William G. Lambert papers, bulk 1956-1969

William G. Lambert papers, bulk 1956-1969

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1926
Bib ID:
6911003 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Lambert, William G, 1920-1998
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
8.84 linear feet (8 record cartons and 2 document boxes)
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.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Summary

This collection consists of journalist William G. Lambert's (1920-1998) collected investigative materials such as correspondence, news clippings, notes, notebooks, photographs and transcripts related to his award winning reporting for The Oregonian, Portland, and for Life magazine. In 1957, Lambert and his college Wallace Turner received the Pulitzer Prize for their reporting, which uncovered widespread vice and corruption within the municipal Portland city government that involved labor union officials of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Western Conference. In 1970, Lambert accepted the George Polk Award for his Life magazine reporting, which revealed that Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas accepted and later returned a suspect $20,000 fee, spurring Fortas' resignation.

This collection consists of journalist William G. Lambert's (1920-1998) collected investigative materials such as correspondence, news clippings, notes, notebooks, photographs and transcripts related to his award winning reporting for The Oregonian, Portland, and for Life magazine. In 1957, Lambert and his colleague Wallace L. Turner (1921-2010) received the Pulitzer Prize for their reporting, which uncovered widespread vice and corruption within the municipal Portland city government that involved labor union officials of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Western Conference. In 1970, Lambert accepted the George Polk Award for his 1969 Life magazine reporting, which revealed that U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas (1910-1982) accepted and later returned a suspect $20,000 fee, spurring Fortas' resignation.

Arrangement

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.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

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); William G. Lambert Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Selected Related Materials

Pulitzer Prizes Collection, 1917-2011, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library [MS#1034]

The Oregonian Portland vice investigation collection, 1946-1958 (inclusive)[COLL Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library, Portland, OR

Oral History Interviews with Wallace L. "Wally" Turner [sound recording], 1995 Jan. 16-29 [SR 1753], Oregon Historical Society, Portland, OR

Accruals

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

Custodial History

Papers accessioned 8/26/2016 PTL 2016.2017.M035.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers processed by Christopher M. Laico, March-April 2018.

Revision Description

2018-11-06 xml document instance created by Christopher M. Laico.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical Note

William G. Lambert (1920-1998), an investigative journalist, was born in Langford, SD on February 2, 1920. After decorated military service in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO), Lambert, became a reporter and news editor at the Enterprise-Courier, Oregon City, OR. In 1950, Lambert joined The Oregonian, Portland. At The Oregonian, he teamed up with Wallace L. Turner (1921-2010) on a five-part series that uncovered widespread vice and corruption within the municipal Portland city government that involved labor union officials of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Western Conference. These reports would spur U.S. congressional investigations into organized crime across the country. In 1957, for example, Lambert and Turner testified before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations. Lambert and Turner would also receive the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for "Local Reporting – No edition time". The Pulitzer Prize Board stated: "They fulfilled their assignments despite great handicaps and the risk of reprisal from lawless elements."

After a brief stint as an anchor and news director at KPTV Oregon Television, in 1963, Lambert joined Life magazine as a staff reporter. At Life, he wrote an article that brought down U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas (1910-1982), who was compelled to resign from the court in 1969. In 1970, Lambert accepted the George Polk Award for his 1969 reporting on the Fortas case. Besides Fortas, Lambert and his colleagues also wrote investigative pieces on such figures as controversial attorney Roy M. Cohn (1927-1986) and U.S. Dem. NJ Congressman Cornelius E. Gallagher (1921-2018).

Lambert went on to report for the Time-Life News Service (1971-1973) and The Philadelphia Inquirer (1974-1990). During the course of his distinguished career, Lambert received many awards including a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting (1957); Heywood Broun Award (1957); Nieman Fellowship for Journalism, Harvard University (1960); award for magazine reporting Sigma Delta Chi (1967); Worth Bingham Prize for distinguished reporting (1967); Heywood Broun Award (1969); George Polk Award for magazine reporting Abe Fortas articles (1969); Sigma Delta Chi Award, National Headliners Club Award, Page One Award (1970); Pennsylvania Bar Association Award, Philadelphia Bar Association award, Philadelphia Sigma Delta Chi award, Associated Press Managing Editors Award (Pennsylvania) (1981). Upon his retirement, he went on to work as a libel litigation consultant (1990-1998). On February 2, 1998, William G. Lambert passed away after a long illness. Upon hearing of Lambert's death, the former Philadelphia Inquirer executive editor Eugene Leslie "Gene" Roberts, Jr., who hired Lambert in 1974, asserted that "he was the modern-day father of investigative journalism."

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.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Audiotapes
Personal papers
Name
Brewster, Frank W., 1897-1996
Buckley, William F., Jr., 1925-2008
Cohn, Roy M.
Gallagher, Cornelius E.
Hoffa, James R., 1913-
Hunt, E. Howard (Everette Howard), 1918-2007
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America
Irving, Clifford
Kennedy, John F (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968
Reagan, Ronald
United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field
Subject
Journalists
Journalists -- United States
Labor unions -- United States
Libel and slander -- United States -- Cases
Organized crime
Racketeering
Racketeering

I. Investigations--Research Files, 1949-1992

This series contains seven subseries arranged in Lambert's original order by investigation subject. Under each subseries, the folders are arranged in alphabetical order by subject or title. Lambert's research materials include correspondence, news clippings, notes, notebooks, photographs and transcripts.


I.1 Teamsters--Corruption--Portland, OR, 1949-1973


Box 1

Affidavits and Statements, 1955-1960


Box 1

Bennett, Clifford Orban, 1956


Box 1

Book--Unpublished--Journalistic Investigations, 1956-1973

2 folders


Box 1

Brewster, Frank W., 1957-1960


Box 1

Citation for a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Local Reporting Not Under Pressure of Edition Time,, 1957


Box 1

City Police--Peterson, Mayor Fred L., 1956-1959


Box 1

Clark, Raymond F., 1950-1954


Box 1

Oregon v. Raymond Clark--Howard R. Lonergan--Motion, etc.,, 1956-1958


Box 1

Clark-Daniels--Tape and Transcript, 1957 May 23


Crosby, Clyde C.


Box 1

Arizona Conviction, 1956


Box 1

Clyde Cardinal Crosby v. Oregonian Publishing Company--Case Materials, 1956-1958


Box 1

Langley-Crosby Matter, 1956-1958


Box 1

Miscellaneous, 1956-1958


Box 1

Personal History, 1956-1957


Elkins, James B., 1956-1968


Box 1

Elkins and Clark; United States v. , 1956-1957


Box 1

Indictment, 1957


Box 1

Testimony--Thomas E. Maloney, 1956


Box 1

Exposition--Recreation Swindle, 1954-1957


Box 1

Exposition--Recreation Committee--Minutes, 1954-1956


Box 1

Grand Jury, 1956-1958


Box 1

Gun Permit, 1956


Jenkins, James Q.


Box 1

Extortion Deal, 1960


Box 1

Indictment, 1958


Box 1

Libel Defense Preparation, 1956


Box 2

Langley, William M., 1954-1958


Box 2

Langley, William M.--Correspondence with Jim Purcell, Jr.,, 1955-1956


Box 2

Langley v. Oregonian Publishing Co. , 1956-1962


Box 2

Legal Cases--Miscellaneous, 1956-1957


Box 2

Legislation on Vice--Rackets, 1957


Box 2

Maloney, Thomas A.; Joseph P. McLaughlin, 1956-1958


Box 2

Maloney-Elkins--Tapes [2] and Transcripts, 1959


Box 2

Memoranda, 1955-1957


Box 2

Merrill, Jack, 1957


Box 2

Pinball Business, 1954-1958


Box 2

Plotkin, Lee, 1955


Box 2

Radio Cab, 1953-1954


Box 2

Schrunk; Sheriff Terry D. 1956-1960, 1956-1960

3 folders


Box 2

Story Drafts, 1957

2 folders


Teamsters


Box 2

Newspaper Clippings, 1956-1959

6 folders


Box 3

Photographs, 1955-1957

2 folders


Box 3

Hearing on William Langley's grand jury subpoenas, 1955-1967


Box 3

Police Records, 1949-1955


Box 3

Thornton; Attorney General Robert Y., 1957-1959


Box 3

Transcripts of Recordings, 1956


Box 3

U.S. Senate Labor Rackets Committee, 1956-1957


Box 3

Kennedy Interview [First Part Follows Second]--Tapes [3], undated


Box 3

Photographs, 1957


Box 3

Way, Mr. William Honore, 1957


Box 3

Williams, Arthur Bradley, 1956


I.2 Roy M. Cohn, 1963-1990


Box 3

Brann, Herman W., 1965


Box 3

Buckley, William F., undated


Box 3

Correspondence--Lambert with Buckley, William F. re Life magazine article, 1969-1970


Box 3

Buckley, William F. and Jack O'Brian, 1968-1969


Box 3

Corporate Opportunities, 1966-1969


Box 3

Correspondence-Martenson, Jean M., 1986


Box 3

Dirksen; U.S. Sen. Everett M., 1967-1968


Box 3

Finances, 1965-1970


Box 3

First and Second Trials, 1964-1969


Box 3

Gallagher, Neil and Lawrence I. Weisman, 1969


Box 3

Indictments [1968], 1968-1969


Life magazine, article


Box 3

"The One-Man Roy Cohn Lobby" Life--Carbon Makeup, 1969


Box 3

Checking File, 1969


Box 3

Correspondence--General, 1969


Box 3

Long, Ed, 1967-1968


Box 3

[James L.] Marcus-Affair, 1967-1970


Box 3

Documents, 1967


Box 3

McCarthy Committee, 1968


Box 3

Miscellaneous, 1969


Box 3

[Robert M.] Morgenthau's "Vendetta", 1967-1968


Box 4

Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1990

5 folders


Box 4

Notes, 1969-1975


Box 4

Rosenstiel, Lewis, 1967


Box 4

Tax Return, 1963-1966


Box 4

United States v. Cohn, 1967-1969


Box 4

United States v. DeSapio, 1968


Box 4

Weisl, Hon. Edwin L., 1964


I.3 James W. Hoffa and John W. McCormick, 1964-1975


Box 4

Goldwater, Barry, 1964

2 folders


Box 4

Hoffa, James W., 1967-1975


Box 4

McCormick, John W., 1969-1970


I.4 Howard Hughes and Ronald Reagan, 1966-1985


Howard Hughes


Clifford Irving--Autobiography Hoax


Box 4

Affidavit and Exhibits, 1972


Box 4

Irving, Edith, 1972-1976


Box 4

Investigative Findings, 1971-1972


Box 4

Newspaper Clippings, 1972-1973


Box 4

Time Inc.--McGraw Hill Material, 1971-1972


Box 4

Miscellaneous, 1967-1985


Box 4

TWA Lawsuit, 1971


Box 5

Ronald Reagan, 1966-1967

2 folders


I.5 David Burnham, Lyndon B. Johnson, E. Howard Hunt, and Miscellaneous Subject Files,, 1961-1991


Box 5

Burnham, David, 1987-1990


Box 5

Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), 1973-1978


Hunt, E. Howard


Fake Cable


Box 5

Newspaper Clippings, 1972-1981


Box 5

Correspondence, 1963-1973


Box 5

Notebooks, undated


Box 5

Johnson, Lyndon B., 1989-1991


Box 5

Long, Edward B., 1967-1990


Box 5

March on Washington--Negro Civil Rights, 1961-1963


I.6 Abe Fortas, 1966-1992


Box 5

Correspondence--Lambert, William G., 1969


Kalman, Laura


Box 5

Correspondence, 1990


Box 5

Manuscript--Abe Fortas: A Biography, 1990


Life magazine


Box 5

Checking File, 1966-1969

2 folders


Box 5

Correspondence--Article--Reaction to, 1969


Box 6

Page Proofs, 1969


Box 6

Press--Reaction to, 1969


Box 6

Published, 1969


Box 6

Radio/TV Reports, 1969


Box 6

Resignation--Reaction to--Newspaper Clippings, 1969


Murphy, Bruce Allen


Box 6

Correspondence--"Fortas: The Rise and Ruin of a Supreme Court Justice",, 1988


Newspapers


Box 6

Chicago Press, 1969


Box 6

Clippings, 1968-1991

4 folders


Box 6

Editorials, 1969


Box 6

Los Angeles Press, 1969


Box 6

Wolfson, Louis, 1969-1992

2 folders


Box 6

Correspondence, 1969-1980


Box 6

Newspaper Clippings, 1969


I.7 Cornelius E. Gallagher, 1959-1975


Box 7

Backlash, 1967-1968


Box 7

Broadway National Bank, Bayonne, NJ, 1967-1968


Box 7

Clark, Ramsey, 1968


Box 7

Congressional Investigation, 1968


Box 7

De Angelis Scandal, 1968


Box 7

Edmart/Truman, Martin, 1968


Box 7

General Information, 1969


Box 7

Hoffman, Stephen L., 1961-1966


Box 7

House Ethics Committee, 1969


Box 7

Income Tax Evasion and Perjury, 1971-1975


Box 7

Lambert--Notes re, Gallagher, 1968


Life magazine


Box 7

Carbon File, 1968


Box 7

Checking Copies and Carbon Files, 1959-1969

3 folders


Box 7

Response to, 1968


Box 7

Letters to the Editor--Response to the U.S. Attorney General,, 1968 August 30


Newspapers


Box 7

Associated Press, 1968


Box 7

Bayonne Times , 1968

2 folders


Box 7

Dembe, Harvey and Ed, 1968


Box 7

Hudson Dispatch , 1968


Box 7

Jersey Journal , 1968

2 folders


Box 7

Miscellaneous, 1968-1970

3 folders


Box 7

New York Times , 1968


Box 7

Newark Evening News , 1968


Box 7

Newark News , 1968


Box 7

Star-Ledger , 1968


Box 7

Notebooks--Gallagher II, 1968-1969


Box 7

Outside Information, 1968


Box 7

Pros and Cons of Formal Inquiry as Reported in the Newspaper, 1968


Box 7

Real Estate, 1968-1969


Transcripts


Box 7

Telephone and Television, 1968


Box 7

WABC-TV (NYC), undated


Box 7

Zicarelli, Joseph, 1967-1968

II. Libel Litigation Consultancy, 1964-1994

This series consists of three subseries related to Lambert's post journalism career as a libel litigation consultant. The first subseries II.1: Libel Cases--Testimony (1975-1994) is arranged alphabetically by libel case title. Subseries II.2: Law--Research (1964-1994) is arranged alphabetically by subject. The third subseries II.3: Mock Libel Trials (1985-1987) is arranged chronologically and documents his participation in various state and national press association conventions and conferences.


II.1 Libel Cases--Testimony, 1975-1994


Box 8

Carroll v. Pittsburgh Press , 1982-1988


Box 8

Curran v. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), 1984-1988


Box 8

Edghill v. Municipal Publications, Inc. , 1982-1990


Box 8

Judge Bernard Snyder, 1983-1989


Box 8

Expert Testimony, 1982-1988


Box 8

Fee Invoices, 1994


Box 8

Witness Correspondence, 1989-1991


Box 8

Greene County Commission v. Observer Publishing Co. , 1990-1993


Box 8

Hepps v. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), 1981-1986


Box 8

Johnson v. Parade Publications , 1986-1987


Box 8

Kramer v. KDKA , 1984-1987


Box 8

Larsen v. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), 1983-1993


Box 8

Lexalt v. McClatchy Newspapers , 1985-1989


Box 8

Lindsay v. Globe International, Inc. , 1994


Box 8

Litchfield and Kentish v. Times Newspapers Ltd., London , 1975-1979


Box 8

McDermott v. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), 1984-1993


Box 8

Miscellaneous, 1981-1994


Box 8

Mosesian v. McClatchy Newspapers , 1987


Box 8

Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), 1983-1994


Box 8

Cases, 1983-1994


Box 8

Contract, 1985-1988


Box 8

Ramada v. Dow Jones , 1981-1988


Box 9

Rosati v. Sheraton and WCAU , 1978-1982


Box 9

Lambert Testimony--Rosati Deposition, 1982


Box 9

Rust Evader Corp. v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. , 1993


Box 9

Sciandra v. Scranton Times , 1985-1987


Box 9

Sprague v. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), 1984-1990


Box 9

Urella v. Walter , 1973-1989


Box 9

Warford v. Lexington Herald-Leader , 1988-1989


Box 9

Winter v. Manhattan Inc. , 1987-1990


II.2 Law--Research, 1964-1994


Box 9

Judiciary, 1983-1993


Box 9

Lawyers, 1964-1994


Press


Box 9

Miscellaneous, 1988-1993


Box 9

People, 1986-1993


II.3 Mock Libel Trials, 1985-1987


Box 10

Pennsylvania Press Conference, 1985 May 31


Box 10

Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers' Association, 61st Annual Meeting,, 1985 September 26


Box 10

Associated Press Managing Editors Association, Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA,, 1985 October 31


Box 10

New Jersey Press Association, Annual Convention, Absecon, NJ, 1985 November 7


Box 10

New Jersey Press Association, Spring Conference, Cherry Hill, NJ,, 1986 April 4


Box 10

American Society of Newspaper Editors, Annual Convention, Washington, DC,, 1986 April 11


Box 10

American Newspaper Publishers Association, Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA,, 1986 April 23


Box 10

Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX,, 1987 August 2