- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"227 caricatures (8 boxes)"}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Vim 1979-005", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21510", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unittitle
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{"value"=>"Sardi's (Restaurant) caricatures"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Billy Rose Theatre Division."}
- prefercite
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{"value"=>"<p>Sardi's Caricatures, *T-VIM 1979-005, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Sardi's (Restaurant)", "type"=>"corpname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p><span class=\"corpname\">Sardi's</span> restaurant opened on March 5, 1927. For Vincent Sardi (Melchiorre Pio Vincenza Sardi) and his wife, Eugenia \"Jenny\" Pallera Sardi, this was their second restaurant. They had originally, in 1921, opened a restaurant at 146 West 44th Street called the Little Restaurant (named for the Winthrop Ames' Little Theater next door, now the new Helen Hayes Theater). It lasted until 1926. A year later they opened their new restaurant, Sardi's, that stands today in the same spot at 234 West 44th Street in which it opened in 1927.</p> <p>A group of columnists and press agents began meeting at Sardi's every day for lunch. They were dubbed the Cheese Club. A member of this club, press agent Irving Hoffman, brought Alex Gard to meet this Cheese Club. Alex Gard was born Alexis Kremoff in Kazan, Russia. Gard had fled Russia after the Revolution and went to Bulgaria, France and, finally, to the United States. He had drawn caricatures of his commanding officers in the Russian Imperial Naval Academy and had had the occasional caricature published in Le Matin in France during his stay in that country. In France, he began calling himself Alex Garde, as in en garde. Through a typo in Le Matin, Alex Garde became Alex Gard, the name he took with him to America. At Sardi's, he drew caricatures of the Cheese Club, which Vincent Sardi put on the walls of Sardi's restaurant, thus beginning the long tradition that continues until today.</p> <p>Vincent Sardi wanted to imitate a Paris restaurant, Zelli's, that placed caricatures on the walls of the restaurant. Sardi and Gard signed a contract that provided a meal a day in Sardi's for Alex Gard in return for his caricatures. It was stipulated that Sardi could not complain about the caricatures and Gard could not complain about the food. The first caricature under this agreement was bandleader and comedian, Ted Healy (the man who brought the Three Stooges together). Alex Gard became known as the little man from Sardi's who put big noses on big people. He also worked as a regular theatrical caricaturist for the New York Herald Tribune, trying out many of his caricatures in print before doing the one that would be placed on Sardi's walls. The only gap in production of these caricatures was during the period of World War II when Alex Gard was in the navy. Alex Gard died in 1948 after collapsing at the Times Square subway station. He had drawn 720 caricatures for the walls of Sardi's during his reign as their official caricaturist.</p> <p>It took a couple of years before Vincent Sardi selected John Mackey to replace Alex Gard. He did not last long as Vincent Sardi was not impressed with his caricatures.</p> <p>Jack Kirkland (who wrote the stage version of <span class=\"title\">Tobacco Road</span>) recommended his son-in-law, Don Bevan, who had just lost his job at Eagle Lion Films. Bevan had drawn caricatures of enlisted men for the combat room during his time in the service. War correspondent, Walter Cronkite, had fed these drawings to his wire service. Bevan was shot down and imprisoned in Stalag 17, where along with fellow prisoner, Edmund Trzcinski, he wrote the play, <span class=\"title\">Stalag 17</span>. They later adapted this play, written for the prison camp, for the New York stage. At Eagle Lion Films, Bevan had created poster art and lobby cards after the war before meeting with Vincent Sardi.</p> <p>His first caricature for Sardi's, in the early fifties, was Denholm Elliot. Bevan turned out approximately a caricature a month for Sardi's. He also worked for the Daily News and the Baltimore Sun during this time. He retired as Sardi's caricaturist in 1974.</p> <p>Richard Baratz replaced Don Bevan after a public competition. The Sardi's caricature collection at the Billy Rose Theatre Division does not, as yet, include any examples of the work of Richard Baratz.</p>"}
- custodhist
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{"value"=>"<p>Vincent Sardi, Jr., donated this collection of caricatures to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 1979.</p>"}
- scopecontent
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{"value"=>"<p>The <span class=\"corpname\">Sardi's (N.Y.)</span> caricatures contain drawings that were displayed on the walls of the Sardi's restaurant from the first drawing of <span class=\"persname\">Alex Gard</span> in the late 1920's (of Ted Healy) until the caricatures of <span class=\"persname\">Don Bevan</span>, who retired in 1974. The Don Bevan drawings extend only from the 1940's into the very early 1950's. Therefore, the caricatures represent a cross-section of the first two and a half decades of Sardi's restaurant and the three caricaturists that exemplify that period.</p> <p>The caricatures are predominantly, but not exclusively, from the field of performing arts. This includes music, film, theater, and dance. The drawings can range from performers to press agents and managers to writers. A few people from outside the performing arts field, such as <span class=\"persname\">Al Capp</span> and <span class=\"persname\">Helen Keller</span>, are also represented. The common factor among all the objects of the caricatures is that they all must have eaten at Sardi's.</p> <p>The collection of caricatures given to the Billy Rose Theater Collection only represents a portion of the caricatures created during this period and the remainder remains with Sardi's.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Sardi's (Restaurant) caricatures are arranged in three series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21510#c308357'>Series I: Alex Gard Caricatures</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>214 caricatures (6 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of a portion of caricatures drawn by Alex Gard during his time as the first official caricaturist for Sardi's restaurant. Included are such celebrities as <span class=\"persname\">Tamara Geva</span>, <span class=\"persname\">D.W. Griffith</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Texas Guinan</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Lorenz Hart</span>, <span class=\"persname\">George Jessel</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Helen Keller</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Peter Lorre</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Bessie Love</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Paul Muni</span>, and <span class=\"persname\">Tito Schipa</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21510#c308581'>Series II: John Mackey Caricatures</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 caricatures (1 box)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of two caricatures from John Mackey's brief time as Sardi's caricaturist. The images are of <span class=\"persname\">Alfred Drake</span> and <span class=\"persname\">Arthur Margetson</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21510#c308584'>Series III: Don Bevan Caricatures</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>11 caricatures (1 box)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of caricatures from the early period of Don Bevan's work as the official Sardi's caricaturist. Images within this series include such personalities as <span class=\"persname\">Al Capp</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Arthur Murray</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Ed Sullivan</span> and <span class=\"persname\">Paula Wayne</span>.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul> <li>Series I: Alex Gard caricatures</li> <li>Series II: John Mackey caricatures</li> <li>Series III: Don Bevan caricatures</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photocopying prohibited.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1927-1952?", "type"=>"inclusive", "certainty"=>"questionable", "normal"=>"1927/1952"}
- date_inclusive_start
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1927
- date_inclusive_end
-
1952
- acqinfo
-
{"date"=>"1979", "materials"=>"Drawings", "source"=>"Vincent Sardi, Jr", "method"=>"gift", "extent"=>"8 o", "value"=>"Drawings: gift, Vincent Sardi, Jr, 1979"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Caricatures and papers</p>", "type"=>"host"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"This collection contains some of the drawings that were displayed on the walls of Sardi's restaurant from the first drawing of Alex Gard to Don Bevan drawings of the early 1950s. The caricatures are predominately, but not exclusively, from the field of performing arts. This includes music, cinema, theater and dance and ranges from performers to press agents and managers to writers. A few people from outside the performing arts field, such as Al Capone and Helen Keller, are also represented. The common factor among all the objects of the caricatures is that they all must have eaten at Sardi's."}
- keydate
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1927
- processinfo
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{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Rick Hunter.</p>"}
- date_start
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1927
- date_end
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1952