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Alexander Kendrick papers
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Annenberg School for Communication Library Archives [Contact Us]3620 Walnut Street, Philadelpia, PA 19104
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Annenberg School for Communication Library Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Alexander Kendrick was born on July 6, 1910, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in South Philly where he graduated from Central High School around 1930. His career in journalism began with The Public Ledger in Philadelphia. When the paper folded in 1942, Kendrick moved on to The Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1940 Kendrick won a Nieman fellowship to Harvard University for the 1940-1941 academic year. During his fellowship, he studied government, economics, and history.
At the beginning of World War II, the Inquirer sent Kenrick overseas to cover the Murmansk Run, an Allied convoy route through which Allies sailed to the Soviet ports of Murmansk and Archangel carrying supplies.
Following the war, Kendrick encountered Edward R. Murrow on a trip to Rome. He later joined him as a radio and television correspondent at CBS News. Kendrick became a second-generation Murrow Boy. The Murrow Boys, or Murrow's Boys, were CBS radio broadcast journalists recruited by Edward R. Murrow during his time at the network. The "Boys" were his closest professional and personal associates. As a foreign correspondent, Kendrick reported on and from numerous cities including Moscow, Vienna, and London. He covered postwar politics and events such as the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the Vietnam War. Kendrick was the only American reporter to cover the trial of Robert Voegler, an American businessman accused by the communist government of espionage and sabotage, by Communists in Budapest. He served as the CBS Bureau Chief in London until he was succeeded by Dan Rather in 1965.
Kendrick then returned to Washington where he continued reporting and turned to writing. In 1969, he published Prime Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow, a biography chronicling the career and experiences of Murrow from his childhood to his confrontation with Senator Joseph McCarthy's red scare during the 1950s. Kendrick's second work, The Wound Within: America in the Vietnam Years, 1945-1974, chronicles the American role in the Vietnam War abroad as well as happenings on the home front from the civil rights movement, draft resistance and collegiate protests of "the system."
In 1975 Kendrick retired from CBS and returned to live in Philadelphia. His wife, Sarah Kunitz, died in 1981. Alexander Kendrick died on May 17, 1991.
Sources:
Bibliography "Alexander Kendrick, Journalist." Chicago Tribune (1963-1996), May 19, 1991, https://proxy.library.upenn.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/alexander-kendrick-journalist/docview/1644253495/se-2 (accessed January 10, 2024).
"Alexander Kendrick, CBS Correspondent, 80." New York Times, May 20, 1991. Gale Business: Insights (accessed January 10, 2024). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A175258722/GBIB?u=upenn_main&sid=summon&xid=813fd06e.
"Alexander Kendrick." In Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2003. Gale Literature Resource Center (accessed January 10, 2024). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000115030/GLS?u=upenn_main&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=ddf086e4.
"Kendrick, Alexander." In 1991-1993, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, Karen Markoe, and Arnold Markoe, 300-301. Vol. 3 of The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed January 10, 2024). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2874600168/BIC?u=upenn_main&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=c331db09.
Alexander Kendrick was a journalist, foreign correspondent, author, and radio and television reporter affiliated with The Public Ledger, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). The Alexander Kendrick papers document his career from the 1930s-1970s. Materials comprise radio broadcast and television typescripts, correspondence, contracts, edited book typescripts, book research notes, clippings, long-playing records, and photos.
Included in the publications are Kendrick's notes and research for his two manuscripts, Primetime and The Wound Within, as well as several essays and news articles.
The broadcast and television scripts from Kendrick's various shows and programs are typed, but often include handwritten annotations. His various notebooks found in boxes 5-7 document his foreign correspondent work.
The collection is organized into 7 series: Series 1: Publications, 1931-1994, Series 2: Notes, 1930-1966, Series 3: Scripts, 1947-1971, Series 4: CBS, 1948-1971, Series 5: Professional papers, 1864-1977, Series 6: Printed materials, 1787-1977, Series 7: Vinyl/LP records, 1959-1974.
Gift of Bill Simmons, 2006.
Accessioned as 2023.0008. Samantha Dodd processed, wrote, and encoded the finding aid, 2023. Personal medical files and duplicate printed material were removed from the collection.
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Subject
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Annenberg School for Communication Library Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Samantha Dodd
- Finding Aid Date
- 2024 January
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open and available for use.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Annenberg Library Archives.
Collection Inventory
This series comprises works written by Alexander Kendrick including essays, manuscripts, and news articles. Materials are arranged into 3 subseries by format.
Subseries 1 comprises essays. Folders are arranged alphabetically, and dates are provided when known. Topics range from journalism to postwar events, Philadelphia, and international cities in which Kendrick served as a foreign correspondent notably Vienna and London. Also included in this subseries are a few essays written by Early McCoy.
Subseries 2 consists of clippings from various news publications, including The New Republic and The Nation, written by Alexander Kendrick. The bulk of the material dates to World War II and the post-war years. Folders 1-2 contain biographical clippings about Kendrick.
Alexander Kendrick published two manuscripts during his career. In 1969, he published the biography: Prime Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow, and in 1974 he published: The Wound Within: America in the Vietnam Years, 1945-1974, which chronicles the American role in the Vietnam War. Subseries 3 comprises drafts, correspondence, clippings, proposals, contracts, promotional materials, edits and stylesheets for these two works.
Physical Description5 boxes
This series comprises handwritten notebooks and typed note cards of Kendrick's research for his various publications and notes from his foreign correspondent work. Boxes 17-20 contain Kendrick's notes for his two manuscripts. In boxes 21-24 are notes about current events arranged chronologically. The notebooks found in boxes 5-7 are arranged by date; titles taken from the first page or first noted subject.
Physical Description11 boxes
Alexander Kendrick worked as a radio and television correspondent for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). He appeared on several different broadcasts including Dimensions, Press Collect, This Week, and World Tonight. This series comprises scripts from his various broadcasts, arranged alphabetically by title. Dates provided when known.
Physical Description5 boxes
Following World War II until 1975, Kendrick worked for CBS as a radio and television broadcaster. He served as the CBS Bureau Chief in London until he was succeeded by Dan Rather in 1965. This series comprises materials related to Kendrick's career with the network and includes research files for various broadcasts, memos, personnel documents, scripts and transcripts, schedules, and reports. Folders are arranged alphabetically by title, and dates are provided when known.
Physical Description2 boxes
These professional papers comprise materials from Kendrick's correspondent work and travels overseas. Materials include ephemera pieces such as invitations, permits, ID badges, press passes, and business cards; other materials include diaries, correspondence, travel documents, and photographs.
Physical Description2 boxes
1864 letter from the War Department to the Secretary of the Union League in Philadelphia; file also contains correspondence regarding Polk-Hollenbeck.
International vaccine record, in French
These materials consist of printed items including newspapers, magazines, clippings, speeches, and remarks which were kept and/or collected by Kendrick.
Physical Description1 box
Vinyl recordings of other news correspondents including Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. Also included in this series are recordings of productions by CBS news and CBS Radio Network.
Physical Description3 boxes