Navigate the Collection
Summary
- Creator:
- Sweeney, Dorothy L., 1923-
- Abstract:
- Dorothy (nee Langley) Sweeney graduated from St. Mary's Institute in Amsterdam, New York in 1941. After graduation, Sweeney accepted an office position at General Electric in Schenectady. In her off hours she spent time at WGY, GE's AM radio station, where her brother Edward Langley acted and wrote for the station's dramatic productions. She later worked at WGY and in radio in New York City. Sweeney provided sound effects for several programs and her scripts from this work form the bulk of this collection.
- Extent:
- 0.66 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows: Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Dorothy Sweeney Papers, 1941-2004, Undated. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Sweeney Papers).
Background
- Scope and Content:
This collection contains scripts and memorabilia related to the broadcasting career of Dorothy Sweeney. Dorothy Sweeney's career as a sound effects artist at WGY and WOR is represented by a number of scripts from programs on which she worked. These scripts are typically marked up with pen or pencil to indicate sound cues. Programs represented include crime and detective dramas such as Nick Carter and The FBI in Action, horror stories such as The Strange Doctor Weird and The Sealed Book, and World War II propaganda programs such as John Smith: American and The People vs. Adolf Hitler. A set of WOR promotional photographs show Sweeney demonstrating how she uses various household objects to create sound effects. Memorabilia includes several radio trade magazines, a 1945 technical manual on the creation of sound effects, and Sweeney's New York City pistol license, which she maintained so that she could fire blanks during the recording of action sequences. The series also includes cassettes and transcripts of Sweeney's 2003-2004 interviews with the University at Albany Oral History Project.
- Biographical / Historical:
Dorothy Sweeney (nee Langley) was born in Amsterdam, N.Y. in 1923. After graduating from high school in 1941, she worked as a secretary at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., where her brother Edward was an actor on WGY, G.E.'s AM radio station. When WGY's sound effects artist was drafted later that year, Dorothy was hired to replace him.
After two years at WGY, Dorothy Sweeney moved to New York City and enrolled at the Radio and Television Institute to pursue a professional career in sound effects. In January 1944, she was hired at WOR, the Manhattan-based flagship station of the Mutual Broadcasting System. She worked at WOR until 1946, when she married returning serviceman John Sweeney and returned to Amsterdam to raise a family. In 2004 Sweeney was interviewed by Professor Ivan Steen of the University at Albany's Oral History Program.
- Acquisition information:
- All items in this manuscript group were transferred to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives in 2004 from Dorothy Sweeney and Professor Ivan Steen.
- Processing information:
Originally processed in 2009 by Nicholas Webb. This collection was initially processed with the Dolores Carrara Papers (mss134) and published as a joint finding aid. Separated from the Carrara Papers and additional arrangements and description revisons made in 2019 by Sheri Sarnoff.
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged alphabetically.
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this collection is unrestricted.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
This page may contain links to digital objects. Access to these images and the technical capacity to download them does not imply permission for re-use. Digital objects may be used freely for personal refernce use, reffered to, or linked to from other websites. Researchers do not have permission to publish or disseminate material from these collections without permission from an archivist and/or the copyright holder. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright. Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.)and/or by the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations. More information about U.S. Copyright is provided by the Copyright Office. Additonally, re-use may be restricted by terms of University Libraries gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. The Department of Special Collections and Archives is eager to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified so that appropriate information may be provided in the future.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows: Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Dorothy Sweeney Papers, 1941-2004, Undated. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Sweeney Papers).