RALPH J. BUNCHE - DOCUMENT SIGNED 11/18/1953 CO-SIGNED BY: KEN MURRAY - HFSID 251699

RALPH J. BUNCHE and KEN MURRAY
The entertainer who hosted the popular 1950s show Where Were You? received permission via signature from the Nobel Prize Winner to use his voice and photograph on his show
Typed Document Signed: "Ralph Bunche" and, under "Accepted", "Ken Murray". One page., 8½x11. Hollywood, California, 1953 November 18. Dated in Bunche's hand. Authorization typed on the letterhead of Edgar Bergen/Ken Murray Television Film Productions to Ken Murray.In full: "This letter will act as my authorization to permit you to photograph me on film and to record my voice for your television show, WHERE WERE YOU?" Ralph J. Bunche(1904-1971), who joined the United Nations in 1946, was chief U.N. mediator in the Middle Eastin 1948 and wasawarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate a truce between the Arabs and Israelis the previous year. He served as Undersecretary-General for Special Political Affairs from 1958-1971, and was a principal U.N. negotiator in such trouble spots as the Suez Canal (1956), the Congo (1960), Yemen (1963) and Cyprus (1964). Bunche was awarded the NAACP's Spingarn Medal (1949) and the Medal of Freedom in 1963, the year he participated in the March on Washington. Multitalented entertainer Ken Murray (1903-1988) was a vaudevillian, actor, and radio and television entertainer who hosted The Ken Murray Show, an hour-long variety show on Saturday nights on CBS (1950-1952). It was also broadcast on the radio nationally; at the time, televisions were still not present in the majority of households. Another show he hosted called Where Were You? aired locally in the Los Angeles, California area from 1954 to 1957. He performed in various films, including The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Follow Me, Boys! (1966), and Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). Perhaps his most important contribution to Hollywood, however, was his use of home movies with Hollywood celebrities.He sent footage of actors like Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin to his grandparents, and he later used this film to create films like Hollywood Without Make-Up (1963). They provide a first-hand account of Hollywood stars behind the scenes. He wrote a number of books over the decades, including an autobiography. Lightly creased with vertical folds. File holes at left and right blank margins. Otherwise, fine condition.