The Ring Lardner Jr., papers span the years 1920-2002 (bulk 1941-1995) and encompass 17.1 linear feet. The collection consists primarily of script material and personal papers. There is a small amount of material for some, but not all, of the films written by Lardner that were produced, and a larger amount of material related to projects that never reached fruition. Many of these titles are accompanied by Lardner's notes explaining how and why projects went wrong. The personal papers contain correspondence with his family (starting with his mother while he was at Princeton) and such associates and friends as Dalton Trumbo, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Albert Maltz, Victor Navasky, and Ingo Preminger. There are also reviews of his writings, along with letters from readers. Of special interest is his collection of relevant material regarding the blacklist, including numerous articles written by Lardner and his peers, drafts of Lardner's speeches at related events, and clippings and mail reflecting different reactions to the persons blacklisted.

Ring Lardner Jr. (1915-2000) was born Ringgold Wilmer Lardner Jr., in Chicago, the third of four sons of the famous short-story writer and humorist. He was educated at Phillips Academy Andover and at Princeton, but left school after his father's death in 1933. After working briefly as a reporter for the New York Mirror, he came to Hollywood in 1934 to work in David O. Selznick's publicity department. Lardner's screenwriting career was launched in 1937 with his uncredited work on NOTHING SACRED and A STAR IS BORN (1937). His first major success was WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1942), which earned him and his collaborator, Michael Kanin, an Academy Award for best original screenplay. Lardner would later receive a second Oscar for writing the screenplay for "M*A*S*H" (1970).

His other major screen credits include THE CROSS OF LORRAINE (1943), TOMORROW THE WORLD! (1944), CLOACK AND DAGGER (1946), FOREVER AMBER (1947), THE FORBIDDEN STREET (1949), THE CINCINNATI KID (1965), and THE GREATEST (1977). For 15 years Lardner was blacklisted by the entertainment industry after being convicted of contempt of Congress as one of the Hollywood Ten. After serving ten months of a one-year sentence, he was released in 1951, but was unable to find work as a screenwriter and eventually turned to television, where he wrote under various pseudonyms (often in collaboration with Ian McLellan Hunter). Lardner is also the author of the novels "The Ecstasy of Owen Muir" (1955) and "All for Love" (1985); a memoir, "The Lardners: My Family Remembered" (1976); and a Broadway musical, "Foxy" (1964, in collaboration with Hunter).