Search Term Record
Metadata
Name |
Oral history - Visual, performing, literary arts |
Number of Archive records |
22 |
Number of Library records |
0 |
Related Records
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Oral History of Abby Wasserman - Oral History
Abby Carol Wasserman was born on May 30th, 1941, in Berkeley, CA, and grew up in Mill Valley, attending Old Mill, Park School, Alto Grammar School, and Tamalpais High School. In her oral history, Abby describes in rich detail, her school experiences, Mill Valley friends and neighbors, serving in the Peace Corps in Bogotá, Colombia, living abroad in England, Honduras, Turkey, and Nigeria, her involvement in theater, and her career path as a teache...
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Oral History of Alan and Ruth Barnett - Oral History
After meeting in New York City and marrying in 1955, Alan and Ruth Barnett took a long time to find the perfect place to live. Alan had grown up in Chicago and Ruth in Germany and Czechoslovakia. It was a job as secretary to Grace Morley, the first woman director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, that brought Ruth to the Bay Area. Alan served in the National Guard and wound up working for the military in the public information sector. He...
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Oral History of Beryl Jean Symmes - Oral History
Beryl Jean Symmes grew up in Richmond, Surrey, England. In 1943 she met Laurence M. Symmes Jr., an American serviceman. They married in 1947, and Laurence brought her to Mill Valley where he had settled after the war with his aunt Ruth Boericke White, the widow of Ralston White, who owned the Garden of Allah. Beryl and Laurence spent two weeks living at the famous Mill Valley residence before moving into their own home, named El Nido (The Nest), ...
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Oral History of Bob Burton - Oral History
In this oral history, longtime Mill Valley resident and former mayor Bob Burton recounts his life and discusses his involvement in the community. Born in 1930 in New York City, Bob was educated at Fieldston and Yale. After college, he worked for the New York Life Insurance Company, which gave him the opportunity early in his career to transfer to San Francisco. In 1966, Bob moved to Mill Valley with his wife, Elza, and their two children, Kenneth...
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Oral History of Cyra McFadden - Oral History
In this oral history, author Cyra McFadden recounts her life in Mill Valley and the creation and reception of her satirical novel The Serial. Born into a rodeo family in Montana, Cyra describes moving out to San Francisco with her young daughter Caroline in the late 1950s and then subsequently over to Mill Valley after marrying her second husband, John McFadden. She recalls how in 1977 she started writing The Serial, which was initially published...
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Oral History of David Talbot - Oral History
In this oral history, writer, media entrepreneur and social activist David Talbot shares a life of political commitment and historical engagement. Born in Los Angeles in 1951, David first came to San Francisco as a teenager when his father, a famous Hollywood actor, was performing in theater productions in the city. David recalls falling madly in love with San Francisco at that time. He later attended college at U.C. Santa Cruz, after which he be...
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Oral History of Edmund (Ed) Stiles - Oral History
In this oral history, Edmund Stiles recounts his more than 50-year residency at Druid Heights. Born in Michigan in 1939, Edmund grew up on the East Coast and attended Dartmouth College. Edmund describes how he first came out to the Bay Area in the early 1960s, just as he was discovering his vocation to make furniture. He recounts the first time he visited Druid Heights and his first impressions of Roger Somers, one of the founders of the communit...
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Oral History of Fabrice Florin - Druid Heights Oral History
In this oral history, multimedia innovator and social entrepreneur Fabrice Florin discusses Druid Heights where he lived for two years in the late 1970s. Fabrice recounts how he moved to California from Switzerland in 1975, drawn by the hippie counterculture, but found that he had come too late. Working as a radio producer, Fabrice first visited the bohemian community on Mt. Tam at the suggestion of a friend and soon after moved into a small hous...
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Oral History of Gary Yost - Oral History
In this oral history, filmmaker and visual storyteller Gary Yost recounts a life of openness to the opportunities that arise, devotion to Mount Tamalpais as his spiritual home and creative muse, and commitment to a place-based though temporally-extended sense of community. Born in 1959 in Bergen County, New Jersey, Gary left the East Coast at the age of 19, driven westward by an especially intense winter spent in Boston. He settled in San Francis...
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Oral History of George Omi - Oral History
In this oral history, longtime Mill Valley resident, retired landscape architect, and memoirist George Omi shares the story of his life. George begins with the immigration story of his Japanese parents who came to America in the early 20th century and subsequently became naturalized citizens. George himself was born in San Francisco in 1930, a second-generation Japanese American. George describes his experience growing up in two languages - two d...
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Oral History of Greg Sarris - Oral History
In this oral history, author, scholar, and chairmen of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria Greg Sarris tells the story of his life as a journey of self-discovery and social commitment. Raised in adoptive family in Santa Rosa, Greg did not know about his Coast Miwok/Pomo ancestry until adulthood. Greg recounts how he recovered his tribal identity and, in the process, became a successful author and academic. Greg explains that the historical ...
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Oral History of Locke McCorkle - Oral History
In this rollicking oral history, Locke McCorkle recounts a colorful life full of passion, humor, and adventure. Born in San Jose in 1930 — and at the time of this interview proudly "as old as God and as young as spring"— Locke grew up in Eureka, California. After studying English and French at Humboldt State University, he moved down to the Bay Area to attend graduate school at Berkeley, but changed his course when he heard Alan Watts’ lectures o...
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Oral History of Lucy Mercer - Oral History
In this oral history, founder of the Throckmorton Theatre Lucy Mercer recounts her life and the story of the Mill Valley cultural institution she created. Born in Santa Rosa, Lucy grew up in various towns and cities throughout the Bay Area. After graduating from high school, Lucy moved to Sausalito; and then in the early 1980s, with a family of her own, she moved over to Mill Valley. Lucy recounts how she was initially drawn to the site at 142 Th...
Record Type: Archive
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Oral History of Margaret "Kett" Zegart - Oral History
In this oral history, longtime Mill Valley resident, artist, and retired teacher Margaret "Kett" Zegart recounts the story of her life. Born in Michigan, Margaret grew up in East Lansing in a family with Scandinavian roots. She attended Cranbrook Academy of Art and Michigan State University. After college, she moved to New York City, where she worked for magazines and made art. Margaret recounts living as a young artist in New York City and the p...
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Oral History of Mort Sahl - Oral History
In this oral history, stand-up comedy pioneer Mort Sahl recounts his life, career, passions, and disappointments. Born in Montreal in 1927, Mort grew up primarily in Los Angeles. After graduating from USC, Mort moved up to the Bay Area and soon after started his career in stand-up comedy at the legendary hungry i nightclub in San Francisco. Mort discusses his rise to national fame in the entertainment business, which led him to meet many notable ...
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Oral History of Paul Liberatore - Oral History
In this oral history, Paul Liberatore recounts his life as a journalist, rock 'n' roll writer, and participant-observer in the Marin County music scene over the course of several decades. Born in Yonkers, New York, in 1945, Paul moved to Southern California with his mother and stepfather in the early 1950s, and grew up in Santa Clarita. After graduating from San Diego State University, Paul landed his first newspaper job with the San Diego Union-...
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Oral History of Ray Strong, 2006 - Oral History
California artist Ray Strong was born January 3, 1905 in Corvallis, Oregon, and was a resident of Mill Valley from 1948 to 1965. He married Elizabeth Rumsey Brown and they had two children, Timothy and Barbara. This 2006 oral history interview follows an earlier 1978 interview conducted by Donald Oman. Both interviews touch on Ray’s experiences in and around various art colonies, as well as his his meetings with luminaries like Frank Lloyd Wright...
Record Type: Archive
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Oral History of Robert Green - Oral History
In this oral history, gallery owner Robert Green recounts his life in the art world. Born in 1941 in New Jersey, Robert grew up in the New York metropolitan area. He attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, after which he joined the U.S. Coast Guard. Robert worked in publishing and advertising before moving into the fine art sector. Robert recounts traveling the world for 22 years as an enterprising young art dealer before he settled in Mill V...
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Oral History of Ruth Lescohier - Oral History
In this oral history interview, Ruth Lescohier recounts a long career steeped in local history and political activism. Ruth first moved to Mill Valley with her husband after his naval service during World War II. The couple eventually built a home in Blithedale Canyon with two decks and a "beautiful view" of the Bay. Ruth was teaching elementary school in Marin City when a credentialing requirement led to a serendipitous discovery of her passion ...
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Oral History of Steve Coleman - Oral History
In this oral history, set designer and artist Steve Coleman discusses his life, work, and creative collaborations in Mill Valley. Though his parents were Mill Valley residents, Steve was born in Geneva, Switzerland. When he was small child, his father got a job with the United States Information Agency and moved the family to India for a few years. Steve and his family then returned to Mill Valley, where he primarily grew up. Steve reminisces abo...
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Oral History of Tom Killion - Oral History
In this oral history, renowned artist, writer and historian Tom Killion recounts his upbringing in Mill Valley and how it shaped his artistic development. Born in 1953, Tom recalls having had an early talent for drawing that was inspired by Mount Tam, encouraged by his parents and nurtured by the local artistic and cultural community. Tom recalls attending Tamalpais High School in the 1960s, which "felt like the center of the universe" on account...
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Oral History of Trisha Garlock and Penny Weiss - Oral History
In this oral history, Trisha Garlock and Penny Weiss tell the story of Kiddo!, the fundraising organization they founded together in 1982 to support arts and music education in Mill Valley’s public schools. Trisha and Penny recall the outrage they felt when they learned that as a result of the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, state funding for such programs was going to be cut, leaving it up to individual schools and Parent-Teacher Association ...
Record Type: Archive
