.5 linear feet and 1 oversized box) consists of materials from the 1969 film directed by Robert Altman. The series includes legal materials, a script, publicity and distribution files, articles and reviews, on-the-set photographs, contact sheets, negatives and slides.

The Countdown series (.25 linear feet) consists of materials from the 1968 film directed by Robert Altman. The series includes a script, articles and reviews, photographs, contact sheets, negatives and transparencies. That Cold Day in the Park series (.5 linear feet and 1 oversized box) consists of materials from the 1969 film directed by Robert Altman. The series includes legal materials, a script, publicity and distribution files, articles and reviews, on-the-set photographs, contact sheets, negatives and slides.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. Includes materials related to films Brewster McCloud, Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Chief Sitting Bull's History Lesson, The California Split, Images, The Late Show, The Long Goodbye, Mash, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville, A Perfect Couple, The Quintet, Remember My Name, Rich Kids, Thieves Like Us, 3 Women, A Wedding, and Welcome to L.A.. Records include scripts, legal files, publicity materials, photographs and correspondence.

Forms part of Robert Altman Archive. Includes materials related to films Aria, Basements, Beyond Therapy, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Fool for Love, HealtH, Images, Laundromat, O.C, and Stiggs, Popeye, Rake's Progress, Secret Honor, Streamers, Tanner '88, Two by South, Records include scripts, legal files, publicity materials, photographs and correspondence.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. Includes materials related to films Aria, Basements, Beyond Therapy, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Fool for Love, HealtH, Images, Laundromat, O.C, and Stiggs, Popeye, Rake's Progress, Secret Honor, Streamers, Tanner '88, Two by South, Records include scripts, legal files, publicity materials, photographs and correspondence.

Forms part of Robert Altman Archive. Includes materials for films The Afterglow, Black and Blue, Cookie's Fortune, The Gingerbread Man, Gun, Kansas City, McTeague, Mrs, Parker and the Vicious Circle, The Player, Pret-a-Porter, and Robert Altman's Jazz '34: Remembrances of Kansas City Swing,. Records include scripts, legal files, publicity materials, photographs and correspondence.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. Includes materials related to The Company, Dr. T and the Women, Gosford Park, A Prairie Home Companion, Resurrection Blues, Roads and Bridges, Tanner on Tanner, andTrixie . Records include scripts, legal files, publicity materials, photographs and correspondence.

Projects 2000s forms part Robert Altman Archive. It includes materials related to The Company, Dr. T and the Women, Gosford Park, A Prairie Home Companion, Resurrection Blues, Roads and Bridges, Tanner on Tanner, andTrixie . Records include scripts, legal files, publicity materials, photographs and correspondence.

Forms part of the Robert Altman Archive. Documentation related to unfinished and suspended projects, 1960s-2000s, that Altman had an involvement with but were never produced. Materials for a project may include correspondence, legal and financial files, scripts and publicity files.

The unfinished and suspended projects series consists of materials related to projects that Altman had an involvement with but were never produced. The reason that any specific project failed may or may not be apparent from the materials and vary greatly. Materials in this series run from the 1960's through the late 2000's.

The type and volume materials also vary greatly from project to project. These can include correspondence, legal materials, legal materials from Jerome Walsh, business and financial materials, scripts and related materials, production materials including those used for research, materials related to publicity and distribution, and articles and reviews related to both the productions and the subjects of the productions.