This collection is located on-site.
Arthur B. Krim (1910–1994) was an entertainment lawyer and the former chairman of Orion Pictures and the United Artists Corporation. The correspondence, papers, photographs, and A/V content document the professional and personal life of Arthur Krim and his involvement with Columbia University and the Democratic National Committee, especially his relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) and First Lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (1912-2007).
Series I: Correspondence, 1960-1992
This series encompasses three chronologically arranged subseries: I.1: personal correspondence, 1961–1990; I.2: miscellaneous and readers files, 1960–1992 with letters related to the film business, politics, and charitable endeavors; the correspondence within the readers files is arranged alphabetically by correspondent surname; and I.3: diaries, 1982–1993.
Please note that subseries I.1: personal correspondence also contains letters to and from Mathilde Krim, 1962–2014.
Series II: Education, 1927-1994
This series, arranged alphabetically by subject or title, encompasses two subseries outlining Arthur Krim's academic career: II.1: Mount Vernon High School, Mt. Vernon, NY, 1924–1927 and II.2: Columbia University, 1928–1994.
Subseries II.2 is further divided into three additional subseries: II.2.1: Columbia College, 1928-1990; II.2.2: Columbia Law School, 1930-1989; and II.2.3: Board of Trustees of Columbia University, 1966-1994.
Please note that more detailed descriptions are provided before each subseries.
Series III: Military Service, 1942-1989
This series, arranged alphabetically by subject or title, includes Arthur Krim's correspondence, both military and personal, during his service (1942–1945), as well as some post-war correspondence. Additional archival materials include military memoranda, newspaper accounts, pay allowances, photographs, travel orders, unit histories, and vouchers.
Series V: The Democratic Party, 1962-1982
In a Columbia Daily Spectator article, Arthur Krim described himself as "an unregenerate Democrat." Series V: The Democratic Party, 1962-1982 holds materials related to Krim's official service to the Democratic Party. [See Brecher, John, "Krim's Life Committed To Politics, Columbia," Columbia Daily Spectator, vol. XCVII, No. 65 (31 January 1973) at pp. 1 and 3.]
Series V: The Democratic Party, 1962-1982 contains three subseries: V.1: The President's Club of New York, 1962-1968; V.2: Democratic Advisory Council of Elected Officials—Democratic National Committee, 1973-1976; and V.3: General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament, 1977-1982.
Regarding Krim's work behind the scenes as an advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter, please review Series VIII: Subject Files, 1942–1995.
Series VI: The Mathilde and Arthur B. Krim Foundation, Inc., 1965-1993
This series, arranged alphabetically by subject, contains archival materials and documents showing the full scope of Mathilde and Arthur Krim's charitable endeavors, such as annual reports, bank and checking account ledgers, a certificate of incorporation, contributions, correspondence, lists, stock gifts and transfers
Series VII: Photographs, 1912-1994
This series, arranged alphabetically by subject, documents the vast array of activities undertaken by Mathilde and Arthur Krim in such spheres as the film industry, public policy, and politics at the city, state, national, and global levels.
This series also contains some personal photographs documenting Krim family vacations and Arthur Krim's time at Twin Lake Camp, Brandon, VT, during the 1920s.
Series VIII: Subject Files, 1942-1995
This series, arranged alphabetically by subject, documents the diverse activities undertaken by Arthur Krim in the film industry, public policy, and politics at the city, state, national, and global levels.
Regarding the political sphere, there is correspondence with such politicians as the Kennedy brothers—John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward Moore Kennedy; George McGovern; Walter F. Mondale; and Adlai E. Stevenson.
Comprising the largest and most extensive part of this series, however, are archival materials related to Arthur Krim's work with Lyndon B. Johnson on such matters as LBJ's various writing projects, including his memoir The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 (1971), the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, and the LBJ Presidential Library.
This series holds additional letters to and from Mathilde Krim, including correspondence and photographs related to Mathilde and Arthur Krim's wedding on December 7, 1958, at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City.
Series IX: Audio and Videotape, 1981-1994
This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Regarding Arthur Krim's series of six oral history interviews for the Lyndon Baines Johnson [LBJ] Presidential Library, please review the hardcopies located in boxes 6 and 47.
The LBJ Library does not make their oral histories available online in either audio or video form for their researchers.
Therefore, the Rare Book and Manuscript Library cannot give researchers access to the [7' reel, 178 mm] audio tapes in boxes 15 and 16 for either listening or duplication.
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.
This collection is located on-site.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arthur B. Krim papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
The Mathilde Krim papers are held by the Columbia University Health Sciences Library Archives and Special Collections. Finding aid.
Gift of Daphna Krim, 2018.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
2023-02–2024-02 Papers processed by Christopher M. Laico.
2024-03 Finding aid written by Christopher M. Laico.
2024-04 Box 18 was inspected for mold and deemed safe. The materials in box 18 were refoldered and rehoused in a new record storage carton. The online finding aid was updated to indicate these preceding changes. cml
Arthur B. Krim (1910–1994) was an entertainment lawyer and the former chairman of Orion Pictures and the United Artists Corporation.
From 1935 until 1978, Arthur Krim was a partner at the New York-based entertainment law firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon.
On December 7, 1958, Mr. Krim married Dr. Mathilde Galland (1926–2018), who was a biomedical researcher and the founding chairman of amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. They had one daughter, Daphna.
Mr. Krim was chairman of Orion Pictures from 1978 to 1992 and chairman of United Artists from 1951 to 1978. Over the course of his career, he produced more than 1,000 movies.
Arthur Krim, Robert S. Benjamin, and three other studio executives—Eric Pleskow (1924–2019), Mike Medavoy, and William Bernstein (1933–2020)—founded Orion Pictures in 1978 as a joint venture with Warner Brothers. The group went on to produce films like "10," "Arthur," and "Excalibur" and to take over Filmways and form the Orion Pictures Corporation.
Mr. Krim was long prominent in Democratic political circles and was a valued fund-raiser and a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), and Jimmy Carter. Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale (1928-2021) once called him "a shrewd political strategist and a fiercely loyal adviser and friend."
Arthur Krim was especially close to President Lyndon B. Johnson. In this regard, on March 31, 1968, they were in the Oval Office at the White House when President Johnson announced to the nation that he would not run for reelection, despite the Krims' best efforts to convince him otherwise.
From 1966 to 1968, Mr. Krim was the chairman of the Democratic National Finance Committee, and for many years he was on the boards of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
He was a member of Columbia University's board of trustees from 1967 to 1982 and served as chairman from 1977 to 1982.
Mr. Krim was also active on behalf of a variety of humanitarian causes, including civil rights, equal rights for gay Americans, efforts against AIDS, and opposition to Apartheid, the old system of racial segregation in South Africa.
He became close to Nelson Mandela (1918–2013), the anti-apartheid activist and first black president of South Africa (1994–1999), as well as other prominent South African opponents of racial separation.
After a long illness, on September 21, 1994, Arthur B. Krim passed away at his home in New York City.
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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