The Jack Hirshberg papers span the years 1953-1980 and encompass 9 linear feet. The papers consist of files maintained by Hirshberg that contain a combination of notes, writings, and/or interview transcripts and recordings for hundreds of personalities from Woody Allen to Fred Zinnemann. Hirshberg also maintained subject files containing his interview transcripts and press material on such diverse topics as animals and animal trainers (in relation to DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1967)), fire, makeup, props, steamboats, stunts and stunt fliers, and yachts. The more than 160 taped interviews (open-reel and cassette) cover numerous films and personalities, among them A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977), THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN (1979), JUSTINE (1969), ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980), PLANET OF THE APES (1968), A WEDDING (1978), Fred Astaire, Frank Capra, George Cukor, John Frankenheimer, Lillian Gish, Arthur Hiller, Howard Koch, Jack Lemmon, Roddy McDowall, Robert Redford, Robert and Richard Sherman, Frank Tallman, Orson Welles, and Billy Wilder.

Jack Hirshberg (1917-2010) was born and raised in Montreal. As a teenager, Hirshberg was enamored with newspaper reporters and soon began covering high school sports for a local paper. His weekly radio column evolved into a general entertainment column and eventually became a weekly column syndicated across Canada by the "Montreal Daily Star." In college he handled publicity for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. A trip to Los Angeles in 1937 resulted in a feature series on Hollywood that he wrote for the "Montreal Herald." After receiving a B.A. degree from Sir George Williams University in Montreal in 1938, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a staff correspondent for two Canadian newspapers.

His film career began in 1940 at Paramount, where he handled special promotions for young actors. This was interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy (he was a U.S. citizen through his parents) during World War II. Returning to Paramount, he handled publicity campaigns for dozens of films, notably THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) and FUNNY FACE (1957). Hirshberg left Paramount to work as an independent publicity director on THE VIKINGS (1958). He then joined Frank Ross's company in unit publicity on KINGS GO FORTH (1958), handled several films for the Mirisch Company, and did publicity for SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959).

In the early 1960s Hirshberg supervised publicity for the motion picture department at Rogers and Cowan, then created and executed campaigns for the firm's television department. Moving over to Arthur P. Jacobs's company, APJAC Productions, Hirshberg supervised publicity for all APJAC productions, including the PLANET OF THE APES series, DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1967), and TOM SAWYER (1973). When Jacobs died in 1973, Hirshberg retired. At the request of Robert Redford, Hirshberg came out of retirement to work publicity on ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976), THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN (1979), BRUBAKER (1980), and ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980).