Masters, Kelly 1975, 1978

Please note: this recording is currently missing from the Southwest Collection and may not be available for researchers. In Tape 1, Kelly Masters plays some of the recordings produced for school children. In Tape 2, parts of which are difficult to understand, Kelly Masters and his wife discuss tent shows and people associated with them. In Tape 3, Masters talks about his career as an actor and as a writer.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Kelly Masters

Additional Parties Recorded: None

Date: May 1975; November 9, 1978

Location: Roswell, New Mexico

Interviewer: Clifford Ashby, Bobby Weaver

Length: 3 hours

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Producer of adventure tapes, Elementary schools, High schools, "Mr. Satin", Circus love story, Comedy skit, Funeral scheme, Oscar Howland, Conducted readings.

Tape 1, Side 2: "Whispering Bill", Monologue, War scheme, Frank Norton Show, Hogtown, Texas, Oil boom, Myrtle, Mud holes, Spanish song.

Tape 2, Side 1: Charley Harrison Tent Show, Individual dressing rooms, Elevated stage, Winterstock, Harley Sadler, Kelly Masters, Performed, Jim Bailey, Harrison (again), Grand Theater, Tent Show, Masters’ book, Sadler (again), Loan (1924), Masters (again), St. Louis, Missouri, Actor at the age of 17 (1915), Russian slave, role, Herb Walters’ Tent Show, Palmer Brothers, Dubinsky Brothers, L. B. Wesson, Frank Norton, Lyle Talbot, Will Geer, Kelly Brothers’ Comedians, Vance Johnson.

Tape 2, Side 2: Blank

Tape 3, Side 1: Harley Sadler family, Lack of memorabilia remaining, Deaths, Harley Sadler (again), Biography, Story about raising money, Sputters rewritten as South of the Border, Erman Gray, actor, The Harrison Show, "Hertz and Culgrove", Photograph of Mr. Masters, Schaffner’s Tent Show Museum, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Caroline Schaffner, Leo and Maxine Lacy, Burt Dexter, Jimmy Davis, Schaffner Show, Slim Andrews, Tex Ritter, Mrs. Masters, Roles, Masters’ child, Mr. Masters (again), Photographs (again), Movies (1934), Anecdote: That Clark Gable won’t amount to much, Photographs (again), Mr. and Mrs. Masters, Hillbilly singing, Mr. Masters (again), Writing career, Pseudonym, Acts, Diving Dog, Benefit performance, Harley Sadler Show (again), Stock season, Marve Landon, director, Wife, Harley (again), Toby character, Rose Grolin, Salaries, Vaudeville acts in stock, Mr. Masters (again), Specialty roles, Steel guitar.

Tape 3, Side 2: Masters’ Tent Show, World War II’s impact, Television show, Mr. Masters, Writing career (again), Austin, Texas, Various show people, Al Pitcaithley, Show business collection, Flo Darling, Erman Gray (again), School lectures, Patsy, wife, Later activities, Show people, Lubbock, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Clifford Ashby, Illinois, Lack of tent shows, Various shows, Paul English Show, Billy Choates, Al Pitcaithley (again), Knowledge about show people, Various show people, J. Doug Morgan.

Tape 4, Side 1: Tent shows (1915), Herb Walters, St. Charles Hotel, St. Joseph, Missouri, Stock companies, Cities, Circle stock, World War II, Playwriting, True Detective (1944), Fiction, Piney, first book (1950), Juvenile fiction, Pen name, Zachery Ball, Joe Panther, Movies, Joe Panther, Bristleface, Writing, Research, Schedule.

Tape 4, Side 2: Writing (continued), Harley Sadler, Jimson Theatre, Dallas, Texas, Stock company, Charlie Harrison, Kyle Simpson, Tent shows, Territory, Comedians, "Toby" character, Audiences, Son, Acting, Mistakes, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Specialty numbers, Writing, Material, Methods, Historical novel (1946).

Tape 5, Side 1: Contracts, Movie rights, Walt Disney, Desdemona, Texas, Boom town, Drillers, Tabloid show, Acting in Texas, Frank Norton, Dallas, Texas, Jake Newman, Talent agent, Lyle Simpson, Summer stock, Theatre conditions, Fairs, Mrs. Masters, Childhood, Actress.

Tape 5, Side 2: Blank

Range Dates: 1922-1975

Bulk Dates: 1912-1975

Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:

---

Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.