Ph.D. Candidate Vincent Longo was awarded a Robert De Niro Endowed Dissertation Fellowship from the Harry Ransom Center at the University Texas - Austin.

His project, “A Hard Act to Follow: The Hollywood Studio System in the Age of Live Performance (1930–1955),” was one of ten dissertation fellowships selected across academic disciplines. 

When in residence, Longo plans to use their collections to investigate how theater circuits in the American South programmed and promoted live acts -- especially those by African American jazz musicians -- and how talent agents and movie stars used live performance in motion picture theaters to circumvent studios’ control over performers. 

photo credit, hrc.utexas.edu