Howard, Joseph E. (Joseph Edgar), 1878-1961
Howard, Miriam
Creator:
Howard, Miriam
Collection Name:
Joseph E. Howard Papers
Inclusive Dates:
1895-2009
Bulk Dates:
(1947-1966)
Physical Description:
16.5 linear feet
Abstract:
Contains sheet music written by Howard, as well as correspondence and press documenting his long life as a vaudevillian and public performer. It includes his 1956 autobiography, Gay Nineties Troubadour , and photographs of Howard, his family, and other performers.
Collection Number:
MS 582
Language:
Materials are in English.
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/
E-Mail: LBRY-askspcoll@email.arizona.edu
Biographical Note
Joseph E. Howard (1878-1961) was a skilled composer and vaudevillian. Born in New York in 1878, he ran away from home around the age of seven after the death of his mother. He ended up in St. Louis, where he took to singing and performing on the streets to earn money. He received a break as a teenager when a vaudeville group invited him to travel with them. At the time of his death, Howard had been married nine different times. Many of his wives were fellow performers, including his first wife, Ida Emerson, who helped write and perform Howard’s most famous song, “Hello! My Baby.” Sometimes his marriages ended in divorce and other times in death. He had at least two sons, Joseph Jr. and Lionel, and one daughter, Josephine.
In addition to “Hello! My Baby” (1899), Howard’s most well-known songs include “Goodbye My Lady Love” (1904), and “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” (1909). He also composed the official state song of Montana in 1945. A motion picture based on Howard’s life, also titled “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now,” was released in 1947 starring Mark Stevens and June Haver. Soon after the release of the movie, Howard was sued by his former assistant, Harry Orlob, for stealing the lyrics to the song “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now.” They settled by agreeing to remove Howard’s name from the song, though it is still often associated with him.
The second part of his career began in 1939 when he collaborated with Beatrice Kay to produce a successful radio show, “Gay Nineties Revue.” He wrote an autobiography titled Gay Nineties Troubadour that was published in 1956, but it was commercially unsuccessful. Howard continued performing on stage even after his retirement, and he died during a curtain call in Chicago on May 19, 1961. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Scope and Content Note
The Joseph E. Howard collection consists primarily of his sheet music and correspondence. Most of the sheet music comes from the early 20th century, and there is some music written and composed by other musicians. The correspondence mostly relates to business matters, including Howard’s eponymous publishing house and copyright issues. It contains a considerable amount written to or by his last wife, Miriam, concerning Howard’s estate after his death; it also includes some letters by his sons, Joseph Jr. and Lionel. A few years after Howard’s death in 1961, Miriam remarried to Charles Kirschner of the Cincinnati area. There is some ephemera and correspondence of the Kirschner family and of Ben Gillespie, Miriam’s son from a previous relationship. In fact, much of the material from the late 1960s and 1970s relates to Gillespie.
Included in correspondence is a letter by Jacqueline Kennedy and a couple of short letters from Ed Sullivan giving thanks for a performance or appearance, as well as various letters from Congressmen and fellow composers and musicians. The photographs are mainly of Howard performing and Howard’s wives and sons. There are also shots from the 1947 motion picture “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now,” based on Howard’s life. Scripts are typed drafts or revisions of many of the plays that Howard wrote music for, including “The Time, the Place, and the Girl.” In addition to greeting card artwork and postcards, ephemera consists of performance ephemera and personal items. The financial series includes copyright claims, receipts, and royalty statements. It also contains appraisals of the estate of one of Joseph’s later wives, Mary Howard, as well as documents relating to Joseph’s death.
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.
This series contains two subseries:
Subseries I: Joseph Howard Sheet Music, 1899-1969, undated
Subseries II: Howard Publishing, Other Artists’ Music, Lyrics, 1895-1961, undated
This subseries consists of sheet music published by the Joseph Howard Music House, as well as sheet music that Howard did not have a part in writing. There are also sheet music covers and lyrics of songs, many of which Howard wrote.
box
folder
7
1
Josephe Howard Music House Sheet Music, 1937-1961
7
2
Multiple/Unknown Artists' Sheet Music, undated
7
3
Other Artists' Sheet Music A-I, 1910-1960, undated
7
4
Other Artists' Sheet Music J-Z, 1895-1952, undated
This series contains several drafts of Joseph E. Howard’s autobiography and the published product, Gay Nineties Troubadour. There are also excerpts of biographies of Howard and a short autobiography of Miriam Howard.
box
folder
7
7
Autobiography Contract and Correspondence, 1950-1956
7
8
Gay Nineties Troubadour, 1956
7
9
Joseph Howard Autobiography Draft, undated
7
10
Joseph Howard Autobiography Draft, undated
7
11
Joseph Howard Autobiography Draft, undated
7
12
Joseph Howard Autobiography Draft, undated
7
13
Joseph Howard Autobiography Draft, undated
7
14
Joseph Howard Autobiography Draft--Irma Kilgallin, undated
This series includes both performance ephemera and personal ephemera. While there is performance ephemera related to Joseph E. Howard’s career, most of the performance ephemera is unrelated to his work. Ephemera of Ben Gillespie, a son of Miriam Howard from a previous relationship, is also included. There is personal ephemera related to Howard’s life, including a scrapbook of one of his visits to the state of Montana to celebrate his writing of Montana’s state song.
box
folder
11
1
Ben Gillespie Performance Ephemera, 1948-1961
11
2
Ben Gillespie Ephemera, undated
11
3
Joseph Howard Performance and Music House Ephemera, 1910, 1952-1961, 1966, undated
11
4
Non-Joseph Howard Performance Ephemera, 1956-1966, 1969, 1978
11
5
Non-Joseph Howard Performance Ephemera, 1955-1964, 1969-1971, undated
11
6
Non-Joseph Howard Performance Ephemera, 1948, 1955-1964, undated
11
7
Non-Joseph Howard Performance Ephemera, 1964, 1967, 1972, undated
11
8
Non-Joseph Howard Performance Ephemera, 1955-1965, 1968, 1971, undated
11
9
Non-Joseph Howard Performance Ephemera, undated
11
10
Rare Performance Ephemera, 1924, 1930, undated
11
11
Ephemera--Personal, 1907-1956, 1961, 1975
11
12
Ephemera, undated
11
13
Ephemera--Montana Souvenirs, undated
11
14
Ephemera--Postcards, undated
11
15
Ephemera--Menus, 1926, undated
11
16
Ephemera--Illustrated Greeting Cards, undated
11
17
Ephemera--Address Books and Prayer Books, 1954, 1963, undated
This series consists of manuscripts of plays, including plays that feature Howard’s music. There are also transcripts of radio shows, some of which include Howard as host or guest.
box
folder
14
1
"All's Fair" Incomplete Script and Notes, undated
14
2
"Born Lucky" Script, undated
14
3
"Intermission" or "Life" Script, undated
14
4
"The Isle of Bong-Bong" Script, 1905
14
5
"Love and Politics" Script, 1961
14
6
"My Midnight Sweetheart" Incomplete Script, undated
14
7
"My Midnight Sweetheart" Incomplete Script, undated
14
8
"The Old Composer" Script, undated
14
9
"Quandry" Script, undated
14
10
"Ten Nights in a Bar Room" or "The Curse of Drink" Script, undated
14
11
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, 1942
14
12
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, 1942
14
13
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, 1969
14
14
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, 1969
14
15
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, 1969
14
16
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, undated
14
17
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Script, undated
14
18
"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" Incomplete Script and Notes, undated
14
19
"The Toy Prince" Script, undated
14
20
"The Umpire" Script, undated
14
21
Unidentified and Incomplete Scripts, undated
14
22
Untitled Script, undated
14
23
"Gay Nineties Revue" Radio Show Scripts, 1939-1940