Robert L. Lawrence papers, 1950-2005

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Summary

Creator:
Lawrence, Robert L., 1919-2004 and John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Abstract:
Robert L. Lawrence (1919-2004) was an American film and television producer during the second half of the twentieth century. He was primarily based in New York City with offices and studios in Hollywood, Toronto, and Paris. Collection includes correspondence, memos, press releases, newspaper and magazine clippings, legal agreements, financial documents and statements, scripts, production documentation, audiovisual material (audio and film reels, videocassettes), black-and-white and color photographs and slides, and other materials that document Lawrence's career as a producer in the American, Canadian, and international motion picture and television industries. Papers include Lawrence's work on documentaries, newsreels, commercials, animated films, and domestic and international motion films. Included are materials related to Lawrence's direct marketing concept called Cable Catalogue and his foray into the food industry with La Vie Products, Inc., a company created for the manufacture and distribution of sourdough bread and other foodstuff. Collection documents Lawrence's education at the United States Military Academy at West Point and military service in the Fifth Army during World War II, as well as his service to the Directors Guild of America as chair of several committees, West Point Assembly of Graduates, and West Point Society of New York. Companies and individuals represented include RKO Pathé (a division of RKO Pictures), Jerry Fairbanks Productions, National Association of Investment Companies, Marvel, Stan Lee, Jim Henson, and Frederick, I. Ordway. Advertising agencies represented include D'Arcy Advertising Company, Foote, Cone & Belding, Inc, Campbell-Ewald, Young & Rubicam, Batton, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc. Other companies represented include General Electric, RCA Records, General Motors, General Foods Corporation, Colgate-Palmolive-Peat, Noxzema, Revlon, Inc. and Clairol. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
20.4 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13100

Background

Scope and content:

Collection includes correspondence, memos, press releases, newspaper and magazine clippings, legal agreements, financial documents and statements, scripts, production documentation, audiovisual material in multiple formats, black-and-white and color photographs and slides, and other materials that document Lawrence's career as a producer in the United States, Canadian, and international motion picture and television industries. Papers include Lawrence's work on documentaries, newsreels, commercials, animated films, and domestic and international motion films. Included are materials related to Lawrence's direct marketing concept called Cable Catalogue and his foray into the food industry with La Vie Products, Inc., a company created for the manufacture and distribution of sourdough bread and other foodstuff. Collection documents Lawrence's education at the United States Military Academy at West Point and military service in the Fifth Army during World War II as well as his service to the Directors Guild of America as chair of several committees, West Point Assembly of Graduates, and West Point Society of New York. Companies and individuals represented include RKO Pathé (a division of RKO Pictures), Jerry Fairbanks Productions, National Association of Investment Companies, Marvel, Stan Lee, Jim Henson, and Frederick, I. Ordway. Advertising agencies represented include D'Arcy Advertising Company, Foote, Cone & Belding, Inc, Campbell-Ewald, Young & Rubicam, Batton, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc. Other companies represented include General Electric, RCA Records, General Motors, General Foods Corporation, Colgate-Palmolive-Peat, Noxzema, Revlon, Inc. and Clairol.

Biographical / historical:

Robert L. Lawrence (1919-2004) was an American film and television producer during the second half of the twentieth century. He was primarily based in New York City with offices and studios in Hollywood, Toronto, and Paris.

Robert Leonard Lawrence was born on December 8,1919, in Samford, Ct. and died on September 23, 2004 in New York City. Lawrence graduated from Stamford High in 1937; and graduated with a B.S. degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1943. He served in the United States Fifth Army during World War II.

Lawrence's career in the film industry started after he saw Roberto Rossellini's 1945 film "Rome, Open City" while serving in Italy, and participated in the funding and distribution of the film in the U.S. Soon after that experience, he returned to the U.S. and, from 1947 to 1948, worked in the production department at RKO Pathé, a motion picture production and distribution company founded in 1929. From 1948-1952, Lawrence served as the Vice-President of Eastern Production at Jerry Fairbanks Productions, one of the first major producers of commercials for the nascent television industry during the 1950s.

In 1952, Lawrence established Robert Lawrence Productions, Inc. (RLP) for the purpose of the production and distribution of motion pictures for industry and television. Throughout the 1950s, Lawrence expanded his business with studios and offices in New York, Hollywood, and Toronto. In 1954, Lawrence established Grantray-Lawrence Animation, an animation studio in Hollywood, with Ray Patterson and Grant Simmons, longtime collaborators who worked at Walt Disney Productions as animators in the 1940s. In 1955 Lawrence founded Robert Lawrence Productions (Canada) Ltd. located in Toronto to produce television film commercials and engage in motion picture production for television, industry, and theater. Lawrence acquired Loucks & Norling Studios, Inc., New York, in 1956 to expand into industrial films and special effects. A further expansion in 1957 was the formation of Pintoff-Lawrence Productions, Inc., New York, for the production of animated television commercials and films. The resulting network of affiliates and subsidiaries created an integrated "one-stop service" production company and eliminated the need for sub-contract work.

During this time, the company's principal work was the production of animated and live-action film commercials. It produced and worked on commercials for consumer products, such as kitchen appliances, beauty and health products (Max Factor Crème Puff Makeup, Micrin mouthwash), beverages (Sanka), food (Swans Down bread mix), cigarettes (Philip Morris Commander Cigarettes), cleaning supplies (Lestoil), and cars (Chevrolet). Industrial films include Sightseeing with the Swayzes (1953), a multi-part travelogue featuring TV broadcaster John Cameron Swayze and his family, a series on investing and stocks (National Growth Investment Series) for the National Association of Investment Companies (renamed Investment Company Institute), and Air Power is Peace Power about the aviation industry.

In 1963, Lawrence decided to cease the New York production of commercials in order to focus on feature films, such as The Passionate Tourist, The Jewel in the Lotus, The Endless Colonnade, Harvey Middleman, Fireman, The Martian Shop, and The Centaur. In addition to feature films, Lawrence also produced television series. Starting in 1966, Grantray-Lawrence Animation produced and animated "Marvel Super-Heroes," a syndicated program in color based on five characters in Marvel Comics: Captain America, Iron Man, the Mighty Thor, the Incredible Hulk, and Prince Namor. In the early 1970s, RLP (Canada) produced several one-hour TV specials for Jim Henson's Muppets.

Lawrence also established numerous ventures and partnerships to facilitate his many projects and films throughout his decades-long career that included Robert Lawrence Animation, Inc. in 1956, LSL Distributing Co. (partner) for film production and La Vie Products, Inc. (Founder and President) for food manufacture in 1962; Cinema V. Ltd (President) in 1962; Martian Products, Inc. (President) in 1964, Super-Hero Productions, Inc. (President and owner) in the late 1960s, and Monitel, Inc. in 1970 (Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer).

Later career projects and ideas included Cable Catalogue (an unrealized concept for direct market television shopping), a publication featuring images from the Frederick I. Ordway Collection of Space, Art and Literature, the scripted television series When Angels Fly, and an unrealized television concept to animate photoromance magazines, a type of graphic storytelling that uses photographs made popular in Italy.

Acquisition information:
The Robert L. Lawrence papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as gifts from the Lawrence family in 2023-2025.
Processing information:

Processed by Elizabeth Anne Brown, April, 2025

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0230, 2024-0165, 2025-0060.

Arrangement:

Organized into the following series: Cable Catalogue; Centaur; Directors Guild of America (DGA); Fairbanks; Grantray-Lawrence Animation; Il Tetto (The Roof); La Vie Products, Inc.; Martian Shop; Monitel; Projects; Robert Lawrence Productions Canada, Ltd.; Robert Lawrence Productions, Inc.; Screenplays; and Audiovisual Materials.

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Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Collection contains electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Robert L. Lawrence papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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