Russell Williams II Oral History Interview

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

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".

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