- unitid
-
{"value"=>"21784", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 1965-001", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b16481280", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1913-1975", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1913/1975"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Burl Ives papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"60 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"27.5 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Billy Rose Theatre Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Burl Ives was a singer, author, and a film, television and theatre actor from the late 1930s through the 1980s. This collection contains material from 1913 through 1975, but the majority of the materials are from the 1950s and 1960s. The materials in the collection cover the various aspects of Ives' professional career."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Ives, Burl, 1909-1995", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Burl Ives was born in Hunt City Township, Illinois, on June 14, 1909. Growing up in a rural farming family, Ives learned American folk songs from his parents and grandparents. He sang from an early age and learned to accompany himself on the guitar and the banjo. In high school, he earned money as a musician and showed talent as a football player. He entered Eastern Illinois State College, studying to be a football coach, while simultaneously nurturing his singing talent by studying voice and performing over the college radio station. And after three years, he left college to pursue his love of folk music, embarking on a cross-country trip to collect traditional folk songs. This phase of Ives' life inspired his nickname, \"The Wayfaring Stranger,\" a title he used for his radio show, several albums, and his autobiographies.</p> <p>In 1933 Ives moved to New York City, where he attended both Julliard and New York University, studying acting with Benno Schneider and voice with Ella Toedt. Ives established himself singing at various benefits around the city and acting in upstate New York summer stock productions. He made his Broadway debut in 1938 with a small role in Rodgers and Hart's hit musical, <span class=\"title\">The Boys from Syracuse</span> and had another small role in the short-lived play, <span class=\"title\">Heavenly Express</span> (1940). During World War II, he was in the army for 2 years, during which he appeared on Broadway in Irving Berlin's all-soldier revue, <span class=\"title\">This is the Army</span> (1942). In 1944, Ives had a major role in Walter Kerr's folk music revue, <span class=\"title\">Sing Out, Sweet Land</span>, for which he won a Donaldson Award.</p> <p>Ives' singing career built steadily throughout the forties, from his network radio debut in June of 1940 to his radio show, <span class=\"title\">The Wayfaring Stranger</span> in 1941, as well as regular nightclub appearances. Ives signed a recording contract with Decca, after they put out the cast album of <span class=\"title\">Sing Out, Sweet Land</span> (1944) and on December 1, 1945, he made his New York concert debut at Town Hall. Ives had a regular network radio show, <span class=\"title\">The Burl Ives Show</span>, from 1946-1948, but also found time to launch another career, making his film debut as a singing cowboy in <span class=\"title\">Smoky</span> (1946), which was followed by other small roles in <span class=\"title\">Green Grass of Wyoming</span> (1948) and <span class=\"title\">Station West</span> (1948). His film breakthrough came in 1949 with the Disney film <span class=\"title\">So Dear to My Heart</span>, which also provided him with a major song hit, \"Lavender Blue.\"</p> <p>Each facet of Ives' career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. As a New York theatre actor, he had several notable roles in the 1950s, replacing James Barton as the star of <span class=\"title\">Paint Your Wagon</span> and subsequently starring in the national tour in 1952-1953, and then playing Cap'n Andy in the 1954 revival of <span class=\"title\">Show Boat</span> at City Center and culminating in his most famous role as Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams' <span class=\"title\">Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</span> (1955). This performance proved Ives' ability as a serious actor and it coincided with more prestigious film roles, including re-creating his performance in the film of <span class=\"title\">Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</span> (1958), as well as playing supporting roles in <span class=\"title\">East of Eden</span> (1955) and <span class=\"title\">Desire Under the Elms</span> (1958). Ives won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in <span class=\"title\">The Big Country</span> (1958). He also worked steadily in television, with appearances on <span class=\"title\">General Electric Theater</span> in 1956 and 1959, <span class=\"title\">Playhouse 90</span> in 1957, <span class=\"title\">Zane Grey Theater</span> in 1960, and <span class=\"title\">The Bell Telephone Hour</span> (1963-1965). Ives continued to work in television, starring in his own sitcom, <span class=\"title\">OK Crackerby!</span> (1965).</p> <p>As a recording artist, he produced an impressive catalogue of hits, including \"Blue Tail Fly\" in 1949, \"On Top of Old Smoky\" in 1951, \"Wild Side of Life\" in 1952, \"A Little Bitty Tear\" in 1962 and \"It's Just My Funny Way of Laughing,\" which won Ives a Grammy Award for Best Country and Western Record the same year. The recording for which Ives is perhaps best remembered today, \"A Holly Jolly Christmas,\" came from the soundtrack of the TV special <span class=\"title\">Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</span>, which first aired in 1964.</p> <p>Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Ives continued to record music in a wide array of genres, including folk, country and western, religious music, children's albums and even an album of contemporary pop songs, <span class=\"title\">The Times They Are A-Changin'</span> (1968). Ives received Grammy nominations for his children's recordings <span class=\"title\">Chim Chim Cheree</span>, <span class=\"title\">Other Children's Choices</span> (1964), and <span class=\"title\">America Sings</span> (1974). Ives continued to act in film and television, though his career slowed down in the late 1970s and 1980s. His final film appearance was in <span class=\"title\">Two Moon Junction</span> (1988). His last album, <span class=\"title\">The Magic Balladeer</span>, was released in 1993.</p> <p>In 1945 Ives married Helen Erlich, one of the writers of his radio show. Until their divorce in 1960, Helen Ives was deeply involved in her husband's career. They had one son together, Alexander. Ives married his second wife, Dorothy Koster Paul, in 1971. He retired to Anacortes, Washington, and died there on April 14, 1995.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>This collection contains mainly professional files pertaining to all aspects of Ives' career. Production files, scrapbooks, photographs, scripts, publicity files and publications are represented in this collection. The majority of the materials in this collection are from the 1950s and 1960s, the period in which his career peaked. Ives' music career is covered more fully here than his acting career. One of the highlights of this collection is the Photographic History, which contains photos of Ives at various points in his life with extensive identifications. Another highlight of the collection are the histories of many of the songs and albums, and occasionally the plays and films, which provide useful background information and function as a running professional biography throughout the collection. The separated materials from this collection include albums of Ives songs and films of episodes from his television show, <span class=\"title\">OK Crackerby!</span></p> <p>There are also 20 reels of 16mm film in this collection. To request access to this material, please email theatre@nypl.org. 17 of these are episodes of the ABC television program <span class=\"title\">OK Crackerby</span> in which Ives starred. The series ran for only one year (September 16, 1965 through January 6, 1966) with 17 episodes total. The collection has a full representation of all the episodes in the single season. They are black and white, projection prints (most likely kinescopes) with optical soundtrack on a polyester base. They are each approximately 30 minutes long on 1200 foot reels. In addition there are three separate titles also found in this film collection. <span class=\"title\">Time Will Tell</span>, a 30 minute program on the DuPont Network from 1954 hosted by Ernie Covacs. This reel contains the episode \"The Moment of Truth\" (undated) 1200 foot reel, black and white, optical soundtrack; <span class=\"title\">Auction Aire</span>, a 30 minute program on ABC from 1949-1950. This episode is from September 30, 1949. 1200 foot reel, black and white, optical soundtrack; <span class=\"title\">Leave It To The Girls</span>, a 30 minute program on NBC. This episode is from June 17, 1951 1200 foot reel, black and white, optical soundtrack.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Burl Ives papers are arranged in nine series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c467292'>Series I: Production Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1935-1975, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains advertisements, album contents, album covers, call sheets, charts, contracts, correspondence, costume sketches, fan mail, financial records, flyers, histories, interviews, invoices, legal documents, liner notes, listings, lyrics, mailings, memos, notes, order forms, press coverage, promotional materials, radio listings revisions, schedules, song lists, staff lists, study cards and telegrams pertaining to Ives' albums, songs, films, plays and television shows.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c468241'>Series II: Scrapbooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1945-1967</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains scrapbooks, which contain clippings, photographs and mementos documenting Ives' career as a singer and as an actor in theatre, film, and television.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c468322'>Series III: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1916-1967, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains the Burl Ives Photographic History, an extensive collection of photos and other images of Ives, through 1965. There are also various stills and production shots from Ives' stage and screen performances.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c468768'>Series IV: Publicity</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1913-1967, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is comprised mainly of the Burl Ives Publicity files given to NYPL in 1965, documenting the ways the various sides of Ives' career were publicized. This series also contains many articles published by or about Ives, as well as interviews, press releases and images of Ives used for promotional purposes.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c469176'>Series V: Publications</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1951-1966, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains information and manuscripts of various publications written, edited or introduced by Ives. The publications included in this series are Ives' children's book, <span class=\"title\">Albad the Oaf</span> (1965), his second autobiography, <span class=\"title\">The Wayfaring Stranger's Notebook</span> (1952) and various songbooks, such as <span class=\"title\">Burl Ives Songbook</span> (1953) and <span class=\"title\">Irish Song Book</span> (1958).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c469257'>Series VI: Scripts</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1955-1966, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains scripts from film and television projects Ives appeared in, including <span class=\"title\">Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Big Country</span> and <span class=\"title\">Summer Magic</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c469294'>Series VII: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1951-1965, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series includes published sheet music from songs recorded by Ives, as well as hand-written lyric and music sheets with notes that Ives made during recording sessions.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c469337'>Series VIII: General Professional Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1951-1967, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series includes various items pertaining more to Ives' career at large, or to his personality, than to any one particular facet, including his Christmas cards, information of his concerts, tours and radio spots as well as miscellaneous correspondence.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21784#c469391'>Series IX: Oversized Items</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1948-1962, Undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains various oversized items, such as album advertisements, a magazine in Braille and oversized photos from Ives' film <span class=\"title\">The Spiral Road</span> (1963).</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Burl Ives Papers were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 1965 by Burl Ives.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p><em>Audio Formats Separated to the Music and Recorded Sound Division, Library for the Performing Arts</em> Audio-Visual items separated from the paper materials in this collection are comprised of the following: There are 275 phonograph records, 48 audio reels, and 5 8-track cassettes. The majority of the material is commercially released versions of Ives' output as a vocalist. There are also alternative or original versions of songs which Ives may have used as references to his own versions. Within the phonographic records there are a small amount of acetates and test pressings, but 45s, 33s and 78s make up the majority of items. The audio reels include both final commercial versions, and test demos. There is repetition across formats with several of the titles, where a song may appear in its final version on a record, on an audio reel, and on the 8-track cassette. Fewer songs appear repeated across formats in alternative or working production versions.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Diana Bertolini; Machine-readable finding aid created by Diana Bertolini.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Music Division, Library of Congress</p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"Processed and encoded through a gift from Robert W. Wilson. "}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Added 11 new boxes to detailed description and updated frontmatter accordingly", "date"=>"2026-04"}
- date_start
-
1913
- keydate
-
1913
- date_end
-
1975
- date_inclusive_start
-
1913
- date_inclusive_end
-
1975
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Burl Ives papers, *T-Mss 1965-001. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}