- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5.5 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"14 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"JPB 04-37", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20311", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1927-1977", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1927/1977"}
{"value"=>"1940-1977", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1940/1977"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1927
- date_inclusive_end
-
1977
- keydate
-
1927
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Richard Barstow papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library. <span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span></span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"This collection contains manuscripts, manuscript copies, printed scores, and parts belonging to choreographer, director, dancer, and composer Richard Barstow, whose varied career included directing for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, industrial shows, and for stage, screen, and television."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Richard Barstow Papers, JPB 04-37, Music Division, The New York Public Library.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Barstow, Richard", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Choreographer, director, dancer, and composer Richard Barstow was born in Ashtabula, Ohio on April 1, 1908, the youngest of seven children of British immigrants. He began his varied show business career as a dancer, going on to direct and choreograph for the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, industrial shows, and for stage, film, and television productions.</p> <p>Born with a clubfoot, Barstow was pronounced fully \"cured\" by the age of six, after surgery and a determined course of physical therapy (including writing with his toes). During his convalescence, Barstow's older sister, Edith (1907-1960), would show him dance steps she was learning in ballet class at a dance school across the street from the family's home, by then in Seattle.</p> <p>He attended school only through the second grade. By the time Richard Barstow was seven, he was appearing in a vaudeville dance act with his sisters, called \"The Five Barstows.\" The group played the Pantages vaudeville circuit on the west coast. After several years, only Barstow and his sister Edith remained in the act. Until Edith's marriage, the two continued to dance together in such places as Al Capone's saloons in Chicago, in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in Europe. Edith and Richard Barstow would continue to work together on numerous projects, such as the circus and industrial shows, throughout their careers.</p> <p>Barstow settled in Chicago and found work at the Palmer House with Eddie Duchin's revue, learning choreography and directing. He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he played the drums and wrote songs.</p> <p>Although Richard Barstow had never even seen a circus, he was hired in1949 by John Ringling North of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, to direct and choreograph. He continued in this capacity for twenty-nine years and even wrote a number of songs for the circus. Barstow also staged the circus production numbers for Cecil B. DeMille's Oscar winning film <span class=\"title\">The Greatest Show on Earth</span> (1952).</p> <p>Barstow's Broadway credits include the choreography and musical staging for <span class=\"title\">Barefoot Boy with Cheek</span> (1947), a musical comedy by Sidney Lippman and Sylvia Dee, Leonard Sillman's revue, <span class=\"title\">New Faces of 1952</span>, featuring Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley, Eartha Kitt, Carol Lawrence, and Paul Lynde. (He also worked on the 1954 film version.) Richard Barstow also choreographed Broadway revivals of Noel Coward's <span class=\"title\">Tonight at 8:30</span> (1948) with Gertrude Lawrence, and Jerome Kern's <span class=\"title\">Sally</span>(1948).</p> <p>His other stage work encompasses directing several musicals at the Jones Beach Marine Theatre, including <span class=\"title\">Song of Norway</span> in 1959 and <span class=\"title\">Annie Get Your Gun</span>starring Lucie Arnaz in 1978, staging a Latin Quarter nightclub show (1965), as well as a number of ice shows.</p> <p> For Judy Garland, Barstow staged and choreographed two of her New York appearances: the first at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1959, the second <span class=\"title\">Judy Garland At Home at the Palace</span> (1967). He also choreographed and staged musical numbers for the 1954 version of <span class=\"title\">A Star Is Born</span>, considered one of Garland's most important films.</p> <p>Richard Barstow's extensive work for industrial shows includes producing and directing several editions of <span class=\"title\">Motorama</span> in the early 1950s, and <span class=\"title\">Powerama</span> in Chicago, 1955, for General Motors. Barstow, a non-driver, also wrote a song \"I Am Not Dreaming,\" adopted by Cadillac as its theme. Television personalities for whom Barstow worked include Fred Allen, Milton Berle, Eddie Cantor, Dave Garroway, Brenda Lee, Jane Morgan, Ed Wynn, and others.</p> <p>He also produced and directed <span class=\"title\">M.O. D.</span>(a.k.a. <span class=\"title\">The Rainbow Years</span>), a star-studded event in 1958, marking the twentieth anniversary of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, i.e., the March of Dimes. Performers such as Don Ameche, Eddie Cantor, Lillian Gish, and Rudy Vallee were featured. Barstow also directed and choreographed the <span class=\"title\">Symphony of Fashion</span> in 1950 in St. Louis, Missouri.</p> <p>A number of unusual accomplishments--including walking four and a half miles on his toes in 1928 (winning $500), and balancing himself with one toe stuck in a bottle--earned Richard Barstow a record number of mentions in Robert Ripley's <span class=\"title\">Believe It or Not</span> newspaper column. After a series of heart attacks, Richard Barstow died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on May 2, 1981.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Richard Barstow Papers consist of manuscripts, manuscript copies, printed scores, and instrumental parts, including approximately two boxes of circus music. Materials include works by Barstow, both individually and with others. There are also works by other composers, including songs by John Ringling North. Much of the material is undated.</p> <p>The bulk of the items appear to be works associated with some of the numerous productions on which Barstow worked. There are several typescripts relating to productions. Of particular note are scores for the General Motors industrial shows <span class=\"title\">Motorama</span> and <span class=\"title\">Powerama</span>, as well as for <span class=\"title\">M.O.D.</span> (a.k.a. <span class=\"title\">The RainbowYears</span>), a 1958 performance marking the twentieth anniversary of the March of Dimes.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Richard Barstow papers are arranged in five series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20311#c561323'>Series I: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1940, 1943, 1956, and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of manuscripts, copies, and parts mostly for songs by Richard Barstow individually and in collaboration with others. It also contains works possibly by Barstow.</p> <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - By Richard Barstow, 1940, 1943 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - By Richard Barstow with Others, ca. 1940, ca. 1956, and undated</li></ul></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20311#c561375'>Series II: Circus Music</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1960-1977 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.5 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> This series consists primarily of lead sheets and vocal lines for circus music solely by Richard Barstow, as well as works with composer William Pruyn, with Barstow as lyricist. There are also a number of scores by unknown composers filed at the end of the series.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20311#c561403'>Series III: Works by Others</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1927-1965 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3.5 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> This series contains mostly reproductions of lead sheets, parts, scores, and vocal lines for works by other artists, including Vernon Duke, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne, and Vincent Youmans. Of particular note are some fifteen songs by John Ringling North. Works by unknown composers are filed at the end of the series.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20311#c561508'>Series IV: Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1950-1958</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> The Productions series consists mostly of reproductions of scores, lead sheets, and instrumental parts for productions on which Richard Barstow worked. These include Fred Allen's NBC-TV show (1950), an ice show, probably featuring \"Belita,\" industrial shows <span class=\"title\">Motorama '55</span>by Victor Young and <span class=\"title\">Powerama (More Power to You)</span>, for General Motors, and songs from the Judy Garland film <span class=\"title\">A Star Is Born</span>(1954). There are also scripts for <span class=\"title\">Symphony of Fashion</span> (1950) and <span class=\"title\">Cavalcade of Fashion</span> (1954).</p> <p>The most thoroughly documented production is <span class=\"title\">M.O.D.</span> (a.k.a. <span class=\"title\">The Rainbow Years</span>) (1958), a performance marking the twentieth anniversary of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (the March of Dimes). Richard and Edith Barstow produced and directed this event that featured celebrity performers such as Don Ameche, Eddie Cantor, Lillian Gish, and Rudy Vallee. There are piano, vocal, and conductor scores, as well as instrumental parts for two numbers from the show. There is also a script titled <span class=\"title\">The Rainbow Years</span>. A conductor's score for <span class=\"title\">M.O.D.</span> can also be found in the Oversized series.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20311#c561526'>Series V: Oversized</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1958 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains a photocopy of the piano and vocal score for Cole Porter's <span class=\"title\">Jubilee</span> and a conductor's score for <span class=\"title\">3 Shots for Louie</span> from <span class=\"title\">M.O.D.</span></p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul> <li>Series I: Scores, 1940, 1943, 1956, and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - By Richard Barstow, 1940, 1943, and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - By Richard Barstow with Others, ca. 1940, ca. 1956, and undated</li></ul></li> <li>Series II: Circus Music, 1960-1977 and undated</li> <li>Series III: Works by Others, 1927-1965 and undated</li> <li>Series IV: Productions, 1950-1958</li> <li>Series V: Oversized, 1958 and undated</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Richard and Edith Barstow to The Billy Rose Theatre Collection in 1981. Music scores were separated to the Music Division.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Compiled by Camille Dee; machine readable finding aid created by FAKER.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>The collection was processed in 2005.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photocopying prohibited.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Richard and Edith Barstow Papers. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Billy Rose Theatre Collection.</p> <p> Correspondence to Morgan James, 1958-1977. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Billy Rose Theatre Collection. Call number *T-MSS 1981-013</p>"}
- note
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts holds related material, the Richard and Edith Barstow papers, 1915-1980 (*T-Mss 1981-001)</p>", "encodinganalog"=>"500"}
{"value"=>"<p>The Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts holds related material, Correspondence to Morgan James, 1958-1977 (*T-Mss 1981-013)</p>", "encodinganalog"=>"500"}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- extent_statement
-
5.5 linear feet (14 boxes)
- date_start
-
1927
- date_end
-
1977
- date_bulk_start
-
1940
- date_bulk_end
-
1977