Russ and Sylvia Davis Collection

Inclusive Dates

1932 – 1970

Bulk Dates

1950 – 1957

Abstract

The Russ and Sylvia Davis Collection contains 16mm film prints and elements produced by the couple's production company, IWF Inc. The majority are from a syndicated wrestling television show from the 1950s that included wrestlers such as Verne Gagne, Gorgeous George, and Lou Thesz. Russ was a pioneering TV personality in the Chicago broadcast area at WBKB-TV. Sylvia worked as president of their company and a producer on a number of Russ' shows.

Description

The Russ and Sylvia Davis Collection mainly consists of their syndicated wrestling television show that was shot on 16mm film. In various markets the show was called Rasslin’ With Russ, Chicago Wrestling, Wrestling With Russ Davis, Main Event, and Wrestling from Chicago. The shows date from 1952-1959; the earlier shows are shot in black-and-white while the later are in color. There are 200 release prints that were rented to television stations and 32 reels of production elements, including work prints, magnetic and optical soundtracks and duplicate negatives. While the release prints are generally in excellent condition many of the production elements are often in worse shape–due to the rough nature of early television production and the quicker deterioration of magnetic soundtracks. The TV shows range in length from 30 minutes to an hour and are either one longer wrestling match or two shorter ones. The wrestlers include the best and most colorful of the Midwest wrestling circuit from the 1950s–Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Gorgeous George, Hans Schmidt, Argentine Rocca, Yukon Eric, Killer Kowalski, Dick the Bruiser, Chief Lone Eagle, the Great Yamoto –women wrestlers such as Rose Roman, Violet Van and June Byers, and "midget wrestlers" like Fuzzy Cupid, Haillie Sellasse, Tiny Roe and Ivan the Terrible. Russ Davis narrates most of the shows with his humorously witty style to which critics at the time accredited the rise of wrestling TV shows in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

There are two examples of other shows produced by IWF in the collection. The first is Raymond Massey Reads the Bible which was a syndicated five-minute show from 1951. While 65 episodes where apparently produced, there exists in the collection three 16mm reels with three episodes each. In each episode Massey sits at a desk in a study and reads a parable or verse from the Bible and offers some brief commentary. The show was directed by Russ Davis, produced by Sylvia Davis and written by a religious scholar who taught at Columbia University. There is also one reel of a show called Inside Outdoors, which seems to be about hunting and taxidermy.

Also included in the collection are three folders of business papers and press clippings relating to IWF and Russ and Sylvia Davis. There are copies of contracts between IWF and stations which rented wrestling films from them, a letter from 1957 from Russ to Sylvia proposing a TV show in which actor/singer George Jessel would introduce classic silent films, and promotional literature sent from IWF to prospective stations. The press clippings include useful though at times exaggerated personal biographies on Russ and Sylvia, comments on Russ announcing style, and in-depth articles on the work undertook by IWF in the filming of their wrestling show. The folder of promotional photos includes five photos from the summer of 1951 promoting their then upcoming afternoon talk show on WGN, a later promotional picture of Russ with a beard, and a photo of Sylvia and three employees of IWF.

Over 100 wrestling titles from the Sylvia & Russ Davis Collection are streaming on Youtube: "Chicago Film Archives presents "Wrestling from Chicago"

Collection Items

Browse All Objects

Film

[Wrestling TV show]: Dick the Bruiser vs Bill Melby, Yukon Eric vs Hans Schmidt

Film

Arapahoe, The

circa 1955

Film

[Wrestling TV show]: Joan Ballard vs Jean Noble

1956

Film

I-O Corn Creek

1957

Film

[Wrestling TV show]: Rose Roman vs Ramona TeSelle

1950s

Film

Raymond Massey Reads the Bible: The Greatness and Divinity of Man, The Returned of the Ransomed, On the Bible

1951

Film

Raymond Massey Reads the Bible: Man’s Choice, David & Bathsheba & Rules of Living

1951

Film

[Wrestling TV show title sequence]

1965

Film

[Wrestling TV show outtakes]

1958

Film

[Wrestling TV show]: Yulie Brynner vs Rose Roman

1958

Film

Color Reject on Wrestling, (SMPTE) Special Society

1958

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To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at info@chicagofilmarchives.org.

Items with Viewable Media

SERIES I: Films & Audio Materials

SERIES II: Paper Materials

Collection Identifier

C.2008-04

Extent of Collection

370 reels of 16mm film totaling 303,387 feet of film, 3 folders of paper documents and photos

Language Of Materials

English

Subject

Sports
Hunting
Wrestling
Christianity
Petroleum industry

Custodial History

The films and paper materials in this collection were created and gathered by Russ and Sylvia Davis when they ran their television film production company in Chicago. The materials were stored in their house in California until Sylvia's death in 2005 at which point they were willed to her neighbors Ernie Goumas and Brian Zielinski. Goumas and Zielinski looked after Sylvia after Russ' death in 1969. They donated the collection to CFA in 2008.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open to on-site access. Appointments must be made with Chicago Film Archives. Due to the fragile nature of the films, only video copies will be provided for on-site viewing.

Use Restrictions

Chicago Film Archives holds the copyright for the films in this collection and for documents created by the Davises. For the additional paper materials published by others, any determination of copyright status for reproduction is the responsibility of the user.

Creators

Davis, Russell (was created by)

Russell W. Davis was born in Kansas City, Missouri on September 15, 1909. After graduating high school in 1927, he worked at Kansas City radio stations until he left the city in 1931. From 1931 to 1940 he worked at a number of radio stations around the country including KOA in Denver and KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. Starting in 1941, he began working at the CBS radio affiliate in Chicago.

In 1946 he made the switch to television at WBKB, which was Chicago’s first commercial television station. He worked on a variety of shows including two different wrestling shows from the Rainbo and Midway arenas, boxing matches, and Christmas and New Year’s Eve specials. He provided commentary for a women’s baseball league, hosted a short-lived but popular amateur show The Knickerbocker Hours, was the emcee for a man-on-the-street show Off the Cuff, and was the announcer for The Jane Foster Show in which Foster and Davis advised housewives on their domestic problems. No copies of these shows are known to exist.

He left the station in 1949 to co-found IWF, Inc. with his wife Sylvia, who he married in 1946. IWF stood for both Imperial World Films and International Wrestling Films. The company primarily released syndicated wrestling shows that Russ announced. The show was leased to over 160 stations nationwide. Due to its success Russ Davis was considered a television pioneer amongst wrestling fans in the 1950s. The company also made sponsored films and a few other TV series including Raymond Massey Reads the Bible (1951).

From the summer of 1951 to May 1952 Russ and Sylvia hosted a daily talk show on WGN called alternately The Davises or The Russ Davis Show. In the show the Davises attempted to enlighten and entertain the viewers (mostly housewives) by interviewing guests from the world of high culture – opera singers, art critics, ballet dancers, musicians – in a welcoming, yet slightly irreverent tone.

He worked on the IWF wrestling TV shows until his death on March 14, 1969. He died of a heart attack after battling alcohol addiction for decades.

Davis, Sylvia (was created by)

Sylvia H. Carlson was born in the mid-1910s in Goteberg, Sweden. She moved to San Francisco with her family in 1930, and by 1937 was in charge of a beauty shop in the Russ Building. She met her future husband, Russ Davis, there in 1946. They were quickly married and she moved to Chicago where Russ had lived since the late 1930s.

Sylvia began to work behind-the-scenes on Russ’ television shows. In 1948, she was co-producer of his amateur talent show on WBKB, The Knickerbocker Hour. In 1949 Russ and Sylvia started IWF, Inc, a television film production company, with Sylvia acting as president. The company, called both International Wrestling Films and Imperial World Films, mainly produced a syndicated wrestling show, but also made sponsored films and a short run TV series with Raymond Massey. From the summer of 1951 to May of 1952 Sylvia was the co-host with Russ of a daily talk show on WGN-TV, The Russ Davis Show.

The couple divorced in 1954 and Sylvia remarried in 1957. By 1957, Sylvia and the company were based in Sonoma, California. Sylvia passed away in 2005.

Russ and Sylvia Davis Collection

Series In this Collection

Collection Items

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