Cullen, Frank, 1936-?,
McNeilly, Donald, 1945-,
American Museum of Vaudeville
Collection Name:
American Vaudeville Museum collection
Inclusive Dates:
1845-2007
Bulk Dates:
(bulk
1910-1940)
Physical Description:
66.8
linear feet
Abstract:
This collection consists of materials
documenting vaudeville and other entertainment in the United States,
particularly in the 1910s through 1940s. Primary materials such as photographs,
scrapbooks and handwritten stage scripts document the careers of particular
performers. There are substantial numbers of sheet music and theatre programs,
and a large LP collection. The collection focuses on vaudeville but encompasses
other forms and eras of American entertainment as well.
Collection Number:
MS 421
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
Historical Note
This archive was collected by
Frank Cullen and
Donald McNeilly, founders
of the American Museum of Vaudeville (commonly referred to as the American
Vaudeville Museum) in Boston. Many of the materials pertain to the Boston and
New York areas. Some items were purchased by Cullen and McNeilly; others were
contributed by fans and other interested persons, or by family members of
performers from the vaudeville era. Many of the histories gathered by Cullen
and McNeilly were published in their periodical,
The Vaudeville Times. The culmination of
their research appeared in their two-volume encyclopedia,
Vaudeville Old & New, co-authored also
by
Florence Hackman. The
collection was donated by the Museum in 2008.
Scope and Content Note
This collection, originally located at the American Vaudeville Museum in
Boston, comprises theatre programs and postcards, sheet music, magazines,
playbills, photographs and posters, stage scripts and other manuscripts,
clippings and scrapbooks, films, miscellaneous papers, and a large collection
of LP albums, as well as some entertainers' costumes and accessories. Some
materials are included as photocopies rather than in original form. There are
primary materials such as scrapbooks and handwritten stage scripts that
document the careers of particular performers, often couples or family members.
The collection focuses on vaudeville but encompasses other forms and eras of
American entertainment as well, such as film and recorded music.
Specific descriptions of scope and content are provided for each series,
along with biographical notes for the individual performers' collections.
Many of the items in this collection are extremely fragile and therefore
not available for handling. For the scrapbooks in particular, reference
photocopies have been provided for viewing.
Patrons must use motion picture reels under the direct supervision of
the Manuscripts Librarian. Preservation copies of this material are not
currently available. Depending upon equipment availability and item condition,
users may not be able to view this material.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
American Vaudeville Museum collection (MS 421). Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries.
Bibliography
A publication related to this archive, and reproducing many of the items
included in it, is
Vaudeville Old & New: An encyclopedia of
variety performers in America, by Frank Cullen, with Florence Hackman
and Donald McNeilly (New York: Routledge, 2007), in 2 volumes.
Related articles may also be found in
The Vaudeville Times, 40 issues of which were published by The American Museum of Vaudeville from spring 1998 to Winter 2007.
This series includes photocopies and printouts from various sources,
as well as loose original articles and other texts.
box
folder
1
1
"Black women recording pioneers," by
Rainer Lotz.
IAJRC Journal, vol. 40, no. 2 (
), pp.
32-41, May 2007
1
2
Boston Opera House (Keith Memorial Theatre) - articles
from the
Boston Sunday Globe,
(photocopies), 2004
"Virtually Vaudeville,"
June 20, 2004
"Another opening, another show,"
June 27, 2004
1
3
Boston Theatre District (map - former streets, demolished
historic buildings, former theatres, etc.)
1
4
"Cabaret comeback," by
Elizabeth Kendall.
Civilization,
, pp.
34-36, Feb.-Mar. 1999
1
5
Comedy shorts - typed list
1
6
Cosmopolitan,
-
articles, 1897?-1905
"Actress aided by camera," by
Daniel Frohman.
Cosmopolitan,
, pp.
413-420., Feb. 1897?
"Where vaudeville holds the boards," by
Charles R.
Sherlock; "The postal-card craze," by
Julian Ralph.
Cosmopolitan,
, pp.
411-426, Feb. 1902
"The future of vaudeville in America," by
Israel Zangwill.
Cosmopolitan 38
, pp. 639-646 (2
copies), Apr. 1905
box
folder
1
7
Chinese performance art
"Chinese Vaudeville: Xiangsheng and the Performer Hou
Baolin" by
Shu-ying Tsau,
, for
"Workshop on Contemporary Chinese Literature and the Performing Arts", Harvard,
June 1979, May-June 1979
Report by
Frank Cullen on
researching Chinese performance art in English language holdings at Harvard
Yenching Library,
June 6, 1996
box
folder
1
8
Down Memory Lane, by
Guy Magley, n.d. -
booklet with names of vaudeville acts listed by city and theatre, 1914-15,
1926, 1937
1
9
"The evolution of American vaudeville," by
John J. Murdock
(source not identified)
1
10
Keith/Albee Collection
Keith/Albee Collection Inventory, University of Iowa
Libraries
"The Keith/Albee Collection: The vaudeville industry,
1894-1935" by M. Alison Kibler,
Books at Iowa 56, Apr.
1992
box
folder
1
11
"In Vaudeville" by
Hartley Davis,
Everybody's Magazine,
Aug. 19, 2005
1
12
"Jugglers, past and present" by
M.S. Mahendra,
Linking Ring,
Dec. 1944
1
13
"Lest We Forget": Curtain falls on notable theatrical
personages in 1949 (13th ed.); 1950 (14th ed.); 1951 (15th ed.). From the
records compiled by Paul E. Glase, Fabian's Embassy Theatre, Reading,
Pa.
1
14
Library of Congress,
1993-1995
Correspondence between
Frank Cullen and LC
reference librarian
Madeline F. Matz,
1993-1995, and printout search results, for LC holdings of early silent films
related to vaudeville, Vitaphone short films, and films with all-black
casts.
1
15
[List of theaters and contact information],
ca. 2000
1
16
"Memphis Vaudeville Theater Orchestras" by
Roy C. Brewer, from
diss.
Professional Musicians in Memphis, Tennessee
(1900-1950)
1
17
The Mississippi Rag,
- articles, 2004
"Sax appeal," by
William J.
Schafer,
, pp.
32-33"The TJEN corner," by
Dave Robinson,
founder, Traditional Jazz Educators Network,
, p.
34, Oct. 2004 Oct. 2004
- review of books and recordings about the Six Brown
Brothers
box
folder
1
18
"New York Theatres 1882 to 1939, Now Demolished" - typed
list
1
19
"The Origin, Development, and Significance of Dramatic
Entertainment in American Vaudeville, 1893-1925," by
Mari Lyn Henry
(thesis, Catholic University of America, 1968)
1
20
"Notes on the Principal Spanish Dances," by
Vicente
Escudero
1
21
Orpheum Circuit
Orpheum Circuit of Theatres,
- booklet, published upon the occasion
of the dedication of the New Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, 1909
"The Orpheum Road Show,"
- photograph of flyer, 1908
"Origin of Orpheum Circuit," by
Epes W. Sargent,
July 24,
1934
box
folder
1
22
Orpheum Theatres (San Francisco, Calif.) - correspondence,
papers, photocopies
box
folder
2
1
"The Palace" by
Donald Wayne (
Holiday,
, pp. 63-66+)-
photocopy, lacks first page; accompanied by typed text and summary, March 1951
2
2
"Panning the 'pan' time: being a compilation of
information appertaining to the Pantages Circuit," "cooked up" by
Herbert Lloyd, "chef
de claque",
- booklet, 1917
2
3
"Paramount turns 75: Oldest U.S. movie studio proves to be
survivor," by
Joseph Gelmis;
Cape Cod Times,
, p.
24, Jul 10, 1987
2
4
Performance arts bibliography,
(source not identified), 1995
2
5
Play Production, by
Henning Nelms,
- photocopy, 1950
2
6
Poster catalogs
Christie's - Hollywood Posters, Christie's East,
Tuesday, Dec. 11,
1990
Sports Movie Posters,, vol. 4 of
The Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters, comp.
Richard Allen and
Bruce Hershenson,
1996
box
folder
2
7
"Primary Sources in Vaudeville History: A Survey," by
Michael Leininger,
1982
2
8
"Telemedia Soundies" and Telemedia catalog
2
9
Theatre articles, various - photocopies
"Historic Uptown may get an encore at last,"
Chicago Sun Times,
Dec. 1, 2006
"A palace of a playhouse: Rockford's Coronado Theatre,"
Historic Illinois,
Aug. 2001
"The rise and fall of the Old Howard,"
Boston Sunday Globe,
May 20, 2001
"Vaudeville once again takes center stage at Netcong
theater,"
Star-Ledger,
Sep. 12,
2003
box
folder
2
10
"They Stopped the Show"
- album cover and liner notes, 1969
2
11
"To Artists" by E.F. Albee
2
12
T.O.B.A. (Theater Owners Bookers Association; black
vaudeville) - photocopies
This series consists of brochures, correspondence, and other
promotional materials from organizations. There is also a series of
periodicals, Lambs Script, provided by their issuing organization. The series
is arranged alphabetically by organization.
box
folder
3
1
American Southwestern Railway Association (Los Angeles,
Calif.) - correspondence, "The Little Nugget" promotional card,
2006
3
2
American Vaudeville Theatre (Brooklyn, NY) - brochure,
after 1996
3
3
Audio Film Center - brochure pages
3
4
British Music Hall Society, Players Theatre (London,
England) - correspondence and information,
1998-2000
3
5
Certificates of Authenticity
, undated
3
6
Correspondence - Frank Cullen / Vaudeville Museum
, undated
3
7
Correspondence - Frank Cullen / Turner Entertainment
, undated
3
8
Harvard Theatre Collection (Cambridge, Mass.)
"Cross-Dressing in the Theatre" - lecture/exhibition
announcement,
2003
"Dime Museums and Nickel Theatres" - exhibition brochure,
2006
3
9
The Institute of the American Musical (Los Angeles,
Calif.) - press kit,
ca. 1998
3
10
The International Al Jolson Society (
Norman Conrad) - order
form, correspondence
3
11
KiMo Theatre (Albuquerque, N.M.) - folder, flyers; incl.
Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts (Ruidoso/Alto, N.M.) flyer
3
12
The Lambs (New York, N.Y.) - correspondence, "Installation
Gambol" dinner program,
;
Lambs Script,
1998 Jan/Feb 1997 - spring 1998
3
13
Moschen, Michael (
David Belenzon Management, Inc. ) - press kit,
2002
3
14
Museum of the Moving Image, British Film Institute
(London, England) - correspondence and flyers,
1997
3
15
National Comedy Hall of Fame (St. Petersburg, Fla.) -
press kit,
ca. 1997
3
16
New York Friar's Club (New York, N.Y.) - booklet,
undated
3
17
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (New York,
N.Y.) - exhibition brochure, "Vaudeville Nation,"
, 2005-2006
3
18
Palm Springs Follies (Palm Springs, Calif.) - press kit,
2001
3
19
Periwinkle Entertainment Productions (Anaheim, Calif.) -
press kit,
2005
3
20
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.),
Donehy Memorial Library - exhibition booklet, "Setting the State: The Rise of
American Popular Theater"
, 2005
This series comprises photographs, articles, stamps, postcards, and
photocopies that were organized by the American Vaudeville Museum based on
themes rather than performers. The holdings in this series are generally
minimal, with only one or a few items in each category.
box
folder
4
1
Acrobats, Balancing Acts, Bicycle Acts
Harry Decoe
Rice and Prevost
Kay Farrelli, Holiday
on Ice, 1950s-1960s?
Mel Hall, and The
Fabulous Cycling Whiz Kids (Mel Hall's Kids)
Bobby May
The Percelly's , Holiday on Ice, 1955
Rice & Prevost
Eddy Rose and
Marion
Harry Sykes
Tubby & Spats
Jimmy Valdare &
Duffy
"Where Vaudeville Holds the Boards," by
Charles R.
Sherlock;
Cosmopolitan, Feb. 1902
4
2
Acts Who Used Drawings
4
3
African Americans
Sandy Burns
Dixie Strutters
Radcliffe and Rogers
4
4
Burlesque
Four Sisters Ruby
Helen Leach,
Wallin Trio
4
5
Caricatures and Drawings
(Subjects of drawings include Dardanelle, Anita O'Day, Walter
Lippman, Bessie Smith, and Maxine Sullivan. Two are part of a card series,
Women Singers of Cafe Society.)
Caricatures and drawings by Frank Cullen
"The Algonquin Wits", caricature by Hirschfield,
The New York Times Book Review,
May 19, 1968
Caricatures of celebrities,
1927 - Cocoanut Grove, by
Ralph Barton, and
1996 - Mortons, by
David Cowles,
Vanity Fair
This series consists of clippings, photographs, announcements, sheet
music, publications, and ephemera. The subjects are individual and group
performers; they include singers, dancers, female impersonators, acrobats,
jugglers, actors, clowns and comedians. It is organized alphabetically - by
performer's surname, by stage name, or by group name - with oversize material
grouped at the end.
Two more substantial collections originally received among this
material - Frank J. Sidney and Doreen Rae - have been organized separately.
Performers A - Be
box
folder
5
1
Abbott and Costello (
Bud Abbott and
Lou
Costello)
Barnet, Robert A. (producer), and
Eltinge, Julian (female
impersonators)
5
23
Barrymore, Ethel
5
24
El Barto (
James Barton,
1858-1935)
5
25
Barton, James, 1890-1962
5
26
Barty, Billy
5
27
Bates, Peg Leg (
Clayton
Bates)
5
28
Bayes, Nora
5
29
Bennett, Richard
5
30
Benny, Jack
5
31
Bentley, Gladys
5
32
Bergen, Edgar
5
33
Bergman, Ingrid, and
Matthau, Walter
5
34
Berle, Milton
5
35
Bernie, Ben
5
36
Bernhardt, Sarah
Performers Bi - Bu
box
folder
6
1
Bigger, Laura
6
2
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
6
3
Bizzarro Brothers
6
4
Blake, Eubie
6
5
Blake, Robert
6
6
Blesh, Rudi
6
7
Block & Sully (
Jesse Block and
Eva Sully
(Block))
6
8
Blondell, Joan
6
9
Bloolips (P.G. "Bette" Bourne, Danny "Diva Dan" Barratt, Vincent "Lavinia Coop" Fox, Paul "Precious Pearl" Shaw, etc.)
6
10
Bolger, Ray
6
11
Bigger, Laura
6
12
Bondi, Beulah
6
13
Bowers, Cookie
6
14
Brachetti, Arturo
6
15
El Brendel
6
16
Brice, Fanny
6
17
Bronson, Charles
6
18
Brown, Buster
6
19
Brown, George
6
20
Brown, Joe E.
6
21
Bubbles, John
6
22
Buckley, Dick (Lord Buckley)
6
23
Bufalino, Brenda
6
24
Burns & Allen (
George Burns and
Gracie
Allen)
6
25
Butterbeans and Susie (
Jodie Edwards and
Susie
Hawthorne-Edwards)
6
26
Buttons, Red
Performers C - D
box
folder
7
1
Caesar, Sid
7
2
Cagney, James
7
3
Calloway, Cab
7
4
Calvert, John
7
5
Canova, Judy
7
6
Cantor, Eddie
7
7
Carl Freed's Harmonic Harlequins
7
8
Carle, Richard
7
9
Carlin, George
7
10
Carmichael, Hoagy
7
11
Carpenter, Thelma
7
12
Carus, Emma
7
13
Cavanaugh, Hobart
7
14
Chang, Anna
7
15
Chaplin, Charlie
(see also: Reeves, Alf and Billy)
7
16
Chaplin, Sydney
7
17
Chase, Chaz (Chaz Chase)
7
18
Chase, Charley
7
19
Chevalier, Albert
7
20
Chevalier, Maurice
7
21
Cirque de Sade (
Stephanie Monseu
and
Keith
Nelson)
7
22
Claire, Ina
7
23
Clark, Bobby
7
24
Clayton, Ethel
7
25
Clinger, Will
7
26
Coca, Imogene
7
27
Cohen, Myron
7
28
Cole & Johnson (
Bob Cole and
J. Rosamond
Johnson; and
James Weldon
Johnson)
7
29
Collier, William(William, Sr. and William,
Jr.)
7
30
Collins, José (Josephine)
7
31
Connor, Chris
7
32
Cook, Joe
7
33
Cooper, Gary
7
34
Cornell, Katherine
7
35
Covan, Willie
7
36
Crabtree, Lotta (Lotta La Petite; Little
Lotta)
7
37
Curran, Sean (
Sean Curran Company )
7
38
Dailey, Peter F.
7
39
D'Arville, Camille
7
40
Davenport Sisters
7
41
Davis, Joan, and
Haley, Jack
7
42
Davis, Sammy, Jr.
7
43
DeMarco, Tony, and
DeMarco, Sally
7
44
Deslys, Gaby
7
45
Douglas, Melvyn
7
46
Doyle, Patsy (Patrick)
7
47
Draper, Paul
7
48
Draper, Ruth
7
49
Dressler, Marie
7
50
Duffy, Patrick (
Marlo & Duffy )
7
51
Dumont, Margaret
7
52
Duncan Sisters (
Rosetta Duncan and
Vivian Duncan)
7
53
Duo Arnedis (
Arne Ellingstad
and
Marina
Ellingstad)
7
54
Durante, Jimmy
Performers E - Go
box
folder
8
1
Eddie & Lorraine (The Aristocrats of
Tiny Wheels)
8
2
Edwards, Cliff
8
3
Edwards, Gus
8
4
Elen, Gus
8
5
Ellington, Duke
8
6
Elliott, G.H. (George Henry)
8
7
Elton, Lily
8
8
Emery, Winifred
8
9
Fagan, Noodles, and
Fagan, Paxton
8
10
Farrar, Geraldine
8
11
Farrell, Eileen
8
12
Fernandel (
Fernand-Joseph-Désiré Contandin)
8
13
Fetchit, Stepin (
Lincoln
Perry)
8
14
Fields, Gracie
8
15
Fink's Mules
8
16
Fitzgerald, Ella
8
17
Flagstad, Kirsten
8
18
Flavin, Margaret (
Margaret Flavin
Sheehan), and
Watson, Billy
8
19
Fletcher, Dusty (Clinton Fletcher, 1897-1954)
8
20
Flippen, Jay C.
8
21
Foley, Joe, and
Kenney, Joseph
8
22
Ford Sisters (
Dora Ford and
Mabel Ford)
8
23
Forde, Florrie
8
24
Four Step Brothers (
Maceo Anderson,
Al Williams,
Red Walker,
Sherman
Robertson)
8
25
Fox, Della
8
26
Foy, Eddie
8
27
Friganza, Trixie
8
28
Frost & Morrison
8
29
Gartelle Brothers
8
30
Genée, Adelina
8
31
Gilbert, William Schwenck
8
32
Gilder, George
8
33
Gillette, William
8
34
Gilmore, Charles "Mike"
8
35
Gilson, Lottie
8
36
Glose, Augusta
8
37
Glover, Savion
8
38
Goodner, Lillian
8
39
Goodwin, Nat
8
40
Gordon, Bert
8
41
Gordon, Ruth
Performers Gr - J
box
folder
9
1
Betty Grable
9
2
Le Grand David (magic show)
9
3
The Great Raymond (
Maurice
Saunders)
9
4
Great Small Works
9
5
Green, Mitzi
9
6
Greenwood, Charlotte
9
7
Grey & Byron (
Mildred "Dolly"
Grey and
Bert Byron)
9
8
Grey, Lizzie/Lissie (Lizzie/Lissie Gray;
Elizabeth (Ganssler) Wilson)
9
9
Grock (
Charles Adrien
Wettach)
9
10
Guilbert, Yvette
9
11
Hall, Adelaide
9
12
Harmonica Rascals (
Borrah
Minevitch)
9
13
Harper, Leonard
9
14
Harrigan & Hart (
Edward "Ned"
Harrigan and
Tony Hart)
9
15
Harris, Julie (correspondence)
9
16
Harry, Deborah, and
McGill, Everett
9
17
Havoc, June
9
18
Henlere, Herschel
9
19
Hindu Belles
9
20
Hines, Gregory
9
21
Hitchcock, Raymond
9
22
Hoen, Max, Cora, and Ed
9
23
Hoffmann, Gertrude
9
24
Holiday, Billie, and Armstrong,
Louis
9
25
Hope, Bob
9
26
Houdini, Harry
9
27
Howard, Willie, and
Howard, Eugene
9
28
Humes, Helen
9
29
Hunter, Alberta
9
30
Huntington, Agnes
9
31
Hutton, Betty
9
32
International Sweethearts of
Rhythm
9
33
Irving, Henry, Sir
9
34
Irwin, Bill
9
35
Ito, Michio
9
36
Janis, Elsie
9
37
Jefferson, Joe
9
38
Johns, Brooke
9
39
Johnstone, Sibyl
9
40
Jolson, Al
9
41
Joy, Leatrice
Performers K - Man
box
folder
10
1
Kaye, Danny
10
2
Karamazov Brothers (aka: The Flying Karamazov Brothers)
10
3
Keaton, Buster
(see also:
The Keaton Chronicle, in
Periodicals)
10
4
Kelly & Galvin (
Phil Kelly and
Joe Galvin - The Actor
& The Italian)
10
5
Kelly, J.W. (Rolling Mill Man)
10
6
Kelly, Patsy
10
7
King, Hetty
10
8
Kitt, Eartha
10
9
Lackaye, Wilton
10
10
Lahr, Bert
10
11
Lamarr, Hedy
10
12
Langdon, Harry
(see also:
Wild About Harry, in
Periodicals)
10
13
Las-Cellas, Sarah
10
14
Laurel & Hardy (
Stan Laurel and
Oliver
Hardy)
10
15
Lavelle - Ross
10
16
Lea, Barbara
10
17
Leguizamo, John (Mambo King of
Comedy)
10
18
Leno, Dan
10
19
Lenya, Lotte
10
20
Leonar, Eddie (Our Minstrel)
10
21
LeRoy, Hal (CIGAR)
10
22
Lewis, Furry (
Walter E.
Lewis)
10
23
Lillie, Beatrice
10
24
Limón, José
10
25
Lindfors, Viveca
10
26
Lippman, Walter
10
27
Little Tich
10
28
Lloyd, Alice
10
29
Lloyd, Harold
10
30
Loftus, Cecilia, and
Loftus, Marie (mother)
10
31
Low, Rowland
10
32
Loy, Myrna
10
33
Lugosi, Bela
10
34
Luke, Keye, and
Robert Ito (with Chet
Dowling)
10
35
Lyons, Carnell
10
36
Mack, Frank Guy
10
37
Mack, Ollie
10
38
Mackenzie, Mary
10
39
Mahoney, Will, and
Maria Elena (daughter; painter)
10
40
Makishi, Stacy
10
41
Mankin, Harley
10
42
Mantell, Anna
Performers Marx - N
box
folder
11
1
Marx Brothers (
Harpo Marx,
Groucho Marx, and
Chico Marx)
11
2
McIntyre, Heath (James McIntrye and Thomas K. Heath)
11
3
McNulty, Jennie
11
4
McRae, Carmen
11
5
Menes, Michael
11
6
Midler, Bette
11
7
Mignon (
Sadie
Rosenberg)
11
8
Miller, Ann
11
9
Mills, Florence
11
10
Miss Broadway
11
11
Mr. Nostalgia (
Bob Cusack)
11
12
Mr. Slim's Goodtime Ragtime Vaudeville
Revival (
R.W. Bacon and
L.J.
Newton)
11
13
Mitchell and Durant (
Frank Mitchell and
Jack
Durant)
11
14
Monty Python (
John
Cleese)
11
15
Moore, Marianne
11
16
Moore, Tom
11
17
Moran and Mack (
George Moran and
Charlie Mack - "The
Two Black Crows")
11
18
Moran, Polly
11
19
Moreland, Mantan
11
20
Morlacchi, Giuseppina, and
Texas Jack
11
21
Morse, Lee
11
22
Morton, Jelly Roll
11
23
Murray, Ken
11
24
Napier, Valantyne, and
Napier, Hector (father)
11
25
Neagle, Anna
11
26
Negri, Pola
11
27
Neilson, Julia
11
28
Newhart, Bob
11
29
Newton-John, Olivia
11
30
Nicholas Brothers (
Fayard Nicholas
and
Harold
Nicholas)
11
31
Noble, Venza, and
Ogden, Margie
(Note: there is a single photo of this duo; contains primarily
photos of other entertainers, most autographed to Venza Noble, also spelled
Noblet, Noblett or Noblette.)
11
32
Norman, Mary, and
Norman, Ron
Performers O - R
box
folder
12
1
Oakley, Annie
12
2
O'Brien, Pat
12
3
O'Day, Anita
12
4
Oliver Band
12
5
Oliver, Richard
12
6
Olivier, Laurence
12
7
Palace Music Hall Girls
12
8
Patton, Frank
12
9
Pavlova, Anna, and
Mordkin, Mikhail
12
10
The Payton Trio (Lew, Hattie, and
Clifton)
12
11
Peters Sisters
12
12
Piaf, Edith
12
13
Pickford, Mary
12
14
Pitts, ZaSu
12
15
Pollard, Daphne, and
Stanley, Katherine
12
16
Potts, Ernie, & Company
12
17
Powell, Eleanor
12
18
Raft, George
12
19
Rainey, Ma
12
20
Rand, Sally
12
21
Ravel Troupe (François, Gabriel, Jean, and
others)
12
22
Raye, Martha
12
23
Reed Sisters (
Melva Reed and
Bonnie
Reed)
12
24
Reeves, Al
12
25
Reeves, Alf, and
Reeves, Billy
12
26
Renault, Francis
12
27
Rice, Fanny
12
28
Richman, Harry
12
29
Ring, Blanche
12
30
Rio Brothers (Ed and Joe)
12
31
Ritz Brothers (Stage names: Al, Jimmy and Harry; given names Abraham, Samuel and Herschel Joachim)
12
32
Roach, Hal
12
33
Robert, Joe
12
34
Robeson, Paul
12
35
Robey, George
12
36
Robins, Adolph
12
37
Robinson, Bill
12
38
Robinson, John -
John Robinson's Circus
12
39
Rogers Brothers (Stage names: Max and Gus Rogers; given names Max and Gus Soloman) (
Joe Weber and
Lew Fields)
(see also: Weber and Fields)
12
40
Rogers, Will
12
41
Rose Marie (Guy)
12
42
Ross and Fenton (
Charles J. Ross
and
Mabel
Fenton)
12
43
Ross, Hope
12
44
Roventini, Johnny (Philip Morris
bellboy)
12
45
Rowland, Adele
12
46
Royal Rockets (John Carson, Dorothy Carson Smidt and Paul Smidt)
12
47
Royal Tokyo Japanese Troupe (circa 1910)
12
48
Rubin, Benny
12
49
Rubinstein, Arthur
12
50
Russell, Jane
12
51
Russell, Lillian
Performers S - T
box
folder
13
1
Samuels, Rae
13
2
Santoro, Margaret
13
3
Savo, Jimmy
13
4
Scheerer, Robert
13
5
Seeley, Blossom, and
Fields, Benny
13
6
Semon, Larry
13
7
Short, Bobby
13
8
Sidney, Sylvia
13
9
Skinner, Otis
13
10
Slate Brothers
13
11
Smith, Bessie
13
12
Smith, Joe, and
Bale, Chas
13
13
Smith, Kate
13
14
Smith, Maggie
13
15
Spacek, Sissy, and
Roberts, Eric
13
16
Sparks, Ned
13
17
St. Denis, Ruth, and
Shawn, Ted
(see also: Photographs, Box 22)
13
18
Stathos, Margaret Moreland
13
19
Storch, Larry
13
20
Stritch, Elaine
13
21
Suratt, Valeska
13
22
Swanson, Gloria
13
23
Tabor, Baby Doe (
Elizabeth McCourt
Tabor)
13
24
Talma, LeRoy, and
Bosco, Mirth
13
25
Tan, Margaret Leng
13
26
Tanguay, Eva
13
27
Tempest, Marie
13
28
Templeton, Fay
13
29
Thompson, Lydia
13
30
Three Musical Moods
13
31
The Three Stooges (
Larry Fine,
Moe Howard, and
Joe DiRita)
13
32
Three X Sisters (Hamilton Sisters and
Fordyce;
Pearl Santos,
Vi Hamilton, and
Jessie
Fordyce)
13
33
Tilly, Vesta
13
34
Tip, Tap & Toe (Ray Winfield (leader) with Samuel Green, Ted Fraser and Freddie James)
13
35
Tormé, Mel
13
36
Tracy, Arthur
13
37
Tucker, Sophie
13
38
Travato
13
39
Tully, May
13
40
Turpin, Ben
Performers U - W
box
folder
14
1
Unidentified (various)
14
2
Urline, Capitola
14
3
Valaida, Snow
14
4
Van, Billy B.
14
5
Vance, Clarice
14
6
Vardon & Perry (
Frank A. Vardon
and
Harry H.
Perry)
14
7
Vaughan, Sarah
14
8
The Vents (Ruth and Ray)
14
9
Vesta Victoria (
Victoria
Lawrence)
14
10
Vidor, King
14
11
Walking Brothers
14
12
Warfield, David
14
13
Washington, Dinah
14
14
Waters, Doris and
Waters, Elsie
14
15
Watson, Billy
14
16
Watson Sisters (Fanny and Kitty)
14
17
Wayburn,
Ned
14
18
Weber, Joe, and
Fields, Lew
14
19
Weeks, Larry
14
20
Weill, Kurt
14
21
Welles, Orson (
Citizen Kane)
14
22
Westfield, Catherine
14
23
Wethersby, Emma
14
24
Wheeler & Woolsey (
Bert Wheeler and
Robert Woolsey -
Mummy's Boys, 1936)
14
25
Whiting, Margaret
14
26
Wiere Brothers (
Harry Wiere,
Herbert Wiere, and
Sylvester
Wiere)
This series consists of newspaper clippings of obituaries, many of
them originally glued onto scrapbook pages; they are generally provided as
photocopies. They are organized alphabetically by surname or stage name. The
subjects include a broad range of singers, dancers, actors, comedians, and
other personalities, including some outside the realm of entertainment.
Obituaries are also located in the Performers files, when there is
other material about that performer.
box
folder
16
1
Obituaries A - C
Abbott, George
Alinsky, Saul
Allen, Dayton
Anderson, Maceo
Atkins, Cholly (Charles)
Barnes, Binnie (
Gittel
Enoyce)
Bates, Clayton (Peg Leg Bates)
Bird, Billie (
Billie Bird
Sellen)
Bogue, Merwyn
Borge, Victor
Bricktop (
Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise
Virginia Smith)
Brown, Johnny Mack
Bruce, Lenny
Cage, John
Carney, Art
Churchill, Marguerite
Clyde, Andy
Coogan, Jackie
Cook, Elisha
Corio, Ann
Cornell, Katharine
Cotten, Elizabeth
Crawford, Joan
Cronyn, Hume
Cukor, George
Cummings, Constance
Cunningham, Merce
16
2
Obituaries D - F
Dale, Charles (of Joe Smith and Charlie Dale)
Daniels, Bebe (Phyllis)
Darwell, Jane
Dawn, Dolly (
Theresa Maria
Stabile)
Delmar, Kenny
Devine, Andy
Dietz, Howard
Dooley, Ray (
Rachel Rice
Dooley)
Douglas, Helen Gahagan
Douglas, William O.
Dove, Billie (
Lillian Bohny)
Downey, Morton
Dresser, Louise
Farina, Richard
Farlow, Talmage "Tal" Holt
Farrell, Glenda
Fealy, Maude
Feldman, Marty
16
3
Obituaries G - I
Gardiner, Reginald
George, Dan, Chief (
Geswanouth Slahoot)
Gingold, Hermione
Gish, Dorothy
Goman, Charles Raymond
Goodman, Ace (
Goodman
Aiskowitz)
Gorcey, Leo
Gosden, Freeman (of "Amos 'n' Andy")
Griffith, Corinne
Guinness, Alec
Hairston, Jester
Haley, Jack
Halop, Billy
Hammond, John
Haney, Carol
Harding, Ann
Hawthorne, Nigel
Hayes, Roland
Hickson, Joan
Hildegarde (
Hildegarde Loretta
Sell)
Homolka, Oscar
Hopkins, Miriam
Hughes, Russell Meriweather
Hulbert, Jack
Huntz, Hall
16
4
Obituaries J - L
Jackson, Eddie (of Clayton, Jackson and Durante)
Jaffe, Sam
Jenkins, Allen
Johnson, Nunnally
Kane, Helen
Keeler, Ruby
Keller, Greta
Kelly, Emmett
Kelly, Fred
Koestler, Arthur
Laye, Evelyn
Le Gallienne, Eva
Lindquist, John
Loudon, Dorothy
Lukas, Paul
Lunt, Alfred
Lupescu, Magda (Elena)
16
5
Obituaries M - P
Maracci, Carmelita
Mason, James
Matthau, Walter
Mayo, Virginia
McHugh, Frank
Mercer, Johnny
Merman, Ethel
Miscellaneous from
Variety (
Buddy Rogers,
Ellen Corby,
Señor Wences,
L.C. "Speedy"
Huggins)
Mitchell, Jimmy "Sir Slyde" (
James Titus
Godbolt)
Monk, Thelonious
Moore, Dudley
Morley, Robert
Morse, Ella Mae
Murray, Mae
Nelson, Portia
Nesbitt, Cathleen
Nielsen, Asta
Oakie, Jack
Parker, Dorothy
Pollard, Harry (Keystone Kop)
Powell, William
16
6
Obituaries Q - S
Quayle, Anthony, Sir
Rambova, Natacha (second wife of
Rudolph
Valentino)
This subseries consists primarily of postcards depicting
entertainment theatre buildings, mostly in the United States. Other materials
include admission tickets, announcements, photographs, and commemorative
booklets. There are a few postcards of non-theatre subjects. The series is
organized alphabetically by state, with a miscellaneous grouping at the end.
box
folder
17
1
California
Fox Theatre (San Francisco, Calif.) - photograph
Movieland Wax Museum (Buena Park, Calif.)
Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco, Calif.)
17
2
Illinois
Gaiety Theatre (Galesburg, Ill.)
Majestic Theatre (Chicago, Ill.)
Maxwell Street Market (Chicago, Ill.)
Orpheum Theatre (Chicago, Ill.)
Rialto Theatre (Chicago, Ill.) - miniature program
Vaudeville Theatre, formerly the Iroquois Theatre (Chicago,
Ill.)
17
3
Maryland
Maryland Theatre and Hotel Kernan (Baltimore, Md.) - 2
views
17
4
Massachusetts
Adam's House and Keith's Theatre (Boston, Mass.)
1924 - 2 versions
B.F. Keith's New Theatre (Boston, Mass.) - booklet, 44 p.,
ca. 1894
Boston Music Hall (Boston, Mass.) - tickets from "All Star
Vaudeville",
1905
Keith's Theatre (Boston, Mass.) - King's Booklets, a
souvenir of Keith's Boston Theatre,
ca. 1900
Keith's Vaudeville (Brockton, Mass.)
RKO Keith's (Boston, Mass.)
Tremont Theatre (Boston, Mass.) - 2 versions
17
5
Michigan
Fisher Theatre (Detroit, Mich.) (booklet, 31 p.; Graven
& Mayger, Architects; Theatre Historical Society of America annual, no. 31)
2004
Orpheum Theatre (Detroit, Mich.)
Temple Theatre (Detroit, Mich.) - 2 copies
17
6
Missouri
New Orpheum Theatre (Kansas City, Mo.)
Orpheum Theatre (Kansas City, Mo.)
17
7
Nebraska
Burwood Theatre (Omaha, Neb.)
Orpheum Theatre (Lincoln, Neb.)
Orpheum Theatre (Omaha, Neb.)
World Theatre (Omaha, Neb.)
17
8
New Jersey
Boardwalk (Atlantic City, N.J.)
Lyric Theatre (Summit, N.J.)
Waldmann's Theatre (Newark, N.J.)
17
9
New York
B.F. Keith's Palace Theatre (New York, N.Y.) - postcard of
playbill, 1915
B.F. Keith's Vaudeville Theatre (Syracuse, N.Y.)
Bowery (New York, N.Y.)
Club House of the National Vaudeville Artists (New York,
N.Y.)
Harry Hills Variety Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
Hippodrome (New York, N.Y.) - 2 postcard views and
photograph
The Lambs (New York, N.Y.) - 73rd consecutive weekly
function - Lambs & M. Corps - Oct. 13, 1943; page from guestbook
Memorial Hall (Gloversville, N.Y.)
On Stage: A Photographic Reminiscence of
New York Theater, 1895-1915; a book of postcards. Museum of the City of
New York, The Byron Collection. (San Francisco: Pomegranate Press,
1999)
Places of Amusement - New York City,
Nov. 1882 - miniature
brochure
RKO Palace Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
Shea's Theatre (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Shubert Theatre (Utica, N.Y.)
Temple Theater (Rochester, N.Y.)
Union Square (New York, N.Y.)
17
10
Ohio
B.F. Keith Vaudeville (Cleveland, Ohio)
Keith Vaudeville (Columbus, Ohio)
17
11
Pennsylvania
Air Dome (Wilkinsburg, Penn.)
Keith's Theatre (Philadelphia, Pa.) - postcard, and page
from
Philadelphia Guide
This subseries is a collection of programs and playbills from
theatres across the United States, including B.F. Keith's, Orpheum, and RKO
theatres. There are also some theatre publicity materials and arts periodicals,
and flyers from music publishing houses and from suppliers of playbills and
posters for stage productions. They are organized alphabetically by theatre
name.
box
folder
18
1
The Alex Theatre (Glendale, Calif.)
, 2002
18
2
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, Mass.)
, 2004
18
3
B.F. Keith's (Columbus, Ohio)
, 1910-1911
18
4
B.F. Keith's New Theatre (Philadelphia, Pa.)
,
1911-1912 1922
18
5
B.F. Keith's New Theatre (Providence, R.I.)
, 1899
18
6
B.F. Keith's Palace Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
, 1925
This subseries comprises souvenir programs from revues, Broadway
shows, musicals, and plays. They are organized alphabetically by production
title, or in some cases by another cover title when there is no evident
production title. The earliest is an 1899 program from Koster & Bial's
Music Hall in New York. There are two Hippodrome souvenir programs (1918 and
1924) and a Ziegfeld Follies program (1942-43). Productions include "Showtime"
with George Jessel (1943) and "Tobacco Road" with James Barton (1936).
box
folder
20
1
"As the Girls Go" (
Bobby Clark,
Irene Rich)
, 1948
20
2
B.F. Keith's New York Hippodrome, "Novelties from All
Parts of the Earth" - Bill of International Artists
,
,
Aug. 1924 Oct. 1924 Feb. 1925
20
3
"Big Time" (
Ed Wynn)
, 1921
20
4
"The Biggest Show of '51" (
Duke Ellington,
Nat "King" Cole,
Sarah Vaughan, etc.)
, 1951
20
5
"Bless You All" (
Jules Munshin,
Mary McCarty,
Pearl Bailey, etc.)
, 1950
The items in this subseries were donated to the American
Vaudeville Museum collection by G. M. Sanborn of the Massachusetts State
Transportation Library.
Scope and Content
These programs are organized alphabetically by theatre, with
featured programs indicated. Multiple programs for a given theatre are listed
chronologically. They include the "Ziegfeld Follies" (1922) at the New
Amsterdam Theatre and "Candida" (1925) at the Plymouth Theatre. A few are from
New York rather than Boston theatres; those are indicated as such. Some
theatre-related publications other than programs are also located here.
box
folder
21
1
Boston Opera House
"The Miracle"
1925
21
2
The Capitol, A Publix Theatre
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
1929
21
3
Colonial Theatre
"Stepping Stones"
1925
"Three Cheers"
1929
21
4
Community Service of Boston Inc.
"Community Songs" (not a theatre program)
undated (after 1920)
21
5
Copley Theatre
"The Bellamy Trial"
1928
"The Wrecker"
1928
"The Ringer"
1929
"The Whispering Gallery"
1929
21
6
Cort Theatre (New York)
"Only 38"
1921
21
7
Dollhouse Theatre
"Medea"
1999
21
8
Film Guild Cinema (New York)
"The House of Shadow Silence"
1929
"Waterloo"
1929
21
9
George M. Cohan Theatre (New York)
"Across the World with Mr. & Mrs. Martin Johnson"
1930
21
10
Greenwich Village Theatre (New York)
"The Beggar's Opera"
1920
21
11
Hollis Street Theatre
"Peter Pan" (Civic Repertory Theatre, New York, tour)
1926
"Marco Millions"
1928
"Porgy"
1928
21
12
Majestic Theatre
"Cavalcade"
1933
"White Lilacs"
1929
21
13
Metropolitan
"Three Sinners"
1928
21
14
New Amsterdam Theatre
"Ziegfeld Follies"
1922
21
15
New York Amusements (New York) week of
, Apr. 8, 1929
"The Love Duel" -
Ethel Barrymore,
at the Barrymore Theatre (on cover)
21
16
New Park Theatre
"The Dark"
ca. 1927
21
17
Plymouth Theatre
"Candida"
1925
"Applesauce"
1926
"The Play's the Thing"
1928
"The Command to Love"
1929
"Emlyn Williams as Charles Dickens"
ca. 1952
21
18
Publix Theatres
"The Vagabond King" (promotional booklet for motion
picture)
1930
This series consists of miscellaneous photographs, mostly 11 x 14
inches; some are offset reproductions rather than actual photographic prints.
Many more photographs can be found in the Performers files and the individual
collections.
There are two general categories. The first group consists primarily
of publicity portraits of entertainers. The photographs are listed here in
alphabetical order by subject's surname. The second group consists of movie
stills, mostly 11 x 14 inches. Many of them are from an unidentified 1940
movie, with image numbers SMC- .
box
folder
22
1
Photographs: Portraits, identified
Jeanette Alabassi, by Strand (N.Y.)
Phil Baker in "Pleasure Bound", Majestic Theatre, by George
Maillard Kesslere (N.Y.)
Ray Bolger, by Vandamm Studio (N.Y.)
Ray Bolger [in "Sunny"] - 2 photos
Walter Clinton, by Mitchell (N.Y.)
Joe Frisco, by Mitchell (N.Y.)
Joe E. Lewis, by Bloom (Chicago)
Flourney Miller - formerly of Miller & Lyles, "Blackbirds
of 1930", by Mitchell (N.Y.)
Mae Murray, by Bloom (Chicago)
Valerie Parks, by Bruno (Hollywood)
Julia Rooney, by Mitchell (N.Y.)
Rosita Royce, by Bruno (Hollywood)
22
2
Photographs: Ruth St. Denis
(photomechanical process)
Ruth St. Denis as "Radha", 1906, by Marcus Blechman
Ruth St. Denis in "Black Nautch", 1927, by Marcus
Blechman
[Ruth St. Denis in] "White Jade", 1927, by Marcus
Blechman
Ruth St. Denis in "Tagore Poem", 1929, by Marcus
Blechman
The Spirit of Ruth St. Denis, 1950, by Phil Baribault
Photo of Ruth St. Denis in foyer of the Museum of the City of
New York, 1961, by Marcus Blechman
22
3
Photographs: Miscellaneous
"Going to Town" [burlesque revue], by Canell (N.Y.)
[unidentified woman holding black gauze fabric]
[unidentified woman draped in swirling-pattern gauze
fabric]
[unidentified couple in straw and bowler hats, stage role],
by Cadia? (N.Y.)
[unidentified female portrait, bleached]
[Yiddish theater façade and street scene]
22
4
Movie stills: "The Flame of New Orleans", 1941 (Marlene
Dietrich and Mischa Auer) - 2 photos
22
5
Movie stills: "Sunny" (Anna Neagle and John Carroll) - 5
photos
22
6
Movie stills: "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (Gene Raymond, Robert
Montgomery, Carole Lombard) - 2 photos
22
7
Movie stills: Unidentified film - 18 photos
22
8
Movie stills: Miscellaneous
Merle Oberon
Emily Smith, as Peas, in Shine On Harvest Moon. A Warner
Bros. First National Picture
[still from "The Maltese Falcon" - Humphrey Bogart, Mary
Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet]
[still from silent? film - couple holding hands by window,
locomotive approaching]
This series comprises vintage and reproduced posters and display
boards. In addition, there is a cut-out toy figure, a group of photos matted
together, a portfolio cover, and a newspaper article, housed here for reasons
of size. Four oversize photographs from the Dixon-Freeman collection are also
stored here. Larger posters are housed separately in oversize storage.
box
23
"Argentine Nights, starring The Ritz Brothers and The
Andrews Sisters", 1940 poster, Realart Pictures
"
Basil Rathbone,
Boris Karloff,
Bela Lugosi in Son of
Frankenstein",
poster (reproduction), 1939
"Bloolips in London's Finest Comedy, Teenage Trash",
1987
"
Carl Laemmle presents
Dracula, the vampire thriller",
poster (reproduction), 1931
Dixon-Freeman collection - photographs
[
Jessica Dixon], by
Witzel (L.A.)
[
Frank
Freeman]
[
Jessica Dixon in
Mexican costume]
[
Jessica Dixon with
Mexican ensemble], by Stagg
Duncan Sisters, 2 photographs and newspaper image,
1920s-1950s, matted together
"F.B.O. presents
Fred Thompson and
his remarkable horse Silver King in 'Thundering Hoofs'",
poster, Film Booking Offices (color
photocopy), 1924
"
Fanny Brice as Baby
Snooks", cut-out figure,
, 16 in., with Tums ad and instructions
on verso, 1950
"The Four Step Brothers, America's foremost dancing
quartet ", Marcus Glaser, Charles Hogan Agency, Chicago
"Harry Qubey's Dog Circus" (reproduction)
"Hellzapoppin'" starring Olsen and Johnson with
Martha Raye,
(modern reproduction), 1941
(from the Olsen and Johnson collection)
"The Jewess! Or, The Council of Constance."
, Boston Museum playbill, approx.
19 x 9 in., ca. 1850s
Minstrel show sign - no text
"The New Ravel, Humpty-Dumpty",
, cardboard poster, ca. 1900
"
Paul Wenzel, producing
original, clown-walk-arounds", Charles Hogan Agency, Chicago
Standard Theatre program (New York, week ending
), Apr 20,
1889
"Twelve new Gibson Girls, hitherto unpublished", red
portfolio cover, lacking original print contents
(received with Dixon-Freeman collection)
"The 'Two Black Crows': pitiful end of one of the Moran
and Mack team of popular merrymakers recalls some of the jokes and funny
dialogues which amused Americans for many years." (
American Weekly article,
1937)
"Vaudeville's High-Water Mark - All-Star
Bill Houdini Frank McIntyre Joe Cook ",
playbill, 1922
"Willie, West & McGinty",
, George A. Hamid
and Son, 1940s
box
24
Mae West,
, Paramount poster mounted on particle
board, 26.5 x 20 in., 1931
box
Oversize Storage
Color lithograph posters,
, approx. 40 x 80
in. each, 1907-08
Clown heads (2 posters)
Dancing girls (3 posters)
Somersaulting bicycle act (1 poster)
Oversize Storage
Posters
"George Primrose and His Minstrels / Olsen & Johnson /
", Crystal playbill, 42 x 14 in.
"'Skipper' Don Mills / The Four Gondoliers / Blib and Blob
/ ",
1934 playbill, 3 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. 4
in.
(received as part of the Gondoliers/Ricci collection)
"Pat Rooney, Jr. / George & Dixie, Radio Stars / other
big acts - screen: Sailors On Leave",
ca. 1941 playbill
"Salem Paramount / Salem Empire, New Year's Eve Mammoth",
ca. 1940 playbill
"Vaudeville Revue featuring Follies stars Buster West &
Co.",
ca. 1940 playbill
"Fort Massacre, starring Joel McCrea",
1958 movie poster
This series encompasses popular sheet music from the late 1890s to
the mid-1940s, as well as two opera librettos from 1859 and the 1920s. Most are
the original item; a few are color photocopies. They are arranged
alphabetically by title. Several are associated with shows such as the Ziegfeld
Follies. Each features images of one or more performers on the cover.
Sheet music can also be found in the Performers files and in
individual or family collections, particularly the Dixon-Freeman
collection.
box
folder
25
1
Librettos
Norma, composed by
[Vincenzo]
Bellini (Ditson & Co.'s standard opera libretto, 28 pp.)
1859
Die Walküre, a musical drama in three acts, by
Richard Wagner;
English version by Charles
Henry Meltzer; pub.
by Fred. Rullman, Inc. (New York); libretto, for Metropolitan Opera House Grand
Opera
ca. 1920s
25
2
Sheet Music, A
After All (Lee S. Roberts, lyric J. Will Callahan)
1919
After the Ball (Charles K. Harris)
1920
Ain't She Sweet? (Milton Ager, lyric Jack Yellen)
1927
Album of Bert Williams Famous Song Hits
1905, 1932 - 2 copies
All Alone Monday from The Ramblers (Harry Ruby, lyric Bert
Kalmar)
1926
All She Does Is Follow them Around (Maurice Abraham, lyric
Grant Clarke)
1914
All I Want Is You (Benny Davis, Sidney Clare, Harry Akst)
1927
Alma (Jean Briquet, English lyric George V. Hobart -
translated from Alma, Where Do You Live? Alma Wo Wohnst Du, German lyric Adolf
Philipp)
1910
Along the Rocky Road to Dublin (Bert Grant, lyric Joe Young)
1915
Always Be Honey to Me (Jeff Branen, Arthur Lange, Max Prival)
1915
Always in My Heart [Forever on My Mind] (J. Fred Coots, lyric
Roy Turk)
1932
Am I Blue? (Harry Akst, lyric Grant Clarke) from On with the
Show
1929
And Then (Herman Paley, lyric Alfred Bryan)
1913
Are You Sorry? (Milton Ager, lyric Benny Davis)
1925
Are You Lonesome To-night? (Roy Turk and Lou Handman)
1927
Arizona Stars Song (Carl Rupp, lyric George Little)
1923
At Sundown [When Love Is Calling Me Home] (Walter Donaldson)
1927
At the End of the Broken Down Trail (Fred Rose)
1931
25
3
Sheet Music, B - D
Back in the Old Sunday School (Phillips H. Lord, May Singhi
Breen, Peter DeRose)
1932
Back in Your Own Back Yard (Al Jolson, Billy Rose, Dave
Dreyer)
1928
Beside an Open Fireplace (Paul Denniker, Will Osborne)
1929
Boogie Woogie on W.C. Handy's St. Louis Blues (Earl Hines)
1914, 1942, 1945
Boston Town (Felix Rice, John Rehauser, lyric Wilbur Mack)
1907
Breezin Along with the Breeze (Haven Gillespie, Seymour
Simons, Richard A. Whiting)
1926
By the River Sainte Marie (Harry Warren, lyric Edgar Leslie)
1931
Call Me Darling, Call Me Sweetheart, Call Me Dear (Sag Mir
Darling, English lyric Dorothy Dick)
1931 (German music and lyric Bert Reisfeld,
Mart Fryberg, Rolf Marbot)
Cheerful Little Earful from Sweet and Low (Harry Warren,
lyric Ira Gershwin, Billy Rose)
1930
Cross My Heart, Mother [I Love You] (Jack McCoy, Sam
Williams, lyric Al Piantadosi)
1925
Crying for You (Ned Miller, Chester Cohn)
1923
Dinah (Harry Akst, lyric Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young)
1925
Dreamy Melody (Ted Koehler, Frank Magine, C. Naset)
1922
Drifting (Gertrude Lincoff, lyric Max Siegel)
1930
25
4
Sheet Music, E - F
Eddie Cantor Song and Joke Book for
1934
Feather Your Nest [Emplumez le Nid] (Kendis Brockman, Howard
Johnson, French lyric A. Bollaert)
1920
Five Salted Peanuts (Charlie Abbott)
1945
Follow the Swallow (Ray Henderson, lyric Billy Rose, Mort
Dixon)
1924
Footlight Favorites (Frank Banta)
1897
Forgetting (Ray Mitchell)
1927
Forgive Me (Milton Ager, lyric Jack Yellen)
1927
Forgive Me (Milton Ager, lyric Jack Yellen)
1927 (different cover)
Francis & Day's Album of Harry Lauder's Popular Songs
1905
25
5
Sheet Music, G - H
The Gaby Glide (Louis A. Hirsh, lyric Harry Pilcer)
1911
Garden of My Dreams, from Ziegfeld Follies (Louis A. Hirsh,
Dave Stamper, lyric Gene Buck)
1918
The Gem Dance Folio for 1932 (Elliot Shapiro)
1932
Gloomy Moon (Harry Geise)
1924
Go As Far As You Like, Kid (W. Percival Kelgard, lyric Will
H. Smith)
1909
Good-night My Own Love (Jean Schwartz, lyric Stanislaus
Stange and William Jerome), from The Musical Gems of F.C. Whitney's Piff! Paff!
Pouf! A Musical Cocktail
1904
Good Night Nurse (W. Raymond Walker, lyric Thomas J. Gray)
1912
Gypsy Fiddles (Allie Wrubel)
1933
Half a Moon [Is Better Than No Moon], from Honeymoon Lane
(Herbert Reynolds, Eddie Dowling, James F. Hanley)
1926
Hasta Manana [Until Tomorrow] (Al Hegbom, Egbert Van Alstyne,
lyric Haven Gillespie)
1924
Hello My Dearie, from Ziegfeld Follies (Dave Stamper, lyric
Gene Buck)
1917
Hello Evening Star (Jack Scholl, Henry Lodge, Emil Seidel)
1932
Here I Am (Ray Henderson, lyric B.G. de Sylvia, Lew Brown)
1926
Honolulu Eyes (Violinsky, lyric Howard Johnson)
1921
The Hours I Spent with You (Little Jack Little, lyric Stan
Lewis, Joe Young)
1927
Hush-a-Bye (Robert E. Spencer, lyric Frank X. Galvin)
1926
25
6
Sheet Music, I
I Can't Give You Anything But Love [Baby], from Lew Leslie's
Blackbirds of 1928 (Jimmy McHugh, lyric Dorothy Fields)
1928 (lacks insert leaf, only has last page
of the score)
I Love a Lassie [Ma Scotch Bluebell] (Harry Lauder, Gerald
Grafton)
1906
I Love Me - I'm Wild About Myself (Will Mahoney)
1923
I Love You - That's One Thing I Know (L. Wolfe Gilbert,
Anatol Friedland)
1915
I Miss a Little Miss [Who Misses Me in Sunny Tennessee] (J.
Fred Coots, lyric Tot Seymour)
1930
I Wonder Who's Dancing with You To-Night (Ray Henderson,
lyric Mort Dixon, Billy Rose)
1924
If I Could Be with You (Henry Creamer, Jimmy Johnson)
1926
If My Love Could Talk (Harry Kogen, lyric Lou Holzer)
1935
If You Had All the World and Its Gold (Albert Piantados,
lyric Bartley Costello, Harry Edelheit)
1916
I'll Keep On Loving You (Joseph B. Carey)
1916
I'm a Lonesome Melody (George W. Meyer, lyric Joe Young)
1915
I'm As Happy As Can Be (Hazel Graves, lyric Tell Taylor)
1926
I'm Crazy 'Bout the Turkey Trot (George W. Meyer, lyric Joe
Goodwin)
1911
I'm Glad I Can Make You Cry (Charles R. McCarron, Carey
Morgan)
1918
I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover (Harry Woods, lyric Mort
Dixon)
1927
I'm Sorry That I Let That Gentleman In (Wilfred Herbert,
lyric Jean Charez)
1902 (color photocopy)
I'm Through [Shedding Tears Over You] (Edwin J. Weber, lyric
Karyl Norman)
1922
I'm Waiting in Dreamland for You (W.R. Williams)
1921
In a Little Spanish Town (Mabel Wayne, lyric Lewis and Young)
1926
In My Hide-Away (K. L. Binford)
1932
In My Indiana Home (Larry Shay, lyric Harry Harris)
1929
An Innocent Young Maid, from In Wall Street (Richard Carle,
Maurice Levi, lyric Richard Carle)
1899
It All Depends On You (B.G. De Sylva, Lew Brown, Ray
Henderson)
1926
It Had to Be You (Isham Jones, lyric Gus Kahn)
1924
It's Never Too Late to Be Sorry (Jos. A. Burke, lyric James
E. Dempsey)
1918
I've Got Rings on My Fingers (Maurice Scott, lyric Weston and
Barnes)
1909
I've Got Everything I Want But You (Henry I. Marshall, lyric
Marion Sunshine)
1913
25
7
Sheet Music, J - L
Jigs and Reels, in two volumes, vol. I, academic edition
undated
Jimmy Valentine (Gus Edwards, lyric Edward Madden)
1910
Just an Old Bouquet [of a Bye-Gone Day] (Lew Porter, Harry
Edelbert, Mel Ball)
1928
Just Cause I Lub Yo (Charles F. Gall, lyric Kate Thyson Mann)
1908 [color photocopy]
Laugh! Clown! Laugh! (Ted Fiorito, lyric Lewis and Young)
1928
Let Me Spend the Journey's End with You (Billy Baskette)
1926
Let Us Waltz As We Say Goodbye (Art L. Beiner)
1925
Limehouse Blues (Philip Braham, lyric Douglas Furber)
1922
Little Brown Hut in the Hills (Ethwell "Eddie" Hanson)
1926
Little Darling Marguerite (Eliza Doyle Smith)
1919
Little Rag Baby Doll (Lewis F. Muir, lyric L. Wolfe Gilbert)
1913
Log Cabin Lullaby (Cal De Voll)
1926
London Bridge Is Falling Down on the Isle of Childhood Dreams
(Harry I. Robinson, lyric Louis Robinson)
1923
Lonesome [for You] (Earl Smith, Tell Taylor)
1925
Long, Lean, Lanky Letty (Sydney Grant)
1914
Looking at the World Thru Rose Colored Glasses (Tommy Malie
and Jimmy Steiger)
1926
box
folder
26
1
Sheet Music, M
Madeira (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, M. K. Jerome)
1925
Make-Believe, from Show Boat (Jerome Kern, lyric Oscar
Hammerstein)
1927
Mammy's Little Coal Black Rose (Richard A. Whiting, lyric
Raymond Egan)
1916
Mammy's Lullaby (Pete Bontsema, Julius Peto, Marty Jacobi,
lyric Al Cameron, Julius Seidor)
1929
Marta, Rambling Rose of the Wildwood (Moises Simons, arr.
Rosamond Johnson, English lyric L. Wolfe Gilbert [also in Spanish]
1931
Martha: Just a Plain Old Fashioned Name (Joe L. Sanders)
1922
Mem-o-ries (Harry H. Williams, lyric Morgan Brown)
1914
Mickey (Neil Moret, lyric Harry Williams)
1918
Mister Five by Five (Don Raye, Gene De Paul)
1942
Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean, from Ziegfeld Follies 1922
(Ed Gallagher, Al Shean)
1922
Moments with You (Nat Shilkret, lyric Jack Yellen)
1928
Momsy (Jack Yellen, Ed "Nemo" Roth, Dave Ringle)
1927
Moonbeam Kiss Her for Me (Harry Woods, lyric Mort Dixon)
1927
Moonlight and Roses [Bring Mem'ries of You] (Edwin H. Lemare,
Ben Black, Neil Moret)
1925
My Isle of Golden Dreams (Walker Blaufuss, lyric Gus Kahn)
1919
My Sin (B. G. De Sylva, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson)
1929
My Song of the Nile (Al Bryan, George W. Meyer)
1929 (with 15 other songs; untitled
compilation with star portraits)
My Twilight Queen (Lou Hirsh, lyric Jean Havez)
1907
26
2
Sheet Music, O - R
Oh By Jingo! Oh By Gee! You're the Only Girl for Me (Albert
Von Tilzer, lyric Lew Brown)
1919
Oh, Donna Clara (J. Petersburgski, lyric Beda; English
version Irving Caesar)
1930
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly I'm in Love, from Zeigfeld
Follies (Ernest Brener, lyric Olson and Johnson)
1923
Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh (Abe Olman, lyric Ed Rose)
1917 [Olman portrait on the cover]
Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh (Abe Olman, lyric Ed Rose)
1917 [different edition, flapper on the
cover]
Only a Rose You Once Gave Me (H.C. Weasner)
1926
Only a Weaver of Dreams (Ethwell Eddie Hanson)
1924
Pal of My Cradle Days (Al Piantadosi, lyric Marshall
Montgomery)
1925
Peg O' My Heart (Fred Fischer, lyric Alfred Bryan)
1913
Poor Butterfly, from The Big Show at the New York Hippodrome
(Raymond Hubbell, lyric John L. Golden)
1916
Put Away a Little Ray of Golden Sunshine for a Rainy Day
(Fred E. Ahlert, lyric Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young)
1924
Put Away a Little Ray of Golden Sunshine for a Rainy Day
(Fred E. Ahlert, lyric Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young)
1924 (different edition)
Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey [I Never Knew Any Girl Like
You] (Albert Von Tilzer, lyric Junie McCree)
1910
Rae! Rae! Rae! (John C. Rundback) music section, New York
American and Journal
July 8, 190[6] [color
photocopy]
Reaching for the Moon (Benny Davis, Jesse Greer)
1926
Rememb'ring, from Topsy and Eva (Duncan Sisters)
1923
River, Stay 'Way from My Door (Harry Woods, lyric Mort Dixon)
1931
Roam On My Little Gypsy Sweetheart (Francis Wheeler, Irving
Kahal, Ted Snyder)
1927
Rocky Mountain Rose (M. K. Jerome, lyric Joan Jasmyn, Wm.
Tracey)
1931
Roll Along Prairie Moon (Ted Fierito, Harry MacPherson,
Albert Von Tilzer)
1935
A Rose and a Kiss, from La Paloma (Mabel Wayne, lyric Bennée
Russell)
1931
Rose of Washington Square (James F. Hanley, lyric Ballard
Macdonald)
1920
26
3
Sheet Music, S
Save Your Sorrow [for To-morrow] (Al Sherman, lyric B.G. De
Sylva)
1925
Shanghai Honeymoon (Wm. L. Shockley, Chas. J. Hausman, Lester
Melrose)
1926
Side by Side (Harold Dixon, lyric Claude Sacre)
1922
Side by Side (Harry Woods)
1927
A Smile Will Go a Long Long Way (Benny Davis, Harry Akst)
1923
Soft Boiled Ballads: A Collection of Heart-wrecking Songs (H.
W. Hanemann)
1931
Some of These Days (Shelton Brooks)
1922
Somebody's Sweetheart I Want to Be (Cobb and Edwards)
1905
Someday Soon (Edna Fischer, lyric Rosetta and Vivian Duncan)
1929
Someday Sweetheart (John C. Spikes, Benjamin Spikes)
1924
Sorry and Blue (Bob Elbel, Don Elbel)
1925
Swanee River Dreams (Wendell Words Hall, Carson J. Robison)
1924
Sweet Southern Love (Howard Johnson, Irving Bibo, Joe Darcy)
1925
Sweet Sue - Just You (Victor Young, lyric Will J. Harris)
1928
Sweet Varsity Sue from Life Begins in College (Charles
Tobias, Al Lewis, Murray Mencher)
1937
Sweetheart I'm Sorry [That I Made You Cry] (Frank Westphal,
lyric Charley Newman)
1928
26
4
Sheet Music, T - V
Take Me to the Midnight Cake Walk Ball (Eddie Cox, Arthur
Jackson, Maurice Abraham)
1915
Talking to the Moon (Billy Baskette, George A. Little)
1926
That's Some Love (George M. Cohan)
1908
That's Why You Make Me Cry (Joe Verges, Henri Therrien, Irwin
LeClere)
1923
There's Something Nice About Everyone But There's Everything
Nice About You (Pete Wendling, lyric Arthur Terker, Alfred Bryan)
1927
This Is My Love Song (Joe Burke, lyric Al Dubin)
1931
This Is the Life (Irving Berlin)
1914
To Think I Thought So Much of You and You Thought So Little
of Me (Jack Little, lyric Tommie Malie)
1924
To-Night You Belong to Me (Lee David, lyric Billy Rose)
1926
Trading Smiles (Don Ramsay)
1907
'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream (Rennie Cormack, lyric John J.
O'Brien, Al Dubin)
1916
Under the Moon (Ev. E. Lyn, Francis Wheeler, Ted Snyder)
1927
Underneath the Stars with You (Nick Lucas, lyric Sam H.
Stept)
1927
The Victor Dance Folio, no.3
1907
26
5
Sheet Music, W - Y
Waitin' for the Evenin' Mail [Sittin' On the Inside, Lookin'
at the Outside] (Billy Baskettee)
1923 (2 copies)
Waitin' for the Moon (Sam Lerner, lyric Joe Brown)
1925
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry? (Walter Donaldson, Abe
Lyman)
1926
When I Was the Dandy and You Were the Belle (Lou Handman and
Dave Dreyer, lyric Herman Ruby)
1924
When I Wore My Daddy's Brown Derby [and You Wore Your
Mother's Blue Gown] (Max Rich, lyric Harry Pease, Chas O'Flynn)
1931
When It's Apple Blossom Time in Normandy (Mellor Gifford and
Trevor)
1912
When It's Lamp Lightin' Time in the Valley (Joe Lyons, Sam C.
Hart, The Vagabonds (Harold - Dean - Curt)
1933
When the Chapel Bells Were Ringing (Clarence Gaskill, lyric
Cal De Voll)
1931
When You Come to the End of the Day (Frank Westphal, lyric
Gus Kahn)
1929
When You're in Love (Walter Donaldson, Walter Blaufuss)
1926
Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?
(George W. Meyer, lyric Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young)
1916
Where the Mill Stream Winds Its Way (Harold Dixon, lyric
Claude Sacre)
1923
Where the Song Birds Sing "Good Mornin' (Ed East, W.R.
Williams)
1931
Where the Shy Little Violets Grow (Gus Kahn, Harry Warren)
1928
Wonderful One (Paul Whiteman, Ferdie Grofé, adapted from a
theme by Marshall Nielan; lyric Dorothy Terriss)
1923
Wait You Believe in Me (Lester Palmer, Jess Williams)
1926
With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming (Mack Gordon, Harry
Revel)
1934 (photocopy)
Would You Take Me Back Again? (Peter De Rose, Alfred Solman)
1931
You Can't Make a Fool Out of Me (Egbert Van Alstyne, lyric
Paul Cunningham)
1923
You'll Always Be the Same Sweet Baby (A. Seymour Brown)
1916
You're Lucky to Me, from Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930
(Eubie Blake, lyric Andy Razaf)
1930
You're Tired of Me (Don York, Jack Sadler, Pauline Brown)
1931
This series comprises primarily magazines, with some other items
such as calendars and catalogues grouped here due to similar format. The titles
are loosely grouped in pre-1950 and post-1950 sections, with titles represented
by single or a few issues presented first and organized alphabetically by
title. The groupings are based in part on size; the last two boxes are
larger-format titles. Within each title, the issues are organized
chronologically. There are also some tear sheets and an oversize article.
Some periodicals can also be found in the Performers files.
Periodicals,
pre-1950
box
folder
27
1
Conkey's One-to-fill of
(photocopy), 1920
27
2
Conkey's One-to-fill of
(photocopy), 1921
27
3
Conkey's One-to-fill of
(photocopy), 1923
27
4
Liberty
(lacks
cover; half of p.33-34 cut out), Nov 16, 1929
27
5
The Official Vaudeville Guide,
v.3, no.2
, (1927)
27
6
Radio Stars
, Jan. 1931
27
7
Theatre Arts
,
,
Sep. 1940 Dec. 1940 Jan. 1951
Periodicals,
pre-1950
box
folder
28
1
Loose tearsheets, reproductions
, ca.
1916-1960s
28
2
"The future of vaudeville" by Newman Levy; "The
composer of 'Alexander's Ragtime Band'" by Irving Berlin, as told to Russel
Crouse (first page only). Unidentified magazine (
), pp. 75-80., 1911
28
3
The Billboard: the theatrical digest and
show world review
Oct. 13, 1928
The Billboard: the world's foremost
amusement weekly
Feb. 26, 1938 - cover
Fred Allen
box
folder
28
4
Broadway Weekly
Sep. 21, 1904 -
special vaudeville number
28
5
The Dance Magazine: glorifying the
dance
Nov. 1927 - cover Maryon
Vadie
28
6
The Fra: a journal of
affirmation
v.5, no.3 (
June 1910) - the
vaudeville number
28
7
Gallery of Players, from The Illustrated
American
no.2 (
1894), ed. Charles Fdc. Nirdlinger
no.3 (
1894), ed. Marwell Hall
28
8
Paris Qui Chante
, 4e année, no. 189 (
Sept. 2, 190-)
28
9
Pictures of Movie Stars, with
stories by Mae Tinée (Racine: Whitman Pub. Co.,
), 1937
28
10
The Player: The official organ of The
White Rats of America, Inc.
v.1, no.14 (
Mar. 11, 1910)
v.2, no.34 (
July 29, 1910)
v.4, no.33 (
July 21, 1911)
Anniversary & Christmas number (
Dec. 22, 1911)
Periodicals,
pre-1950
box
folder
29
1
Stage: the magazine of after-dark
entertainment
Dec. 1936 - cover
Fanny Brice
Jan. 1938 - cover
Ed Wynn
Mar. 1938 - cover
Beatrice
Lillie
Dec. 1940
29
2
The Theatre (pub. by Meyer Bros.
& Co., New York)
v.5, no.49 (
Mar. 1905) - cover
Dustin Farnum as
"The Virginian"
v.5, no.52 (
June 1905) - cover
Miss Eleanor
Robson, in "She Stoops to Conquer"
29
3
Theatre Magazine: for the lovers of stage
and screen (
), Mar. 1927
29
4
Variety Daily: News of the show
world (published in Hollywood)
v.33, no.38, sec. 2 (
Oct. 29, 1941)
29
5
New York Star
v.15, no.26, whole no.390 (
Mar. 22, 1916)
v.16, no.16, whole no.406 (
July 12, 1916)
The Vaudeville News
v.9, no.25 (
Dec. 26, 1924)
The Vaudeville News and New York Star
v.18, no.16 (
Oct. 13, 1928)
v.19, no.4 (
Jan. 19, 1929)
v.19, no.6 (
Feb. 2, 1929)
v.19, no.22 (
May 25, 1929)
box
folder
29
6
Wirth and Hamid, Fair Booking Inc. -
world's greatest attractions
, ca. 1932
Periodicals,
pre-1950
box
30
The Illustrated London
News
Oct. 26, 1901
Apr 11, 1903 (lacks
front cover)
Apr. 16, 1904
Oct. 1, 1904;
Oct. 8, 1904;
Oct. 22, 1904
The New York Dramatic
Mirror
Note: not available for viewing -
extremely fragile, and most issues are partial rather than complete.
Mar. 5, 1898;
Mar. 12, 1898;
Mar. 19, 1898;
Mar. 26, 1898
Apr. 2, 1898;
Apr. 9, 1898;
Apr. 16, 1898
June 18, 1898
July 16, 1898;
July 23, 1898
July 30, 1898
Nov. 15, 1902;
Nov. 22, 1902 (1 sheet
from each only)
Variety (published in New
York)
v.10, no.3 (
Mar. 28, 1908)
v.10, no.4 (
Apr. 4, 1908)
v.10, no.8 (
May 2, 1908)
v.10, no.13 (
June 6, 1908)
v.11, no.1 (
June 8, 1908)
v.11, no.3 (
June 27, 1908)
v.14, no.7 (
Apr. 24, 1909)
v.15, no.7 (
July 24, 1909)
v.15, no.8 (
July 31, 1909)
v.18, no.13 (
June 4, 1910)
v.19, no.2 (
June 18, 1910)
v.23, no.4 (
July 1, 1911)
v.23, no.12 (
Aug. 26, 1911)
Variety (published in New
York)
v.49, no.7 (
Jan. 11, 1918)
v.50, no.7 (
Apr. 12, 1918)
Periodicals,
post-1950
box
folder
31
1
Loose article: "Fabulous Fanny" [
Fanny Brice], by
Norman Katkov.
Ladies' Home Journal (
), pp.
48-49,123-129., Jan. 1953
31
2
Loose article: "Refugee from Burlesque" [
Phil Silvers], by
Stanley Frank.
The Saturday Evening Post (
), pp.
40-41,146-150., Jan. 1953
31
3
Bloody Beautiful
issue 1 (
2000) - includes 7-inch red vinyl album of
songs from 1916, performed in 1967/1972 by
Ian Whitcomb
issue 2 (
2001?)- includes 10-inch blue vinyl
marbleized album of songs by
Al Bowlly,
Lilian Harvey
&
Willie Firtsch,
Sophie Tucker, and
Durium Dance Band /
Fred Douglas
(1928-36)
31
4
Life
Oct. 23, 1950 - cover
"TV gets top comics -
Ed Wynn"
Mar. 18, 1957 - cover
"
Beatrice Lillie,
girls from New Ziegfeld Follies"
Apr. 18, 1969 - cover
"
Mae West going strong
at 75"
31
5
Life
Feb. 19, 1971 - cover
"Everybody's just wild about nostalgia"
Dec. 31, 1971 - cover
"The year in pictures 1971"
Feb. 1980 - cover
"Whatever became of Mary Astor and other lost stars?"
31
6
Look
Apr. 10, 1951- cover
"TV's old-new stars prove that laughs begin at 40"
31
7
Paris Match
Jan. 15, 1972- cover
"Chevalier: 30 pages"
Periodicals,
post-1950
box
folder
32
1
Bijou
Apr. 1977
32
2
The Call Boy: The official journal of the
British Music Hall Society
Lompoc Picayune-Intelligencer: the
official newsletter of the W.C. Fields Fan Club
issue no.8 (
spring 1996)
issue no.9 (
summer 1996)
issue no.10 (
fall 1996/winter 1997)
issue no.11 (
spring 1997)
issue no.12 (
winter 1998)
issue no.15 (
winter 2000)
issue no.16 (
winter/spring 2001)
32
9
Mad
no.430 (
June 2003) - special
edition: Boston Comedy & Movie Festival
32
10
Marquee: the journal of the Theatre
Historical Society
v.9, no.2 (2nd quarter
1977) - reproduction of
Balaban & Katz Magazine,
v.1, no.23 (
Aug 17, 1925),
featuring the Uptown Theatre in Chicago (photocopy)
v.35, no.4 (4th quarter
2003)
v.36, no.1 (1st-4th quarters
2004), and supplement to no. 2
32
11
Modern Maturity
July/Aug.
2001
32
12
Movie Crazy: a newsletter for people who
love movies
issue no.17 (
summer 2006)
issue no.18 (
autumn 2006)
issue no.19 (
winter 2007)
issue no.20 (
spring 2007)
Back issues available as of Autumn, 2006 (flyer)
Periodicals,
post-1950
box
folder
33
1
Nostalgia Illustrated: the pleasures of
the past
v.2, no.4 (
Apr. 1973) - lacks
cover
33
2
Old News
Free sample copy
Mar.-Nov.
1999
33
3
Old News
Jan./Feb.-Dec.
2000
33
4
Old News
Jan./Feb.-July/Aug.
2001
Periodicals,
post-1950
box
folder
34
1
On Tap: a publication of The International
Tap Association
v.15, no.5 (
Apr./May/June
2005)
v.16, no.1 (
July/Aug.
2005)
34
2
The Passing Show: newsletter of the
Shubert Archive
v.22, no.2 (
2002)
v.23 (
2003)
v.24 (
2004/2005)
34
3
Past Times: the nostalgia entertainment
newsletter
no.30 (
Jan.? 1998)
no.31 (
Apr.? 1998)
no.33 (
Nov.? 1998)
no.34 (
Apr.? 1999)
no.35 (
June? 1999)
34
4
Puppetry International: the puppet in
contemporary theatre, film & media
issue 15 (
spring/summer 2004)
issue 16 (
fall/winter 2004)
issue 17 (
spring/summer 2005)
issue 18 (
fall/winter 2005)
issue 19 (
spring/summer 2006)
34
5
SooNipi Magazine
summer 2007
34
6
Theatre: 1983 engagement calendar;
based on pictures from the Harvard Theatre Collection (New York: Abbeville
Press)
34
7
This Was Show Business
unnumbered (
1956)
34
8
The Whole Forty Year Old Hippie
Catalog
unnumbered (
1978)
34
9
Wild About Harry: the quarterly newsletter
of The Harry Langdon Society
This collection consists primarily of three albums of text with
photocopied and digitally printed images documenting the family's history in
variety and vaudeville, 1904 to 1930, assembled by Mark Balasi, the grandson of
Victor Sr. and Paula Balasic. Photocopies of sheet music from ca. 1920-1927
that were used by the family in their European and American acrobatic acts, and
by Maria Holz in her earlier solo variety act, are included. Most of these are
arrangements by S. Geiger, a "kapellmeister" in Vienna. There are also two
vintage photographs.
Biographical Note
This series documents the entertainment career of Victor and Paula
(Enders) Balasic and their sons Alfred and Victor, Jr. Paula's parents ran the
Circus Enders in Hungary until 1905. The Balasic family toured throughout
Europe and Russia as a circus and then an acrobatic variety act known as The
Great Merkels or The Five Merkels (1904-1915), The Great Enders (1915), and The
5 Balasis (1916-1924). The family toured the United States in 1923 and remained
there. Following Victor Sr. and Paula's retirement around 1925, the sons
continued to perform along with Alfred's wife, Maria Holz, as the Balasi Trio
(1925-1927), and finally as Florence Micareme & Co. (1927-1929), featuring
Maria. As the Balasi Trio, the act featured a finger stand by Alfred and a
grand finale of a head-to-head vault sequence with Victor as the vaulter, hence
their byline "The Boys with the Steel Heads."
box
folder
39
1
Correspondence from Mark Balasi
, 1999
39
2
"The Balasis, a Vaudeville Family" - article for the
Vaudeville Times
,
39
3
The Balasi's on Stage
, 1990s
39
4
The Balasic Family: A Vaudeville Album
, 1990s
39
5
The Balasic Family Vaudeville Album
, 1994
39
6
Balasic Family Vaudeville Album, vol. II: Sheet Music
, 1999
The collection consists of contracts and documents, photographs,
programs, correspondence, typescripts, and sheet music related to the
performances of Jessica Dixon and her husband, Frank Freeman. Several parts of
the collection refer to their "train sketch" production, "A Minute Late." There
are numerous publicity photographs of themselves and other vaudeville
performers, and glass transparencies used for publicity in theaters. There is
also a substantial sheet music collection.
A memo booklet includes entries by Jessica Dixon of her tour in
Europe in 1919-20, with expenses, songs performed at various camps, names and
addresses of some servicemen she met, and a handwritten score for "Keep the
home-fires burning", as well as later entries of poetry, lyrics, and
inspirational texts, with some entries in a different hand. There are
handwritten chronologies for both Dixon and Freeman. There is an interview,
clipping, and list of film and television credits for their daughter, the
actress Kathleen Freeman.
Biographical Note
This collection documents the careers of Jessica Dixon (b.1888), a
soprano singer known as "The Overseas Girl" at the end of World War I as she
entertained American troops in England, France and post-war Germany; and Frank
Freeman (b.1884), "The Minstrel Man," who headed Freeman's Forty Musical
Minstrels in 1918. From 1922 to 1930 they toured together as Dixon &
Freeman, described as "The Singer & The Minstrel" or "The Overseas Girl and
That Minstrel Fellow", performing musical theater. They performed a form of
blackface called "black and tan" (him black, her tan). In the mid-1920s they
identified themselves as The Van Gordons. Their young daughter Kathleen
(1919-2001) accompanied them on the road, and began performing with them at the
age of two. Dixon subsequently taught voice in Los Angeles; Freeman served as
president of California Artists' Protective Association.
box
folder
40
1
Chronologies
40
2
Papers related to Kathleen Freeman
40
3
Clippings
40
4
Pages from
Sacramento Daily Union,
March 19, 1864
Note: extremely fragile, not to be removed
from Mylar housing; has reference photocopy
40
5
Contracts,
1923-1929
40
6
Correspondence,
1919-1930
40
7
Correspondence, Actors Union of America/American Artists'
Federation,
1929
40
8
Documents,
1888-1943
40
9
Maquette for advertising flyer, "A Dark
Honeymoon"
40
10
Papers, miscellaneous
40
11
Periodicals and tearsheets
40
12
Programs,
1913-1934
Gamut Auditorium, Wallis School of Dramatic Art (Los Angeles)
- "Cousin Kate",
Sep. 15, 1913
Gamut Auditorium, Wallis School of Dramatic Art (Los Angeles)
- "The Silver Snuff Box",
Dec. 1, 1913
Mason Opera House (Los Angeles),
Sep. 4, 1916
Keel Klub (Long Beach?) - Freeman's 40 Musical Minstrels and
Vodevil,
ca. 1918
Constance Alexandre, mezzo soprano - promotional flyer,
1920
Santa Fe Reading Room (Shopton, Iowa) - "The Philharmonic
Four" (with Jessica Dixon),
Feb. 9, 1920
The Huntington (San Marino, Calif.?) - Sunday Evening Concert
by the Huntington Artist Ensemble,
Mar. 7, 1920
This series comprises contracts, photographs, handwritten scores,
notes and clippings for stage "gags" and dialogues, and stage scripts by Keith
and others. The photographs are mostly of Keith and his partner and companion,
Maude Parker. There is a scrapbook of script notes and collected clippings of
jokes, and several notebooks with script notes. The few handwritten musical
scores are for performance "cues."
The bulk of the collection consists of stage scripts, some
handwritten, most typed, several by public typists in New York City. Most are
undated; those with copyright dates noted range from 1911 to 1920. There is a
substantial collection of contracts representing the various circuits that
Keith and Parker performed on. The collection was given to the American
Vaudeville Museum in 2001 by Keith's niece, Betty S. Bannister, whose mother
was Keith's sister. She also contributed a biography and a collection
inventory.
Biographical Note
Cato Sells Keith (1882-1951) was born in Iowa and grew up in Helena,
Montana, where his father was newspaper editor. At eighteen he moved to Butte
and worked as a reporter. By the 1910s he was in the east pursuing a career in
vaudeville, and writing stage scripts either himself or jointly; his most
frequent writing collaborators as documented in this collection were Frank L.
Whittier and Bessie Warren. During the 1920s he toured various vaudeville
circuits with Maude Parker, as "Keith and Parker." When the demand for
vaudeville declined, Keith tried unsuccessfully to find work in Hollywood. He
and Parker withdrew to a reclusive life in Montana.
box
folder
44
1
Biography, collection inventory, by
Betty
Bannister
44
2
Papers, miscellaneous
44
3
Clippings,
1914-1927
44
4
Binder and clipping ad of the Rialto (Butte,
Montana)
44
5
Contracts,
1923-1928
44
6
Photographs
44
7
Handwritten scores
44
8
Scrapbook - "Lost, Strayed and Stolen Jokes"
44
9
Typed stage script page, "Why Did I Do It"; script
fragment; "Gags" clippings
44
10
Stage script notebooks
44
11
Handwritten stage scripts, uncredited - "R. U. Married?"
and unidentified
Handwritten stage script, "My Jim" by
Ferdinand
Grahame
box
folder
45
1
Handwritten stage script - "Men Be Careful - A Study in
Colors" by
Cato S.
Keith
45
2
Handwritten stage scripts - "What Next?" by
Cato S. Keith and
Bessie Warren; "A Pair
of Schemers" by
Cato S.
Keith
45
3
Typed stage scripts, by
Cato S. Keith and
Bessie Warren - "On
the Job", "A Surprise Party" (2 copies)
45
4
Typed stage scripts, by
Cato S. Keith and
Neil E. Schaffner
- "Isn't It Killing", "Leave It to Ouija"
45
5
Typed stage scripts - "The Greater Duty" by
Chas. H. Smith and
Cato S. Keith; "Just
for Instance" by
Cato S. Keith and
Ben Barnett
45
6
Typed stage scripts - "Mr. Husband and Friend Wife" by
Cato S. Keith, "Oh
These Men" by
Cato S. Keith and
E.P.
McNamee
45
7
Typed stage scripts, by
Cato S. Keith and
Frank L. Whittier
- "A-Tell-Phone", "It Could Happen [The Omen]", "On the Job", "Our Anniversary
Dinner"
45
8
Typed stage scripts, by
Cato S. Keith and
Frank L. Whittier
- "Men Be Careful" (2 versions); by
Cato S. Keith only,
"Men Be Careful" (2 copies)
45
9
Typed stage scripts, by
Cato S. Keith and
Frank L. Whittier
- "Sherlock the Second [Case for Sherlock]" (2 copies)
45
10
Typed stage scripts, by
Cato S. Keith and
Frank L. Whittier
- "Professor Tightwad", "The Weapon", "The White Cat"
45
11
Typed stage scripts - "Two of a Kind" by
W.L. Lockwood, "Little
Miss Santa Claus" by
Malcolm Arthur, "The
Mysterious Mr. Why" or "The Man from Central Office" by
John Arthur
Loining, "Spike and Lizzie" (uncredited, partial?
script)
This series consists of photocopies and digital printouts of press
clippings and photographs describing the lives and careers of John and Winnie
Hennings, who performed together as The Kill Kare Kouple from 1908 through the
World War I years, and of John Hennings' subsequent work in Hollywood during
the 1920s. Some of the clippings and other photocopies relate to an island
summer community frequented by vaudeville performers, Put-In Bay, Ohio, on Lake
Erie, where the Hennings spent the summers early in their career. There are
articles and images related to the band leader Sam Pryor, his son Arthur Pryor
who performed with John Philip Sousa, and Winnie Henning's mother, Mary Baker
Hamlet.
There is also correspondence, a biographical sketch, a list of songs
composed by the couple, and an excerpt from a draft of a biography, "Back Drop:
A Vaudeville Love Story", all written by their daughter, Nancy (Hennings)
Tomlin, who contributed these materials to the American Vaudeville Museum.
Biographical Note
John Hennings (1886-1933) began performing as a young child with his
father, John Bernard Hennings, and his sister Mamie; they were known as the
Hennings Trio. His mother had performed with her sister as the Lee Sisters; his
cousin Bessie McCoy was also an entertainer, the "Yama-Yama girl." As a young
man John performed in vaudeville acts with his sister and her husband.
Winnie Hamlet (1882-1961) was the daughter of Mary Baker Hamlet and
Charles Hamlet. Her mother was a talented instrumentalist who studied with Sam
Pryor, a military band leader in St. Joseph, Missouri, where Winnie was born.
The family played locally as the Hamlet Family Band, with Winnie on cornet. At
sixteen Winnie joined The Navassar Ladies Band as a cornet player, and toured
with them for nine years. An offshoot of this group played in vaudeville
theaters, and Winnie joined them. She met John Hennings in a vaudeville
theater, and they were married in 1908.
John and Winnie named themselves the Kill Kare Kouple and developed
a popular act that included his trombone, piano and dancing, her cornet and
songs, and comic banter. He capitalized on his slender build in a humorous
manner that lent him the nickname "The Grasshopper Dancer." In 1913 they toured
with the Sarah Bernhardt tour as the top vaudeville act. In 1915 they traveled
to London where John performed in a show at the London Hippodrome, "Push and
Go!" With the flare-up of war, they performed in hospitals and elsewhere; John
also entertained troops in France and Belgium. It is possible that he was
affected by poison gas at Ypres, since he suffered chronically from pneumonia
after that. They returned to the U.S. and continued to perform in war benefits,
including with Lily Langtry.
John performed in several musical shows in the early 1920s. Winnie
was raising their daughter and missed performing herself, but she contributed a
song to John's act in "A Trial Honeymoon" and as a result their infant daughter
was included in the act. John then went to Hollywood, and in 1930 he played in
his only film,
The Poor Millionaire, directed by
Richard Talmadge. His health failed and they relocated near extended family in
St. Joseph, Missouri, where John died three years later at age forty-seven.
Winnie opened a restaurant after that, and died at the age of eighty.
box
folder
46
1
Correspondence from
Nancy (Hennings)
Tomlin
46
2
Biography (3 pages) of John and Winnie Hennings, by
Nancy (Hennings)
Tomlin
46
3
Excerpt from draft of biography, Back Drop, by
Nancy
Tomlin
46
4
Papers, miscellaneous
Thank-you in "Celtic" style handwriting from
John F. Loyd
(photocopy)
List of films by
Richard Talmadge
(photocopy)
46
5
Mary [Hamlet] -
Sam Pryor, Winnie &
Navassar Orchestra - pictures (digital and photocopy)
46
6
John Hennings -
pictures (digital and photocopy)
46
7
John and Winnie Hennings - pictures (digital and
photocopy)
46
8
Press clipping photocopies:
Sarah Bernhardt [in
"Phedre"], New York,
1913
46
9
Press clipping photocopies: "Push and Go!", London,
1915
46
10
Press clipping photocopies: "Take It From Me",
1923
46
11
Press clipping photocopies: "A Trial Honeymoon",
1924
This collection contains material related to the career of Ole Olsen
and Chic Johnson. It includes signed photographs, playbills, posters and sheet
music from Hellzapoppin. It also includes correspondence between Frank Cullen
and the daughter of Ole Olsen, Moya Olsen Lear, and his grandson, Stephen Ron
Olsen.
Biographical Note
Ole Olsen (born John Sigvard Olsen, 1892-1963) and Chic Johnson
(born Harold Ogden Johnson, 1891-1962) were originally musical entertainers
from the Midwest (Indiana and Illinois) where they met and worked together as
band mates. From there they began performing as a vaudeville comedy act. Their
revue "Hellzapoppin" became a great success on Broadway in 1938 and a motion
picture in 1941. Their comedy act did not translate well or successfully in the
Hollywood film setting; they did some television in 1949 and continued to
perform in their own revues during the early 1950s in Las Vegas, where they
eventually retired.
box
folder
47
1
Correspondence
Letters from
Moya Olsen Lear to
Frank Cullen,
1995-1999
E-mail from
Stephen Ron
Olsen to
Frank Cullen,
2002
47
2
Articles
The Milwaukee Journal - Screen and
Radio, Sunday,
July 23, 1944 (color
original and photocopy)
"Olsen & Johnson, the zaniest of the zanies" by
Charles Stumpf,
Classic Images website, accessed
Dec. 15, 1999
47
3
Publicity photographs, 1943Postcard, "Chic Johnson in Sons of
Fun",
, photo by
W. Eugene Smith (2
copies), 1941
47
4
Programs and sheet music
The Playbill for the Winter Garden
(New York)
"Hellzapoppin", beginning Monday,
July 21, 1941
"Sons O' Fun", beginning Sunday,
December 28, 1941
"Laffing Room Only", beginning Sunday,
June 24, 1945
Chicago Stage,
1945 (photocopy)
"Laffing Room Only" (souvenir flyer)
"Olsen & Johnson's Sons o' Fun", souvenir program,
ca. 1943
"Olsen & Johnson in Laffing Room Only", souvenir program,
ca. 1944
"Olsen and Johnson's New Hellzapoppin of 1940", souvenir
program
"G'Bye Now, Olsen and Johnson's New Hellzapoppin of 1941",
sheet music
"Souvenir program, Olsen and Johnson in Funzapoppin",
ca. 1949
47
5
Olsen & Johnson perpetual calendar, signed by
Moya Olsen Lear,
ca. 1999
"Hellzapoppin'" (modern reproduction of poster, for 1941
motion picture)
Note: stored in Box 23, Posters and
Oversize Items
This series comprises five items related to modern dance, most
including musical scores.
Biographical Note
Sonia Serova trained in
dance at the Wordsworth School in London, and was influenced by ancient Greek
sports and vase paintings, as a disciplined approach that countered the
then-popular trend for "aesthetic" dancing. Her style of modern dance was known
as "nature dancing." She directed the Vestoff-Serova Russian School of Dancing
in New York City, along with her husband,
Veronine Vestoff,,
who studied ballet at the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts in Moscow. A film,
Sonia Serova Dancers, was produced in
1924.
box
folder
47
6
Dance program,
Dance of the Witches: group dance for 6 babies, dance arr.
by Sonia Serova,
Dance of the Witches (reference photocopy), 1922-23 undated
47
7
Publications
Baby Work by
Sonia Serova,
undated (after 1917)
Nature Dancing: a text-book to perfect
natural movement (cover subtitle: The poetry of motion) by
Sonia Serova,
undated (after 1916)
This series comprises photographs and two scrapbooks, documenting
the career of Pearl (Dorothy Elizabeth) Hoff (1912-2003), whose stage name was
Doreen Rae. The scrapbooks contain mostly newspaper clippings, with some
photographs and other texts. There are loose photographs and a few clippings,
many of them apparently removed from another scrapbook. There is a short
biographical sketch written by her daughter, Carolyn Mooney, who contributed
these materials. (Note: This collection was originally received organized as
part of the Performers files.)
Biographical Note
Pearl Hoff's family came to Long Beach from Toronto. She first
performed at age five as "Lil" Miss Long Beach. By age seven she was performing
on the Pantages circuit and at Chautauqua shows, in Canada as well as the U.S.,
with her mother's support. She toured with vaudeville shows along with two
other girls who were friends of hers, Patty Kinney and Fredlyn (also spelled
Fredlin, Fredline, Fredaline) Singleton. She was part of the Franchon &
Marco group, which featured the singer Rose Valyda, and sang and danced as
leading soloist in their act "Baby Songs" during a year-long tour. Aida
Broadbent, who was then director for Franchon and Marco, gave Pearl dance
lessons. Her older sister, Greta (Gretna?) Murray, also performed in a
vaudeville comedy act, with her husband Billy Murray, and they ran the Oriental
Theater in North Long Beach; she died at age twenty-six. Her brother Gordon
died of tuberculosis at age 19, when Pearl was 12.
Around 1930 Pearl took on the stage name Doreen Rae. She was still
associated with Fanchon & Marco, along with a ukulele playing comedian
named Bob (Uke) Henshaw, the trapeze artists Ed and Jennie Rooney, The Four
O'Connors, and the Allison Troupe (from Berlin), in a 1931 touring show called
"Vaudeville Echoes."
Around 1935, at age twenty-three, Pearl stopped touring; she married
Robert Leland Mooney and had three children. She continued to perform in the
Long Beach area. After her husband's death in the late 1940s she worked at
Pacific Press in Los Angeles.
This collection comprises papers, photographs, and a scrapbook,
documenting the career of Nick Ricci and his musical group in the mid-1930s.
There are contracts and business correspondence, a receipt for membership in
the Chicago Federation of Musicians in 1936, and a handwritten log of income.
The photographs are mostly promotional portraits of the group; there are also
some stage shots of them as part of a larger ensemble, including their
performance with the Chef Milani show. There is a large poster (3-1/2 by 2-1/3
feet) for the "Skipper" Don Mills show featuring the Four Gondoliers as well as
"Blib and Blob" and others, from April 1934, which was originally stored folded
in the scrapbook. The collection also includes Nick Ricci's violin. These materials were donated to the American Vaudeville Museum by his sons, Larry Ricci, Paul Ricci and Henry Ricci.
Biographical Note
Nick Ricci was part of a Seattle musical group known originally as
the Four Gondoliers and later the Three Gondoliers, or simply the Gondoliers.
Two other members were Henry Ricci and Al Maletta (b.1914). Nick played violin,
and the others played accordion and clarinet / saxophone. A fourth member,
Henry Maiorano, also played accordion, but left the group sometime in 1934.
Their nicknames were Icky, Wicky, Wacky and Woo. They were still in high school
when they began performing.
Their first performance that is documented in this collection is the
Black Ball Line and Egyptian Theatre radio and stage contest in Seattle, in
August 1933. As winners of a McKesson opportunity contest, the Four Gondoliers
played in vaudeville acts with Skipper Don Mills, of Portland, around Oregon,
northern California, and Washington in early 1934. The act was called Don Mills
and His Wonder Stars, and included a dozen other performers. By mid-1934 they
were performing with Chef (Joe) Milani's cooking musicale show, in venues
including Oakland and Los Angeles. By 1936 they called themselves the Three
Ritto Brothers, and were touring the Bert Levey Circuit of Vaudeville Theatres.
They also used the name The Three Italian Street Singers.
Information about Nick Ricci's later life is not provided. Al
Maletta later moved to Yakima and started an accordion studio, according to
information from the Yakima Valley Museum.
box
folder
49
1
Papers,
1933-1936
49
2
Photographs,
1933-1936
49
3
Scrapbook,
1933-1936
49
4
Scrapbook (reference copy)
box
Oversize
Poster,
1934
box
50
Violin in case with two bows, extra parts (bridge,
strings, rosin, etc.)
This series consists of materials relating to Julia Rooney (Clinton) (1887-1990), and to a lesser degree to her brother Pat Rooney Sr. (II) (1880-1962), and his son Pat Rooney Jr. (III, or Clarence Patrick Rooney) (1909-1979). There are numerous photographs, mostly autographed publicity photos of entertainers and actors, which were given to the youngest Pat Rooney and his wife, Estelle (Wright) Rooney, and displayed in their beach front restaurant, The Dog House, on Lake Blaisdell, a New Hampshire summer vaudeville colony. There is a short family history written by Estelle Rooney; as well as clippings about Chester (Chet) Wright. Some family photographs are included, as well as two late 19th century cabinet cards of entertainers, and a silhouette cut-out apparently of Walter Clinton.
Julia Rooney's materials include a scrapbook containing clippings
about her early career with her sister Josie; her solo career from 1910 to the
teens; and her duo career with Walter Clinton (1890-1966), whom she married in
1915. Julia Rooney's other sibling performers, Mattie Rooney (Kennedy)
(1878-1950), and Pat Sr., are mentioned in the scrapbook clippings. Her papers
include the passenger list from the Lusitania from the voyage that she and
Josie took upon their return from their first European tour in June 1908, as
well as copyright documents, awards and recognitions. Performance programs are
included in the scrapbook and printed matter. The collection includes a few
items of memorabilia, such as an honorary plaque to Walter Clinton from the
Hollywood Comedy Club (1949-1961) and a trophy to Julia Rooney from the Ladies'
Comedy Club (1972).
Most of the loose clippings, documents, performance programs and
other printed matter, and a few of the photographs, relating to Julia Rooney
and her family were received stored loose within the scrapbook. The scrapbook
pages were mostly detached when received, and include three different page
styles and two sets of covers. There is a small autograph-style album
containing snapshot photographs, approximately 2-1/4 by 4-1/8 inches, of
theaters, many with "Clinton & Rooney" visible on the marquee, and some
with locations noted. There are some photographs of Pat Rooney, Sr.
Biographical Note
Pat Rooney Sr. and Julia Rooney were two of the children of the
original Pat Rooney (1884-1892), a boxer who became famous as a performer,
especially for clog dance. Julia Rooney and her siblings began performing as
children in the 1890s. Julia and her sister Josie toured as the Rooney Sisters
(1903-1910), "daughters of Pat Rooney"; their act split up when Josie married
during their second European tour. In the teens Julia became known as "The Girl
with the Million Dollar Legs." Julia and the singer and actor Walter Clinton
(1890-1966), who performed together as Clinton & Rooney, married on
Christmas Day 1915. In the 1920s they toured with an accompanying ten-piece
band. With the end of the vaudeville era around 1930 they relocated to
Hollywood, where Julia opened a dance school. She performed in Ken Murray's
Blackouts from 1942 to 1949, and appeared on television in The Sun City
Scandals at the age of 82.
Pat Rooney Jr. was the son of Julia’s brother, Pat Sr., a well-known vaudeville and Broadway dancer, and his first wife, the dancer Marion Bent. (Over the decades, the billing names of the male Rooneys changed. Pat Rooney referred originally to the grandfather, Pat Jr. to his son, and Pat III to the grandson. Sometime in the 1930s, after the public memory faded of the original Pat Rooney, his son, Pat II, simply dropped the “Jr.” from his billing and became Pat Rooney, while his son, Pat III, took the name Par Rooney Jr. The Pat Rooneys (ii and III) performed together in the 1930s in a father/son dance act. Pat (II)’s last notable engagement was a featured role in the cast of the original production of Guys and Dolls, 1950-53. Pat III largely retired from dance by 1940; he married Estelle Wright (1916-2006), whose parents, Chester A. Wright and Ola Gay Wright, were traveling wagon-show entertainers. Chet’s acts included trained dogs and birds, and marionettes. Ola sang, danced, and played mandolin and banjo. Estelle performed with her parents on the vaudeville circuit as a child. Pat and Estelle Rooney operated a hot dog stand called The Dog House in Lake Blaisdell, New Hampshire, an area that served as a summer colony for vaudeville performers, for 32 years; it closed in 1984.
Pat and Estelle Rooney collection
box
folder
51
1
Papers, miscellaneous, from and concerning Estelle
Rooney
51
2
Clippings, concerning Chester (Chet) A.
Wright
51
3
Typescript - 2 fragments, concerning Chet Wright and Ola
Gay Wright
51
4
Photographs and digital prints, of Chet Wright and The
Dog House
51
5
Photographs, bulk
, 1940s
51
6
Photographs, bulk
, 1940s
51
7
Photographs, bulk
, 1940s
51
8
Photographs, bulk
, 1940s
51
9
Photographs, bulk
, 1940s
Julia Rooney collection
box
folder
52
1
Rooney Sisters chronology,
; typed after
1966, 1903-1910
52
2
Correspondence, to
Julia
Rooney
52
3
Copyright materials
52
4
Documents
52
5
Printed matter
52
6
Printed matter
52
7
Awards and recognitions
52
8
Photographs,
(bulk
1910s-1940s), 1910s-1983
52
9
Photocopies and digital image printouts
52
10
Clippings,
- loose
clippings accompanying Julia Rooney scrapbook, 1910s-1920s
52
11
Clippings,
- loose
clippings accompanying Julia Rooney scrapbook, 1930s-1980s
52
12
Clippings fragments, from Julia Rooney
scrapbook
52
13
Julia Rooney scrapbook, part 1 - reference
photocopy
52
14
Julia Rooney scrapbook, part 2 - reference
photocopy
52
15
Julia Rooney scrapbook, part 3 - reference
photocopy
52
16
Julia Rooney album of theater photographs - reference
photocopy
Julia Rooney scrapbook,
(bulk
1906-1920s), 1892-1980s
Note: Not available for viewing due to
fragility; reference photocopy is in Box 52.
box
folder
53
1
Julia Rooney scrapbook, part 1
53
2
Julia Rooney scrapbook, part 2
53
3
Julia Rooney scrapbook, part 3
box
54
Julia Rooney album of theatre photographs,
ca. 1920s
Note: Not available for viewing due to
fragility; reference photocopy is in Box 52.
box
55
Memorabilia -
Julia Rooney and
Walter
Clinton
Engraved copper plate, for Julia Rooney business card
Key chain tab - Ken Murray's "Blackouts", 5th year, El
Capitan Theatre
Plaque for Walter Clinton, honorary life member, Hollywood
Comedy Club, 1961
Trophy for Julia Clinton from Ladies' Comedy Club,
1972
box
56
Photographs -
Pat Rooney,
Sr.
Note: one photograph is partly adhered to
broken glass, must be handled carefully.
This series consists of photographs, negatives, papers, and an ad
printing block, documenting the career of Frank J. Sidney. The photographs
depict a circus tour in India as The Great Sidneys, a performance troupe tour
in Australia in 1908, troupe portraits in Johannesburg in 1913, and some
acrobatic acts. Some of the photographs are annotated. From 1922 to 1925 Frank
J. Sidney & Co. appeared in B.F. Keith's and other theatres in Brighton
Beach, Jersey City, and Philadelphia. His act at that time was called "A
Morning in a Sportsman's Garden", and featured "Zillah the Singing Dog."
The papers are mostly theater programs; there is also a copy of
Sidney's handwritten 1965 will. There are postcards sent in 1960 and a 1963
portrait of Sidney. The ad printing plate is mounted on wood with a partial
page with printed text adhered, advertising a Labor Day event featuring "Frank
Sidney and Abe Clown Cop". The bulk of this collection was originally
received as part of the Performers materials.
This collection comprises primarily two scrapbooks describing the
stage career of the comedian Leon Errol (1881 or more likely, 1876-1951), on the vaudeville circuits in the
Northwest and then in New York with the Ziegfeld Follies. There are also later
publicity photographs of Errol from Culver Pictures, First National Pictures,
Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures, including roles from "Sally", "A
Lunatic at Large", "Dancing Co-Ed", and "Princess O'Hara." Miscellaneous papers
include correspondence from Chet Dowling that accompanies photocopies about the
Ziegfeld Follies and the role of Abe Erlanger as a financial backer for Florenz
Ziegfeld, as well as information about Errol's career.
The first scrapbook consists of newspaper clippings, playbills,
programs, and handwritten notes from 1904-1906, documenting the Errol's early
career in the Northwest and West Coast as part of the Edward Shields vaudeville
company. Its cover has a label for "Gerald and Errol, German Dialect
Comedians." There are two pages of handwritten text - one of sailor lyrics, and
one of a short stage bit - and a loose sheet of handwritten comedy lines.
The second scrapbook documents Errol's career on Broadway, including
performances in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1914 along with
his wife, Stella Chatelaine. There is a program from August 1910 of their
comedy performance "A Complicated Affair" with The New Jersey Lillies; that
performance was staged by and largely created by Errol. The bulk of the
scrapbook is news clippings. There is also a
New York Star cover from October 26,
1912 featuring Errol along with Bert Williams and Ida Adams in a scene from the
Ziegfeld Follies; and an undated playbill from
The Player for the New Jersey Lilies
Co., featuring Leon Errol as principal comedian, Stella Chatelaine as "The Rag
Dancer", and others. Leon Errol's time with the Ziegfeld Follies was as a stage director as well as a principal comedian. Errol and Bert Williams (1872-1922) teamed up in four Follies to become the first notable "white and black race" act in mainstream American show business. They wrote the sketches themselves, and Errol portrayed the fumbling master and Williams, the wily servant. It concludes with coverage of his production "Hitchy Koo
1918", sponsored by Raymond Hitchcock, in which he introduced Ray Dooley of
vaudeville's "tumbling Dooleys" to Broadway.
The scrapbooks were donated to the American Vaudeville Museum by
Dale Jones and Valerie Speaks of Long Beach in 2004. The other materials are
from a variety of sources.
Biographical Note
Leon Errol (1876 or 1881?-1951) was born in Australia, and began performing
in college, circus, Shakespeare and light operas while still there. He migrated to the U.S. by 1904 with his
dance partner, Stella Chatelaine (1886-1946). He performed cockney songs and eccentric dance in variety saloons and partnered with Pete Gerald as
"Gerald and Errol", featuring German ("Dutch") or Irish dialect comedy, ragtime
piano, burlesque boxing, and a trained bulldog named Buck. They played
alongside Gale Dauvrey and Alf T. Lane in "A Wife's Folly", an Edward Shields
Company comedy drama, ca. 1904, in Baker City, Oregon. The trio of Gerald,
Errol and Dauvrey performed in Walla Walla, Washington in 1904. Errol was stage
manager for the Orpheum Theatre in Portland, Oregon during the 1904-05 season.
He also performed in their productions, directing a group known as "Errol's
Burlesquers" which includes future Keystone comedian Roscoe Arbuckle. Errol performed in numerous productions at LaVern's Park in Walla
Walla, and at Shields' Park in Portland during this time. He and Will Gross, as
"Errol and Gross", performed ragtime musicals. In 1906 Errol was traveling with
Zinn's Travesty Company, which performed in San Francisco in 1906 and was there
when the earthquake hit.
Leon Errol and Stella Chatelaine married in 1906. By 1911 they had
arrived in New York with their burlesque comedy show, The Lilies or The Jersey
Lillies. At Abe Erlanger’s (Ziegfeld’s financial backer) insistence, Leon was soon engaged by Florenz Ziegfeld in his Broadway debut, "The
Winsome Widow", and then in the Ziegfeld Follies (1911-1915), in which Stella
Chatelaine also performed. He co-produced and performed in two shows of "Hitchy
Koo", the second in 1918. Errol was known for his dialect roles, which he
originally developed to camouflage his strong Australian accent, as an eccentric dancer-physical comedian and for his
comic gait as a "stage inebriate" or other eccentric role. He is especially
remembered for his long-running series of short comic films for RKO Radio
Pictures, beginning in 1934 and continuing until his death in 1951.
This scrapbook was given by Belle Story to Eulalio Estrella, who had
lived with her in Winnetka, Illinois from 1968 to 1970, when she sold her house
there. He took the scrapbook to Brazil. Three decades later his stepson's
fiancée found it there and brought it back to the United States with Estrella's
permission; it was donated by her to the American Vaudeville Museum collection
around 2000.
Scope and Content
This series comprises a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, theater
programs and other printed matter, and one photograph, 1914-1920, documenting
the career of the soprano singer Belle Story (sometimes spelled Storey). There
is also correspondence with biographical information from Belle Story's
daughter, and programs (two in photocopy form) provided by her of Belle Story's
performances at the Hotel Biltmore and Carnegie Hall.
Biographical Note
Belle Story (née Grace Leard, born 1887) was the daughter of a
Midwestern Presbyterian minister who encouraged her musical training but not
her stage career. She studied voice with Mme. Marcella Sembrich, and traveled
to Europe around 1906 with a group to study music. She took her stage name from
the maiden name of her mother, which was Storey, but she later shortened
it.
By 1916 she had toured as a vaudeville singer for several years and
performed at theaters including the Hippodrome in New York and the Temple in
Boston and Detroit. Songs she was known for at the time included "Chin-Chin
Open Your Heart", from Montgomery & Stone's "Chin-Chin, Or A Modern
Aladdin" (1914); and "The Flower Garden Ball." She also performed in "Hip Hip
Hooray" at the Hippodrome beginning in June 1916. She was featured in a cover
article of B.F. Keith's Theatre News in May 1916. That year, at age
twenty-eight, she married a Wall Street broker from Chicago, Frederic E.
Andrews.
In 1917 she focused on a concert career, performing with pianist
Leopold Godowsky in a program with the Russian Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie
Hall, and with Enrico Caruso at the Biltmore Musicales. A promotional booklet
from that time called her "America's greatest coloratura singer." Her voice was
described as sweet, flute-like, and bird-like. According to her daughter, Belle
was the first person to sing "Over There" in public, at a Liberty Bond rally,
before it was officially published in 1917. In 1918 she performed again at the
Hippodrome, as several different characters including "Columbia" in a
fifteen-act musical spectacle, "Everything" by R H. Burnside.
Aside from her participation in a benefit concert in 1920, there is
no later information provided in the scrapbook about Belle Story's career. (An
undated loose clipping with no evident relationship to her describes a May Day
children's festival in Los Angeles, and mentions a young Martha Graham as
mistress of ceremonies.) She retired completely from performance upon
remarrying four years after the death of her first husband (ca. 1930), and
moved to Texas.
Related Material
The Hippodrome souvenir book for 1918, which includes the program
for "Everything" in which Belle Story performed several roles, is in the
Theatres series, subseries 3: Souvenir Programs, Box 20.
box
folder
61
1
Note re: scrapbook provenance from Alicia Shirakbari,
Correspondence between Frank Cullen and Mrs. Walter
Watson,
ca. 2000 July 2000
This series consists of photographs, printed matter, a newspaper
clipping, photocopies, and correspondence documenting the career of Arthur J.
McWatters and Grace Tyson. Arthur's surname is sometimes spelled McWaters.
There is a color copy of a 1902 document from Herrman the magician, giving
McWatters exclusive permission to perform one of his own illusions. A 1903
Saginaw program lists McWatters & Tyson Co. performing "Scenes in a
Dressing Room." Most of the photographs are of McWatters and Tyson, but also
include other performers. Some of these toured as part of McWatters & Tyson
& Co. There are also photographs of Bessie Burton (of Tyler & Burton),
Hal David, and Fred Nolan. One color snapshot depicts a poster of McWatters
& Tyson in company with John and Ethel Barrymore. A copy of a family
photograph from 1936 is included. The correspondence is from Evan S. Williams,
the son of McWatters' niece Helen Southgate Williams; he donated the collection
to the American Vaudeville Museum in 2004.
Biographical Note
Arthur McWatters (1871-1963) grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and
returned there throughout his life to hunt and fish in the area. He taught
piano and organ there as a young man, and advertised himself as a "tenor
balladist" already with several compositions to his name. In the mid-1890s he
and three friends went to New York to seek careers there. By around 1900 he and
Grace Tyson (d.1942), who became his wife, were appearing together as McWatters
& Tyson. They sang, danced, and did comic skits, with Arthur playing guitar
and banjo as well as piano. In 1913-14 they toured to South Africa and London.
At that time Grace was touted as "the actress whose eyes are insured for
£5000." They continued performing in an active tour schedule until at least the
mid-1920s. With Grace's death in 1942 at around age sixty, Arthur retired from
the stage and managed a chain of movie theaters around Freeport, Long Island,
where they had been living. He died at age ninety-two.
This series comprises photographs, photocopies and other papers, and props related to the career of Willie, West and McGinty, a comedy team sometimes described as “The Comedy Builders.” The props consist of a carpenter’s apron and two large corncob-style pipes. The photocopies include a step-by-step record, attributed to Ted Corradine, of the Willie West and McGinty stage routine and a playbill for Judy Garland and her International Variety Show that includes Willie, West and McGinty, “A Billion Building Blunders.” A poster from this collection is stored separately with the Posters and Oversize Items series, Box 23. .
These materials were [apparently] donated to the American Vaudeville
Museum by Bill West's granddaughter, Robin Doolan Geoffrion.
Biographical Note
Bill Briscoe (1886-1949) began his career as a comic acrobat in a
team known as Wild and West, which toured internationally. He and Frank
Crossley (ca. 1882-ca. 1942), both from Lancashire, England, developed a
carpenter slapstick act as Willie West & McGinty (no comma) around 1900,
while en route to perform a gymnast act in Australia, discarding that form in
favor of acrobatic comedy. Willie West was played by Briscoe, who later went by
the name William, Willie, Bill, or Billy West, Sr.
A third unidentified member joined the original two in the role of
Mr. Willie while they were still in Lancashire, and the comma was added to the
act's name from that time on, though irregularly. This third role was played by
Rue Corré from around 1923, prior to their immigration to the U.S.; he also was
from Lancashire.
The trio moved to the U.S. under the auspices of Florenz Ziegfeld
for the Follies of 1923. They performed a skillfully choreographed clumsy
carpenter act in worn work clothing, with props including tools, boards, pails,
and a ladder. Their routine emphasized physical slapstick rather than verbal
exchange. The group continued to be successful through the Depression, touring
in London and elsewhere in Europe in the late 1930s, as well as in Australia
and South Africa. They appeared in several films (both short and feature-length) in the 1930s, beginning with
"Plastered" in 1930.
Willie, West & McGinty carried on with second-generation members
into the 1950s, and appeared on television, including
The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1951. Billy
West, Jr. (1909-1971) joined the act in 1929 at age 19, and replaced his father
in later years. Frank Crossley's son, Frank Crossley, Jr. (ca. 1910 - ca. 1997)
replaced his father as Ted McGinty. Ted Corradine (ca. 1896-1975), also from
Lancashire, became McGinty in the early 1940s. Donald Keith was playing the
third role by 1958.
box
folder
62
1
Papers, miscellaneous
62
2
Photocopies
62
3
Photographs
62
Work apron
62
Tobacco pipes (2)
Poster - "Willie, West & McGinty", 1940s (George A.
Hamid and Son)
Paul Gerard Smith's materials include correspondence between his
grandson, Paul Gerard Smith III, and Frank Cullen (American Vaudeville Museum),
and drafts of his biography by Paul Gerard Smith III and Frank Cullen. Also
included are a chronology, "Adventures in Show Business"; performer and sketch
indexes; and a list of credits compiled by Paul Gerard Smith. There are
photocopies of typewritten scripts with handwritten notations from the early
1920s and 1930s. . An album of clippings includes his pre-vaudeville years,
beginning in 1918 when he enlisted in the Marines, and mentions his service in
Germany where he produced the Sixth Marine Revue for fellow "doughboys" in
1919. Most of the clippings are from the 1920s and 1930s, with the source not
generally given; some playbills are included.
Biographical Note
Paul Gerard Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska on September 14, 1894
and died April 4, 1968 in San Diego, California. He also lived in Chicago,
where he met and married Mary Alice Lundgren in 1919. Sometime after 1919 he
moved to New York City where he began writing for vaudeville acts, including
the Ziegfeld Follies (1924-1925). From 1920 to 1927 Paul Gerard Smith, Inc.
also produced and booked over 100 vaudeville acts. He moved to California
around 1927, at the request of Buster Keaton, to work on adapting the film "The
General." Over the years he wrote or contributed to over 90 film scripts. Most
of his work was as a "script doctor" - he would fix scripts and not necessarily
receive credit for his work. He served in the Marines during World War I and in
the USO during World War II, and wrote various scripts for plays and revues in
the postwar years.
box
folder
63
1
Correspondence between Paul Gerard Smith III and Frank
Cullen,
2000-2001
63
2
"Adventures in Show Business" - chronology,
1918- ca.
1950s
63
3
Biographical drafts
Drafts by Paul Gerard Smith III,
ca. 2000 (2
versions)
Draft by Paul Gerard Smith III and Frank Cullen,
ca. 2000
63
4
Indexes
Vaudeville Performer Index
Vaudeville Sketch Index
Vaudeville Acts/Sketches Produced But Not in Files
63
5
Papers, miscellaneous
Friars Club program in form of menu, "Paul & Joe's Table
d'hote Frolic", cooked up by Friar
Joe Laurie, Jr.,
and Friar Paul Gerard Smith,
Nov. 28th, 1926
Full-page ad by Paul Gerard Smith,
Variety,
1921 (in 2 pieces)
Photocopies:
Full-page ads (2) by Paul Gerard Smith,
Variety,
1921
"Your Broadway and Mine" column by
Walter Winchell,
text contributed by
Paul Gerard
Smith,
New York Evening Graphic,
July 15, 1927
"Odyssey of a literary vagabond" by David Arlen,
Script (?),
ca. 1936-37, pp. 39-42
(photocopy)
"A thumbnose sketch - Paul G. Smith" by
Joe Laurie, Jr.,
unidentified newspaper,
Nov. 26, 1947
"Famed author recalls years with Broadway greats for Hemet
group" by
Bea Gaines,
The Hemet News (Calif.),
ca. 1960
63
6
Photographs of Paul Gerard Smith,
(digital
copies and photocopies), ca. 1920s-1930s
This collection comprises four scrapbooks created by unidentified,
unrelated collectors, of magazine and newspaper clippings of actresses and
actors as well as playbills and program clippings, around the first decade of
the twentieth century.
Fan scrapbook 1 (1911-1912) comprises primarily clipped reviews of
silent films from Bison, Edison, Itala, Kalem, Lux, Nestor, Pathe, Powers,
Selig, Solax, Thanhouser, Yankee, and other film companies. There is a program
for a chamber concert at Faneuil Hall. There are some tipped-in reproduced
portraits, as well as an ad for portraits of "Photo-Player Favorites" from
Kalem Company, and one for "Some Notable Vitagraph Players." There is also a
handwritten shopping list, and a handwritten summary of theatre programs from
January to April 1912, including cast notes. It was apparently assembled by a
Boston area resident.
Fan scrapbook 2 (ca. 1897-1935, bulk ca. 1900-1907) consists
primarily of magazine clippings of stage stars, usually depicted in roles. The
subjects include Ethel Barrymore, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Lulu Glaser, Ellen
Goodrich, Ada Rehan, Blanche Ring, Valeska Suratt ("The Original Gibson Girl"),
Ellen Terry, and Edith and Mabel Taliaferro. Some group stage portraits are
included. There are a few added loose magazine and newspaper clippings from the
1930s.
Fan scrapbook 3 (ca. 1909-1911) is a hand-bound, uniformly presented
set of "Photographic Art Studies of Stage Favorites." They are reproductions on
glossy paper of photographic portraits, each with an ornate decorative line
surround. The portraits range from bust to full-length, generally with elegant
dress. There are some posed group stage scenes. Several of the subjects are
identified as being in vaudeville. The photographers are White, Sarony, Otto
Sarony Co., Frank C. Bangs, and Hall (all of New York); and Jens R. Matzene,
Melvin H. Sykes, and Moffett Studio (all of Chicago). There are title pages
from several issues of
Smith's Magazine, ranging from
May 1909 to
January 1911, which apparently was the
source of all the pages included in this scrapbook. The issues indicated
are:
v.9 no.1 (Apr 1909), no.2 (May 1909)
v.10 no.5 (Feb 1910)
v.11 no.3 (Jun 1910)
v.12 no.1 (Oct 1910), no.4 (Jan 1911)
Fan scrapbook 4 (ca. 1905-1914) consists of clippings from magazines
and newspapers (predominantly portraits rather than text), as well as playbills
and program clippings. There are some loose clippings and playbills from
1907-1914. Performers documented in this scrapbook include aerialists such as
Charmion, the Sisters Macarte, and the Four Harveys; and stage actors
Dan Crimmons and
Rosa Gore,
George H. Primrose,
O'Brien and Havel ,
Belle Blanche,
May Ward,
Catherine Countiss,
Eva Tanguay,
Emma Francis,
Eugenie Fougere,
Una Clayton,
Louise Le Baron, and
Jane Oaker. Some
performances recorded here are "The Hurdy Gurdy Girl" (1907) featuring
Mae Botti, "The Earl and the
Girl", "Wine, Woman and Song" featuring Bonita, "The Man of the Hour" with
Lillian Kemble, the
Clyde Fitch comedy "Girls"
(
1908), and
Christie MacDonald
in "Miss Hook of Holland" (1908) and several other plays.
This scrapbook is housed in a ledger book on detached pages. Some of
the pages are lined, from a separate late-nineteenth-century accounting ledger;
their contents are from the first decade of the twentieth century. Although
most are numbered in pencil (apparently at a later stage), the original page
order is not evident. There are some loose clippings and playbills from ca.
1907-1914 as well, which include portraits of
Fanny Stedman,
Vera Curtis,
Bertie Herron, and
Burdella Patterson.
There is some indication that the collector lived in Boston and Maine. . The
scrapbook was donated to the American Vaudeville Museum by Linda Richards, a
Maine resident.
box
folder
65
1
Fan scrapbook 1,
1911-1912
65
2
Fan scrapbook 2,
(bulk ca.
1900-1907), ca. 1897-1935
This series consists of 16mm films in a variety of lengths. The
films with original packaging mostly intact are from Official Films, Inc. The
known dates range from ca.1930-1947; one, Charlie Chaplin's Hits of the Past,
was originally released in 1914 as The Property Man. The longest of them,
Merry-Go-Round of 1938, is notable for
the inclusion of two vaudeville/revue routines: "Song of the Woodsman"
performed by Bert Lahr, and "River Stay 'Way from My Door" performed by Jimmy
Savo.
box
67
3-1/2 inch reel
Concert Canteen - Rubinoff (1945;
Music Hall Varieties, from Official Films, Inc., Ridgefield, N.J.; production
no. 20604)
7 inch reels
Charlie Chaplin, Hits of the Past
(An Official Films movie; title on film lead)
News Review of 1947 (Official
Films Inc., News Thrills; title on box)
A Present for Santa Claus (title
on film lead; lacks container)
The Rag Dog,
1935 (Official Films Inc., Merry-Toons
Cartoons; title on box)
Unidentified -
Long - Frees on the R... (written
on film tail; An Official Films movie)
box
68
7 inch reels
Bismarck Sea Victory,
ca. 1942 (title on
container)
This series includes audio cassettes, compact disks, zip drives, and
3-1/4 inch disks; contents include images, text, and sound. Some are
commercially produced works or copies thereof; some were created by donors of
other materials to this collection; and some are files created by the American
Vaudeville Museum. Printouts have been provided when feasible.
box
folder
70
1
Audio cassettes
Three X Sisters -
Pearl Santos -
Discography Project by
Glenn Santos
Clarice Vance, Sweet
Singer of Southern Songs
Compact disks
box
folder
70
2
Bindlestiff - Vaudeville Times photos - BFC [Bernard
Frank Cullen]
70
3
Bobby May (images and text; 2nd disk is duplicate
images)
70
4
Capt. Anson Graphics (Rosenberg)
70
5
Daniel Rosen Photos
70
6
Early Theatrical Posters,
1840-1936 (A2ZCDS, 2003; 2,124 images)
70
7
Family History, by
Margaret Jeanne
Ramirez (2001; text and images)
(Includes biographies of Vaudeville performers Edward Santoro
and Margaret Marlow, and their daughter "Baby" Victory Rose Santoro, who
married Frank Ramirez; the latter were Margaret's parents)
70
8
Gildemeister, Vaudeville and Circus photos
70
9
The Great Tomsini & Co. (images)
70
10
Julian Eltinge
Compilation Disk, from
Mark Berger
(images)
70
11
Larry Weeks (images)
box
folder
71
1
Levent, Vaudeville at Sea photos, disc #1 - Feb.
2004
(Levent & Mickey O'Connor live shots, plus ship photos -
Sovereign of the Seas) - original in color
71
2
Levent's Last Di - last photos for VT [Vaudeville
Times]
(New Daniel Rosen headshots / Mickey O'Connor) - original in
color
71
3
New York Clipper photos (1858,
1878, 1898 issues)
71
4
Pandemonium! Hines, Hines and Dad (sound)
(originally located with Thematic Subjects: Tap)
71
5
Trixie Really Was a Friganza! (text [WordPerfect] and
images)
71
6
Vaudeville at Sea - Alan Howard, Jay Johnson photos -
some originals in color
71
7
Vivace (sound/images)
3-1/4 inch disks and zip
drives
box
folder
71
8
Balasi Family - Vaudeville Times Balasi history (disk)
and images (zip drive)
(Content of these disks is in the Balasi Family
collection)
71
9
Bloolips poster (3 images of same poster on
disk)
(Original poster is in Posters and Oversize Items, Box 23)
71
10
BPL Saloon (zip drive with images - Adobe Photoshop
files)
71
11
George Brown, speed
walker (3 disks of images)
71
12
J.W. Kelly - Songster
cover; J.W. Kelly stage persona;
Maggie Cline, old
age; M. Cline - Throw Him Down, McCloskey;
Mike Kelly - Slide
Kelly Slide (images)
71
13
Rooney family - Pat Rooney, clog dancing; Pat Rooney and
Marion Bent; Pat Rooney Sr. and Jr. (3 disks of images)
71
14
The Royal Rockets - text by
Nick Retson (disk) and
images (zip drive)
This series contains wigs, beards and other assorted hair pieces and
dressings, wig blocks, numerous curling irons and cork for black-face make-up,
used at the Hippodrome Theatre in New York during the World War I era.
This series consists of compilations, mostly of songs by women
singers. There are multiple singers on 18 blues or jazz LPs - many of them on
the Rosetta label. The number in parentheses is the number of LPs on which each
of the listed 160 singers performs. No number in parentheses means the singer
performs on only one compilation LP.
box
99
Almost Like Being in Love – Women's Railroad Blues
The Noel Coward Album, double
album,
ca. 1965, Columbia MG
30038
Noel Coward &
Gertrude
Lawrence,
We Were Dancing: songs from
Tonight at 8:30 and
Private Lives. Also:
Gertrude
Lawrence with
Douglas Fairbanks,
Jr. in
Moonlight Is Silver; Monmouth
Evergreen MES 7042.
Fanny Brice Sings the Songs She Made
Famous, Audio Fidelity Records AFKLP-707
John W. Bubbles Back on
Broadway,
1980, Uptown Records UP 27.03
Bubbles, John W That Is. . .,
mid-1960s, Vee-Jay
Records VJ-1109
Al Jolson 1885-1950, Epitaph
Records/VJ International E-4008
The Best of Spike Jones (&
His City Slickers) RCA ANL-1035e
Ted Lewis, Me and My Shadow,
Olympic Records 7127
Helen Morgan Sings, reissue by
Audio Rarities 2330
Rare Originals by Fanny Brice
(side 1)
and Helen Morgan (side 2) RCA
Victor LPV-561
Club Richman (Harry
Richman/Eddie Cantor/Helen Kane), New Torrington Records 432
Blossom Seeley & Benny Fields, Mr.
& Mrs. Show Business, 10 inch LP made in 1952 by Loew's/MGM-E92 to
coincide with release of biopic
Somebody Loves Me
Vaudeville Songs of the Great Ladies of
the Musical Stage, sung by Joan Morris (William Bolcom/piano), 1976,
Nonesuch Records H-71330
At Home Abroad (1935), archival
reconstruction by Smithsonian, RCA DPM1-0491, lyrics by Howard Dietz &
music by Arthur Schwartz. Original cast:
Beatrice Lillie,
Ethel Waters,
Eleanor Powell
and
Reginald
Gardiner; recreations by
Cicely
Courtneidge,
Clifford David,
Nancy Dussault
and
Karen Morrow
Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928,
lyrics by Dorothy Fields, music by Jimmy McHugh (recorded 1932 with original
cast members
Adelaide Hall and
Bill Robinson, and
1930s recreations by
Ethel Waters,
Cab Calloway,
Mills Brothers ,
Duke Ellington
& His Orchestra,
Don Redman & His
Orchestra), reissued
1968, Columbia Records OL-6770
Julius Monk's Plaza Nine Revue: Dime a
Dozen with
Susan Browning,
Jack Fletcher,
Gerry Matthews,
Rex Robbins,
Fredericka
Weber,
Marie Louise
Wilson and pianists
Carl Norman,
William Roy and
Robert Colston,
1963, Cadence Records CLP-25063
Ken Murray's Blackouts, reissued
1975 by Garabedian Mark 59 Records #701
Gilbert & Sullivan
Selections: HMS Pinafore and The Mikado by The D'Oyly Carte Opera
Company, London Records SPC-21010
The Nervous Set, Original
Broadway revue cast, Columbia Records OL-5430
Jerry Herman's Parade, revue
with
Dody Goodman &
Charles Nelson
Reilly, Kapp Records 7005
Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 with
Eddie Cantor,
John Steel,
Van & Schenck and
Bert Williams,
1977 reissue by Smithsonian Institution,
Columbia Records R-009 / P14272
Golden Age of the Hollywood Musical - The Kay Thompson Reviews
Presenting the Golden Age of the
Hollywood Musical (reissue w/pop-up cover 1974) with selections from Gold
Diggers of 1933, Gold Diggers of 1935, 42nd Street, Dames and
Footlight Parade, with
George Raft,
Dick Powell,
Ruby Keeler,
Joan Blondell,
James Cagney and
Wini Shaw, United
Artists Records UAG-2942 (2 copies)
Hooray for Hollywood: The Golden Age of
the Hollywood Musical (with booklet);
Frances
Langford,
Johnny "Scat"
Davis,
Dick Powell,
Bebe Daniels,
Wini Shaw,
Judy Canova,
Lee Dixon,
Joan Blondell,
Rosalind
Marquis,
Ruby Keeler,
Una Merkel,
Ginger Rogers and
Vera Teasdale.
1975 reissue by United Artists
UA-LA361-H-0798
Ladies of Burlesque (compilation
of clips by
Alice Faye,
Grace Bradley,
Glenda Farrell,
Miriam Hopkins,
Ann Sothern,
Virginia
O'Brien,
Marion Martin,
Lucille Ball,
Constance Moore,
Ann Miller,
Iris Adrian,
Barbara
Stanwyck,
Betty Grable,
Marilyn Monroe,
Nita Talbot,
Adele Jergens,
Shelley Winters,
Ann Sheridan,
Jan Sterling,
Kathryn Grayson,
Jane Wyman,
Rita Hayworth,
Joanne Woodward
&
Cara Williams.
Legends Records-1000/2
Stars of the Silver Screen,
1929-1930:
John Boles,
Fanny Brice,
Maurice
Chevalier,
Bebe Daniels,
Dolores Del Rio,
Duncan Sisters ,
George Jessel,
Helen Kane,
Charles King,
Dennis King,
Jeanette
MacDonald,
Everett
Marshall,
Helen Morgan,
Gloria Swanson,
Sophie Tucker and
Lupe Velez. RCA
Victor LPV-538
Nostalgia Trip to the Stars, volume
1:
Tallulah
Bankhead,
Jack Buchanan,
George Burns &
Gracie Allen,
Jackie Coogan,
Bebe Daniels,
Jeanette
MacDonald,
Pola Negri,
Ramon Navarro and
Gloria Swanson.
Monmouth Evergreen MES-7030
Nostalgia Trip to the Stars, volume
2:
Bebe Daniels &
Ben Lyon,
Gracie Fields,
Stanley
Holloway,
Elsa Lanchester,
Laurel & Hardy ,
Adolphe Menjou,
Anna Neagle,
Lilli Palmer,
Walter Pidgeon,
Harry Richman and
Sophie Tucker.
Monmouth Evergreen MES-7031
The Kay Thompson Reviews:
Bing Crosby,
Peter Lorre,
Jack Buchanan and others.
Ultimo KAYT 406A
Great Actors of the Past - Ralph Richardson, Cyrano de Bergerac
Great Actors of the Past:
cylinder recordings by
Edwin Booth (1890),
Joseph
Jefferson (1903),
Sarah Bernhardt
(1910),
Constant
Coquelin (1897?),
Ellen Terry (1911),
Henry Irving
(1890),
Beerbohm Tree (?),
Julia Nelson &
Fred Terry (1903?),
Alexander
Moissi (?),
Cyril Maude (?),
Lewis Waller (?)
and
Tomasso Salvini
(?);
1977, Decca Argo SW-510
American National Theatre & Academy ,
ANTA Album of Stars, volume 2:
Katherine
Cornell,
Brian Ahearn,
Julie Harris,
Henry Fonda,
Marc Connelly,
Edith Evans,
Torin Thatcher,
Ivan Sampson,
Tallulah
Bankhead,
Kent Smith,
Eugenia Rawls;
1950s, Decca DL
9009
Command Performance, Night of a Thousand
Stars: 28 June 1956. Edith Evans, Peggy Ashcroft, Paul Scofield, Peter
Ustinov, Lawrence Harvey, Jack Benny, Yvonne Larvin, John Mills, Vivien Leigh,
Bob Hope, Tyrone Power, Laurence Olivier, Anna Massey, Sheila Sim, Noel Coward,
Joan Sims, Jean Kent, cie Gray, Brenda Bruce, Peggy Cummins, Beatrice Lillie,
Tallulah Bankhead, Mabel Mercer and Thelma Ruby. (same LP)
Royal Variety Performance: 1952:
Vera Lynn,
Jack Jackson,
Reg Dixon,
Gracie Fields,
Maurice
Chevalier, issued
1977 DRG ArchiveDARC-1-1106
John Barrymore: Great Profile
Speaks, Richard III & movie role excerpts, Shakepox J Bar 42
John Gielgud: Shakespeare's Ages of
Man,
1958-59, Columbia
91A-02055
John Gielgud: Shakespeare's Ages of Man,
part II: One Man in His Time,
1958-59, Columbia
91A-02057
John Gielgud &
Irene Worth,
Men and Women of Shakespeare,
1967?, RCA Victor
VDM-115
John Gielgud & Gina Bachauer, poetry
& music (Debussy & Ravel),
1964, Mercury SR-90391
Edith Evans: An 18th Century Comedy
Album, excerpts: Congreve's Way of the World, Farquhar's The Beaux'
Stratagem and Sheridan's The Rivals and The School for Scandal,
1977, EMI/HMV HLM-7108
Michael MacLiammoir: The Importance of
Being Oscar, Part II,
1961?, CBS Classics
61160
Art of Ruth Draper, volume 2: Church in
Italy & English House Party,
1954, Spoken Arts 798
Art of Ruth Draper, volume 5: Doctors
& Diets, The Actress,
1954, Spoken Arts Records 805
Ralph Richardson: Cyrano de
Bergerac, with
Anna Massey,
Peter Wyngard, 3
LPs,
1965?, Caedmon/Theatre
Recording Society TRS-3068-S
Nonsense Verse of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear – Voices from the Hollywood Past
Beatrice Lillie,
Cyril Ritchard
&
Stanley
Holloway read
Nonsense Verse of Lewis Carroll and
Edward Lear,
1957, Caedmon Publishers Records
TC-1078
The World of Dorothy Parker, [Dorothy
Parker] Reads Her Short Stories, Verse and a Book Review,
1960s, Verve
V-15029
S. J. Perelman Reads (4 humorous
essays),
1962, Spoken Arts Records 705
An Evening with Quentin Crisp: The Naked
Civil Servant,
1979, DRG-S2L-5188
Mary Pickford: America's Sweetheart;
radio broadcasts 1938-1968, Garabedian Mark 56 #703
Movie Stars on Radio (4 LP set):
Bette Davis,
Spencer Tracey,
Rosalind
Russell,
Henry Fonda,
Paulette
Goddard,
Lloyd Nolan,
Walter Brennan,
Cary Grant,
Judy Garland,
Dick Powell,
Gene Kelly,
Marlene
Dietrich,
John Wayne,
Randolph Scott,
Dame May
Whitty,
Edward G.
Robinson,
Vincent Price,
Susan Hayward and
Charles Boyer.
1940-47, issued
1983 by Radiola Records 4MR-1
Prairie Home Companion: Garrison
Keillor, The Family Radio,
1982, PHC Records-606
Old Curiosity Shop,
1951? reissue, RCA
Victor LCT-1112 (dupe LP in Vaudeville Collection)
Supper Club Revue with
Harry Ritz,
Sophie Tucker,
Skinnay Innis & Orchestra, etc., 1950s, reissued
1981, American Entertainment,
AEI-1135
Voices from the Hollywood Past:
Basil Rathbone
(1958),
Buster Keaton
(1960),
Stanley Laurel
(1959),
Harold Lloyd (?),
Walt Disney (1959)
and
Edward G.
Robinson (1964), issued
1975 by Delos Records DEL/F-25412
Folk Festival at Newport, 1959 – Southern Journey 12: Honor the Lamb
Folk Festival at Newport,
1959,
Joan Baez &
Bob Gibson,
Barbara Dane,
New Lost City Ramblers ,
Odetta,
Mike Seeger,
Sonny Terry &
Brownie McGhee,
Vanguard, VSD-2054
New Folks, volume 2,
Phil Ochs,
Eric Anderson,
Lisa Kindred,
Bob Jones,
1964, Vanguard VRS-9140
Alan Lomax Field Recordings:
Southern Journey: All Day Singing from
the Sacred Harp,
1959-1960, Prestige
Int'l-25007
Southern Journey 11: Southern White
Spirituals,
1959-1960, Prestige
International-25011
Southern Journey 12: Honor the
Lamb,
1959-1960, Prestige
International-25012
Bunny Berrigan: I Can't Get
Started, 1937-39 on Camden & RCA, reissued
1978 by Pickwick Quintessence
QJ-25081
Scrapper
Blackwell,
Mr. Scrapper's Blues,
1961, Bluesville 1047
Eubie Blake, Rags to Classics,
1971, Eubie Blake Music label,
EBM-2
Wilbur de Paris
& His New Orleans Jazz,
Marchin' and Swingin',
1952, Atlantic 1233
Baby Dodds Trio ,
Jazz a la Creole,
1946 &
1951, Circle Records, with
James P.
Johnson,
Albert Nicholas,
Pops Foster,
Don Ewell &
Danny Barker;
reissued by George Buck as GHB-50
K.C. Douglas Blues,
late 1950s/early 1960s,
Prestige/Bluesville-1023
Duke Ellington at the Cotton
Club, 1937-38, with
Ivie Anderson,
Swedish reissue: TAX m-8001
The Early Duke Ellington, with
Jimmy Dorsey &
Una Mae
Carlisle, reissued by Everest FS-221
Gershwin by [George] Gershwin,
radio broadcasts 1931-35, 2 LPs, reissued
1973, Mark 56-641
Edmund Hall Quintets ,
Celestial Express,
1941 &
1944, Blue Note B-6505, autographed by
Edmund Hall &
Winnie Hall (his
wife)
W.C. Handy, Father of the Blues, St
Louis Blues, sings his compositions and talks, recorded in the
early 1950s; reissued
1975 by Garabedian Mark 56 as #684
box
106
Hines – Kenton
Earl Hines, Paris Sessions,
piano solos,
1965, reissued in
1981 by Inner City Records IC-1142
Earl Hines in New Orleans,
1977, solo piano, Chiaroscuro Records
CR-200
Earl Hines Quintessential
Continued,
mid-1970s, solo piano,
Chiaroscuro CR-120
[Earl] Hines Comes in Handy,
piano solos of
W.C. Handy's music,
1973, Audiophile AP-112
[Earl] Hines Does Hoagy
[Carmichael], piano solos,
1974, reissue
1982 Audiophile AP-113
Hines: My Tribute to Louis
[Armstrong], piano solos of
1971 issued
1973, Audiophile-AP-111
Shakey Jake: Mouth Harp Blues
with combo,
early 1960s?,
Prestige/Bluesville 1027
Best of Jelly Roll Morton
(combos with
Kid Ory,
Sidney Bechet,
Wilbur de Paris,
Bubber Miley, etc.)
1926-40, reissued
1980, RCA/Deutsche CL-43291
Gerry Mulligan,
Chet Baker (with
combo),
Carnegie Hall Concert, volume
One,
1964, CTI-6054
box
107
Pierce – Yancy
Billie & De De Pierce,
New Orleans, Legends Live,
late 1950s?, Jazzology
JCE-25
Billie & De De Pierce,
Blues in the Classic Tradition,
1961, Riverside Record RLP-370
Billie & De De Pierce,
Blues & Tonks from the
Delta,
1961, Riverside Record RLP-394
Oscar Peterson,
Digital at Montreux,
1979-80, issued
1980 Pablo Records d2308224
Oscar Peterson & Stephane
Grapelli, 2 LPs,
1973, Prestige P-24041
Jess Stacy,
Blues Notion,
1944, Jazz Piano Heritage Series, volume
40, Jazzology JCE-90
Return of Roosevelt Sykes,
piano/vocals with combo,
1960, Prestige Bluesville-1006
The Blues of Arbee Stidham: Tired of
Wanderin',
early 1960s, Prestige
Bluesville 1021
Tampa Red,
Don't Jive Me, vocals, guitar
& kazoo,
early 1960s, Prestige
Bluesville 1043
Art Tatum Masterpieces, volume 2
(1934 & 1937) and
James P. Johnson plays Fats
Waller (1944 & 1946), 2 LPs, Decca Label/MCA2-4112
The Tatum Solo Masterpieces, volume
11, recorded
1953-55, reissued
1981, Pablo 2310864
Art Tatum Trio (
Tiny Grimes,
Slam Stewart),
1944, reissued 1983 Audiophile Records
AP-88
Golden Horn of Jack Teagarden
with the bands of
Louis Armstrong,
Eddie Condon,
Red Nichols,
Adrian Rollini
and
Eddie Lang &
Joe Venuti's All Stars ,
1929-1953, reissued
MCA-227
Jack Teagarden,
Think Well of Me, music of
Willard Robison,
1962, Verve Records V-8465
Henry Townsend,
Tired of Being Mistreated,
vocal/guitar/piano,
1961, Prestige Bluesville-1041
Henry Townsend,
Mule,
1980, Nighthawk Records 201
Mercy Dee
Walton (vocal & piano),
Pity and a Shame,
1961, Prestige Bluesville 1039
Mary Lou
Williams (in trio),
My Momma Pinned a Rose on Me,
1977, Pablo Records-2310-819
Mary Lou Williams Trio ,
Free Spirits,
1976, Inner City Records-2043
Mary Lou
Williams
First Lady of the Piano,
recorded
1953, reissued
1979, Inner City IC-7006
Teddy Wilson,
Teddy's Choice,
1975, issued
1981 by Jazzology Piano Heritage, volume
36, JCE-36
Teddy Wilson On Tour with His
Trio,
1961, Charlie Parker Records
PLP-809
Mama Yancey & Little Brother
Montgomery: South Side Blues,
1961, Riverside Chicago Living Legends
Series OBC-508
Collectors' History of Classic Jazz – Jazz at Preservation Hall, Volume 3
Collectors' History of Classic
Jazz (tribal, gospel, ragtime, blues, stride), Murray Hill
927942
New Orleans Jazz: The Flowering,
1950s, bands/combos led
by
Kid Clayton,
Punch Miller,
Billie &
De De Pierce,
Emile Barnes &
Peter Bocage,
Tony Parenti,
Eureka Brass Band with
George Lewis,
Folkways Records FA-2465
Heliotrope Bouquet Piano Rags,
played by
William Bolcom,
1971, Nonesuch H-71257
Jazz Piano,
Willie 'The Lion'
Smith,
Charles Bell,
Earl Hines,
Billy Taylor,
Mary Lou
Williams,
1965, RCA Masters PL-42`07
Jazz Giants: The Piano Players,
Mary Lou
Williams,
Beryl Booker,
Erroll Garner,
Johnny
Guarnieri,
1955, Trip Jazz TLP-5504
Keyboard Kings: Errol Garner/Art
Tatum/Oscar Peterson, originally recorded by RCA, Camden, reissued
1976 by Pickwick/Camden ACL-7015
Piano Rags by Scott Joplin
played by
Joshua Rifkin,
volume 1,
1970, Nonesuch H-71248
Piano Rags by Scott Joplin
played by
Joshua Rifkin,
volume 2,
1972, Nonesuch H-71264
Preservation Hall, volume 1,
Eureka Brass Band /
Peter Humphrey,
1965?, Atlantic
1408
Preservation Hall, volume 2, Jim
Robinson's New Orleans Band (side 1) and Billie & De De Pierce (side 2),
1965?, Atlantic Records
1409
Jazz at Preservation Hall, volume
3,
Paul Barbarin
& His Jazz Band (side 1) and
Punch Miller's Bunch with
George Lewis (side
2),
1965?, Atlantic Records
1410
box
108
Restricted photographs. Please use reproductions located within the collection.