Doris Betts, a Greyhound Bus, and an Academy Award

Did you know that one of Doris Betts’ short stories was adapted into an Academy Award-winning short film? In 1969, the short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts was published in the Red Clay Reader, an annual magazine focusing … Continue reading

Did you know that one of Doris Betts’ short stories was adapted into an Academy Award-winning short film?
In 1969, the short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts was published in the Red Clay Reader, an annual magazine focusing on the work of southern authors and artists.  Betts, a UNC English professor, was also an award-winning author short stories, novels, plays, and poetry.  “The Ugliest Pilgrim” told the story of a disfigured young woman named Violet who travels by bus from her home in Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the hopes of being healed by a televangelist.

Ugliest Pilgrim

“The Ugliest Pilgrim,” published in the Red Clay Reader, 1969. From folder 176 in the Doris Betts Papers, #4695.

 

In 1981, “The Ugliest Pilgrim” was adapted into a short film titled Violet, which in 1982 garnered the Academy Award for Best Short Film.  The film starred Didi Conn in the title role, otherwise known for her portrayal of “Frenchy” in the film Grease. UNC celebrated the success of the adaptation with a screening at the Carolina Fall Festival that year.

Carolina Fall Festival Program, 1982, featuring a screening of “Violet.” From folder 177 in the Doris Betts Papers #4695

“The Ugliest Pilgrim” was later adapted into a musical (also titled Violet), by Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley, which has been performed across the country, including a production by Playmakers Repertory Company.  A one-act adaptation starring Sutton Foster will debut on Broadway this month.

Productions of "Violet" by Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY) and Playmakers Repertory Company (UNC-Chapel Hill). From folder 179 in the Doris Betts Papers, #4695.

Productions of “Violet” by Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY) and Playmakers Repertory Company (UNC-Chapel Hill). From folder 179 in the Doris Betts Papers, #4695.

 

From the Doris Betts Papers #4695, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Doris Betts, a Greyhound Bus, and an Academy Award

Did you know that one of Doris Betts’ short stories was adapted into an Academy Award-winning short film? In 1969, the short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts was published in the Red Clay Reader, an annual magazine focusing … Continue reading

Did you know that one of Doris Betts’ short stories was adapted into an Academy Award-winning short film?
In 1969, the short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts was published in the Red Clay Reader, an annual magazine focusing on the work of southern authors and artists.  Betts, a UNC English professor, was also an award-winning author short stories, novels, plays, and poetry.  “The Ugliest Pilgrim” told the story of a disfigured young woman named Violet who travels by bus from her home in Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the hopes of being healed by a televangelist.

Ugliest Pilgrim

“The Ugliest Pilgrim,” published in the Red Clay Reader, 1969. From folder 176 in the Doris Betts Papers, #4695.

 

In 1981, “The Ugliest Pilgrim” was adapted into a short film titled Violet, which in 1982 garnered the Academy Award for Best Short Film.  The film starred Didi Conn in the title role, otherwise known for her portrayal of “Frenchy” in the film Grease. UNC celebrated the success of the adaptation with a screening at the Carolina Fall Festival that year.

Carolina Fall Festival Program, 1982, featuring a screening of “Violet.” From folder 177 in the Doris Betts Papers #4695

“The Ugliest Pilgrim” was later adapted into a musical (also titled Violet), by Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley, which has been performed across the country, including a production by Playmakers Repertory Company.  A one-act adaptation starring Sutton Foster will debut on Broadway this month.

Productions of "Violet" by Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY) and Playmakers Repertory Company (UNC-Chapel Hill). From folder 179 in the Doris Betts Papers, #4695.

Productions of “Violet” by Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY) and Playmakers Repertory Company (UNC-Chapel Hill). From folder 179 in the Doris Betts Papers, #4695.

 

From the Doris Betts Papers #4695, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

“It’s a honey of a play…”: Playmakers Exhibit in Progress

Opening tomorrow, The North Carolina Collection Gallery will present “Making a People’s Theater: Proff Koch and the Carolina Playmakers” from February 21st to May 31st. This exhibit demonstrates Frederick Koch’s involvement with the Carolina Playmakers, as well as the Playmakers’ … Continue reading

Opening tomorrow, The North Carolina Collection Gallery will present “Making a People’s Theater: Proff Koch and the Carolina Playmakers” from February 21st to May 31st. This exhibit demonstrates Frederick Koch’s involvement with the Carolina Playmakers, as well as the Playmakers’ contributions to student and regional theater in North Carolina throughout the 20th century.
The photo below features a few items contributed by the Southern Historical Collection to a section on the student-authored musical, “Spring For Sure.”
SFS_Case

Clockwise from top right:

Poster, Spring for Sure, 1952. Lynn Gault Papers (#4987), Southern Historical Collection.

Letter, Loren MacKinney to Lillian Hughes Prince, circa 1952. – William Meade Prince and Lillian Hughes Prince Papers (#3660), Southern Historical Collection.  

Photograph, Production of Spring For Sure, 1950, Chapel Hill, N.C. – Photographic Laboratory Collection (#P0031), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives. 

Playbill, Spring for Sure, 1952. – William Meade Prince and Lillian Hughes Prince Papers (#3660), Southern Historical Collection.  

Photographs, Playmakers touring Spring for Sure, 1952. – Department of Dramatic Art Photographs and Related Materials (#P0035), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives. 

Creator of the Month… Guion Griffis Johnson

[Each month we feature a “creator” or one of the SHC’s manuscript collections. In archival terms, a creator is defined as an individual, group, or organization that is responsible for a collection’s production, accumulation, or formation.] Guion Griffis Johnson of … Continue reading

[Each month we feature a “creator” or one of the SHC’s manuscript collections. In archival terms, a creator is defined as an individual, group, or organization that is responsible for a collection’s production, accumulation, or formation.]

Guion Griffis Johnson of Chapel Hill, N.C., was a professor, author, scholar, journalist, women’s advocate, and general civic leader. Johnson held a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of North Carolina. She published three books: A Social History of the Sea Islands (1930), Antebellum North Carolina (1937), and Volunteers in Community Service (1967). Her husband was Guy Johnson, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the 1920s and 1930s, Johnson and her husband worked together at the Institute for Research in Social Science at University of North Carolina.

Guion Griffis Johnson was born in Wolfe City, Tex. After graduating from Greenville (Tex.) High School, Johnson attended Burleson College for two years, then received her A.B. from Mary Hardin-Baylor College, where she later served as head of the Department of Journalism. Johnson also earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri (1923) and a Ph.D. in history and sociology from the University of North Carolina (1927). On 3 September 1923, she married Guy Benton Johnson.

Beginning in 1924, the Johnsons worked at the Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina, where Guy also served as professor in the Department of Sociology. For the most part, Johnson spent most of her academic career researching historical and current problems of the poor and disadvantaged. After completing her dissertation, Johnson studied the African American population on St. Helena Island, S.C., as a staff member for the National Research Council Study of the Negroes of St. Helena Island. In 1930, she published her first book, A Social History of the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, which was based on this research. Her later research on North Carolina history resulted in Antebellum North Carolina: A Social History in 1937. During 1939-1940, Johnson participated in the Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the Negro in America.

During World War II, Johnson took an active role in the civic life of Chapel Hill. As a volunteer, she was head of the Community Service Committee of the Chapel Hill Rationing Board, information executive for the Chapel Hill Office of Civilian Defense, and collector of war records for Orange County, N.C.

For three years, Johnson lived in Atlanta, Ga., where she was heavily involved in church work. Upon returning to Chapel Hill in 1947, she began an intense period of work with women’s organizations. During this time, she founded the North Carolina Council of Women’s Organization, while also serving on the boards of the American Association of University Women, the North Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs, the North Carolina Council on World Affairs, and Church Women United, and working with other organizations at both the local and national level.

North Carolina delegation to the Biennial Convention of the AAUW, Atlantic Ciy, N.J., 22 April 1951 (Guion Johnson shown front row, second from right)

North Carolina delegation to the Biennial Convention of the AAUW, Atlantic Ciy, N.J., 22 April 1951 (Guion Johnson shown front row, second from right)

The Johnsons were frequent visitors to Africa, touring and working in Liberia, Nigeria, Zaire, Morocco, and South Africa, where Johnson lectured at Rhodes University in 1960. Johnson’s trips to Africa permitted her to continue her academic research and promote her educational goals, and also be involved in Christian missionary work. Her missionary work also took her to Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Johnson published her third book, Volunteers in Community Service, funded by the North Carolina Fund, in 1967. She also collaborated with Guy on a history of the Institute for Research on the Social Sciences (1980).

Johnson was progressive politically, acting as a strong proponent of school desegregation, social welfare programs, and women’s equality. She was also an advocate of greater concern for and involvement in world affairs and supported the effort to build a strong United Nations.

In her later years, Johnson continued to serve on advisory boards and gave many lectures in North Carolina. She was also honored with many lifetime achievement awards, including the University of North Carolina’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Chi Omega Distinguished Service Award for Women. Johnson died at her home in Chapel Hill on 12 June 1989.

The Southern Historical Collection is proud to serve as the repository for the personal and professional papers of Guion Griffis Johnson. The Johnson collection contains over 32,000 items ranging in dates from 1873 to 1987. Materials in the collection include correspondence, writings, subject files, and other materials relating to Johnson’s professional and family life.

View the finding aid to see a complete list of the contents of the Guion Griffis Johnson Papers in the SHC.