Nick Mamalakis papers

Collection

Identifier: M034

Staff Only
Not requestable

Scope and Content of the Collection

The papers Mr. Mamalakis donated in 1981 and 1987 (M1987-03) include articles, newsclippings, correspondence and printed material relating to the life and death of Johnny Mercer, memorials and tributes to Mercer, and events surrounding the acquisition of the Johnny Mercer Papers by Georgia State University.

Mr. Mamalakis' 1999 donation (accession M1999-06) consists of two folders of material relating to Johnny Mercer and an audio cassette. The first of the folders contains an invitation, program, and article about the issuing of the Johnny Mercer 32-cent stamp in Savannah on November 18, 1996. The folder also contains an envelope imprinted with a caricature of Johnny Mercer and stamped with the Mercer stamp, cancelled with a special "Moon River station" cancellation. In the second folder is a four-page typed description of the events leading to Johnny Mercer's repayment of his father's debts, written by Nick Mamalakis. The second folder also includes a newspaper notice by Mr. Mamalakis describing the Mercer Exhibit at Georgia State University that opened on November 5, 1999.

The audio cassette in this collection is a copy of a two-hour program in honor of Johnny Mercer that was broadcast by Peach State Public Radio in late 1999.

Dates

Creation: 1956-1999

Creator

Mamalakis, Nick (Person)

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Biography of Nick Mamalakis

Nick Mamalakis was a Savannah, Georgia businessman, associated with the firm Jones, Hill & Mercer. A long-time friend of the family of Johnny Mercer, he was the primary advocate of plans to bring the papers of Johnny Mercer to the archives at Georgia State University. Nick Mamalakis had gone to work for the Mercer Insurance Agency in 1932, the year he graduated from Savannah High School. Except for a period of four and a half years in naval intelligence in World War II, he remained in the employ of Johnny Mercer's father, G. A. Mercer, for fifty years. Mr. Mamalakis died in 2005.

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet (in 10 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

A Savannah, Georgia businessman, Nick Mamalakis was associated with lyricist Johnny Mercer's family and its businesses from 1930, and was the primary advocate of plans to bring the papers of Johnny Mercer to the archives at Georgia State University. His papers include articles, newsclippings, correspondence and printed material relating to Johnny Mercer and to the acquisition of the Johnny Mercer Papers by Georgia State University, and brief manuscript by Nick Mamalakis describing the events leading to Mercer's repayment of his father's debts.

Off-Site Storage

Collection is stored offsite. Allow at least 2 working days for retrieval.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Nick Mamalakis, August 3, 1981 (M1981-02); June 9, 1987 (M1987-03); November 15, 1999 (M1999-06).

Separated Materials:

During processing various materials were separated to other Popular Music and Culture Music Collections. Please contact Special Collections for access.

Popular Music Sound Recordings Collection - See catalog for access

"A Mercer Retrospective," Peach State Public Radio, 1999

Popular Music Ephemera Collecion

Several articles (1955-1956) relating to the life of Johnny Mercer have been transferred to the Popular Music Collection Ephemera Files, filed under the heading "Mercer, Johnny." See finding aid for access

Processing Information

Processed by Christopher Ann Paton at the file level, January 1984. Accession M1999-06 processed by Christine de Catanzaro and Christopher Ann Paton at the file level, May 15, 2000.