- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"12 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"15 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 1995-027", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21812", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1946-2000", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1946/2000"}
{"value"=>"1957-1993", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1957/1993"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1946
- date_inclusive_end
-
2000
- keydate
-
1946
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Danny Apolinar papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</span> <span class=\"subarea\">Billy Rose Theatre Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"><span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Danny Apolinar Papers document the career of Danny Apolinar, lyricist, composer, pianist, nightclub entertainer and illustrator. The materials date from 1946-2000 (bulk dates 1957-1993) and include professional correspondence, legal and financial papers, production and promotional materials, scripts, photographs, scores, scrapbooks, clippings, programs, and posters designed by Danny Apolinar. There are no personal records in the collection."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p> Danny Apolinar Papers, *T-Mss 1995-027. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Apolinar, Danny", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Daniel George (Danny) Apolinar (1934-1995) was born in Brooklyn, New York. The son of a French-German mother and a Filipino father, who was an acrobat with a traveling circus, Apolinar began dancing lessons at the age of four, and his interest in entertainment remained alive throughout his life. In 1956, while a student at the School of Industrial Arts, he began singing and playing the piano at night clubs. His first venue was The Five Oaks in Greenwich Village. His career as entertainer was not interrupted even during the years he served in the army, in 1957-1959. In 1958 he participated in the USAEUR Entertainment Contest, and in the following year he won the Special Group-Musical award at the All-Army Entertainment Contest.</p> <p>Upon his release from the army Apolinar formed the Danny Apolinar Trio, and for the following years the group performed in various venues in New York, including the Left Bank, Jan Wallman’s Upstairs at the Duplex, and Hawaii Kai. During the same time the Trio also toured throughout the United States, including the entire circuit of the Playboy Club in Las Vegas, Chicago, New Orleans and Miami. Described as “a cross between Jerry Lewis and Pat Suzuki”, Apolinar was praised for his quick wit and sense of humor that characterized his lively and somewhat irreverent shows of singing, piano playing, and comedy numbers.</p> <p>A significant move in his career occurred when, after frequent visits, Apolinar settled in Puerto Rico in 1965. He began playing regularly at Old San Juan’s fashionable bistro A Spot In The Sun, which he co-owned with Hal Hester. For four years the “Spot” became a successful nightspot in the Caribbean. During the day the two men would work on their ideas for a musical, and in the evenings Apolinar would perform and test their compositions in front of his audience.</p> <p>By 1968 these ideas had formed into <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span>, a rock musical which quickly became an off-Broadway hit. Originally entitled <span class=\"title\">The London Look</span>, the show is inspired by William Shakespeare’s <span class=\"title\">The Twelfth Night</span>. Donald Driver staged the production, which was produced by Zev Bufman and Dorothy Love. Apart from co-writing the lyrics and music for all songs, Apolinar also designed the logo for the poster, contributed in costume design, and was part of the on-stage musical group for the original New York production and National Company in Los Angeles. <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span> ran for three years in New York, had seven simultaneous touring companies in the United States and Canada, was produced in London and Australia, and toured in several European capitals. It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award as Best Musical in 1968, and launched the career of Sandy Duncan. An RCA Original Cast Album was recorded in 1968.</p> <p>Subsequent efforts to replicate the success of <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span> were not as fruitful. Apolinar worked towards several new shows that remained unproduced, including <span class=\"title\">Alice</span> in 1970 and <span class=\"title\">Bugs</span> in 1971. In the late 1970s Apolinar wrote the lyrics for two smaller productions, in collaboration with Addy Fieger who wrote the music. <span class=\"title\">The Wicked Mrs. Woodhull</span> opened in 1976, and <span class=\"title\">Changes</span> in 1980, once again produced by Dorothy Love. Previews for <span class=\"title\">Changes</span> began off-Broadway in February 1980, starring Larry Kert and Kelly Bishop, but reviews were not enthusiastic and the show closed after seven performances.</p> <p>Apolinar’s career as night club entertainer and graphic artist remained constant features throughout his life. He created artwork for Broadway and off-Broadway shows, and record albums, and performed regularly in venues such as the Pub Theatrical and Danny’s Grand Sea Palace. He participated in the design and creation of Danny’s Skylight Room Cabaret, and was awarded with the Backstage “Bistro” Award for Excellence, and the Manhattan Association of Cabarets Awards as Outstanding Pianist/Singer in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Apolinar died in 1995 in New York.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p> The Danny Apolinar Papers document the career of Danny Apolinar, lyricist, composer, pianist, nightclub entertainer and illustrator. Although materials include a few childhood pictures that date from 1946, and some correspondence by John Britton after Apolinar’s death, the bulk years of this collection cover Danny Apolinar’s professional life, from his army years in 1957 to the end of his career in 1993.</p> <p>This collection contains professional correspondence, legal and financial papers, production and promotional materials, scripts, photographs, scores, scrapbooks, clippings, programs, and posters designed by Danny Apolinar. A significant portion of this collection consists of materials from Apolinar’s two largest productions, the rock musical hit <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Changes</span>. A small number of signed and unsigned photographs and correspondence with individuals from the theater and music world can also be found in this collection. There are no personal records in the collection.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Danny Apolinar papers are arranged in six series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21812#c491579'>Series I: Professional Papers,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1957 - 2000</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains correspondence, biographical and publicity materials, awards and certificates, samples from Apolinar’s work as a graphic artist, financial records, and several photographs of Apolinar with colleagues and friends, such as Raoul Gonzales, Teddi King, Joi Lansing, Beryl Reid and Susannah York. There are also several autographed portraits, including those of Carmen McRae, Chita Rivera, Billy Daniels and Jonah Jones.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21812#c491595'>Series II: Productions,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1959 - 1985</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains materials from the various shows on which Apolinar worked, both those produced, such as <span class=\"title\">Changes,</span> <span class=\"title\">The Wicked Mrs. Woodhull,</span> and <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span>, and ones that remained unproduced, such as <span class=\"title\">Alice</span>, <span class=\"title\">Bugs</span>, and <span class=\"title\">The London Look</span>, which was the original version of <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span>. It includes production notes, lyrics and scripts, costume plots, photographs, programs, publicity materials, annotated audition lists and cast biographies, correspondence, legal and financial records</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21812#c491645'>Series III: Scores,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1959 - 1980</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>6 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains musical scores from Apolinar’s productions. It includes manuscripts and annotated copies, conductor scores, full scores and parts. It also contains the complete parts for <span class=\"title\">The Flowers</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Middle Years,</span> the two songs from <span class=\"title\">Your Own Thing</span> that were recorded by RCA in 1968. Lyrics for all scores were written by Danny Apolinar.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21812#c491736'>Series IV: Scrapbooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1946 - 1993</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains scrapbooks documenting Apolinar’s career from childhood to the last years of his life. Two are entirely devoted to Apolinar’s productions. The scrapbooks include photographs, clippings, flyers and programs, correspondence, as well as nightclub coasters and matchboxes.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21812#c491744'>Series V: Programs,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1967 - 1979</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains programs found in Apolinar’s collection that have no direct link to his career. They are from shows that he attended, many of which include notes with comments on cast members. Of particular interest is a collection of over 50 programs from different performances of <span class=\"title\">Fiddler on the Roof</span> throughout the United States and some from Europe, dating from the 1960s and the 1970s.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21812#c491757'>Series VI: Oversized,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1968 - 1991</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains posters and mock-ups designed by Danny Apolinar, both for his own productions as well as for commissioned work. It also contains a large telegram for the opening of one of Apolinar’s entertainment shows.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul> <li>Series I: Professional Papers,1957-2000,undated</li> <li>Series II: Productions,1959-1985,undated</li> <li>Series III: Scores,1959-1980,undated</li> <li>Series IV: Scrapbooks, 1946-1993</li> <li>Series V: Programs, 1967-1979, undated</li> <li>Series VI: Oversized, 1968-1991, undated</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p> The Danny Apolinar Papers were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 1995 by Danny Apolinar. Additional materials were donated in 2000 by John Britton.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Aikaterini Dimitriadou-Shuster; Machine-readable finding aid created by Aikaterini Dimitriadou-Shuster.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
12 linear feet (15 boxes)
- date_start
-
1946
- date_end
-
2000
- date_bulk_start
-
1957
- date_bulk_end
-
1993