FredWalsh

Biographical Information
Frederick G. Walsh was born May 31, 1915 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was the younger of two children born to English immigrants, Frederick Walsh and Mary Ellen (Farnworth) Walsh. His older sister, Hilda, was born March 9, 1908.

Frederick’s first experience of the stage was at about the age of seven. At a church social he recited “Jack be nimble” and jumped over a candle stick. The audience laughed instead of applauded and since Fred felt it was a brilliant performance, discovered he was a bit of a “ham.”

In high school, Fred was the shortest boy in his class and became a troubled youth. He put his only academic effort into the industrial arts. Fred graduated last in his class; however he did get into college. In 1932, Fred enrolled in North Carolina State College in Raleigh, North Carolina for industrial arts. He was a member of Alpha Kappa Pi and worked as an usher at a theatre in downtown Raleigh. Fred also joined the ROTC and played in the Drum and Bugle Corps. In his spare time, Fred also enjoyed a theatre group where he did mostly improvisation. Fred’s first real big job with a theatre occurred one summer after Hilda broke her leg and needed him to drive her car for her. He became the errand boy for the Beach Theatre.

After graduating from North Carolina State College [NC State] in 1936, Fred received a teaching job in McColl, South Carolina as an instructor in wood working. Fred also was assigned to put on plays, coach basketball, teach English and be a bus driver. He left after his year contract was up due to a medical condition with bleeding ulcers and the demanding schedule.

In 1937, Fred accepted a graduate assistantship at NC State from Professor E. Boshart in Raleigh, NC. He had only three students enrolled in wood working and felt that those students knew more then he did. He did receive an M.S. from NC State in 1939, but then decided to change his concentration to psychology. He applied to the doctoral program in psychology at Penn State and Syracuse and was accepted at both and offered fellowships.. He was asked by two friends, Wilbur Dorsett and Ann Preston Bridges, to see Merry Wives of Windsor, which was at the outdoor Forest Theatre, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, before responding to Syracuse, which was the more lucrative offer. While attending the play, his friends introduced him to theatre professor Frederick H. Koch of the University of North Carolina, theatre technical director Harry Davis, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Paul Green, who happened to be one of Koch’s former students. In the course of the meeting, Fred was offered a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in playwriting by Koch, which provided for tuition, fees and a $500 stipend. Fred decided to go to University of North Carolina [UNC] at Chapel Hill.

In June 1939, Fred auditioned and was offered a role in Orson Wells’ production of Native Son, in New York City. Fred declined but stated that it was a “high moment in any thoughts about being an actor.” In 1940, Fred received his Master of Arts at UNC. That fall, Fred took a one year position at Ohio University in Athens, OH as a technical director. Fred then took a teaching job in 1941 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He left due to a lack of payment by the school principal. Fred then joined a national tour with the Carolina Playmakers. The tour was cut short in December after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Three days later, Fred received employment as a designer at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Fred had applied once for commission into the service but had failed his physical. In 1942, he applied for the second time. Fred had a slight paralysis in his left leg and fooled the doctors into thinking that his only trouble walking was because the floor was cold on his bare feet. He passed his exam and entered the Aviation Machinist Mate’s School in Chicago on August 1 1942. By the beginning of October, he was in the Naval Reserves at Cornell University. During his three years service during the Second World War, he received a Bronze Star for Valor in his efforts during D-Day when he landed on Utah Beach in 1944. Fred met his first wife, Jennie Norman at the Sampson Naval Training Station in upstate New York. They married in St. Paul, MN on June 7th, 1945.

In the fall of 1945, Fred received a job at Bowling Green State University as a designer-technical director and as an instructor of theatre and speech. Fred taught at Bowling Green for five years and while there, had two sons, Rick born in 1946 and David, born in 1948. Fred also developed a summer theatre program with some of his students called the Huron Playhouse in 1949. It was because of this summer program that Fred quit his job. He refused to let faculty take over his creation and displace the students running it and therefore the chair of the department would only give Fred speech classes to teach. In 1951 he received his M.F.A. and in 1952, his Ph.D., both from [Case] Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. During his time in Cleveland, he accepted a job as one of two directors at Karamu House, which is the oldest African-American theater in the United States.

In 1952 he received an offer from a Pasadena, CA theatre group, as well as an offer to chair the department of Speech and Theatre at North Dakota Agricultural College [NDAC]. Fred had a good feeling about NDAC and signed the contract in May. In 1952, Fred began what turned out to be a twenty-six year tenure at North Dakota State. Putting on numerous plays each year, Fred felt it was only fair to allow others in the department into directing as well. He wasn’t concerned about creating a record for most produced plays. Fred also found himself creating outdoor dramas for Medora, ND and Mandan, ND. The drama in Medora was in honor of Teddy Roosevelt, entitled Old Four Eyes (1958). Trial West (1959), co-written with W.T. Chichester, about George Armstrong Custer, was performed at the Mandan Outdoor Drama.

Fred liked to stay busy and at one point in 1962, he was chairing the Department of Speech and Theatre, directed the activity of the Little Country Theatre, helped the planning and production of Old Four Eyes and Trial West, and anchored nightly news for KXJB-TV channel 4. Fred also became fascinated in bringing the theatre to people and created the Prairie Stage in the 1970s. This allowed students of NDSU to travel with a portable theatre and perform plays across the state of North Dakota. Fred also took a small group of students on a USO tour in Europe in 1974-1975. One of Fred’s greatest accomplishments was when he teamed up with Rueben Askanase, a former NDAC student, and built Askanase Hall. This allowed Fred to move LCT out of the original administration building, Old Main, and have a significant place for just the theatre.

Fred had been awarded many honors while being a faculty member at NDAC/NDSU. In 1964, Dr. Frederick G. Walsh was chosen to receive the honorary Faculty Lectureship and also received the honor to represent the state of North Dakota in the Shakespeare 400th Anniversary Committee in Washington, D.C. In 1965, was honored by Blue Key for Doctor of Service Banquet. On April 30th, 1988, the Frederick G. Walsh Studio Theatre was dedicated to him and was also awarded into the NDSU Hall of Fame. In addition to his commitment to NDAC/SU speech and drama Fred served as Faculty Representative for Athletics from 1960-1978 and Acting Director of Athletics in 1973. He also served as Acting Director of Art from 1972-1975. On June 30th, 1978, Fred retired from NDSU. In 1986, then NDSU President, Laurel Loftsgard appointed Fred, now a Professor Emeritus, as Centennial Chair for NDSU’s upcoming Centennial in 1990.. Fred handled the initial stages of the process, but for health reasons, relinquished it. Frederick G. Walsh passed away on March 30, 1999.
(Information taken from University Archives faculty files, as well as excerpts from Frederick G. Walsh’s, unpublished autobiography “From Birth to Maturity,” c.1990.)

Scope and Content
This artificially created collection was culled together from materials in the University Archives and material donated to the University Archives from the NDSU Theatre Department. The first series contains background and autobiographical material. The second series consists of theatrical productions. The material in these folders varies from ticket sales to scripts, to complete production information. The third series covers Walsh’s administrative and professional career.

SEE ALSO the following Collections: The Little Country Theatre [LCT]; Dr. Constance West Collection; The Alfred G. Arvold Collection (Institute for Regional Studies, Mss.72); Souvenir Programs & Public Programs; Don Larew Theatrical Productions Scenic and Costume Designs Collection; North Dakota Repertory Theatre; The Prairie Stage; NDSU Photography Collection – Little Country Theatre (BLi 77), Play (APl 29); NDSU Ephemera: Administration – Little Country Theatre (NDSU-AD.L57); and LCT Poster Collection.

BOX 1

Finding Aid

Background/Biographical Series
Biographical materials
Autobiography by Frederick G. Walsh (2 folders)
Interview with Fred Walsh for Heritage Education Commission – February 1988
The Huron Playhouse Christmas Card c. 2000s

Theatrical Productions Series
Playbill – “The Carolina Playmakers,” The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – April 1941
Playbills – “The Barn Playhouse,“ Madison-On-The-Lake, Ohio – Season 1941 – Frederick Walsh, Stage Manager
Playbill – “After All It’s Spring,” by Frederick G. Walsh – c. 1948
Playbills - Bowling Green State University and “The Huron Playhouse,” Bowling Green, Ohio – Frederick G. Walsh, Director – “Brother Rat,” “The Importance of Being Ernest” & “Born Yesterday” – c.1945-1950
Playbills – The Bowling Green State University Theatre – c.1945-1947
“Three Men on a Horse” – Ticket sales – November 1954
“Gammer Gurton’s Needle” – seating charts, newspaper clipping, expense report – December 1954
“Shadow of a Gunman” – receipts, ticket sales – March 1955
“The Guardsman” – correspondence, ticket sales – April 1955
“Stalag 17” – production reports, receipts – December 1955
“Juno and the Paycock” – ticket sales, receipts – February 1956
“House of Bernarda Alba” – ticket sales, expense reports, receipts – March 1956
“The Gioconda Smile” – receipts, seating charts, production reports – July 1956
“Bernadine” – correspondence, expense reports, ticket sales, receipts – November 1956
“The Three Bears” – correspondence, ticket sales, receipts, expense reports, free children tickets
– November 1956
“Sardinapolis Sixpence” – expense reports, seating charts, purchase orders – February 1957
“Ten Nights in a Barroom” – receipts, financial reports, seating charts – February 1957
“Julius Caesar” – receipts, expense reports - 1957
“The Butterfly that Blushed” – expense reports, receipts, ticket sales, correspondence – May 1957
“The Plough and the Stars” – expense reports, receipts, samples of playbills, correspondence – March 1957
“Lets Make Music” – ticket sales, expense reports – April 1957
“The Master Builder” – receipts, seating charts – July 1957
“Inherit the Wind” – receipts, seating charts, prop list, and ticket correspondence, rehearsal
schedule – October 1957
“Hansel and Gretel” – expense report, receipts – November 1957
“The Three Sisters” – correspondence, receipts, seating charts – December 1957

BOX 2

“Teahouse of the August Moon” – expense reports, seating charts, receipts, correspondence –
February 1958
“Beyond the Doubt of a Shadow” – expense report, receipt – February/March 1958
“She Stoops to Conquer” – Tour – receipts, expense report, seating charts, tour correspondence
and contracts – March 1958
“Old Four Eyes” – brochure – 1958
“Old Four Eyes” – Medora outdoor drama – script – Summer 1958
“Tiger at the Gates” – seating charts, receipts – October 1958
“Rumplestiltskin” – receipts, rehearsal schedule – November 1958
“The Happy Hypochondriac” – receipts, seating charts, press release – November 1958
“Witches Lullaby” – receipts –November 1958
“The Play’s the Thing” – seating charts, receipts, correspondence – February 1959
“Springtime for Henry” – receipts, seating charts, correspondence – May 1959
“Trail West” – by W.T. Chichester & Frederick G. Walsh – Mandan Outdoor Drama – script – Summer 1959
“I Knock at the Door” – exchange tickets, seating charts, receipts, correspondence – November 1959
“Harvey” – receipts, seating charts, correspondence – November 1959
“The Adding Machine” – receipts, correspondence, seating charts, exchange tickets – February 1960
“The Winslow Boy” – photograph of James Haggart, receipts, correspondence, seating charts –
March 1960
“Othello” – receipts, seating charts, ticketing correspondence – April 1960
“Night Must Fall” – receipts, seating charts, exchange tickets, publicity poster – July 1960
“Galileo” – correspondence – 1953, 1960
“Of Thee I Sing” – receipts, correspondence, seating charts, congratulatory letter – November 1960
“Many Moons” – receipts, correspondence – March 1961
“Mexican Fiesta” – ticket coupons, correspondence, seating charts, receipts – February 1961
“Pygmalion” – correspondence, ticketing correspondence, receipts, seating charts – May 1961
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” – photographs, costume and props inventories, seating charts, receipts,
playbill, correspondence – November 1961
“The Lower Depths” – set design drawings, receipts, seating charts – February 1962

BOX 3

“Trail West” – correspondence on royalties – June 1962
“Tonight We Improvise” – correspondence, receipts, expense reports, seating charts – October/November 1962
“Royal Gambit” – receipts, seating charts – January/February 1963
“Blithe Spirit” – correspondence, expense reports, receipts, seating charts, playbill – April 1963
“The Trial of Louis Riel” – script – written by Frederick G. Walsh - 1963
“The Trial of Louis Riel” – expense report, receipts, seating charts, correspondence, set
drawings– October 1963
“Jack and the Beanstalk” – expense report, receipts, seating charts – November 9 & 16, 1963
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff” – correspondence - 1963
“Triple Play” – receipts, publicity announcements, rehearsal schedule, seating charts, letter to
Spectrum editor by Walsh – April 1964
“Westerns” – receipts, seating charts – May 14-16, 1964
“The Threepenny Opera”– advertisement poster, receipts, expense reports, seating charts,
correspondence – October 1964
“Hansel and Gretel” – expense reports – February 1966
“The Innocents” – expense reports, receipts, seating charts, playbills – April 21- 24, 1965
“The Elves and the Shoemaker” – expense report – May 7-8, 1965
“The World of Carl Sandberg”– correspondence, expense reports, seating charts, receipts –
June/July 1965
“The Caretaker” – correspondence, expense reports, seating charts, receipts – June/July 1965
“The Days Between” – rehearsal schedule, expense reports, receipts, seating charts, playbills,
correspondence for campus, publicity, clippings – October 1965
“The Imaginary Invalid” – expense reports, receipts, seating charts, ticketing correspondence –
November 16-20, 1965
“The Land of Christmas Always” – correspondence, seating charts, receipts, advertisement
posters – December 10-12, 17-18, 1965
“The Taming of the Shrew – ticketing correspondence, playbills, expense reports, seating charts
– February 1966”
“Spoon River Anthology” – correspondence, receipts - 1966
“The Importance of Being Earnest” – expense report, receipts, playbills, seating chart – April 27-
30, 1966
Spring One Acts – report – Spring 1966
“The Glass Menagerie” – expense report, correspondence, playbills, seating charts – July1966
“The Drunkard” – expense report, receipts, seating charts, playbills – June 1966
“Little Red Riding Hood” – receipts, seating charts, advertisement posters, set design – July 1966
“Endgame” – playbills, seating charts, receipts – August 1966
“And People All Around” – correspondence, reviews, playbills, rehearsal schedule, radio
announcements, receipts, seating chart – October 19-22, 1966

BOX 4

“Arsenic and Old Lace” – receipts, expense report, correspondence – November 1966
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” – advertisement posters, expense reports – December 1966
“Rally Round the Flag, Boys!” – correspondence, congratulatory correspondence, playbills,
receipts, seating charts – February 1967
“Beebee Fenstermaker” – correspondence, receipts, playbills, ticketing correspondence – April 26-30, 1967
“Brave Little Taylor” – expense report – May 12-13, 1967
“Rattle of a Simple Man”– theatre schedule, expense reports, playbills, seating charts – June 26- 29, 1967
“Penguins Don’t Fly Either” – expense report – July 1967.
“A Farewell to Arms” – correspondence, playbills – July 1967
“The Princess and the Swineherd” – receipts, expense reports, seating charts – August 1967
“The Peripatetic Bartholomew Bone” by Frederick G. Walsh – script – August and November 1969
“Rumplestiltskin” – script by Frederick G. Walsh - Summer 1973
“Q” – unproduced play written by Frederick G. Walsh – 1996
“Tom Thumb” – handwritten notes - explanation of play and specific scenes – n.d.
“The Human Comedy” – a monologue by Frederick G. Walsh – n.d.

Administrative/Professional Series
Educational Television – 1963-1966
“Louis Riel” – play orders, correspondence – 1963-1967
Professional Correspondence – 1963
ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy) – correspondence – 1964-1966
Faculty Lectureship – “Curtain Up on Act Three” – 1964
Prairie Stage – ideas on design, construction and expense – April 1965

BOX 5

Season Ticket Holders – list of ticket holders, reservation tickets – 1965-1966
National Humanities Foundation – Senate Bill 1483 – 1965
Proposal to U.S. Department of Education, Experienced Teacher Fellowship Program - 1965-1966
Theatre job applications to NDSU – correspondence – 1965
Speech Workshop –NDSU, Speech & Drama Department – 1966-1967
Whitefish (Montana) Theatre Guild proposal – 1966
American Playwright’s Theatre – materials – 1967-1968
ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy) – general information – 1967-1968
Correspondence – 1967
Mandan Summer Theatre proposal – 1967
Proposal to U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Advanced Study – proposal to strengthen teaching the arts and humanities – May 1967
Institute of Education – meetings – 1968
AETA (American Educational Theatre Association) – information – 1969-1970
A Plan for the Future – developed by the Faculty of the Department of Speech & Drama – c.1970
Askanase Hall- blueprint drawings by Walsh, building proposal, Walsh/Architect
correspondence, copies of architect’s blueprints – 1973, 1975
USO Tour – Frederick Walsh journal – November 1974-February 1975

May 2008