Russell Williams II Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of 2016.129.13.1a and 2016.129.13.2a: two versions (unedited, and edited) of a single digital video recording.

Russell Williams was interviewed as part of the NMAAHC Donor Oral History Collection. Mr. Williams donated a collection of artifacts and photographs representing his pioneering Hollywood career, including both of his Academy Awards, his two Emmy Awards, and audio equipment he used to record dialogue on the set of various films to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In this oral history Russell Williams discusses his childhood in Washington, DC and his journey to becoming a successful Hollywood sound engineer. He talks about the challenges that face African Americans in the film industry. He also gives vivid descriptions of what it was like to work on the sets of "Glory" and "Dances with Wolves".

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: August 8, 2016
• Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
• Recorded by: Patrick Telepictures, Inc., American
• Interview of: Russell Williams II, American, born 1952
• Interviewed by: Timothy Anne Burnside, American
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration (2016.129.13.1a): 147.95 min.
• Dimensions: Duration (2016.129.13.2a): 147.62 min.
• Dimensions: 228.3 GB
• Place collected: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Hollywood (Film)
• Topic: Local and regional
• Topic: Mass media
• Topic: Museums
• Object number: 2016.129.13.1a-.2a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.