The Webber papers, dating from 1936-1986, are organized into four series: Personal/Biographical, Writings, Anti-Vietnam War Activism, and Audio-visual Materials. The collection displays the broad creative nature of Webber's life and career, documenting his involvement in both radio and television broadcasting and advertising, his experience as a novelist and writer, as a sailor in World War II, and his activism against the Vietnam War in the early 1970's. As such, they also contain a wealth of information on the advertising industry itself and its response to the Vietnam War, the experience of American novelists in the 20th century, and support research on 20th century American literature. Correspondence can be found scattered throughout the collection: organized chronologically in the Personal/Biographical series, and associated with relevant projects in the Writings and Anti-War series.
Gordon Webber (full name Royal Gordon Webber) was born in 1912 to Roy Eugene and Dorothea Boyd Webber, and grew up on a farm in southern Michigan. He attended High School in Linden, MI, and worked for two summers on an automobile assembly line in Flint. Webber attended Jamestown College in Jamestown, ND, and graduated with an AB in 1933, as well as a teaching certificate from Johnstown College in 1934. Webber also attended University of Michigan for graduate school, obtaining a Master's of Art degree in Journalism in 1936.
After graduating from Michigan, Webber worked for the Vick Chemical Co. as a traveling salesman for two years, during which time he traveled through 15 Southern and Midwestern states, selling salve to general and drug stores. Eventually Webber was called to the company's New York office to do advertising and sales promotion work. In 1938 he was hired at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Webber worked in the NBC Press Department as a publicity writer until 1940, and from 1940-1942 he worked as a scriptwriter and director in the NBC Radio-Recording division.
Webber served in the United States Navy from 1942-1945, first as a gunnery officer in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas (during this time he took part in the invasion at Normandy) and later as a member of the assault transport team in the Pacific during the Japanese occupation.
After the war, Webber returned to the Radio-Recording Division at NBC. He wrote for numerous radio programs, though "The Fire Fighters" and "Reflections" are most well known. Webber worked for NBC until 1948, at which time he left to work for Benton & Bowles, an advertising company in New York City, where he was employed until 1975. In this capacity he wrote for the long-running television show "I Remember Mama."
In the early 1970's Webber became involved in activism opposing the Vietnam War. He was a member of the Corporate Executives Committee for Peace, a business group dedicated to supporting the McGovern-Hatfield bill introduced to the Senate in 1970 (also known as the Amendment to End the War.) Webber was also a member of the group Advertising People Against the War, which prepared television and newspaper advertisements in support of the amendment. "The Endless War: A Safe and Orderly Way Out" was a television news special that Webber produced as part of his work with The Amendment to End the War Committee (which was constituted of 25 US Senators, sponsors of this anti-war legislation before the Senate). "The Endless War" was broadcast on 200 public broadcasting stations in September 1970.
In 1971, Webber also contributed to the anti-war ad campaign "Help Unsell the War." It was begun by Ira Nerken, a junior at Yale University, and gained support from a large section of the advertising community. Interested ad executives were invited to a briefing at Yale University on April 3, 1971, after which time the campaign solicited volunteers from the advertising sector to create anti-war advertising materials. These included television public service announcements, as well as posters, radio, newspaper and magazine advertisements, which were offered free to all broadcast and print media in the United States. Webber was executive producer and wrote a number of the television and radio spots.
Throughout his life Webber pursued fiction writing in his spare time, eventually publishing four novels: The Years of Eden (Boston: Little, Brown, 1951), The Far Shore (Boston: Little, Brown, 1954), What End But Love (Boston: Little, Brown, 1959), and The Great Buffalo Hotel (Boston: Little, Brown, 1979). He also published a book detailing the history of the Benton & Bowles corporation: Our kind of people: the story of the first 50 years at Benton & Bowles (New York: Benton & Bowles, 1979). In the 1980's, Webber attempted unsuccessfully to find a publisher for what would be his final novel, Stepping Stones (originally called Adios, Kalamazoo). He also wrote poetry and short stories throughout his life. Webber was diagnosed with myelogenous leukemia in 1983 and died in 1986 at Montauk, NY.
