| Dates: | 1969-2013 |
| Size: | 1.5 linear feet in 1 box, plus 5 oversize folders and 2 artifacts |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe.ctc-ghp |
| Immediate source of acquisition: | The collection was donated to the Chicago Public Library over several years by local actor and director, Gary Houston. Material which related to a play that did not involve Houston was removed and added to the Chicago Public Library’s general theater collection. |
| Conditions governing use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection |
| Conditions governing access: | Materials are open without restrictions |
| Preferred citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Gary Houston Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library |
| Finding aid author: | Johanna Russ, 2013 October. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Sarah Zimmerman, 2021. |
Abstract
Gary Houston has been an actor, director and producer in Chicago’s theater scene since 1969. This collection is comprised of photographs, programs, playbills and posters from his prolific career.
Biographical/Historical
Gary Houston, while a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Chicago, co-edited the Chicago Literary Review. He joined the Chicago Sun-Times staff in 1969 as production coordinator, then assistant editor of the Sunday supplement Show/Book Week under Herman Kogan. He began acting and directing on the Chicago North Side at the Kingston Mines Theater Company on Lincoln Avenue, where he played Roger in the world premiere of Grease. He has also appeared in the films The Blues Brothers, Fargo, Proof, Watchmen and many others.
Scope and Contents
The collection is comprised of photographs, programs, playbills, and posters from Houston’s prolific career as actor, director and producer.
Arrangement
Items are arranged chronologically by production date, and alphabetically by play title within year.
Related Collections
- Warren Casey Papers
- Chicago Theater Videotape Collection
- Godzilla Rainbow Troupe Records
- Goodman Theatre Archive
- Lawrence (Larry) Hart Papers
- Patricia L. (Pat) Hart Papers
- Magic Circle Theatre Records
- Northlight Theatre Records
- Organic Theater Records
- Steppenwolf Theatre Company Records
- Victory Gardens Theater Records
Subject Headings
- Houston, Gary
- Grease
- Body Politic Theatre (Chicago, Ill.)
- Aspect Theater
- Court Studio
- European Repertory Company (Chicago, Ill.)
- Illinois Theatre (Organization : Chicago, Ill.)
- Kingston Mines Theatre (Skokie, Ill.)
- National Jewish Theater (Skokie, Ill.)
- Next Theater Company (Evanston, Ill.)
- Organic Theater Company
- Pary Productions
- Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Terrapin Theatre (Chicago, Ill.)
- Victory Gardens Theater
Collection Inventory
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | White Devil, Court Studio Production, photograph, 1969 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | The Assault Upon Charles Sumner, Kingston Mines Theatre, photograph, 1970 |
| Oversize Folder 1 | Kaspar, Ruth Page Auditorium, reproduction of poster of director’s note, 1970 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Krapp’s Last Tape, Theatre of Phynance at the Body Politic, photographs, 1970 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Grease, Kingston Mines Theatre, program, 1971 |
| Artifact 2017.80 | Catch 22, Framed drawing, Pary Production/Kingston Mines, Catch 22 by Bill King, stage manager, circa 1972. Actors: Russ Badger, Jack Wallace, Yuri Rasovsky, Jim Fay, Joe Rodgers, and John Griffin are depicted in their production roles. Likely oil pastel on paper | |
| Oversize Folder 1 | Not I, Riverside Theatre, poster, 1973 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Saved, Kingston Mines Theatre, photograph, 1973 |
| Oversize Folder 1 | Sweet Eros & Mighty Aphrodite, Kingston Mines, poster, 1973 | |
| Oversize Folder 1 | Slag, Pary Productions at Lerner Theatre, poster, 1974 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Geography of a Horse Dreamer, Pary Productions/Domestic Blend, press release, 1975 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
The Wicked Cooks, Pary Productions/the Body Politic,
photograph, 1976 |
| Oversize Folder 2 | Our Late Night, Steppenwolf Theatre, set blueprint, 1977 | |
| Oversize Folder 2 | The Phone Room, Pary Productions at the Theatre Building, poster, 1978 | |
| Oversize Folder 2 | Towards Zero, Pary Productions at the Theatre Building, poster, 1978 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | Campaign, Organic Theater, poster (3 copies), 1979 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | The Dodo Bird, Pary Production Company, poster (2 sizes), 1979 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | Poe in Person with Conrad Pomerleau, Pary Production Company and Steve Munro, poster, 1979 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | Poor Murderer, Pary Production Company, poster, 1979 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | Poor Murderer, Pary Production Company, clippings mock-up, 1979 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | Women Behind Bars, Pary Production Company, poster (2 copies), 1979 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | Women Behind Bars, Pary Productions at the Theatre Building, photograph, 1979 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | The Man in the Glass Booth, Next Theatre Company, photograph, 1980 |
| Oversize Folder 4 | The Man in the Glass Booth, Next Theater, photographs, 1980 | |
| Oversize Folder 4 | Sea Anchor, Pary Production Company, poster, 1980 | |
|
Artifact 2013.5 |
E/R, One jacket from Organic Theater production of E/R, (1982-1983) | |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | The Forever War, Organic Theater, photograph, 1983 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | Moonlight Daring Us to Go Insane, The Body Politic, program, 1987 |
| Oversize Folder 4 | Wenceslas Square, The Body Politic, poster, 1989 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | Bitter Friends, National Jewish Theater, photographs, 1990 |
| Oversize Folder 4 | Nightside, Victory Gardens Studio Theater, reproduction of poster, 1990 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Charisma, Next Theatre and Next Fire Production, photograph, 1993 |
| Oversize Folder 5 | Gulliver’s Last Travels, Organic Theater Company, poster (3 copies), 1993 | |
| Oversize Folder 5 | Separation, Illinois Theatre Center, poster, 1994 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | The Love Song of Saul Alinsky, Terrapin, photographs, 1998 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Princess Turandot, European Repertory Company, photograph, 2001 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | The Tempest, European Repertory Company, flyers, 2001 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | The American (a reading), Aspect Theatre, programs, 2002 |
| Oversize Folder 5 | A Dublin Bloom, Irish Repertory at Victory Gardens Theater, poster and playbill, 2004 | |
| Oversize Folder 5 | Free Man of Color, Victory Gardens Theater, poster, 2004 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | Petrified Forest, Theatre at the Center, playbill, 2004 |
| Oversize Folder 5 | Berlin ’45, Victory Gardens Theater, poster, 2005 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 | A Tribute to Melville’s Moby Dick (a reading), Phantom Collective, postcard, 2013 |
