Found 22 collections related to African American women entertainers

The Urban Arts Corps (UAC) Photograph Collection depicts the Corps' activities as well as documents aspects of the professional career of its founder/director, Vinnette Carroll. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Carroll, cast members, and technical and artistic staff; publicity scenes and candid shots of actors and directors in rehearsal and off-stage; and views of award ceremonies, cast parties, television interviews and other related events. Some productions, cast members and events are unidentified. less

Lily Yuen was a singer and dancer, who also considered herself a comedienne, performer of novelty songs, parodies and specialty acts, as well as an emcee, during the 1920's and 1930's. She was a principal in the Brownskin Models, an annual touring revue produced by Irvin C. Miller in which her sister, Libo, also appeared. Yuen performed in "Broadway Rastus," "Fast and Furious" and "Yeah Man." Lily Yuen, also known as "Hoy Hoy" and "Pontop," was born in Georgia and lived her adult life in New York City. The Lily Yuen Papers provides some documentation of the dancing and entertainment career of this revue performer, in addition to containing personal family papers. A small number of papers pertain to Yuen's mother, brother, husband, and her sister and colleague, Libo (Olivia) Yuen. Of interest are two manuscript joke books containing hundreds of jokes, many titled, often about the relationship between men and women. There are also programs for the Brownskin Models, "Fast and Furious" and "Yeah Man," and sheet and manuscript music, some with parts, and most annotated, including "Can't Believe" and "Why Do I Lie to Myself About You?" A scrapbook of newsclippings documents Yuen's career as a Brownskin Model during the group's nationwide tours (1926-1930). The scrapbook emphasizes Yuen's fellow dancer, Blanche Thompson, who was a principal dancer in Brownskin Models, as well as Florence Mills of "Bye Bye Blackbirds" fame. Yuen's sister, Libo, is also mentioned in the scrapbook as a dancer. less

Florence Mills (1886-1927), world renowned entertainer during the 1920s. She starred in Lew Leslie's Plantation Revue and Blackbirds after a successful run as the lead in Shuffle Along. Collection contains personal papers that include biographical information and letters; and professional papers, including letters, contracts and printed materials. less

The Allan W. McMillan Public Relations Files document the public relations work McMillan did on behalf of his clients. The collection consists primarily of information he maintained about his clients, most of whom were in the entertainment business. Nearly all the clients were individuals, but he also represented events sponsored by organizations. Client files include newspaper and magazine clippings of articles and advertisements for the performers, promotional flyers and postcards, itineraries, resumes, correspondence and contracts, press releases, notes about the clients, photograph captions, and a few layouts McMillan prepared. less

The Ernestine McClendon Papers contain McClendon's scrapbook of responses from ad agencies to her 1960 letter campaign urging them to hire black actors and actresses. Included in the collection are her resumes, articles and reviews, some letters, contracts, music and lyrics written by McClendon, and a script and other production material for "Heartbreak by Midnight," a play she wrote which was later made into a screenplay. There are also jokes and other material for McClendon's comedy routine which she launched in 1984 at age 71. less

Hilda Haynes (1912-1986) was a stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned almost forty years. Haynes was born and raised in New York City, and became an actress during the early 1940s. She studied and performed with the American Negro Theatre during the 1940s and 1950s; was a member of the Negro Actors Guild; and performed in "The River Niger" (Negro Ensemble Company) during its national tour, 1973-74; as well as in several Broadway and Off-Off Broadway shows, films and television programs. The Hilda Haynes papers consists of biographical material, including a transcript of an oral history interview, journals and scrapbooks. There are also speeches and other writings, scripts and reviews of theatrical productions Haynes appeared in; and scrapbooks of reviews and other articles, telegrams and letters. In addition to performing in plays and films, Haynes also did dramatic readings, many of which were written for her by Langston Hughes. The poetry, scripts and other materials from which she read during those readings are also in the collection. less

The Frederick D. Murphy papers consist principally of press kits and news clippings that Murphy collected on hundreds of recording artists of popular music (primarily rhythm and blues, soul, disco, rock and roll, and other genres) and executives in the music industry. The bulk of the collection consists of these files and material on organizations that Murphy represented, primarily record companies and related music associations, including the Black Music Association. The years for most of the collection span the 1970s and 1980s. less

Sam Wooding, jazz pianist, arranger and composer, began his career in 1912 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the 1920's-1940's he played residencies with the Society Syncopators and his Southland Spiritual Choir as well as other groups, touring the United States and Europe. In the mid-1930's Wooding attended the University of Pennsylvania, earning two degrees, including a Master's in Education. He taught during the early 1950's, then in 1953 he became the accompanist-manager for his third wife, singer Rae Harrison; thereafter the duo toured extensively throughout the world. In 1975 Wooding organized a big band, the Bicentennial Jazz Vista Orchestra. Among many "firsts" in jazz history, Wooding is credited with having the first American band to make recordings in Europe, the first black band to play a musical abroad in the "Chocolate Kiddies" in Berlin, and the first black band to tour the Soviet Union and Scandinavia. The Sam Wooding papers primarily document certain aspects of his career, with some files pertaining to his partnership with Rae Harrison, and to her career prior to their working together. Included are biographical and personal information, along with correspondence (primarily incoming) regarding their performances. There are also contracts, itineraries, programs, flyers, financial records, certificates and news clippings. A small amount of information concerns Wooding's recording career and his companies, Pan Jerbel, Inc. and Twin Signs Record Corp. Of particular interest are Wooding's manuscript musical arrangements and compositions. less

Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) was an African American actress and singer. In films, she was known chiefly for two roles: Maria in Porgy and Bess(1959) and Frankie in Carmen Jones (1954). She was also known for her starring role on Broadway in an all-Black cast version of Hello Dolly. During World War II, Bailey toured with the USO, performing for American troops. Beginning in 1946, she was a top attraction in nightclubs, variety houses, and television programs in the United States and Britain. At age 67, in 1985, she graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in theology. Between 1968 and 1989, she published six books on her life, cooking, and educational experiences. Bailey served as a special ambassador to the United Nations in 1975 and 1989, and in 1988, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Pearl Bailey letters (1943-1989) consist of correspondence between Bailey and her friend, Lillian Morrison, a published author, compiler, and editor of children's and young adult books as well as a librarian at the New York Public Library, 110th Street Branch. Most of the letters were written by Bailey, and refer to her various endeavors, including her USO work at Fort Huachucha in Arizona; recordings of the song "Tired", which was one of her hit songs; Disney's The Fox and the Hound, for which she provided one of the voices; and her service with the United Nations. As both women were published authors, several of the letters make reference to this fact and to their long friendship and shared birthday, March 29, 1918. The letters do not provide a great amount of detail about Bailey's show business career. less

Ida Roley was a coloratura soprano and actress whose performances include a role in the 1923 edition of Jimmie Cooper's Revue, a burlesque show comprised of approximately seventy cast members, both African American and white. The white owner, producer and actor Jimmie Cooper, combined dancing, singing, jazz, comedy, and blackface in his company. The revue formed part of the circuit of the Columbia Amusement Company and performed in New York, Boston, London, and Montreal. Roley also performed in Shuffle Along (1922) and the play The Conjur Man Dies. She was the lead singer in the choir of Lew Leslie's road company of Blackbirds (1929) in Paris, later performing as a soloist and doing song recitals. She also wrote a few short stories. The Ida Roley collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the career of this entertainer, writings by her, and other material. The scrapbook contains news clippings and programs of Roley's performances in Jimmie Cooper's Revue, Lew Leslie's Blackbirds, Shuffle Along, and Plantation Days (1923), in addition to programs of her solo recitals. The scrapbook, which dates from 1923 to 1933 (bulk dates), also contains snapshots of Roley and other performers, news clippings about other singers, and productions in which she did not appear. In addition, the collection contains handwritten manuscripts for two stories Roley wrote in 1937, "Silver Dollars" and "The Unfaithful Wife." There are also two letters from W.C. Handy (1950) regarding his 77th birthday celebration. less

This collection consists of personal and professional material of Nat King Cole, such as correspondence, programs, and advertisements. Additionally, there is printed matter, such as clippings and articles; scrapbooks; and scores, which is the largest series. Finally, there is material related to Cole's wife, Maria Cole, such as scrapbooks, biographical material, and drafts for a book. less

Born in 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker, a dancer and singer, achieved fame in Paris in the 1920s. In the 1950s, she sought to promote racial equality by adopting twelve children of various races and nationalities to create what she called a "rainbow family". Miki Sawada was the founder and director of the Elizabeth Sanders Home in Tokyo for ostracized mixed-race children fathered by U.S. servicemen with Japanese women. She and Baker had become friends in the 1930s in Paris, where her husband, Renzo Sawada, was stationed as a diplomat. The collection consists of 25 letters and postcards written by the renown dancer and cabaret singer Josephine Baker to her Japanese friend Miki Sawada and other parties; a scrapbook of press clippings assembled by Sawada; and material from Baker's 1952 South American tour. The latter part of Baker's correspondence with Sawada was concerned with the adoption of a Japanese boy in 1954. Other materials in the collection include three speeches from her 1952 lecture tour in Argentina and Brazil to promote "the spiritual freedom of mankind" and an end to racial discrimination, and printed matter from her 1954 tour of Japan. less

Best known for her performance in the title role of the original 1943-1944 Broadway production of Carmen Jones, Muriel Rahn (1911-1961) developed a reputation as a performer who was equally talented as a singer and an actress. The Muriel Rahn papers contain materials related to her performing career. less

The collection contains materials used to create the Mary Lou Williams documentary, Music on My Mind, directed by Joanne Burke. Music on My Mind focuses on Williams's enduring contribution to American culture as a jazz pianist, composer, and vocalist. This collection includes a short autobiography (incomplete), transcripts of interviews, information on the financial support of the documentary, film technical edits, reel catalog, and an information kit about the documentary. less

Nell Carter was an award-winning singer and actress who appeared in many popular theater, television, and film works from 1971 until her death in 2003. Born Nell Ruth Hardy in 1948, she made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1971 musical Soon. Her breakthrough role was in the 1978 Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin', a musical revue inspired by the jazz music of Fats Waller and the Harlem Renaissance. Carter won a Tony Award for her performance as well an Emmy Award for her reprisal in the 1982 NBC television broadcast of the show. In 1979, she appeared in the film adaption and soundtrack of the musical Hair. Carter starred in the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! from 1981 until 1987, receiving multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role as the housekeeper Nell Harper. Carter, who in some TV series also appeared as Nell Ruth Carter, was active in the theater and on television and film throughout the 1980s and 1990s; notable acting credits include roles in revivals of Hello Dolly! and Annie; the ABC sitcoms You Take the Kids and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper; and in the films Bebe's Kids and The Glass Harp. Carter was married twice and lived with her partner, Ann Kaser, after her second divorce until her death in 2003, from heart complications related to diabetes. She is survived by a daughter and two adopted sons. The Nell Carter scrapbooks collection features newspaper and magazine articles, and playbills that highlight both the professional and personal life of the award-winning singer and actress. The NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! (1981-1987), is represented in critical reviews of Carter and her show. Also featured in the collection are clippings related to the award-winning musical Ain't Misbehavin', for which Carter received a Tony Award in 1978. The scrapbook includes clippings from the televised special of Ain't Misbehavin', which aired in 1982, and the revival of the play on Broadway in 1988. In 1982, Carter received an Emmy for her performance in the televised version of the musical. less

The Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections (HAJMTC) were formed by over two hundred file-folder level collections (one-three file folders per personality or event). The collections contain information dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, and they document early dramatic actors, minstrel shows, vaudeville, musical revues, Broadway productions, and protest dramas, among others. In addition to actors, playwrights, singers, musicians, and dancers and the productions in which they appeared, there are collections for poets and visual artists. less

The Maxine Sullivan Papers document her career as a jazz performer. The papers contain correspondence from both professional and personal contacts, legal contracts, newspaper clippings, performance flyers, posters, and programs, sheet music, and some financial and organizational membership records. Some materials pertain to her third husband, Cliff Jackson. less