Jack O'Brian papers, circa 1940s-1970s

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1815
Bib ID:
12307952 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
O'Brian, Jack
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
25 linear feet (13 plastic bins, 1 half-manuscript box)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

After review December 2019, collection is CLOSED until processing. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Summary

Correspondence, articles, etc.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

After review December 2019, collection is CLOSED until processing. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Jack O'Brian Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2016.2017.M095: Source of acquisition--Bridget O'Brian. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--12/14/2016.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.

Biographical / Historical

An entertainment journalist best known for his longtime role as a television critic for New York Journal American.

O'Brian was pivotal in the exposure of the quiz show scandal centering on the quiz show Twenty-One. In 1958, he published the contention by former contestant Herbert Stempel that the NBC game was rigged. Later came an investigation by New York County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone that led to Grand Jury testimony and ultimately Congressional hearings in 1959. The House probe, led by Congressional investigator Richard N. Goodwin, resulted in the dramatic admission by the man who had defeated Herb Stempel on Twenty-One, Charles Van Doren, that the program was indeed fixed.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Genre/Form
Newspapers CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
New York Journal-American CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
O'Brian, Jack CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Journalists CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Television CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID