#usis

The Free World

This 1958 pamphlet explains the purpose of the U.S. Overseas Information Program, known globally as the U.S. Information Service, and including such media as America Illustrated and Voice of America. According to the pamphlet, “an integral part of [the] basic mission of the [Information] Agency is to counter Communist propaganda [...] [using] press, publications, radio, television, motion pictures, exhibits, libraries and personal contacts” (n.p.).

American percussionist Michael Ranta performing at Lincoln Center of United States Information Service (USIS) in Taipei, January 9th 1976.

Letter from Tony Curtis to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Apr 11, 1956. Central Decimal Files, RG 59

Letter from James Donovan, Jr. to Tony Curtis, May 9, 1956. 

Today’s post was written by David Langbart, archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park.

In 1956, Tony Curtis was an up-and-coming actor.  In a career stretching from the 1940s to the 2000s, he starred in both dramatic and comedic films.  By 1956, he had had some success in such films as Winchester 73, Houdini (in which he played the title role), and So This Is Paris,  but his major films, including Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones, Some Like It Hot, Operation Petticoat,  Spartacus, and The Boston Strangler, were yet to come.

In April 1956, after spending months abroad working on movies, Curtis sent the letter above to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, and recommended ways to use American entertainers to create good will for the United States overseas.

The reaction in the Department of State was positive.  One official noted “Coming from Tony Curtis, this – to me – is a surprisingly literate, thoughtful letter” and recommended that the Department make a serious reply.  After working its way through the bureaucracy, the Department responded (above), thanking Curtis for his suggestions.