When Tino Balio convinced United Artists to donate its early films, photographs and corporate records to the University of Wisconsin Center for Theater Research in the 1960s, it put UW-Madison on the map as a major film research center.
Before long, the center’s name would be changed to reflect that status, becoming the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
But it’s likely that not even Balio — who came to Madison to run the center in 1966 — knew the extent to which the United Artists’ donation would continue to reverberate. It’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.