About

One of the television industry's true visionaries, with over 800 collective works, David L. Wolper is among the most honored producers in the world and the most celebrated documentarian of our time. He is a recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Oscar™; from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and an inductee in the Television Hall of Fame. His television proqrams have won more than 50 Emmys, 5 Peabody Awards and 7 Golden Globes. His motion pictures garnered 20 Oscar nominations and won 3 Oscars Awards.

A USC alumnus, David Wolper received his first Academy Award nomination for his documentary, The Race for Space. This unprecedented recognition marked the first time a television program had ever been nominated for an Academy Award. Wolper’s feature documentaries received 9 oscar nominations, and won the documentary feature Oscar for The Hellstrom Chronicle.

As a documentarian, Wolper was the first to use a television reporter as narrator, and the first to introduce the Hollywood compilation film to audiences with Hollywood: The Golden Years. He was the originator of re-enacted docudramas with They’ve Killed President Lincoln, and he popularized the television miniseries with ROOTS. Mr. Wolper also pioneered nature films on prime-time television with the National Geographic Specials, introducing Jacques Cousteau to worldwide television audiences.

In 1996, Mr. Wolper was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern California and the Mary Pickford Outstanding Alumni Award from the university's School of Cinema-Television. USC also awarded him their most prestigious alumni honor, the Asa V. Call Award.

Among the holdings available for viewing at the David Wolper Collection:
• Business/Production records and correspondence
• Scripts
• Story development files
• Publicity material
• Manuscripts
• Photographs
• Memorabilia
• Audio/Video Material

Click here to view the Services provided by the David L. Wolper Center.