Found 56 collections related to Theater -- United States

Philburn (Phil) Friedman (1921-1988) was an American stage manager. Friedman managed numerous Broadway and West Coast theater productions, many of them musicals, including Kismet (1953), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Pippin (1972), Chicago (1975), and Dancin' (1978). He worked with director, writer, and choreographer Bob Fosse for nearly 15 years, and played the part of the stage manager in Fosse's 1979 autobiographical film, All That Jazz. He also worked extensively with directors Cy Feuer and Abe Burrows. The Phil Friedman papers (1805-1979) document Friedman's general interest in theater and to some extent, his work as a stage manager. The collection holds programs, telegrams, photographs, biographical material, and scrapbooks containing images of stage actors from the early 1900s. less

Ewald Schindler (1891-1948) was a German-born actor, director, and producer of theatre and opera. After fleeing to Czechoslovakia and Italy during the rise of the Nazis, he immigrated to the United States in 1941, where he became director of the King-Smith Playhouse in Washington, D.C. and founded The Playhouse Studio, a school of drama, with Norwegian dancer Liljan Espenak. Additions to the Ewald Schindler papers date from 1899 to 1947 and contain letters, photographs, scrapbook pages, and personal ephemera that document Schindler's family and professional life. Scrapbook pages with clippings, photographs, and a program document Schindler's direction of The Green Cockatoo at the King-Smith Playhouse, dated 1942 to 1943. Correspondence is with Kurt Schindler, Liljan Espenak, and Mary Wigman, discussing family and professional issues. Photographs include individual portraits of the Schindler family as well as a cabinet card depicting Czech opera singer Emmy Destinn. Personal ephemera consists of a recitation book and Schindler's social security card. Correspondence and the recitation book are in German. less

Barnard Hughes (1915-2006) and Helen Stenborg (1925-2011) were prolific stage and screen actors. Hughes was best known for his award-winning turn as the titular character in Da, and Stenborg performed extensively with the Circle Repertory Company. Their papers date from the 1880s to 2011, and chronicle their professional careers and personal collecting interests through posters, programs, photographs, correspondence, engravings, scripts, manuscripts, and award trophies. The collection also contains theater memorabilia that Hughes inherited from Thelma Chandler, a stage manager. The Chandler memorabilia includes correspondence from Margaret Webster, the American director, producer, and actress. less

The Schindler papers consist of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, pencil drawings, programmes, production schedules, and other material related to the career of Ewald Schindler. The collection includes extensive correspondence between Schindler and Liljan Espenak as well as photographic material, covering both Schindler's life and many of his dramatic roles. less

American actress on stage and film, Fannie Ward was probably most famous for her apparently successful efforts to appear forever young. Born circa 1868, she made her stage debut in 1890, was in Hollywood films 1915-1919, and called the perennial flapper, played teenagers and even a child in late middle age. Her jewelry and her social life were also of note. Collection consists of five scrapbooks of clippings and photographs of Fannie Ward, arranged chronologically, and one scrapbook of typed research notes by Glendon R. Good on her career. less

Child actress, best known for playing the title roles in the original LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY (1888-1889) and THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, Elsie Leslie returned to the stage as a young adult to star in THE RIVALS (1898) and other plays. Born Elsie Leslie Lyde, she was married twice: in 1901 to actor Jefferson Winter, and in 1918 to banker Edwin J. Milliken. The collection contains letters to Elsie Leslie from friends and admirers, publicity photographs of Leslie as a child and an adult actress, and her autograph album containing letters, photographs, clippings, autographs and cards. Most of the letters concern personal matters: invitations, travels and health, though there is some discussion of possible roles and compliments on her performances. There is an extensive file of letters from playwright Louis N. Parker. Other correspondents include Poultney Bigelow, members of the Samuel Clemens family, Julie Harris, Helen Keller, Julia Marlowe, Schuyler Mathews, and Alexander Woollcott. There is a small amount of third party correspondence, primarily letters to her second husband, Edwin Milliken. less

Hallett Thompson (1871?-1938) was an actor and playwright, active from the late nineteenth century until well into the twentieth. While based in his hometown of Gloucester, Mass., during 1898-1900, Thompson was touring the Eastern United States with a repertory company, and he later toured the Vaudeville circuit in one-act plays. His Broadway acting credits include MISTRESS NELL (1900), directed by and starring Henrietta Crosman, EXTRA (1923) with Chester Morris, and MOVE ON (1926). Hallett Thompson also tried his hand as a playwright, and his works include A CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY and THE HOUSE OF RENAUD (1905). Hallett Thompson committed suicide in his New York apartment on Aug. 13, 1938, at the age of 67. Thompson's widow Irma La Pierre (1880-1951) was an actress who later rented out apartments in New York City. The Hallett Thompson papers consist of some correspondence, holiday cards, and two tablets of hand-written drafts of untitled plays, presumably by Hallett Thompson. It is unclear whether these drafts were ever completed or staged. One tablet is dated March 1906, but neither play is identified. There is a small address book which belonged to Hallett Thompson while he lived in Gloucester, Mass., and a date-book covering the theatrical seasons of 1898-99 and 1899-1900, with titles of plays in which Thompson's troupe performed, cities visited, etc. Thompson also used the book as a checking account ledger. There are a number of holiday cards to Thompson from his daughter Helen. Most of the correspondence dates from 1949-50, and pertains to Mrs. Irma Thompson's occupation as landlady of a building at 255 West 108th Street in Manhattan. Copies of two leases are included. less

Harriet Ford (1868-1949) was an American playwright in New York City. Collection consists of letters to Ford from people prominent in the theatre and in literature, letters by Ford to others, autographs, poems, Christmas cards, a play entitled "Cupid and Psyche," and clippings. Correspondents include Winthrop Ames, David Belasco, Mary Johnston, Elisabeth Marbury, Sinclair Lewis, Chauncey Olcott, Otis Skinner, Laurette Taylor, and Walker Whiteside. less

The Helen Hayes papers span the years 1817–1963 and consist of correspondence, the majority from friends and colleagues; speeches and writings, including drafts and handwritten index cards of speeches; clippings from her earliest days in theater and covering her work in film, television, and radio; programs for theatrical productions and awards ceremonies; awards and ephemera including her honorary degrees, appointments to committees, and citations for her charitable work; designs including costume designs for theatrical productions and artwork created by friends and colleagues; photographs, including family photographs, candid shots and professional portraits from childhood, production stills and publicity from theater, film, and radio, and portraits by famous photographers; and scrapbooks, some dedicated to particular theatrical productions and others that cover all aspects of her career and life. less

James F. Milliken was a theatrical agent in New York City. Collection consists of letters from actors asking for employment and from theatrical managers asking for actors or plays. Most of the letters were written from places outside New York City by actors and companies on tour. less

Lillie Langtry (1853-1929), an English actress, organized her own company and toured in Europe and the U.S. Collection consists of letters from Lillie Langtry to Clement Scott, drama critic, from London, Paris, the provinces of France, and America, asking for advice on various theatrical ventures, discussing plays in which she appeared and intended to appear, and mentioning such actors and actresses as the Bancrofts, Sarah Bernhardt, Arthur Bouchier, and Ellen Terry. less

The Lina Abarbanell Papers consist of production files, correspondence, manuscripts and outlines of plays and other writings of her husband, Edward Goldbeck and her daughter, Eva. The papers span the years 1886 to 1963. However, the materials are primarily from the 1920's to the 1960's.The collection includes a letter from José Quintero and a letter from Leontyne Price. less

John Malone (d. 1906) was an American actor. Collection consists of correspondence, writings and legal and family papers. Includes letters of theatrical people, mostly American, collected by Malone, together with some of Malone's personal correspondence and that of his family; Marcus Moriarty's autobiography of his theatrical career, his correspondence and a few contracts; several letters of non-theatrical contemporaries; materials on spiritualism and temperance; correspondence, 1928, of the Union Square Book Shop; and a genealogy of the Shelley family. less

Legare Rogers Lytton (1867-1924) was an actor, director and architect of New York City. His real name was Oscar Legare Rogers. Collection consists of Lytton's diaries and notebooks containing architectural notes and drawings. Other topics include his work as an actor on the stage and in motion pictures, and personal matters. Also, copies of plays, his notes on stagecraft and address book. less

Richard Mansfield, actor, was born in Berlin in 1854. He began his career on the London stage but by 1882 he had migrated to the United States and was appearing in the New York theater. Mansfield was instrumental in introducing the works of George Bernard Shaw to the American stage. In his last theatrical performance he played the title role of PEER GYNT in the first English language production of that play. Transcribed letters, carbon copies, from George Bernard Shaw to Richard Mansfield and/or his wife, Beatrice Cameron, concerning Mr. Shaw's plays. less

Richard Mansfield, actor, was born in Berlin in 1854. He began his career on the London stage but by 1882 he had migrated to the United States and was appearing in the New York theater. Mansfield was instrumental in introducing the works of George Bernard Shaw to the American stage. In his last theatrical performance he played the title role of PEER GYNT in the first English language production of that play. Three letters written by Richard Mansfield to a W. W. Blackmer of Boston. Also includes 8 images. All materials are glued onto pages that appear to have been removed from a scrapbook. less

The papers document the careers of Robert C. Schnitzer and Marcella Cisney, actors, producers, administrators, and educators. The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA), The University of Michigan, The Theatre Guild American Repertory Company, and the University Resident Theatre Association are among their major affiliations represented in this collection. less

St. Clair Bayfield (John St. Clair Roberts), a character actor known for his many Shakespearean roles, was born August 2, 1875 in Cheltenham, England. After Mr. Bayfield died on May 19, 1967, his widow, Kathleen Bayfield, helped to establish an annual award in his name. The award, administered by Actors Equity Association, is given to an actor or actress in a non-featured role in a Shakespearean production. The St. Clair Bayfield collection contains clippings, correspondence, photographs, a poster, programs, scripts and other material that document Mr. Bayfield's acting career and the St. Clair Bayfield awards. less

The American Dramatic Fund Association was founded in New York City in 1848 for the purpose of aiding members of the theatrical profession (actors, dancers and singers) who were unable to work, helping to support members' widows and orphans, and defraying funeral expenses of members. The organization has been known as the Actors' Fund of America since 1882. Collection consists of correspondence and records of the American Dramatic Fund Association. Correspondence concerns donations and applications for membership and financial assistance. Also, annuity receipts, receipt book for 1848 to 1869, and papers regarding alterations of rules and regulations. less

Alice Fischer (1869-1947) was an American actress. Collection contains correspondence, telegrams, clippings, and other papers relating to Fischer's career and that of her husband, William Harcourt King. Also, letters, four pocket diaries and other papers of comedian Frank Mayo. less

The papers of Walter Abel consist primarily of correspondence, contracts, speeches, and clippings documenting his work as an actor. The professional correspondence is not extensive: the bulk is single letters received from a wide variety of individuals, much of it letters of thanks. A few outgoing letters discuss proposed productions. Correspondents include John Golden, Robert Edmond Jones and Eugene Ormandy. The contracts file is incomplete. Speeches, for the most part lectures on Shakespeare, theater history, and the psychology of acting, reflect his tireless work promoting the theater to college students and others. Clippings consist of production reviews and interviews with Abel. Production materials are mostly miscellaneous single items such as call sheets and schedules from films in which Abel appeared. Organizational work consists of minutes and correspondence pertaining to his work with ANTA, the Hollywood Victory Committee and other war service organizations. The collection also contains personal material on his family, awards, and a few scrapbooks of photographs. less