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Creator
Teitel, Carol, 1923-1986
Call number
*T-Mss 1996-044
Physical description
8.4 linear feet (20 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Carol Teitel papers, Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Some collections held by the Dance, Music, Recorded Sound, and Theatre Divisions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. For general guidance about requesting offsite materials, please consult: https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/lpa/requesting-archival-materialsRestrictions apply

Carol Teitel (1923-1986) was an American radio, stage, and television actress. Teitel appeared on CBS Radio Mystery Theater; on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at regional theaters; and in various television dramas. The papers contain material that reflects Teitel's career on stage and in television dramas and consist of correspondence, news clippings, photographs, programs, and scripts.

Biographical/historical information

Carol Teitel (1923-1986) was an American radio, stage, and television actress. Teitel appeared on CBS Radio Mystery Theater; on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at regional theaters; and in various television dramas. Teitel was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Henry and Blanche (Reisman) Kahn. Interested in theater from a young age, Teitel won a scholarship to study with Lee Strasberg at the American Theatre Wing. She made her acting debut in 1941 as Little Mary in Stage Door.

After acting in various regional productions, Teitel made her Broadway debut in 1958 as Jean Rice's understudy in The Entertainer, which starred Laurence Olivier. Other Broadway roles included A Flea in Her Ear (1969), in which she played the lead, Richard Burton's Hamlet (1964), Marat/Sade (1967), Crown Matrimonial (1973), All Over Town (1974), and The Marriage of Figaro (1985). Off-Broadway appearances included A Country Scandal, Juana La Loca, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and Under Milk Wood, among many others. Teitel was a founding member of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, which formed in 1965, and performed with the theater annually at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her regional theater work took her across the United States and Canada.

Teitel appeared in television movies such as Woman of Valor (1977), Francis of Assisi (1977), My Old Man (1979) and Royal Match (1985), and television dramas The Edge of Night (1971 to 1972) and Guiding Light (1973 to 1974).

In 1979, she toured with her one-woman show, Faces of Love, which culminated in a successful run at the Roundabout Theater, and in 1984 she played Jacqueline in the San Francisco production of La Cage aux Folles. Her husband was playwright Nathan Teitel and she appeared in many of his plays including Duet, Figures in the Sand, and The Keymaker.

Teitel won two Obie awards, for her work in Under Milkwood and The Country Scandal, and was nominated for an Emmy for Woman of Valor. She died in 1986 at the age of 62 following complications from a car accident.

Scope and arrangement

The papers contain material that reflects Teitel's career on stage and in television dramas and consists of correspondence, news clippings, photographs, programs, and scripts. The correspondence is primarily incoming letters from notable actors and directors including William Ball, Greer Garson, Arthur Laurents, Laurence Olivier, and Joan Plowright, among others. The letters consist of notes thanking Teitel for a letter or gift; comments on one of her performances; or requests for her to audition for a part. All of the letters are warm in tone and demonstrate the friendships Teitel developed with many of her colleagues. The correspondence also consists of photocopies of fan letters to CBS regarding Faces of Love, and from the Jewish Theological Seminary regarding A Woman of Valor. The photographs are unsorted and consist of prints and contact sheets of theater performances and television shows, as well as headshots and other publicity photographs. There is a small amount of candid snapshots of a dinner party and of the cast and crew of the San Francisco production of La Cage aux Folles. Both the photographs and programs represent the breadth of Teitel's decades-long career, from Broadway shows to regional theaters. The scripts are for stage plays and television dramas and are generally heavily annotated. The general folder contains biographical material, a ticket and set requirements for Faces of Love, a sketch of Teitel, and a certificate for her 1977 Academy Award nomination.

Arrangement

  • This collection is arranged by format.

Administrative information

Custodial history

Collection was maintained by Nathan Teitel prior to donation.

Source of acquisition

Donated by Nathan Teitel, 2012.

Processing information

Compiled by Susan Malsbury.

Material was refoldered as necessary and reboxed.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Access to materials

Some collections held by the Dance, Music, Recorded Sound, and Theatre Divisions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. For general guidance about requesting offsite materials, please consult: https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/lpa/requesting-archival-materials

Access restrictions

For permission to publish, contact the Billy Rose Theatre Division.