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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
  • Unit of Service: USCG Storis (WMEC 38); USCG Huron
  • Location of Service: North Atlantic; Greenland; Key West, Florida
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant

View full service history

"I started to develop characters…" (Video interview, 5:30)

Though he wanted to join the Navy during World War II, Irwin Leo "Wynn" Handman was rejected due a heart arrhythmia. Not to be deterred from his dreams of going to sea, he joined the Coast Guard in 1942. To relieve the tension of life aboard an icebreaker escorting convoys to Greenland, he amused himself and his shipmates by doing impressions of famous actors. This character development would serve him well in his future career. When he left the service in 1946 and realized he needed a vocation, he used the GI Bill to attend acting school. He went on to co-found the ground-breaking American Place Theater in 1963. As well, he became a notable acting teacher, guiding actors such as Michael Douglas, Richard Gere, and Denzel Washington.

About this Item

Title

  • Irwin Leo Handman Collection

Names

  • Handman, Irwin Leo
  • Library of Congress
  • Wiener, Thomas

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • NY

Headings

  • -  Handman, Irwin Leo
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Coast Guard.

Notes

  • -  Veteran is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the American Place Theatre in New York City.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
    • Unit of Service: USCG Storis (WMEC 38); USCG Huron
    • Location of Service: North Atlantic; Greenland; Key West, Florida
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: DAT [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 11/12/2004)
  • Video: 8mm Film [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 11/12/2004)
  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 11/12/2004)
  • Audio: 10" Audio Reel [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 11/12/2004)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/12/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/24038

Cite as

  • Irwin Leo Handman Collection (AFC/2001/001/24038), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Gender

Race

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Handman, Irwin Leo, Library Of Congress, and Thomas Wiener. Irwin Leo Handman Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24038/.

APA citation style:

Handman, I. L., Library Of Congress & Wiener, T. (1942) Irwin Leo Handman Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24038/.

MLA citation style:

Handman, Irwin Leo, Library Of Congress, and Thomas Wiener. Irwin Leo Handman Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24038/>.