The Lux Radio Theatre collection spans the years 1936-1955 and encompasses 42 linear feet, consisting of 23 feet of disc recordings and 19 feet of scripts. The show's producer, J. Walter Thompson, retained and later donated an original set of 16" transcription discs that had been broadcast from Los Angeles. These 1,750 discs contain more than 750 of the 844 shows, beginning with the first Hollywood broadcast in 1936 (the first 125 shows are on four one-sided discs; the remaining shows are on two two-sided discs). Of special interest are the recordings from January to May 1951, when show rehearsals were also recorded. Nearly 100 additional 16" discs contain commercials (primarily for Ford), announcer auditions, air checks, and other miscellany, and around 75 10" and 12" discs contain commercials for California Lima Beans, Fosters Freeze, 7-Up, Southwest Airlines, and Yellow Cab, among others. None of these nonshow discs have been transferred, and therefore, none are readily available to researchers. In addition to the discs, there are "as broadcast" scripts annotated by a script supervisor, complete with missed, muffed, or ad-libbed lines. These scripts, dating from June 1, 1936, through March 30, 1953, are contained in 85 bound volumes. This is a complete set for that period with the exception of the script for June 2, 1941 ("They Drive by Night"), which is not in the collection. Note that the library does not hold a complete run of scripts; missing are those for the 1934 through mid-1936 period when the show was broadcast from New York, as well as those from mid-1953 through 1955 (to cut costs, the 1954-1955 season used many previously performed scripts). A small amount of manuscript and photographic material (less than 1 linear foot), including press releases, clippings, and publicity photographs, has been transferred to the library's core collection.

In 1983 the Academy entered into an agreement with Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, a Los Angeles-based organization devoted to the preservation of radio programming, to have the original discs transferred to audiotape. Two reference open-reel copies and one cassette copy are made from each disc, and the Academy and Pacific Pioneer each retain one set of open-reel tapes. To date, more than 600 shows have been dubbed, including the 1942-1945 shows recorded on glass-based discs, and are available for listening in the Special Collections reading room, by appointment.

An in-depth history, show-by-show listings, and index of performers can be found in "Lux Presents Hollywood" by Connie Billips and Arthur Pierce, available in the library's radio reference section. A 1982 "Lux Radio Theatre Inventory and Reference Guide" by Anthony Slide is available in the Pamphlets file (PAM 993). The J. Walter Thompson Collection at Duke University contains Lux Radio Theatre material, including scripts and disc recordings.

Lux Radio Theatre (1934-1955) was created through a collaboration between the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and its client Lever Brothers, maker of Lux toilet soap. The hour-long dramatic program used stars from the screen and stage in radio adaptations of popular films and plays. Initially the show was broadcast out of New York City and focused on Broadway productions. The show moved to Hollywood on June 1, 1936, and began featuring film adaptations and film stars. The final program was broadcast on June 7, 1955. With the advent of television, Lux Video Theatre premiered in the fall of 1950 and ran through 1957.