- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*MGZMD 293", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"18697", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b19480996", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1920-2010", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1920/2010"}
{"value"=>"1940-2001", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1940/2001"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Donald Saddler papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"37.69 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"93 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"id"=>"DAN", "value"=>"Jerome Robbins Dance Division"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Donald Saddler was a choreographer, director, and dancer in the disciplines of film, stage, ballet, and opera. The Donald Saddler papers contain materials from 1920 to 2010 that document Saddler's professional life, including correspondence, daybooks, organizational and production files, photographs, scores and scripts."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Donald Saddler papers, *MGZMD 293. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Saddler, Donald", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donald Saddler was a choreographer, director, and dancer in the disciplines of film, stage, ballet, and opera. He was born in 1918 in Van Nuys, California and took up dancing in order to recover his strength after a bout of scarlet fever. He spent his high school vacations dancing in the chorus of MGM musicals such as the 1937 production, Rosalie.</p> <p>Saddler was an original member of Ballet Theatre, and danced with the company from 1940-1943 before heading to Alaska for service in World War II. When he returned to New York in 1945, he decided to forego ballet in favor of Broadway musicals, appearing in High Button Shoes (1947) and two 1950 revues, Dance Me a Song and Bless You All, before obtaining his first appointment as a choreographer for Wonderful Town in 1953, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Choreography. Saddler continued to create ballets throughout his career, working with the American Ballet Theatre and the Harkness Ballet, for whom he served as artistic director from 1964-1970.</p> <p>Other theatrical choreography includes My Fair Lady, Teddy and Alice, Milk and Honey, The Robber Bridegroom, No, No Nanette and Hellzapoppin. His choreography for the New York Shakespeare Festival includes Merry Wives of Windsor, A Midsummer Night's Dream and A Doll's House.</p> <p>Saddler choreographed operas all over the country, and worked extensively with the Washington Opera. He choreographed The Dream of Valentino and directed Die Fledermaus, Abduction from the Seraglio, and Wiener Blut. His film work included three films with Doris Day, as well as work on televised programs such as The Bell Telephone Hour.</p> <p>Saddler received the 1984 Dance Magazine Award and the Astaire Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2001 at the age of 83, Saddler was featured in the Broadway revival of Follies, performing with fellow dance veteran Marge Champion. The two subsequently took up rehearsal space together, and their partnership was featured in the documentary Keep Dancing, released in 2010. In 2011 Saddler received the 1st Annual Duke Ellington \"Beyond Category\" award. That same year, he retired to the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, NJ, where he died on November 1, 2014.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Donald Saddler papers contain materials from 1920 to 2010 that document his professional and personal life, including correspondence, daybooks, organizational and production files, photographs, scores and scripts. There is also a small amount of material relating to Saddler's representation company, Dance Talent, Inc. His passion for theater choreography and his commitment to the artistic community and developing new works is evident throughout his correspondence, which is both personal and professional. Related correspondence can be found in the organizational and production files as well. There are professional and candid photographs, working scripts and a small selection of scores from various compositions on which Saddler worked.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Donald Saddler papers are arranged in nine series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841166'>Series I: Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1947-2010</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series I contains personal correspondence received by Saddler, primarily in the latter half of his career. While the bulk of the letters in this series are the result of professional relationships, many are personal in content. Notable correspondents include Walter Terry, Doris Day, Angela Lansbury, Jerome Robbins, and many of the dancers who Saddler was familiar with in the early years of the Ballet Theatre. Some folders contain drafts of his responses. The cards in this series are Christmas, birthday, and short notes, signed only by first name and undated. These are arranged in the order they were found. Alphabetical by correspondent.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841327'>Series II: Dance Talent, Inc</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1970-1972</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Dance Talent, Inc. was a representation company for dance artists directed by Saddler with the assistance of Jeannot Cerrone and Suanne Shirley. The company was responsible for placing dancers, choreographers, teachers, and lecturers into suitable venues. The papers contain company correspondence which hold talent lists, and publicity photographs and headshots of some of the dancers represented by the agency. Some photographs have resumes attached. Photographs with no identifying information are categorized as \"unidentified.\" Alphabetical by subject.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841351'>Series III: Daybooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1941-2010</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Saddler's daybooks consist of appointment-calendar style bound volumes with varying degrees of detail. The books dating from the 1940s and into the 1950s have a substantial amount of information, (with short, almost diary-like entries) describing his life with the Ballet Theatre company as well as his service in the military. The later books are more appointment based, describing his days in a list of events. The daybooks document rehearsals, auditions, and professional meetings and appointments as well as personal events such as vacations. The entries are extremely sparse after 1990. Chronological by date.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841410'>Series IV: Organizational Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1940-2008</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series IV holds organizational files for some of the many institutions, charities, and committees in which Saddler was an active participant. As a founding company member of the Ballet Theatre, Saddler amassed a collection of bound programs and photographs of the group performing and traveling the country. As the assistant director and artistic director of the Harkness Ballet from 1964 to 1970, Saddler was involved in choreography, hiring of company members, running the training program and bringing in guest artists to teach such as Agnes De Mille. The Harkness papers contain programs, correspondence, student lists, and other business records pertaining to the company. Other organizational files concern the Lucille Lortel Theater, the New York Dance Festival, the Stratfprd Festival, and Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre, for which Saddler choreographed many productions. Alphabetical by organization.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841485'>Series V: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1920-2007</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series V contains personal and professional photographs of Saddler and his contemporaries. Saddler's personal photographs include childhood portraits, vacation snapshots, and other family portraits. The photographs post-1980 consist primarily of personal photographs taken at awards banquets, galas, and other events honoring both Saddler and his friends, such as George Abbott, Alicia Alonso, and Alicia Markova.</p> <p>The professional photographs are promotional headshots and production shots of Saddler working as a dancer or choreographer, as well as images of other contemporary dancers. There are prints of dancers Saddler used as art in his home. The series also holds a collection of Carl Van Vechten photographs. Saddler retained all images taken of him by Van Vechten, and collected over one hundred images of other dancers. All photographs are originals and stamped by Van Vechten. Some are postcards which have been used. Alphabetical by subject.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841522'>Series VI: Production Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1948-2007</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series VI contains files relating to specific productions or in-development projects (properties). They include audition notes, budgets, cast lists, contact sheets, contracts, correspondence, costume sketches, financial materials, photographs (both production and candid), playbills, programs, production notes, public relations materials, and research materials. All production files contain some, but not all of the before listed materials.</p> <p>The files are divided into five categories: Ballets, Galas, Benefits and Memorials, Film, Opera, and Theater. The ballet material is the least detailed, usually only containing ballet scenarios, rough notes, outlines and programs. Galas, Benefits and Memorials hold Saddler's files on the many \"one night only\" events he choreographed, staged, or directed. These also include award shows, memorial services, honor ceremonies, and even Brooke Astor's birthday party. The theater files hold the most information, often containing pages torn from the scripts with Saddler's notes, congratulatory telegrams, and workshop materials. There is one scrapbook detailing plans for an unidentified dance revue. Alphabetical by production title.</p> <p>This series also holds sound recordings, such as live audio of Saddler's production of On Your Toes as well as demo recordings of The Lady in Penthouse B and The Thief of London.</p> <p>Inquiries regarding audio and video materials in the collection may be directed to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Audio/visual materials may be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841713'>Series VII: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1957-1975</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Scores series holds a selection of music for some of Saddler's productions and choreographic work. The scores are not always complete, with the exception of Hellzapoppin and the dance score for Michael. They are not notated by Saddler. Alphabetical by title.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841726'>Series VIII: Scrapbooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1928-1999</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series VIII holds Saddler's personal scrapbooks. There are two childhood compositions in which he collected the images of movie stars from magazines, including Gloria Swanson, Shirley Temple, and Marlene Dietrich. There is also a scrapbook of ballet programs from early in Saddler's career (1937-1939) as well as a very detailed scrapbook from his time serving in Alaska during World War II showing life on his base in addition to the performances he oversaw for base entertainment. Alphabetical by subject.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/18697#c841731'>Series IX: Scripts</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1949-2004</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series IX contains Saddler's working scripts for many of his productions. The scripts are often marked and some are early versions or drafts from workshops. Many scripts are from pre-production properties, some of which never made it past the workshop phase. These scripts may or may not have a corresponding production file. The year reflected in the finding aid is the year (or years) that Saddler was working with the particular script, not the scripts original date of publication. Alphabetical by title.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Donald Saddler, 2011.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Lea Jordan</span>, <span class=\"date\">2011</span>.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>Publications and duplicate materials removed and returned to LPA. Collection organized and rehoused. Deteriorating scrapbooks disassembled, all information transferred.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Inquiries regarding audio and video materials in the collection may be directed to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Audio/visual materials may be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.</p>"}
- dsc_type
-
combined
- date_start
-
1920
- keydate
-
1920
- date_end
-
2010
- date_inclusive_start
-
1920
- date_inclusive_end
-
2010
- date_bulk_start
-
1940
- date_bulk_end
-
2001
- extent_statement
-
37.69 linear feet (93 boxes)