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Finding Aid for the Mason Adams scripts, 1978-1995
215
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Title: Mason Adams scripts,
Date (inclusive): 1978-1995
Collection number: 215
Creator: Adams, Mason
Extent: 6 boxes (2.75 linear ft.)
Abstract: Mason Adams was a character actor whose career spanned film, radio, television, and theater. The collection consists of 40-plus
scripts related to Adams acting career.
Language: Finding aid is written in English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Performing Arts Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Performing
Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Performing
Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Performing Arts Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mason Adams, 2000.
[Identification of item], Mason Adams Scripts (Collection 215). Performing Arts Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Mason Adams was born in Brooklyn on February 26, 1919. He received his master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in
the early 1940s before returning to New York, where he taught speech for several years at the Neighborhood Playhouse on East
54th Street. It was in the 1940s that he also started his acting career.
He appeared on many major radio programs including
Inner Sanctum,
Theatre Guild of the Air, as Atom Man on
Superman and the title role of Pepper Young in
Pepper Young's Family. He has numerous stage credits including his Broadway debut as Joe Rigga in
Get Away Old Man (1943) and his last play,
The Man Who Had All the Luck (2002). Among his film credits are
Mr. Bell (1947),
The Happy Hooker (1975), and
Son-In-Law (1993).
Adams made the transition to television and was featured or appeared in a number of projects including television movies,
miniseries, specials, and episodic series. Among his credits are
Love of Life (1951),
Another World (1976-1977),
Adam (1983), appearances on
Family Ties,
Matlock, and
Murder, She Wrote (all during the 1980s),
Knight and Daye (1989)
From the Earth to the Moon (1998), and the
West Wing (1999). Of his television work he may be best remembered for his Emmy-nominated role as Charlie Hume on the television series
Lou Grant (1977-1982).
He also lent his voice to documentaries and commercials. His distinctive voice became synonymous with the J.M. Smucker Company,
which featured him in its jam and jelly commercials for more than 30 years. Adams died on April 28, 2005, in New York City
The collection consists of film, television, and stage scripts related to the career of character actor Mason Adams. Included
among the motion picture and theater projects are the film Sons-In-Law and the stage production of The Downside and Time Steps.
Among the television projects are scripts for Family Matters, Knight & Daye, Lou Grant, Matlock, and the West Wing. Generally
there is one script per each television project. The collection is small sample representing Adam's work. Notably missing
from the collection are scripts representing his work in radio; Lou Grant scripts; most of his motion picture work; and work
pre-1980s. Additionally, there are a small number of articles by or about Adams.
Arranged in the following series:
- Biographical Information
- Motion Picture Projects
- Television Projects
- Theater Projects
- Writings
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Adams, Mason --Archives.
Actors --Archival resources.
television scripts
Film scripts