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Collection #6

Liz Eden Papers

Record:6

Date:1973 - 1986 (Bulk 1974)

Size:2.5 inches

Provenance

These are the personal papers of Elizabeth Eden. On the death of Eden they were given to her friend Richard N. Barraclough. On Barraclough’s death they were passed along with some papers of his own to Dean LaBate. He in turn donated them to The Center Archive on June 14, 1990.

Scope and Content

The collection contains correspondence from John Wojtowicz to Liz Eden when Wojtowicz was in the Federal Penitentiary in Lewisberg, 1973-1975; photographs and slides of Eden and her friends; manuscripts by Eden and Richard Barraclough; and photocopies of news clippings, legal papers and other correspondence, some of which deals with the film “Dog Day Afternoon.”

Photographs of the wedding between Eden and Wojtowicz are available in the Archive’s Richard C. Wandel Photographs collection.

History or Bio

On August 22, 1972 John Wojtowicz, Robert Westenberg, and Donald Matterson attempted to rob a Chase Manhattan bank branch in Brooklyn, New York. They held nine bank employees hostage and demanded money. Wojtowicz wanted the money to go toward his partner Liz Eden’s gender confirmation surgery (Eden did not know of the plan). Matterson was killed by FBI agents during the attempted robbery; Wojtowicz was sentenced to 20 years at the Federal Penitentiary in Lewisberg, PA.; Westenberg served 19 months. The movie “Dog Day Afternoon,” loosely based on the events, was released in 1975.

Folder List

Box 1

1. Correspondence between John Wojtowicz and Liz Eden from the Federal Penitentiary in Lewisberg Pa., including greeting cards and snap shots. 1/2″

2, Correspondence between Warner Brothers and Liz Eden, Harold M Weiner and Neptune Productions, Ace Books and Richard N. Barraclough, John S. Wojtowicz and Ronald Zweibet of Crime Victims Compensation Board, John Wojtowicz and Warner Brothers, Consent of Ernest Aron (Liz Eden) for film, Summons by Liz Eden against Warner Brothers. 1/2″

3. Power of Attorney to Richard N. Barraclough for Liz Eden, manuscripts by Eden, Eden and Barraclough, and Barraclough, photocopies of Playboy article. 1/2″

4. Photographs and slides of Liz Eden and friends between 1983 and 1986. Photocopies of newspaper clippings. 1″