Found 47 collections related to African American entertainers

Singer and actor Jules Bledsoe created the role of Jo and the interpretation of the song "Old Man River" in the original production of Show Boat (1927). This collection consists of correspondence, contracts, musical compositions, legal documents, financial records, programs, broadsides, and news clippings documenting Bledsoe's professional career, particularly in Europe. less

"Billy" Butler was a musical arranger, conductor, violinist, and travel editor of the Pittsburgh Courier. A graduate of Chicago Musical College, Butler worked with J. Rosamond Johnson, Eubie Blake, and other prominent African American musicians of the period. He also conducted several musical revues, including Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, Rhapsody in Black, and Sissle and Blake's Shuffle Along. In 1947, Butler started Travelguide, a directory of public accommodations in the United States which catered to people of African descent. The list was later expanded to include foreign countries. Butler was also co-owner of King Travel Organization, Inc., a New York City agency which specifically catered to travelers of African descent. The William H. Butler papers include correspondence and printed material relating to Butler's musical career; articles by Butler on African American music and musicians; a scrapbook containing reviews of the Lew Leslie musicals in which he appeared; orchestral parts for Blackbirds of 1939 and Rhapsody in Black; holograph scores by Butler; a folder of lyrics; and a playscript by Butler entitled "Let's Forget Papa". less

Rose McClendon was one of the most famous black dramatic actresses of the 1920s and 1930s. Although she did not become a professional actor until she was in her thirties, she consistently won critical acclaim for many of her acting roles and influenced the careers of many aspiring black actors of the period. less

The Don Redman Papers consist principally of holograph and printed music of this jazz composer and arranger, as well as some personal and professional papers. Redman's music contains orchestral and vocal scores and parts for various instruments. There is also music and lyrics by other composers most notably Tadd Dameron's "For Europeans Only." A ledger (1931-1932) lists members of the Don Redman Orchestra a.k.a. Don Redman and His Orchestra, for that period together with salaries, scheduled appearances and copyright information. Two scrapbooks document the activities of the Orchestra and other groups which Redman assembled for European tours during the 1940's. The collection also includes biographical information, programs, newsclippings, and an autograph book signed by celebrities. Of interest are two letters written by Louis Armstrong (1939, 1945), one mentioning two songs for which he wants Redman to make dance arrangements. less

The Hillman family papers provide documentation on the performance careers of four members of this family. Included are a notebook containing George A. Hillman's monologues and news clippings discussing the vaudeville performances of George and his wife, Ethel Riddick Hillman, and scrapbooks of news clippings and programs illustrating the tap dancing careers of their sons, George I. and Christopher Hillman, known as the Hillman Brothers, (1930s-1940s). Another scrapbook provides information about George I. Hillman's performance in Curley McDimple (1968). less

William H. Glenn and Walter Jenkins (Glenn & Jenkins) were a popular comedy team who performed on the vaudeville circuit and toured the United States, Canada, and London during the 1920s and 1930s. They became renowned for their black face routines, "Working for the Railway" and "The Broom Dance.". The contents of the scrapbook includes reviews and advertisments of their comedy routines dating from 1922 to 1949 and 1962. The scrapbook also contains notes, flyers, photographs, telegrams, greeting cards, and copies of their pay stubs. less

Ernest Truesdale, whose stage name was Tad Truesdale, was a dancer, choreographer, actor, writer, producer, and director. This collection primarily documents the performer's professional career and includes biographical information, playscripts, news clippings, reviews, programs, correspondence, and financial records. less

Actor, Earl Sydnor appeared on and off-Broadway, on television, and in film. He began his acting career after performing with the New Jersey Federal Theatre Company. Throughout his career, he worked with Katherine Dunham, Ethel Waters, Henry Fonda, James Earl Jones, and Lou Gossett, Jr. in various plays such as "Cabin in the Sky," "Kiss The Boys Goodbye," "First Monday in October" and the films, "The Emperor Jones" and "Take A Giant Step." As a young man Sydnor wrote poetry and several of his poems were published in black literary magazines. Sydnor died on July 9, 1989. Papers documenting the acting career of Earl Sydnor. The papers are divided in two series, Personal and Professional, which include correspondence, biographical material, newspaper articles and reviews, and playbills. Additionally, there are two scrapbooks dealing with his acting career and service in the Army Air Force in 1943. A third scrapbook relates to his appearance, with his wife Virginia, in "The American Home" magazine in 1945, which became a controversial issue because the magazine had never featured blacks before. less

Correspondence, plays, poems, sketches, and song lyrics by Whipper and others, including a musical comedy by Whipper and Porter Grainger entitled "We's Risin': A Story of the Simple Life in the Souls of Black Folk." Majority of the correspondence is congratulatory. Also, photographs and scrapbook of highlights in Whipper's career and programs, autograph books, and contracts pertaining to his career. less

Collection consists predominantly of material relating to Lena Horne's one woman Broadway production and national and international tour of "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music" (1981-1984). Papers contain fan mail, a small amount of business, personal and family correspondence; press coverage (newspaper and magazine clippings and audio and video reviews); publicity and public relations material; programs; financial data and certificates (proclamations, awards and honors). less

The Kenn Freeman Papers, 1930-1988 document Freeman's life as an actor, singer/dancer, writer/director, and costume and set designer. The collection consists of three series; Personal Papers, Professional Papers, and Family Papers, and include correspondence, programs, flyers, contracts, writings, scripts, sheet music, scrapbooks, and autograph albums. Correspondence between Kenn and Bea Freeman forms an important part of both the Personal Papers and Family Papers series. The letters show the close personal and professional relationship between mother and son. The bulk of the correspondence covers the years, 1937 to 1950, and was written primarily during the years Kenn was in the United States Navy or in England or when either of them was on tour with a production. less

African-American soprano soloist, Berniece Hall made her Broadway debut in Finian's Rainbow (1953), and from 1956 to 1958 she performed in De Paur's Opera Gala. She also performed with Voices Inc. in Trumpets of the Lord (1963) at the French National Festival of the Arts in Paris in 1966. After the Festival, Hall remained in Italy and toured several other European countries, performing in a variety of venues. She lived in Italy for 4 years returning to live permanently in the United States in 1970. The Berniece Hall Papers document her professional career in North America and Europe. The Personal papers are comprised of biographical information, correspondence from friends and well-wishers, and financial records. The Professional papers contain correspondence pertaining to Hall's professional life, performance schedules for various events, some materials pertaining to Voices, Inc., scripts, song lists and lyrics, programs, posters and newspaper clippings. less

Joseph Attles (1903-1991) was a singer and dancer whose career spanned six decades. The bulk of his collection consists of playscripts for shows that Attles appeared in, including Bubbling Brown Sugar by Loften Mitchell, C & W, John Henry, Jericho-Jim Crow, Prodigal Son, Troupers, and Do Lord Remember Me by James de Jongh. The collection also includes: correspondence, both professional and personal; contracts and financial documents; programs of productions Attles appeared in; lyrics; and clippings related to both himself and other show business personalities. less

Collection consists of a few of William Spiller's personal papers, programs, and news clippings of William and Isabele Spiller's European and American tours, 1912-1942, and of the Spiller School of Music. Bulk of papers contain material pertaining to Isabelle Spiller's work as a music supervisor and orchestra conductor in New York City public schools. Of particular interest is her work as head of the Federal Music Project in New York. Also, a scrapbook containing her published articles. less

An actor and producer, A. Lincoln Harris reportedly was the first black playwright to feature black people in dramatic works. He produced several plays among them "The Advanced Negro," " Waena," "High Life in Haiti" and "A Trusted Friend" that featured the Lincoln Harris Players founded by Harris. Advertisements and reviews of plays comprise the contents in the scrapbook. The majority of articles, however, deal with the accomplishments of black people especially in sports. less

The records contain personal and professional papers comprised of biographical materials, letters, writings, programs, music, a scrapbook and miscellaneous items. The Personal Papers consist of various forms of identification, letters and an obituary, among other items. less

Allan W. McMillan, a longtime columnist for The Amsterdam News and the first Black syndicated columnist, made his reputation as an entertainment writer, Broadway columnist, and publicist. The Allan W. McMillan public relations files document the public relations work of McMillan on behalf of his clients. less

Sam Wooding was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and the accompanist-manager for his third wife, singer Rae Harrison. The Sam Wooding papers primarily document certain aspects of his career, with some files pertaining to his partnership with Rae Harrison and her early career. less

Alma Lillie Hubbard was an African-American soprano who introduced Marc Connelly, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play, The Green Pastures (1930), to the black churches of New Orleans. She also selected many of the spirituals that were sung in the production and performed in the chorus of the touring company in the 1930s. Hubbard studied music and voice at a number of institutions including Straight College where she also trained to be a Jubilee singer with two graduates of Fisk University who organized the first Jubilee clubs at that college, as well as Chicago's American Conservatory of Music, Columbia University in 1931 (Rosenwald scholarship), and the Juilliard School of Music where she received a master's degree. The Alma Lillie Hubbard papers consist of letters written to Hubbard from her first husband, Berry Hubbard, her mother and godmother, and from Gladys Mike of the Apollo Theater listing names of performers there for one week in February 1934. Other letters concern Hubbard's performances, education, and personal financial affairs. Hubbard authored one letter in the collection. Other material includes memo pads listing songs she performed, preparatory material for recitals and lessons she gave, and personal expenses. News clippings are primarily reviews of the touring performances of The Green Pastures in the South and Midwest in 1933-1934. less

Ruby Sheppard Davis was an actress, singer, poet, playwright, and the private secretary to actor Leigh Whipper. These scrapbooks include news clippings related to Ruby Sheppard Davis's career as a performer; they also include plays, fables, poems, jokes, and gags written by Davis. Additionally, there are photocopied musical compositions, 1948-1974, and a scrapbook about Leigh Whipper with news clippings and other printed material, 1978. less

The Helen Brown scrapbook contains programs and reviews of plays and concerts that took place in New York City between 1926 and 1941. Included are articles and reviews of musicians, singers, actors, writers, such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, and artists, such as Jacob Lawrence, Augusta Savage and James L. Allen. The programs represent a variety of performances, among them those by the Negro Opera Company and Hall Johnson's groups (the Hall Johnson Singers, Hall Johnson Jubilee Singers, and Hall Johnson Negro Choir). Also included are programs for Roland Hayes, Richard B. Harrison, Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Hazel Harrison, Abbie Mitchell, Jules Beldsoe, and the Eva Jessye Choir. The lyrics to some songs can also be found in the scrapbook.. less

Charles "Cookie" Cook, a vaudeville tap and acrobatic dancer and teacher for more than fifty years, began performing as a child with Garbage and the Two Cans and Sarah Venable and Her Picks. In 1930, he and Ernest (Brownie) Brown formed the headline dance and comedy team Cook and Brown. Their act, seen in such venues as New York's Cotton Club, combined tumbling, dance, and comedic patter. Cook was one of the members of The Copasetics, the fraternity of black entertainers that was influential in the revival of tap dancing in the late 1970s-1980s. Cook also performed in the film Cotton Club, at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and at a 1990 tap festival in New York He died at age 77 in 1991. The Charles "Cookie" Cook Collection is actually a scrapbook that has been dismantled. The material focuses primarily on Cookie's later years with few primary source documents. There are several letters, telegrams, and postcards expressing appreciation for his performances, but no letters written by Cook. The collection also includes programs for performances in which Cook appeared, especially with the tap dance group The Copasetics in New York City, and other venues in the United States and Rome (1980-1995), as well as flyers advertising for a variety of performances in which Cook was featured (1961-1979). There are also programs for shows where jazz musicians, singers, and other artists appeared, in addition to news clippings discussing Cook, other tap dancers, and entertainers. less

Nationally and internationally renowned jazz pianist and composer Thomas "Fats" Wright Waller, "Fats" was regarded as a musical genius. The Fats Waller collection is comprised of materials generated and kept by Philip L. Ponce, Inc., Waller's management company during the last ten years of his life and career. less

This collections consists of promotional literature for films with African American casts. Many of the films are from Norman Studios, which produced silent films featuring African American casts from 1919 to 1928. The rest of the films are mostly Hollywood productions, the majority of which are from the 1930s-1940s. The promotional material includes leaflets, advertisements, window cards, and other accessories for movie theaters. In addition, there are handbills for boxers Henry Armstrong and Joe Louis. less

The Ralph Brown papers focus on the career of this tap dancer, with an emphasis on his performances in the 1980s. Among the documents are his public relations material and programs for the show 1000 Years of Jazz, when it toured nationally and internationally, and the special gala at Washington, D.C.'s Ford Theatre. Brown's performances in the Broadway and Paris productions of Black and Blue are represented by programs, reviews, contact lists, and associated material. A file discusses other tours in which he performed in France, 1983-1989. Programs (1930s-1988) for a variety of venues in which he appeared primarily in New York and France, contracts, and news clippings can also be found in this collection. less

Louis R. Sharp, African-American singer and actor graduated from the University of Kansas, where he sang with the University quartet. Moving to California in 1926, he studied voice with Theodore Ricardo, and settled in Harlem in the 1930s. A tenor, Sharp performed in concerts and recitals, singing in six languages. In 1931 Hall Johnson hired Sharp as a choral member of The Green Pastures in which he also played Cain. He had a major role as Toussaint L'Ouverture in the 1938 Federal Theatre Project's production of Haiti opposite Canada Lee's Christophe. Sharp was also in the original Broadway cast of such productions as Conjur Man Dies, Mamba's Daughters, Cabin in the Sky, South Pacific, St. Louis Woman, Finian's Rainbow, and Set My People Free. The Louis Sharp scrapbooks are comprised of two volumes. The first (1926-1946) contains news clippings and programs regarding Sharp's career, initially as a tenor performing in concerts, later as a singer and actor in Finian's Rainbow and in Broadway's St. Louis Woman, and Haiti, among other productions. There are several congratulatory letters and telegrams, including from Cab Calloway. The second scrapbook (1942-1947) consists of news clippings about African-American sports figures such as boxer Joe Louis and baseball player Jackie Robinson. less