Papers documenting Fred Karger's acting career, his activism for marriage equality, preservation of the Boom Boom Room (Laguna Beach, California) and other LGBT concerns, Karger's political consulting, and his candidacy for United States President, 2012, as the first openly gay candidate of a major political party.
Content Description:
The Fred Karger Papers consist mostly of secondary materials, film scripts, newspapers, periodicals, and clippings documenting activist and former presidential candidate Fred Karger's brief film and television acting career, his activism for preservation of the Boom Boom Room (originally the South Seas) at the Coast Inn, "Save the Boom", and material from his candidacy for president in 2012. The papers contain material related to Karger's activism for marriage equality and other LGBT concerns.
The collection includes material relating to his childhood education, such as school photographs; his acting career, scripts from television shows and motion pictures he appeared in; and brochures and flyers from his political activism, including boycotts of businesses supporting Proposition 8 (protecting "traditional marriage") in California. The bulk of material relates to Karger's efforts to save the Boom Boom Room (Laguna Beach, California) credited with being the oldest gay bar in West of the Mississippi. The collection includes protest posters, some hand made; columns, articles, clippings and magazines containing articles by and about Karger, some gay-oriented, others not. Material from his presidential campaign is also included such as yard signs, posters, and posters from the 2014 documentary, Fred. There is also a framed letter from Richard M. Nixon.
There are also vintage magazines and newspaper articles covering major events, such as President John F. Kennedy's assassination and the attack on 9/11.
Arrangement:
These papers are arranged into four series.
Series 1: Activism and Presidential Campaign, 1988-2014, undated
Series 2: Theatrical Scripts, 1971-1976
Series 3: Newspapers and Magazines, 1963-2025
Series 4: Photographs and Ephemera, 1950-2010, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Portions of this biography were supplied by the donor, Fred Karger.
Fred S. Karger was born on Januray 31, 1950 in Glencoe, Illinois, the son of Richard (1911-1998) and Jean Foreman Karger (1918-2003). He attended primary and secondary schools in Glencoe. In the mid-1970s Karger pursued an acting career in Los Angeles, California. He later pursued a career in political consulting.
"Fred Karger is an American political consultant, LGBTQ rights activist, author, political pundit, writer, public speaker, former actor and 2012 presidential candidate for the Republican nomination for President. Karger has worked on ten presidential campaigns and served as a senior consultant during the campaigns of President's Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford.
Karger was a partner in the Dolphin Group, a California based political consulting firm for 27 years. He retired in 2004 and has since worked as an LGBTQ activist. He began in 2006 trying to save a Laguna Beach, California landmark gay bar, the Boom Boom Room.
In 2008 he founded Californians Against Hate, now Rights Equal Rights and led boycotts of four of the biggest donors to California's Proposition 8. He successfully settled three of those boycotts. Immediately after Prop 8 passed, Fred called for the State of California to investigate The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon Church) and later the states of Maine, Iowa, Hawaii and California to investigate the rabidly anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM). In the summer of 2012, he launched the ongoing global Boycott of Amway after its owners, the DeVos family, contributed $750,000 to NOM.
Fred's running for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 made him the first openly gay presidential candidate from a major political party in American history, helping to pave the way for Mayor Pete Buttigieg's run in 2020." [Fred Karger Biography, AC/NMAH Control File, AC1439]
During his presidential campaign Karger appeared on six ballots; New Hampshire, Michigan, Puerto Rico, Maryland, California, and Utah. He campaigned in over 30 states and received, "widespread praise for paving the way for future LGBT candidates." Karger has been interviewed on many local, national, and international television, radio, and webcast programs. His autobiography, Fred Who? was published in 2011.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution by Fred Karger in November 2017.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
These programs and brochures, from a wide variety of charity events and wine auctions, are arranged alphabetically by the benefiting institution. Dennis Foley acted as coordinator, host, auctioneer, or sommelier for many of the events and his annotations provide sale prices and other information. The oversized posters of events include Un ete du Vin, KCBX, and Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association Scholarship Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Dennis Foley Papers, 1963-2004, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Issued by: Works Projects Administration, NYC Arts Project
Artist(s): Anon
Locale:
Puerto Rico
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Copyright status of items varies. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Princeton University Posters Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
Digitization of the Princeton University Poster Collection was a collaboration of Google Arts and Culture and the Smithsonian Institution's Digitization Program Office. Catalog records were transcribed by digital volunteers through the Smithsonian Institution Transcription Center.
Maps, prints, posters, religious articles, publications and photographs, relating to the history and culture of Puerto Rico. Mr. Vidal's family and personal papers are also included.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into nine series.
Series 1: personal Papers
Series 2: Vidal Family Background Materials
Series 3: Maps
Series 4: Prints and General Posters
Series 5: Religious Materials
Series 6: Publications
Series 7: General Photographs
Series 8: Poems, Ten Line Poems
Series 9: Miscellaneous
Biographical / Historical:
Collector of art, artifacts and documents on the history, culture and people of Puerto Rico. Vidal donated his artifact collection to the National Museum of American History in 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Page 969 of the magazine Harper's Weekly, vol. XLII, no. 2180. There is a picture depicting a scene that took place at the Palace of San Juan; the text below the picture is as follows: "Peace Comes to Puerto Rico – General Macias Receiving the American...
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Print of three african slaves looking towards a native(?) person who is bowing. The landscape is the Old San Juan during the late 16th century or beginning of the 17th century: La Fortaleza can be seen in the background.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Colored print of 4 buildings of Puerto Rico: 1."Vista de la Iglesia Parroquial de Humacao", 2."Exterior de la Iglesia Parroquial de Ponce", 3."Hospital Tricoche en Ponce", 4."Plaza del Mercado en Ponce".
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Colored print of "Bendición de la Bandera Regalada por S. M. La Reina Regente al Batallón de Alfonso XIII, en la Plaza de Armas del Cuartel de Ballajá."
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Colores print entitled "Porto Rico en Amerique", which shows a scene of the San Juan Bay with the Old San Juan in the background, including La Fortaleza.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Poster for the exhibit "Exposición Los Milagros en Metal y en Cera de Puerto Rico", which took place in Ponce, Puerto Rico from April 21 through May 28, 1983. The picture in the poster is an image of "San José en su Nicho".
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Serigraphy "Cuarto Concurso de Santeros" by Lorenzo Homar. The print is a picture of a sculpture of the "Virgen de la Monserrate de Hormigueros". The contest was in 1955 at the Ateneo Puertorriqueño in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 16th.
5 Items (Total items in this folder: 1 print, 1 certificate, 2 proof sheets, 1 poster)
Container:
Map-folder 10
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Poster for promotion of the exhibition "Francisco Oller: Un Realista del Impresionismo" (A Realist-Impressionist)". This exhibit traveled to 5 different cities in Puerto Rico and the continental United States (Ponce, PR; New York, NY; Washington, DC, S...
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1592-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
