- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"23 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"26 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
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{"value"=>"JPB 07-4", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20423", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unittitle
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{"value"=>"Arthur Siegel Papers"}
- repository
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{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</span> <span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
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{"value"=>"Arthur Siegel was a pianist, composer, lyricist and vocalist who wrote for musicals, revues and cabaret. His papers contain scores, clippings, correspondence, programs, promotional material and lyrics."}
- prefercite
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{"value"=>"<p>Arthur Siegel Papers, JPB 04-7. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
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{"value"=>"Siegel, Arthur, 1923-1994", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
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{"value"=>"<p> Arthur Siegel (born Lakewood, NJ, Dec. 31, 1923; d. New York City, Sept. 13, 1994) was a pianist, composer, lyricist and vocalist. He grew up in Asbury Park, NJ, and began to act in high school theater productions as well as write songs. After high school he studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and music at the Juilliard School. Eddie Cantor’s daughter, Marilyn, was a classmate of Siegel’s at the Academy, and through that connection Siegel got a job as Cantor’s accompanist, launching his career.</p> <p>Siegel’s first Broadway show was <span class=\"title\">Lovely Me</span> (1946-47), on which he worked with lyricist Jeff Bailey. He also began working with the producer Leonard Sillman, producer of the <span class=\"title\">New Faces</span> series of Broadway revues. Siegel achieved lasting fame for his contributions to <span class=\"title\">New Faces Of 1952</span>, which featured the debuts of Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde and Alice Ghostley. Beginning a long working relationship with the lyricist June Carroll, Siegel wrote some of his most well-known songs for the show, including <span class=\"title\">Love Is A Simple Thing</span>, <span class=\"title\">Monotonous</span> (a feature for Eartha Kitt) and <span class=\"title\">He Takes Me Off His Income Tax</span>. He also composed for Sillman’s 1956, 1962 and 1968 editions of <span class=\"title\">New Faces</span>, though none were as successful as the 1952 version. Siegel worked on several shows with June Carroll and other lyricists, some of which were never produced, such as a version of the S.N. Behrman play <span class=\"title\">Serena Blandish</span>. He also worked on many musicals and revues that were produced off Broadway in the 1970s and 1980s. These included <span class=\"title\">A Quarter For The Ladies Room</span> (1972), <span class=\"title\">Corkscrews</span> (1982), <span class=\"title\">Tallulah</span> (1983), <span class=\"title\">Offbeats</span> (1985), <span class=\"title\">A Split Decision</span> (1986) and <span class=\"title\">The Last Musical Comedy</span> (1988). Siegel worked several times with the producer Ben Bagley, recording for his <span class=\"title\">Revisited</span> album series of obscure Broadway songs, and contributing to Bagley’s shows <span class=\"title\">Seven Come Eleven</span> and <span class=\"title\">Shoestring Revue</span>.</p> <p>Siegel performed as well as composed. He was the pianist for Stanley Holloway’s one-man show, <span class=\"title\">Laughs And Other Events</span> (1960), and for over 30 years he accompanied the singer/comedienne Kaye Ballard. Other vocalists he worked with included Sandy Stewart, Gypsy Rose Lee, Imogene Coca and Hermione Gingold, contributing songs and sketch material in addition to accompaniment. In the late 1970s Siegel began performing solo, singing a huge repertoire of standards and lesser-known Broadway songs as well as his own material, and he was popular on New York’s cabaret circuit. He continued to perform until shortly before his death from heart failure at the age of 70.</p>"}
- scopecontent
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{"value"=>"<p>The Arthur Siegel Papers consist of clippings, correspondence, programs, promotional material, lyrics and scores. Nearly every project the composer was involved in is represented in the collection, including <span class=\"title\">New Faces Of 1952</span>, <span class=\"title\">Corkscrews</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Last Musical Comedy</span>, <span class=\"title\">Tallulah</span> and the unproduced projects <span class=\"title\">Serena Blandish</span>, <span class=\"title\">It’s Nancy!</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Heaven Indiana</span>. The collection also documents Siegel’s work with collaborators such as June Carroll, Kaye Ballard, Sandy Stewart and Ben Bagley. The scores, almost entirely in manuscript, consist of lead sheets for Siegel’s songs, as well as an extensive set of songs by other songwriters. The papers contain no documentation of Siegel’s personal life.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Arthur Siegel Papers are arranged in two series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20423#c617998'>Series I: Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1938-1994 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>5 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists mainly of clippings, programs, promotional material and correspondence documenting Siegel’s collaborations and the projects with which he was involved. Collaborators appear in sub-series 1 and include Kaye Ballard and Sandy Stewart. Project files appear in sub-series 2 and include documentation of <span class=\"title\">New Faces Of 1952</span>, <span class=\"title\">Corkscrews</span>, <span class=\"title\">Tallulah</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Last Musical Comedy</span> and unproduced projects such as <span class=\"title\">It’s Nancy!</span> and <span class=\"title\">Serena Blandish</span>. General papers appear in sub-series 3 and document Siegel’s own composing and cabaret performance career.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20423#c618092'>Series II: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>ca. 1942 - 1989 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>21 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The scores consist mostly of manuscript lead sheets for songs, usually containing a melody line with chord changes and lyrics, though sometimes lyrics are written or printed on a separate sheet (and occasionally lyrics are absent). The songs are in two sub-series. Sub-series 1 groups songs by the show or project they were written for, and sub-series 2 contains songs usually not associated with a particular show or project. It also contains Siegel’s earliest attempts at songwriting, and songs by other composers.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul> <li>Series I: Papers, 1938-1994 and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 – Collaborators, 1955-1991 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 – Shows and Projects, 1951-1986 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 3 – General, 1938-1994 and undated</li></ul></li> <li>Series II: Scores, ca.1942 – 1989 and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 – Shows and Projects, ca.1942 – 1989 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 – Songs, 1961-1994 and undated</li></ul></li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Arthur Siegel Papers were donated to the Music Division in 2006 by Berthe Schuchat.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Chief, Music Division.</p>"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1938-1994", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1938/1994"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1938
- date_inclusive_end
-
1994
- keydate
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1938
- processinfo
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{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Matthew Snyder; Machine-readable finding aid created by Matthew Snyder.</p>"}
- extent_statement
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23 linear feet (26 boxes)
- date_start
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1938
- date_end
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1994