Edwin Miller interviews for Seventeen Magazine, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.
The Edwin Miller interviews for Seventeen Magazine date from 1947 to 1988 and consist of audio recordings, transcripts, and accompanying files. As the entertainment editor of Seventeen magazine, Miller conducted monthly interviews with actors, musicians, writers, and other members of the entertainment industry.
Edwin Miller (1921-2003) was the entertainment editor of Seventeen magazine from 1946 to 1988. During his 40-plus year tenure as the sole entertainment author, Miller conducted and edited monthly interviews with actors, musicians, writers, and other members of the entertainment industry.
The interviews were not published in a traditional Q & A format. Subjects' statements were edited into Miller's personal commentary on the development of the artist being interviewed. Miller viewed his role at Seventeen as a mentor who was aiding the development of young people in America. Seventeen's readership was traditionally girls ages 12 to 16, and Miller's interviews were edited to emphasize life lessons for the young person coming of age. Subjects discussed include parental relationships, drug experimentation, eating habits, dating, and sexuality.
Miller's unique method of presenting his interviews may have been influenced by his cultural anthropology studies stemming from a M.A. he received at City College in the 1950s.
Miller's work as an interviewer gave him the opportunity to meet actors at the beginning of their careers such as Kevin Bacon and Helena Bonham Carter; and established actors such as Warren Beatty, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and Sidney Poitier.
Musicians and musical groups interviewed include the Beatles, Cheap Trick, Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, the Mamas and the Papas, Elvis Presley (with a warning to parents in the October 1956 issue), and the Rolling Stones.
As the only author in the entertainment department, he also reviewed television shows, films, and plays in the magazine.
Miler retired from Seventeen magazine in the late 1980s.
The collection, dated 1947 to 1988 (bulk dates 1960s to 1970s), holds interviews of artists in the entertainment industry conducted by Edwin Miller, the entertainment editor for Seventeen magazine. Related materials include clippings, notes, photographs, and scrapbooks.
The files contain interviews of actors, directors, entertainers, models, musicians, and musical groups. Secondary interviews may include individuals who knew the subject(s) such as business managers, family members, and friends. Occasionally, interviews were conducted over a span of years.
Most interviews conducted in the 1970s and 1980s contain both the audio recordings and transcripts. Miller's hand-written and typed notes about the interviewee(s) consist of his comments on the demeanor of the person being interviewed, their physicality, and other personal observations. The files often include the date and place of interview, commercial photographs, official publicity, and clippings featuring the artist(s).
A selection of actors represented in the collection includes Kevin Bacon, Helena Bonham Carter, Warren Beatty, Dianne Carroll, David Carradine, Goldie Hawn, Audrey Hepburn, Lawrence Jacobs, Norman Jewison, Steve McQueen, Malcolm McDowell, Groucho Marx, Eddie Murphy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Lee Remick, and Meryl Streep.
Popular musicians and musical groups represented include Cheap Trick, Chicago, Natalie Cole, Jimi Hendrix, Henry Mancini, Liza Minnelli, Madonna, the Mamas and the Papas, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, and Sting.
Other Writings consist of an assortment of material that includes Miller's reflections about a trip to Moscow, and a visit backstage at the Phantom of the Opera musical.
The collection also holds fifteen scrapbooks of published articles and interviews written by Miller for Seventeen.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by interviewee(s), followed by Miller's Other Writings and Scrapbooks.
Donated by Edwin Miller, 2014.
Compiled by Valerie Wingfield, 2015.
The audio recordings are unavailable pending digitization.