Mary Badham Oral History
Object number2014.001.0136
Date11/12/2014
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Mary Badham
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
DimensionsDuration: 56 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Mary Badham. A ten-year-old native of Alabama, Badham portrayed "Scout" Finch in the Academy Award-winning film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). She has since lectured around the world about the film's messages of tolerance and compassion.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on November 12, 2014 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is fifty-six minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryTo Kill a Mockingbird was released by Universal Pictures on December 25, 1962. The film ultimately won three Academy Awards out of a total of eight nominations. In addition to the film winning Best Screenplay and Best Art Direction, Gregory Peck won his first and only Oscar for Best Actor after having been previously nominated in the category four times. Mary Badham was nominated for Best Supporting Actress (the youngest actress ever nominated in the category) alongside Shirley Knight for Sweet Bird of Youth; Angela Lansbury for The Manchurian Candidate, Thelma Ritter for Birdman of Alcatraz and Patty Duke, who won for her portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
