- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"56 linear feet (133 boxes)"}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 1967-003", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21482", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Lawrence and Lee papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Billy Rose Theatre Division."}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, writers of stage, screen, television and radio were both born in Ohio. They met in New York where they were pursuing careers in broadcasting. Among the founding fathers of Armed Forces Radio, they created and adapted many stories for radio. Later they entered the world of commercial broadcasting for both radio and television. In the 1940s they began writing plays. Among their best known works are <span class=\"title\">Auntie Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail</span> . The Lawrence and Lee papers consist of their early correspondence and writings from broadcasting including Armed Forces Radio and commercial radio and television as well as production files and scripts from many of their major works. Also included are project ideas, other writings and speeches, scrapbooks and some photographs. The papers document their careers up until the mid-1960s. Missing from the collection are their works after this date."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Lawrence and Lee papers, *T-Mss 1967-003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Lawrence, Jerome, 1915-2004", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee were a writing team who wrote, adapted and produced for radio, television and the stage from the 1940s into the 1990s. Both from Ohio, they didn't meet and become collaborators until 1942 when they were among the founders of <span class=\"corpname\">Armed Forces Radio Service</span> (AFRS). While with the AFRS, they wrote a wide variety of programs that were broadcast to troops overseas - comedy programs, dramatic programs, and informational programs - including such titles as <span class=\"title\">Command Performance</span>, <span class=\"title\">Yarns for Yanks</span> and <span class=\"title\">Mail Call</span>.</p> <p>After the war, Lawrence and Lee continued their successful collaborative efforts writing for commercial television, radio and the theater. <span class=\"title\">Railroad Hour</span>, <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span>, <span class=\"title\">Young Love</span> and <span class=\"title\">Request Performance</span> are a few of the radio programs which used materials written or adapted by Lawrence and Lee. They were also successful in their theatrical endeavors writing such famous plays as, <span class=\"title\">Auntie Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span>, <span class=\"title\">Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</span>, <span class=\"title\">Dear World</span>, <span class=\"title\">First Monday in October</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail</span>. Lawrence and Lee also wrote and adapted for film and television. Their television work includes adaptations and original scripts for <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Unexpected</span>. They also adapted for television their play <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span> which was produced for <span class=\"title\">Hallmark Hall of Fame</span>. Their film adaptations include the screenplay for <span class=\"title\">First Monday in October</span>.</p> <p>In later years, Lawrence and Lee continued as writers, teachers and lecturers, giving talks to a wide range of academic and general interest groups throughout the country and around the world.</p>"}
- custodhist
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Lawrence and Lee papers were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 1967 by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The papers were in good condition and arrived with a complete inventory of their contents.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The papers of <span class=\"persname\">Jerome Lawrence</span> and Robert E. Lee contain <span class=\"genreform\">correspondence</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">scripts</span>, drafts of scripts and rewrites, production files, production notes, <span class=\"genreform\">programs</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">clippings</span> and personal papers and document their careers from 1942 until 1966. The collection contains early correspondence between <span class=\"persname\">Robert E. Lee</span> and his family and friends during his time in school and in the army during <span class=\"subject\">World War II</span>. <span class=\"genreform\">Radio scripts</span> from the <span class=\"corpname\">Armed Forces Radio Service</span> mark the beginning of Lawrence and Lee's collaboration as a writing team.</p> <p> The collection is rich in its documentation of their writings through the 1960s. Included are scripts, notes and production files from their commercial radio career and the early years of Broadway. Productions included are <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span>, <span class=\"title\">Auntie Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Gang's All Here</span>, <span class=\"title\">Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</span> and <span class=\"title\">A Call on Kuprin</span>, to name a few. Radio programs include <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span>, The <span class=\"title\">Railroad Hour</span>, <span class=\"title\">Hallmark Playhouse</span>, <span class=\"title\">Young Love</span>, <span class=\"title\">The World We're Fighting For</span> and <span class=\"title\">Request Performance</span>. Television programs include <span class=\"title\">The Unexpected</span> and <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span>. The papers also include writings done by Lawrence and Lee for speeches, lectures and seminars.</p> <p>Missing from the collection is any personal correspondence belonging to Jerome Lawrence and any scripts and production materials from later plays including <span class=\"title\">The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail</span>, <span class=\"title\">Dear World</span> and <span class=\"title\">First Monday in October</span>.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Lawrence and Lee papers are arranged in fourteen series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c306893'>Series I: Personal Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1943-1970</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The bulk of this series is <span class=\"persname\">Robert E. Lee</span> material which includes a folder of papers regarding his Air Force flight school experience in the early 1940s and notes about productions he had seen over the years. Lawrence's record of his impressions of theater viewing experiences are also included.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c306910'>Series II: Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series, consisting mainly of personal and professional correspondence to Robert E. Lee, includes some business correspondence to both Lawrence and Lee, Lawrence's letters relating his experiences while on a world tour, and his annual Twelfth Night letters.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c306934'>Series III: Armed Forces Radio Service Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1942-1945</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains individual and bound volumes of radio scripts written for Armed Forces Radio. Most but not all of the scripts were written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Among the individual scripts are <span class=\"title\">Chain of Command</span>, <span class=\"title\">Japan's Road to Fascism</span>, <span class=\"title\">Let's Go to Town!</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Why?</span>. Two bound volumes of <span class=\"title\">Yarns for Yanks</span> also include D-Day, VE-Day, and VJ-Day special broadcasts and post-war programs. Two volumes entitled Overseas Broadcasts contain scripts for <span class=\"title\">Mail Call</span>, <span class=\"title\">Song Sheet</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Personal Album</span>, among others, and photographs of broadcasts. Papers related to the creation of Armed Forces Radio Service include correspondence to Lawrence and Lee, guidelines, budgets, ideas for programming, and program lists. Box 5, folder 2 includes Robert E. Lee's induction papers.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c306945'>Series IV: War Related Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1942-1945</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains wartime scripts for radio, screen and stage done by Lawrence and Lee as individuals. Included are scripts for the radio program <span class=\"title\">They Live Forever</span>, a series written by Jerome Lawrence and Howard Teichmann and aired on CBS radio. The program's primary function was to boost wartime morale. The rest of the materials include scripts written by Robert E. Lee and are primarily army productions for training and entertainment. Titles include <span class=\"title\">Fantasy at Versailles</span>, <span class=\"title\">G. I. Heaven</span>, <span class=\"title\">Hammond on the Air</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Hitler Comes Calling</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c306954'>Series V: Organizations</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1956-1967</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>9 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p><span class=\"genreform\">Correspondence</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">clippings</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">programs</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">memos</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">minutes</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">speeches</span>, and <span class=\"genreform\">photographs</span> document Lawrence and Lee's various organizational affiliations. Included are: <span class=\"corpname\">American Conservatory Theatre Foundation</span>, <span class=\"corpname\">American Playwrights Theatre</span>, the Margo Jones Award, <span class=\"corpname\">National Repertory Theatre</span>, <span class=\"corpname\">U.S. Department of State Office of Cultural Presentations Ad Hoc Drama Panel</span>, and the <span class=\"corpname\">Broadcasting and Film Commission</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c306963'>Series VI: Stage and Film Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>65 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series includes <span class=\"genreform\">correspondence</span>, production files, notes, <span class=\"genreform\">clippings</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">programs</span>, ephemera, and <span class=\"genreform\">scripts</span> and documents the major works of Lawrence and Lee from the late 1940s until the mid-1960s.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307201'>Series VII: Ziv Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>24 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is divided into four sub-series and contains business and production files of the Frederic W. Ziv Company primarily dealing with <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Unexpected</span>. Included are <span class=\"genreform\">correspondence</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">contracts</span>, writer and celebrity clearances, <span class=\"genreform\">scripts</span> and financial records for Lawrence and Lee's affiliation with Ziv Productions.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307245'>Series VIII: Radio and Television Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>14 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contain radio and television scripts for major radio shows written, directed or adapted by Lawrence and Lee.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307278'>Series IX: Miscellaneous Radio, Television and Sound Recording Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1942-1955</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains notes, research files, production files and scripts for radio, television and sound recordings written by Lawrence and Lee. Included are <span class=\"genreform\">scripts</span> for the radio programs <span class=\"title\">Halls of Ivy</span>, starring Ronald Colman, <span class=\"title\">Presenting Charles Boyer</span>, and special United Nations broadcasts.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307300'>Series X: Project Ideas</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1932-1965</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains <span class=\"genreform\">screenplays</span>, <span class=\"genreform\">treatments</span> and <span class=\"genreform\">outlines</span> for films, radio and television stories, many of which were in development but never produced. Included in this series are film scripts for <span class=\"title\">The New Yorkers</span> a screenplay written by Lawrence and Lee and commissioned by U-I. The film was to star Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. Included as well are drafts of scripts for <span class=\"title\">The Joyous Season</span>, based on the book by Patrick Dennis, and project proposals for television and radio shows.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307329'>Series XI: Other Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains writings, other than scripts, by Lawrence and Lee. Included are notes and drafts for Robert E. Lee's book <span class=\"title\">Television: The Revolutionary Industry</span> (1944), notes and research for Jerome Lawrence's book <span class=\"title\">Off Mike</span> (1944) and various articles and speeches by both playwrights.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307338'>Series XII: Miscellaneous Financial Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1952-1959</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains miscellaneous box office papers, including statements for <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span> and <span class=\"title\">Auntie Mame</span>, and royalty statements for various radio, television and recording productions (1930s-1960s).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307341'>Series XIII: Scripts by Other Writers</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is arranged alphabetically by title and contains scripts written by other authors and kept by Lawrence and Lee for review or possible adaptation for television, radio and or film.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21482#c307369'>Series XIV: Scrapbooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>ca. 1942-1961</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>10 volumes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The scrapbooks, spanning the 1940s-1960s, consist of clippings and other memorabilia about Lawrence and Lee and their various radio, television and stage productions. Included are scrapbooks for <span class=\"title\">Auntie Mame</span>, <span class=\"title\">A Call on Kuprin</span>, <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Gang's All Here</span> and <span class=\"title\">Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</span> as well as a scrapbook about a summer season of Lawrence and Lee plays produced at the <span class=\"corpname\">Berea Summer Theatre</span> in Ohio and three scrapbooks of miscellaneous clippings.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul> <li>Series I: Personal Papers <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Robert E. Lee</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Jerome Lawrence</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Lawrence and Lee</li></ul></li> <li>Series II: Correspondence <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Lee family correspondence</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Lawrence and Lee</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Lawrence correspondence to Lee</li></ul></li> <li>Series III: Armed Forces Radio Service Papers</li> <li>Series IV: War Related Writings</li> <li>Series V: Organizations</li> <li>Series VI: Stage and Film Productions <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - <span class=\"title\">Auntie Mame</span></li> <li>Sub-series 2 - <span class=\"title\">A Call on Kuprin</span></li> <li>Sub-series 3 - <span class=\"title\">Diamond Orchid</span></li> <li>Sub-series 4 - <span class=\"title\">The Gang's All Here</span></li> <li>Sub-series 5 - <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span></li> <li>Sub-series 6 - <span class=\"title\">The Laughmaker</span></li> <li>Sub-series 7 - <span class=\"title\">Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</span></li> <li>Sub-series 8 - <span class=\"title\">Mame</span></li> <li>Sub-series 9 - <span class=\"title\">Only in America</span></li> <li>Sub-series 10 - <span class=\"title\">Shangri-La</span></li></ul></li> <li>Series VII: Ziv Productions (Radio and Television) <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Ziv Production Files</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span> (Radio program) scripts</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - <span class=\"title\">Favorite Story</span> (Television program) scripts</li> <li>Sub-series 4 - <span class=\"title\">The Unexpected</span> (Television program) scripts</li></ul></li> <li>Series VIII: Radio and Television Productions <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - <span class=\"title\">Hallmark Playhouse</span> (Radio program)</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - <span class=\"title\">The Railroad Hour</span> (Radio program)</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - <span class=\"title\">Request Performance</span> (Radio program)</li> <li>Sub-series 4 - <span class=\"title\">The World We're Fighting For</span> (Radio program)</li> <li>Sub-series 5 - <span class=\"title\">Young Love</span> (Radio program)</li></ul></li> <li>Series IX: Miscellaneous Radio, Television and Sound Recording Productions</li> <li>Series X: Project Ideas</li> <li>Series XI: Other Writings</li> <li>Series XII: Miscellaneous Financial Papers</li> <li>Series XIII: Scripts by Other Writers</li> <li>Series XIV: Scrapbooks</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Audiovisual materials separated from archival collections are cataloged individually and can be found in the Library catalog. Search CATNYP, The New York Public Library catalog.</p> <ul> <li> <span class=\"title\">A Call on Kuprin</span> - 30 A Photographs; 24 B Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Diamond Orchid</span> - 5 B Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Gang's All Here</span>- 37 A Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Inherit the Wind</span> - 55 A Photographs; 3 B Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Laughmaker</span> - 2 A Photographs; 2 B Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</span> - 4 A Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Only in America</span> - 26 A Photographs; 2 B Photographs; 17 Friedman-Abeles Photographs</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Shangri-La</span> (Television program) - 40 A Photographs; 7 B Photographs</li></ul> <ul> <li>Sound recordings are in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.</li></ul>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Susan McArthur and Archival Staff.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p> In 1995 the papers were retrospectively converted, a finding aid was written and an RLIN record was created. In 2000 an EAD finding aid was added to the New York Public Library website.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photocopying prohibited.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Other materials on Lawrence and Lee can be found at the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State University.</p>"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1917-1974", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1917/1974"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1917
- date_inclusive_end
-
1974
- acqinfo
-
{"accession_number"=>"THE Mss 1967-003"}
{"date"=>"1967", "source"=>"Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee", "address"=>"See donor file", "method"=>"Gift", "extent"=>"56 o", "value"=>"Gift, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, 1967"}
- keydate
-
1917
- date_start
-
1917
- date_end
-
1974