Special Collections Department James Leo Herlihy Papers 1959 - 1986 Manuscript Collection Number: 344 Accessioned: Purchase, July 1996. Extent: 1.6 linear ft. Content: Manuscripts, correspondence, notes, photographs, clippings, reviews, interviews, advertisements, brochures, and programs. Access: The collection is open for research. Processed: October 1997 by Shanon Wilson. for reference assistance email Special Collections or contact: Special Collections, University of Delaware Library Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 (302) 831-2229 Table of Contents Biographical Note Scope and Contents Note Contents List Biographical Note James Leo Herlihy's stories about the underside of American culture, told through the experiences of those outside of the mainstream, have garnered their author comparisons with Sherwood Anderson. Herlihy was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 27, 1927. After leaving high school, he enlisted in the Navy in 1945, receiving his overseas orders just two days before the end of World War II. From 1947- 48, with money from the G.I. Bill, Herlihy attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina, a small, experimental institution whose faculty included Merce Cunningham, John Cage, William De Kooning, and other innovative figures in the arts. There, Herlihy studied art, music, and literature. Herlihy formed strong relationships in the Black Mountain community, and his friendships with such figures as Anais Nin and the poet/potter M. C. (Mary Caroline) Richards would provide inspiration and support in his future creative endeavors. After an aptitude test indicated that his abilities might lie in the theatre, Herlihy moved to California and attended the Pasadena Playhouse College from 1948-1950. Over the next four years, Herlihy performed in about fifty plays in theaters along the West Coast. In the early sixties, he became a member of the Theater Company of Boston, and he continued acting, off and on, throughout his life. Some highlights of his theatrical career included roles in Edward Albee's Zoo Story (which he performed in Paris and Boston in 1963) and in the film Four Friends (1982). The Pasadena Playhouse also produced Herlihy's first plays: Streetlight Sonata (1950) and Moon in Capricorn (1953). In 1953, Herlihy collaborated with his teacher William Noble on the play Blue Denim, which had a successful run on Broadway in 1958 and was adapted into a film in 1959. From 1953-1958, Herlihy wrote scripts for television. In 1959, he directed Tallulah Bankhead in a touring production of his play Crazy October. A trio of Herlihy's one-act plays, collected under the title Stop You're Killing Me (1970), included Terrible Jim Fitch (produced in 1965), Bad Bad Jo-Jo (produced in 1969), and Laughs, Etc. (produced in 1973). Herlihy was also successful as a fiction writer. In 1952, the Paris Review published one of his short stories that would become the title work of his 1959 collection, The Sleep of Baby Filbertson and Other Stories. His first novel, All Fall Down, was published in 1960, and 1965 saw the appearance of Midnight Cowboy. This latter work was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, and much of Herlihy's lasting fame is based on the popularity of that movie. Despite this acclaim, Herlihy would only publish two more books: a collection of short stories and plays entitled A Story That Ends in a Scream and Eight Others (1967), and a novel about a young teenage runaway, The Season of the Witch (1971). If Herlihy became more ambivalent about his writing over the years, he developed an increasing enthusiasm for teaching. He led classes in playwriting at City College, New York, in 1967-68, and was a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 1983. He also taught acting and writing at many other institutions, including Colorado College and the University of Southern California. Herlihy traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe, but lived for much of his life in Los Angeles, California. He also resided in Key West, Florida, in the late sixties and early seventies, and in New York City during various intervals. Herlihy died on October 20, 1993. Sources: Kendle, Burton S. "James Leo Herlihy," Contemporary American Dramatists. Ed. K.A. Berney. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. pp. 261-265. "James Leo Herlihy, 66, Novelist who wrote Midnight Cowboy." New York Times, 22 Oct., 1993: B9. Olendorf, Donna, ed. Contemporary Authors. Volume.143. Detroit: Gale Research Co, 1994. p. 191. Note: Biographical information also derived from the collection. For supplemental genealogical information, please contact the manuscripts librarian for assistance with the collection folder. Scope and Content Note The papers of American author and playwright James Leo Herlihy span the dates 1959-1986. The collection consists of 1.6 linear feet of manuscripts of novels, stories, and plays; reviews; interviews; correspondence; publicity material; and notes. The collection is organized in three series: I. Works by James Leo Herlihy, II. Correspondence of James Leo Herlihy to Mary Caroline Richards, and III. Miscellaneous Publicity, including photographs and theatre reviews. The manuscripts of Herlihy's works are arranged chronologically by date of publication or, if unpublished, in order of composition based on editorial revisions. The series includes original typescript drafts of several of Herlihy's plays and novels, some photocopies, two setting typescripts, and several pages of notes. Many of these pages contain numerous autograph revisions by the author. The collection contains multiple drafts of four of the works: Herlihy's unfinished and unpublished musical adaption of Carson McCuller's Member of the Wedding (1967); two short stories, A Story That Ends with a Scream (1967) and Sweet William (1967); and his last novel, Season of the Witch (1971). The series also contains photocopies of reviews and promotional interviews with Herlihy which appeared in newspapers around the country with the release of Season of the Witch. Section II contains Herlihy's correspondence to M.C. Richards, one of his instructors at Black Mountain College who remained a valuable friend throughout his life. The letters cover the years 1959 to 1986, although the correspondence is sparse in the early sixties and the mid - eighties, and there are gaps in 1971 and 1984. Some letters include enclosures of other correspondence, articles, or photographs. M.C. Richards (b. 1916) is a poet, potter, and scholar, whose writings include lectures on pottery and education, poetry, and a translation of Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty. An influential member of the Black Mountain community, she helped John Cage bring about the first Happening in 1958. She apparently lived on Herlihy's farm, Jeffers Pond, in Hop Bottom, Pennsylvania, from 1971 to 1975. In his letters to her, Herlihy discussed his writing, acting, and teaching, as well as his experiences with friends in Los Angeles, where he primarily resided from 1973 onward. The correspondence also contains many references to the Black Mountain community, as well as references to Anais Nin, whom he looked after during her final illness, and Tennessee Williams, his fellow Key West resident. In other letters, Herlihy critiques -- sometimes harshly, more often admiringly -- the lectures and writings of his former teacher. Additionally, the correspondence reflects several contemporary concerns of the late sixties and seventies, including communal living and alternative health and nutrition. Series III contains a miscellany of material that was probably used for promotional purposes. This series contains three black and white photographs of Herlihy from 1964, 1965, and 1967; a scholarly article about Midnight Cowboy; and theatrical reviews from Blue Denim, Terrible Jim Fitch, and the Boston production of Edward Albee's The Zoo Story in which Herlihy starred. Although the material in this series does not present anything close to a comprehensive view of Herlihy's theatrical activities, it does provide an indication of his success on the stage. Contents List Box -- Folder -- Contents 1 Series I. Works by James Leo Herlihy Arranged chronologically in order of publication or, if unpublished, of composition. Crazy October (1959) F1 Draft, n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections. F2 Clean version, n.d. Photocopied, bound A Story That Ends With A Scream and Eight Others (1967) Folders F3-F9 contain drafts of several of the stories and plays included in Herlihy's collection. F3 "Laughs Et Cetera," n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections F4 "Ezra," n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections. Early version of the short story "A Story that Ends With A Scream." One draft entitled "Second Draft," along with pages of rewrites. F5 "You'll Know Him When You See Him," n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections. Early version of the short story "A Story That Ends With A Scream," which appears to be a revision of the material in F4. F6 "Sweet William," n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections. Contains an outline of the story and three early drafts. F7 "Love and the Buffalo," n.d. Typescript with minor autograph corrections. Bound in Ashley Famous Agency folder. A Story That Ends with a Scream and Eight Others, 1967 F8 Typescript setting copy from Simon and Schuster. Contains some mimeo. Part I includes the first four stories: "A Story That Ends with a Scream" "Love and the Buffalo" "The Astral Body of a U.S. Mail Truck" "The Day of the Seventh Fire" 1 Series I. Works by James Leo Herlihy (cont'd) F9 Part 2 includes: "Laughs, Etc" "The Fright of Mrs. Yeager" "Terrible Jim Fitch" "A Ceremony for the Midget" "Sweet William" Member of the Wedding Drafts and notes for a 1967 unpublished musical based on Carson McCullers' 1946 novel of the same name. F10 Draft A, n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections. F11 Draft B, n.d. Typescript with autograph corrections. Some xerox. F12 Draft C, n.d. Xerox typescript with minor autograph corrections.