My Gifts to Museums and Libraries

I have been an inveterate library patron since the stacks at UCLA for my first graduate degree: 1962-64.   On the road with a play or any appearance as well as where I live, I have always sought museums and discovered wonderful things, like a rare Bosch triptych and a very good sculpture by Kahlil Gibran in a small artifact preservation site in Norfolk, VA.  As a way of acknowledging these institutions, I chose to make some specific gifts. 

Of course, both of my books, Confessions of an Accidental Mouseketeer and TWO FOR THE SHOW: Great 20^th Century Comedy Teams (an overview of the birth, life and end of comedy teams from 1898 to 1985, updated to 2000 in paperback) are available in libraries across the country.

Expanding on that, and in addition to charities and non-profit contributions, there are nine museums and libraries in the U.S. that have other donated materials, most of which are accessible in person - some online.

. . . has my first produced play, the two act comedy Over the Hill, which had its world premiere in Hollywood, CA in the early '80s.

 . . . has over 65 items from my 62+ years in theatre, film, television, radio, live performance, commercials, voice-overs and industrial films. The majority are from the original Mickey Mouse Club (1955-59). My Mouseketeer EARS from the 1980 25^th Anniversary TV Special, in which I served as a WGAw writer and one of the hosts, 25 Years of Mouseketeers, were put on display with a Dumbo car from the Disneyland Ride in 2009. My poetry collection, books and DVD are also part of this collection.

. . . has a viewable DVD from the early 1980s, which may also be purchased, original MMC clips and the second version of the show, followed by a Q & A with me and Allison Fonte, who was one of the stars of the short-lived 1970s version of the MMC.

. . .  has much of my over thirty year epistolary -- meaning written, mailed correspondence as opposed to email -- relationship with the late novelist, short story author, poet, composer and translator Paul Bowles from 1968-1999. Tangier was the home of the expatriate but he taught an English Literature course in the “Existentialist Novel” that I took while working on my Ph.D. in California. Our communications continued until his death, whether he was back home in Tangier or elsewhere. The Huntington has one of the best collections of American authors in the world. They also have my poetry, books and DVD.

. . . has my writing and DVD. I achieved my MA in Theatre Arts from UCLA and a print interview for the Industry segment of their website is accessible at http://www.tft.ucla.edu/profiles/industry/lonnie-burr_mouseketeer/

Do the lights remind you of anything?

. . . has copies of my 23 half- hour radio drama scripts as a staff member of the long running drama Heartbeat Theatre, heard on over 500 stations in America, as well as two of my plays, which I cut and rewrote for one hour radio play for American Radio Theatre, hitting over 300 stations. All of these performances have been translated to CDs that may be heard. I included one rewritten script with notes and changes for anyone interested in the writing format and style of this medium. Thousand Oaks has one of the largest collections of radio scripts and performances in the U.S.

B. U. has my decade long epistolary exchange with “new” critic, novelist, non-fiction book writer, essayist, educator and occasional film actor, the late Leslie Fiedler, along with my memoir and DVD. Leslie and I never met in person and he thought it peculiar that I was a part of what he called the “mythic” original Mickey Mouse Club. We discussed his writing and mine.