By: Jenny Castro
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/17/24
Renowned film historian and archivist Marc Wanamaker is known for his many contributions to the motion picture industry in the ways of his archival photos, work as a photographer, film traffic coordinator, assistant director, author, and child actor. In the 1970’s, Wanamaker started working for The American Film Institute (AFI) as a general production manager where he worked on a variety of projects relating to the film archival process essentially taking photos of historic sets and film production locations. As his work and passion grew for researching archives related to film, Wanamaker eventually found himself culminating in a dream research project for a book which then became the inspiration behind the creation of his company Bison Archives around 1972.
Recently, Marc Wanamaker and Steven Bingen co-authored a book titled, Hollywood Behind The Lens: Treasures From The Bison Archives, released in May. The book contains a treasure trove of beautiful photos of actors, directors, and celebrities from the golden age of film as well as other unique artifacts and pieces including studio passes, movie posters, photo shots for magazines, contracts, and studio locations. Readers will enjoy the mix of color and black and white photos featured as well as the commentary and facts that accompany them. Wanamaker’s knowledgeable insight is seen through his recollections of stories from his childhood through college and eventually as his career evolved. He provides amazing insight into his time growing up around his uncle (actor) Sam Wanamaker and time on film sets as a child actor and extra in various TV and film projects such as the 1969 film Hello, Dolly! featuring Barbra Streisand. Wanamaker also touches on the thrilling experience of living next door to Walt Disney and his daughter Sharon.
Reflecting on the creative process and thoughts in writing the book, Wanamaker provides insight, “Well basically, I have been writing my memoirs but not really for publishing but just to have it. Just to make sure I have it down because I met too many important people and what’s in the book may seem long, but my memoirs are much longer than that, would you believe? And it’s just growing up in Hollywood, involved indirectly with the film and TV industry. My father was a doctor so indirectly is what I mean, and just by luck that Walt Disney and his daughter for example moved in next door. Things like this just amaze me,” said Film Historian Marc Wanamaker. Also acknowledging co-author Steven Bingen, Wanamaker says they have collaborated before, “We work well together, and have done about 4 or so books together and 2 of the books were from Lyons Publishing.”
Regarding his career, Wanamaker has assisted with various projects over the years pertaining to his archival material, “For the past 40 years I have supplied (photograph) history information on Los Angeles and Southern California to all media around the world and have worked on films, books, and periodicals,” he said. In addition, he has also worked with several museums, schools, and universities where he has offered his expertise and assistance. In the 1970’s while working for the American Film Institute, Wanamaker took on a challenging project as AFI acquired the still photograph collection from Columbia Studios. It was this event that led Wanamaker on an intriguing journey of research and travel for valuable historical information and material around Los Angeles and the world. Reflecting on the initial phone call he received from a woman at Columbia’s publicity department, Wanamaker remembers vividly, “I still remember how upset she was that Columbia was going to dump their photo collection in which they didn’t think they needed it. She had gone to different universities through L.A. and county museums, and nobody wanted it, and it was about 800,000 images of negatives and prints,” he said. The American Film Institute eventually took over the leftover collection and Wanamaker began to further his research which expanded into his own company fueled by his passion for film history. When it pertains to interacting with Walt Disney himself, Wanamaker has fond memories as a child, “We had a good relationship with Walt for years, and he used to give me a handfuls of tickets for Disneyland that I used for 30 years. I was very upset when he passed. But surely you know he was a smoker and he passed away too young, and I was getting older and looking forward to more of an adult relationship with Walt. I would have loved to interview him, but I eventually did help start the archive at Disney Studio.” said Wanamaker.
Not only is Wanamaker busy running Bison Archives and assisting others with archival material, but he is also an advisory board member for The Hollywood Heritage Museum which is dedicated to preserving Hollywood history. Visitors can expect monthly events and various exhibits showcasing historical costumes, pieces and other artifacts. “It’s neat, it’s simply a look at the early days of the town of Hollywood, and the film industry and how the industry started and became world famous,” said Wanamaker. If you plan on visiting the Los Angeles area anytime soon, be sure to check out the museum. As for Wanamaker, he plans on continuing his work and spreading his love of film history to others, “I just want younger people and everyone to see my book and to see all of what’s been going on and still going on,” he reiterated.
Lyons Press Website: lyonspress.com/books/search/Marc Wanamaker
Hollywood Behind The Lens is also available via Amazon here.
