- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 2004-003", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"18682", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1921-1998", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1921/1998"}
{"value"=>"1940-1975", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1940/1975"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1921
- date_inclusive_end
-
1998
- keydate
-
1921
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"John Randolph papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"7.35 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"18 boxes, 3 oversized folders", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"id"=>"THE", "value"=>"Billy Rose Theatre Division"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"John Randolph (1915-2004) was an American stage, television, and film actor. The John Randolph papers, dating from 1921 to 1998, reflect Randolph’s theater acting career, and to some extent, his work for television and film. The collection holds scripts, scrapbooks, clippings, correspondence, programs, and photographs. Scripts make up the bulk of the collection."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>John Randolph papers, *T-Mss 2004-003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Randolph, John, 1915-2004", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>John Randolph (1915-2004) was an American stage, television, and film actor. Randolph was born Emmanuel Hirsch Cohen in the Bronx, New York. During his childhood and teenage years, he was known as Mortimer Romer Lippman, after his mother remarried. He changed his name to John Randolph in 1940.</p> <p>Shortly after attending City College in New York City, Randolph began acting and became involved with the Federal Theatre Project. His earliest public performance was in a 1934 production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts at the Artef Theatre in New York City. Other early works include A Doll’s House (1935) and Medicine Show (1940). He made his Broadway debut in Coriolanus in 1938. During the late 1930s, Randolph directed The Transit Players, a theater troupe in Boston that put on plays relating to labor issues. Their 1938 production of A Plant in the Sun was particularly well received. Randolph took a break from theater to serve in the United States Air Force during World War II. Shortly after his return from the war, he appeared in the original Broadway production of Command Decision in 1947.</p> <p>In 1955, Randolph was blacklisted from Hollywood for refusing to cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities. During the time he was blacklisted, he acted in several Broadway and Off-Broadway theater productions, including Miss Isobel (1957), The Visit (1958), and The Sound of Music (1959). Soon after the blacklist was lifted in 1960, Randolph returned to film and television, and in 1966, appeared in the science-fiction film Seconds. Throughout his career, he acted in dozens of television shows, including Actor’s Studio, The Bob Newhart Show, Bonanza, Roseanne, Matlock, and Family Ties. In film, he was in Serpico (1973), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989), and You’ve Got Mail (1998). Randolph won a Tony Award in 1987 for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound.</p> <p>Randolph married actress Sarah Cunningham in 1942. They performed together in The Visit (1958) and My Sweet Charlie (1966), among other theater productions. Their last performance together was in James G. Richardson’s Eulogy, in 1983, three years before Cunningham’s death. John Randolph died in 2004 in Hollywood, California.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The John Randolph papers, dating from 1921 to 1998, reflect Randolph’s theater acting career, and to some extent, his work for television and film. The collection holds scripts, scrapbooks, clippings, correspondence, programs, and photographs. Scripts make up the bulk of the collection.</p> <p>This collection holds over 100 scripts dating from the 1930s to the 1990s, the bulk of which date from the 1940s to 1970. The majority of the scripts are for theater productions that Randolph acted in, though some television and film scripts are present. In some cases the scripts are incomplete or are accompanied by clippings, rehearsal schedules, sheet music, or notes. Randolph’s annotations to the scripts provide insight into the productions' developments, such as added or omitted lines, acting and lighting cues, or other changes in character dialogue. Some of the scripts were sent to Randolph for review from colleagues, such as Emmanuel Fried’s Elegy for Stanley Gorski (1980), which also contains publicity material and correspondence from Fried. A large portion of the scripts are bound typescripts, but plays published by Samuel French Inc. and Dramatists Play Service are also present. In general, each production is represented by a single script.</p> <p>The scrapbooks represent Randolph’s acting career in theater from the 1930s to the 1960s. They reflect Randolph’s personal experiences throughout the production process through handwritten descriptions accompanying photographs, clippings, ephemera, correspondence, and contracts. Randolph’s written accounts of tryouts, rehearsals, and performances for several of the plays describe script and scene changes, challenges faced by the cast, and his reactions to reviews. Photographs in the scrapbooks are sometimes labeled with detailed information, such as the act and scene documented in the photograph, or quotes from the script. Fan letters, good-luck notes, and letters regarding contract agreements are among the correspondence in the scrapbooks. Several highlights of Randolph’s career are represented, such as his first stage performance in a 1934 production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts; his work with the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theater in Boston; his direction of the Transit Players, a theater troupe in Boston; and several Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Randolph's written accounts of rehearsals and tryouts for Kermit Bloomgarden’s Command Decision (1947) in Princeton are particularly rich. Other productions represented through the scrapbooks include Paint Your Wagon (1951), The Visit (1958), and My Sweet Charlie (1966), among others.</p> <p>Professional files in this collection, documenting Randolph’s work and interests, are arranged into two subcategories: productions and subjects. These files typically hold reviews, announcements, and programs, though a limited amount of correspondence is present. Production files are relatively limited in terms of content and generally contain clippings and programs. The Sound of Music is the best-represented production; the file holds correspondence from Randolph describing tryouts in New Haven, Connecticut in addition to clippings and reviews. Other productions include Front Page (1947), An Evening's Frost (1965), and Our Town (1969). Subjects represented in the professional files are limited, and include playwright and union activist Emanuel Fried, the Philadelphia Drama Guild, and Randolph's wife, Sarah Cunningham. Material documenting Randolph's work with the Philadelphia Drama Guild consists of reviews, press releases, and programs for productions put on at the Walnut Theater that Randolph acted in or was artistic director for during the early 1970s. Sarah Cunningham’s performance in Zulu and the Zayda (1965) is represented through clippings, programs, and telegrams sent to her on the night of the performance.</p> <p>Programs and certificates are present in this collection. Programs represent stage productions that Randolph either attended or acted in, such as Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), My Fair Lady (1962), and Broadway Bound (1986). An Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership certificate and Randolph's high school diploma are also present.</p> <p>This collection holds a limited amount of photographs. The majority of the photographs are headshots and portraits of Randolph from the 1970s. Some production photographs are present, as well as images of Randolph’s dressing room, and back stage of performances. Photographs dating from the 1930s to the 1950s can be found throughout the scrapbooks in this collection.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is arranged into the following categories: Scripts, Scrapbooks, Professional Files, Programs and Certificates, and Photographs. Professional files are subdivided into productions and subjects. Professional files and scripts are arranged alphabetically by title or subject; all remaining material is arranged chronologically.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Hal Randolph, 2004.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Robyn Hjermstad</span>, <span class=\"date\">2013</span></p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>Original order and folder titles, when present, were maintained. The scrapbooks are fragile and care should be used when examining them.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatrediv@nypl.org.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
7.35 linear feet (18 boxes, 3 oversized folders)
- date_start
-
1921
- date_end
-
1998
- date_bulk_start
-
1940
- date_bulk_end
-
1975