Scopes and Contents

 

The J. Mitchell Johnson Collection contains items related to Johnson's filmmaking career including his papers and over a thousand physical media files. It consists of two series: J. Mitchell Johnson Papers and J. Mitchell Johnson Media.

Series I: J. Mitchell Johnson Papers, 1970-2006

This series contains the papers relating to the films produced by J. Mitchell Johnson. It is divided into twelve subseries: Fodor's Travel Guide Videos, Lili Kraus, Milepost 407: A West Texas Story, Mind's Eye, Mondale, Olympics Projects, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Water Garden, Yanks for Stalin, Other Film Projects, and Business and Personal. Each of the subseries contain correspondence, press and publicity, financial and legal information, production notes, and research for each film project represented in the collection.

The Fodor's Travel Guide Videos subseries contains materials from several travel video productions made for the Fodor's Travel Video Guide VHS series. The focus of each video is to provide travel information on a specific country, state, or region.

The Lili Kraus subseries contains materials related to a documentary about the world famous pianist, Lili Kraus. At the time, Kraus was a TCU resident and the university was hosting a gala in her honor. The Lili Kraus Gala was also filmed for PBS.

The Milepost 407: A West Texas Story subseries contains materials on a documentary about the history of Abilene, Texas and the oil industry in West Texas.

The Mind's Eye subseries contains materials on a documentary on black folk artists. The film went through a few different name changes including "Spirit and Image," "Black Folk Art," and "Flash of Spirit." Many of the materials in this series relate to the fundraising efforts to get the film made.

The Mondale subseries contains materials relating to a documentary on Walter Mondale. Mondale ran as a Democrat against Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election. Johnson produced a film on the Democratic Convention for Mondale.

The Olympics Projects subseries contains materials relating to three separate films relating to the 1980 Olympics. "Gymnast" highlights women gymnasts at the XXth World Gymnastics Championships held in Fort Worth, Texas in 1979. "Olympic Overture" is about the art and performances at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. "Artist and Athlete: The Pursuit of Perfection" highlights the arts of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival subseries contains materials relating to a documentary on the 1982 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. The film won the Best Documentary award at the New Mexico Film and Video Awards.

The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition subseries contains materials relating to several productions on the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth. Johnson produced the PBS broadcast of the competition in 1977. In 1981, he produced a three-part series for A&E Network as well as a live broadcast of the competition on PBS.

The Water Garden subseries contains materials related to a documentary on architect Philip Johnson's vision and creation of the Fort Worth Water Garden. The 90-minute documentary aired on PBS in 1984 and was the recipient of four film awards. The film was financed in part by the Amon Carter Foundation with Ruth Carter Stevenson overseeing the production.

The Yanks for Stalin subseries contains materials from a 60-minute production for the History Channel's "History Undercover" series. It addresses how Americans contributed to Stalin's Five Year Plans.

The Other Film Projects subseries contains materials from various film productions that Johnson worked on. Projects represented are "Everybody's Talking," "Fort Worth Welcome Home," LEXO: Alexander Toradze, Pianist," "Moses Pendleton Presents Moses Pendleton," North Carolina School of the Arts documentary, "Red Files," "San Antonio Festival," United Way campaign films, "West of Liberty," and "World Without Waves."

The Business and Personal subseries contains both business and personal papers. Materials encompass several of Johnson's business associations such as Fort Worth Productions, Inc., Abamedia, Russian Archives Online, Travel World, and Southwest Communications. Materials include press and publicity, film festival and awards lists and programs, financial and fundraising information, legal paperwork, and research on a variety of potential film topics or subjects. There is also a significant amount of research on ABC Television, film equipment, and the film industry generally.

Series II: J. Mitchell Johnson Media, 1977-2006

This series contains over a thousand physical media formats containing the work of J. Mitchell Johnson. It is comprised of 8mm and 16mm film, VHS tapes, magnetic tapes, Betacam tapes, DVDs, and more. It includes complete films, rough drafts, raw footage, sound recordings, and various edits. This series contains copies of most of Johnson's work represented in his papers.

Click here to view the J. Mitchell Johnson Media Collection.