Faulk, John Henry
Biography
Folklorist, humorist, lecturer, and civil rights activist John Henry Faulk (1913-1990) was born to parents Henry and Martha (Miner) in Austin, Texas. A protégé of J. Frank Dobie, Walter Prescott Webb, and Roy Bedichek, Faulk graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he later taught English. For his master's thesis, he analyzed ten African American sermons, and his research greatly impacted his thinking on civil liberties. Aided by his friend and fellow folklorist Alan Lomax, Faulk entered the entertainment industry in 1946, hosting various radio shows for WCBS in New York City. In 1957, the right-wing organization AWARE, Inc., blacklisted Faulk for alleged communist associations and sympathies. Subsequently, he filed and won a libel suit against the company and anti-communist activists Vincent Hartnett and Laurence A. Johnson. In 1963, Faulk published a memoir of his blacklisting experience entitled Fear on Trial, which in 1975 CBS dramatized, starring William Devane as Faulk and George C. Scott as his attorney Louis Nizer. Despite being vindicated by the jury, Faulk was unable to gain meaningful employment in the entertainment industry until 1975, when he joined the cast of Hee-Haw. He wrote and produced two one-man plays, Deep in the Heart (1986) and Pear Orchard, Texas (1988), to highlight humanity's best and worst traits.
Beginning in the 1970s, Faulk lectured extensively about civil liberties on college and university campuses. Campaigning on his passion for the U.S. Constitution, the environment, and the common man, he unsuccessfully ran against Phil Gramm for a U.S. House of Representatives in Texas in 1983. Faulk married his former student Harriet Hally
Wood in 1940. The couple had one daughter, Cynthia, before divorcing. In 1948, he married Lynne Smith, with whom he had three children: Evelyn, Johanna, and Frank Dobie. After divorcing Lynne, Faulk married Elizabeth Liz
Peake in 1965 and they had one child, John Henry Johan
III. He was close friends with Austin television and radio broadcaster, Richard Cactus
Pryor, and was a mentor to journalist and activist, Molly Ivins. Faulk died of cancer in 1990.
Source:
Foshee, Page S. Faulk, John Henry.
Handbook of Texas Online.
Found in 17 Collections and/or Records:
Roy Bedichek papers
Roy Bedichek (1878-1959) was a naturalist, educator, writer, and director of the University (of Texas) Interscholastic League from 1914-1948. The Roy Bedichek Papers, 1897-1959, 2003, document his studies of ornithology, botany, wildlife, and conservation, history and philosophy and include literary productions, correspondence, and business records.
Warren Bower recordings
The Warren Bower Recordings, circa 1960, are comprised of four sound reels featuring writer Benjalyn Ater interviewing professor Warren Bower and Bower interviewing storyteller John Henry Faulk.
Michael C. Burton papers
The Michael C. Burton papers, 1946-1997, consist of galley proofs, research files, photographs, and publicity materials related to Burton’s book John Henry Faulk: The Making of a Liberated Mind.
Shudde and Conrad Fath papers
The Shudde and Conrad Fath papers consist of first hand accounts, articles and clippings relating to Creekmore Fath’s career, including his work for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration. The collection also includes legal documents, correspondence between Shudde Fath and Ann Richards, oral history interviews and papers relating to John Henry Faulk.
John Henry Faulk oral history collection
The John Henry Faulk Oral History Collection, 1990, contains oral history interviews of family and friends of John Henry Faulk conducted by Barbara S. Griffith and Sheree Scarborough for the Center for American History (now the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History) in 1990.
John Henry Faulk papers
The John Henry Faulk Papers, 1881, 1936-2010, document Faulk's career in literary and broadcast media, as well as his activities in politics, humanitarian concerns, and civil liberties, particularly his successful libel suit after having been blacklisted for alleged Communist associations.
John Henry Faulk photographs
Collection consists of images of John Henry Faulk speaking to a class at Iowa State University in 1987.
John Henry Faulk vs. AWARE, Inc., Laurence A. Johnson, and Vincent Hartnett case records
Molly Ivins papers
Correspondence, literary productions, newspaper clippings, legal documents, photographs, audiovisual productions, notes, research materials and posters document Molly Ivins' journalistic career and personal life.
John Matthias Kuehne photograph collection
John Matthias Kuehne photograph collection, 1894-1950, includes many images of the University of Texas campus, Austin, and Central Texas. Among his autochromes are perhaps the earliest color views of UT.
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