Found 31 collections related to African American women entertainers

The collection contains materials used to create the Mary Lou Williams documentary, Music on My Mind, directed by Joanne Burke. Music on My Mind focuses on Williams's enduring contribution to American culture as a jazz pianist, composer, and vocalist. This collection includes a short autobiography (incomplete), transcripts of interviews, information on the financial support of the documentary, film technical edits, reel catalog, and an information kit about the documentary. less

Mabel Mercer (1900-1984) was a singer, song stylist, and night club entertainer. Born in England in 1900 to a Black musician father, Benjamin Mercer, and a white English vaudevillian mother, Emily Wadham Stonehouse, Mercer started her show business career at the age of fourteen. She joined a song and dance act with her mother and aunt in Europe. Later, in the 1920s, she appeared in Lew Leslie's Blackbirds in London, as part of a vocal trio. Around this time, Mercer started studying singing, with aspirations of becoming a concert singer. In the 1920s and 1930s, she was a successful night club singer in Paris, appearing at Ada "Bricktop" Smith's Bricktop's. She made her first appearance in the U.S. in 1938 and settled here in 1941, after marrying singer Kelsey Pharr, a member of the Delta Rhythm Boys. Mercer became an American citizen in 1952, where she was known as one of the most popular supper club singers for many years. The Mabel Mercer collection consists of articles, correspondence, interviews and profiles, publicity flyers, programs, and a scrapbook. less

Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) was an African American actress and singer. In films, she was known chiefly for two roles: Maria in Porgy and Bess(1959) and Frankie in Carmen Jones (1954). She was also known for her starring role on Broadway in an all-Black cast version of Hello Dolly. During World War II, Bailey toured with the USO, performing for American troops. Beginning in 1946, she was a top attraction in nightclubs, variety houses, and television programs in the United States and Britain. At age 67, in 1985, she graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in theology. Between 1968 and 1989, she published six books on her life, cooking, and educational experiences. Bailey served as a special ambassador to the United Nations in 1975 and 1989, and in 1988, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Pearl Bailey letters (1943-1989) consist of correspondence between Bailey and her friend, Lillian Morrison, a published author, compiler, and editor of children's and young adult books as well as a librarian at the New York Public Library, 110th Street Branch. Most of the letters were written by Bailey, and refer to her various endeavors, including her USO work at Fort Huachucha in Arizona; recordings of the song "Tired", which was one of her hit songs; Disney's The Fox and the Hound, for which she provided one of the voices; and her service with the United Nations. As both women were published authors, several of the letters make reference to this fact and to their long friendship and shared birthday, March 29, 1918. The letters do not provide a great amount of detail about Bailey's show business career. less

Best known for her performance in the title role of the original 1943-1944 Broadway production of Carmen Jones, Muriel Rahn (1911-1961) developed a reputation as a performer who was equally talented as a singer and an actress. The Muriel Rahn papers contain materials related to her performing career. less

Nell Carter was an award-winning singer and actress who appeared in many popular theater, television, and film works from 1971 until her death in 2003. Born Nell Ruth Hardy in 1948, she made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1971 musical Soon. Her breakthrough role was in the 1978 Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin', a musical revue inspired by the jazz music of Fats Waller and the Harlem Renaissance. Carter won a Tony Award for her performance as well an Emmy Award for her reprisal in the 1982 NBC television broadcast of the show. In 1979, she appeared in the film adaption and soundtrack of the musical Hair. Carter starred in the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! from 1981 until 1987, receiving multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role as the housekeeper Nell Harper. Carter, who in some TV series also appeared as Nell Ruth Carter, was active in the theater and on television and film throughout the 1980s and 1990s; notable acting credits include roles in revivals of Hello Dolly! and Annie; the ABC sitcoms You Take the Kids and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper; and in the films Bebe's Kids and The Glass Harp. Carter was married twice and lived with her partner, Ann Kaser, after her second divorce until her death in 2003, from heart complications related to diabetes. She is survived by a daughter and two adopted sons. The Nell Carter scrapbooks collection features newspaper and magazine articles, and playbills that highlight both the professional and personal life of the award-winning singer and actress. The NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! (1981-1987), is represented in critical reviews of Carter and her show. Also featured in the collection are clippings related to the award-winning musical Ain't Misbehavin', for which Carter received a Tony Award in 1978. The scrapbook includes clippings from the televised special of Ain't Misbehavin', which aired in 1982, and the revival of the play on Broadway in 1988. In 1982, Carter received an Emmy for her performance in the televised version of the musical. less

The Maxine Sullivan Papers document her career as a jazz performer. The papers contain correspondence from both professional and personal contacts, legal contracts, newspaper clippings, performance flyers, posters, and programs, sheet music, and some financial and organizational membership records. Some materials pertain to her third husband, Cliff Jackson. less

The Negro Actors Guild (NAG) was formed in 1936 and began operation in 1937 in New York City as a welfare and benevolent organization for Black performers. The Negro Actors Guild (NAG) records document the functions and activities of this professional organization. less

Florence Mills (1886-1927), world renowned entertainer during the 1920s. She starred in Lew Leslie's Plantation Revue and Blackbirds after a successful run as the lead in Shuffle Along. Collection contains personal papers that include biographical information and letters; and professional papers, including letters, contracts and printed materials. 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

The Frederick D. Murphy papers consist principally of press kits and news clippings that Murphy collected on hundreds of recording artists of popular music (primarily rhythm and blues, soul, disco, rock and roll, and other genres) and executives in the music industry. The bulk of the collection consists of these files and material on organizations that Murphy represented, primarily record companies and related music associations, including the Black Music Association. The years for most of the collection span the 1970s and 1980s. less

This collection consists of original documents and correspondence related to the Horne family, assembled by Gail Lumet Buckley during the research and writing of her book The Hornes: An American Family (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986). Included are articles, programs, awards, memorabilia, business correspondence and papers, financial data, and other printed material pertaining to the careers of singer Lena Horne; her uncle, Frank S. Horne, a member of the Roosevelt "Black cabinet" and poet; and other members of the extended family. 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

This collection consists of personal and professional material of Nat King Cole, such as correspondence, programs, and advertisements. Additionally, there is printed matter, such as clippings and articles; scrapbooks; and scores, which is the largest series. Finally, there is material related to Cole's wife, Maria Cole, such as scrapbooks, biographical material, and drafts for a book. 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 Ernestine McClendon papers contain McClendon's scrapbook of responses from ad agencies to her 1960 letter campaign urging them to hire Black actors and actresses. Included in the collection are her resumes, articles and reviews, some letters, contracts, music and lyrics written by McClendon, and a script and other production material for "Heartbreak by Midnight", a play she wrote which was later made into a screenplay. There are also jokes and other material for McClendon's comedy routine which she launched in 1984 at age 71. 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

Ida Roley was a coloratura soprano and actress whose performances include a role in the 1923 edition of Jimmie Cooper's Revue, a burlesque show comprised of approximately seventy cast members, both African American and white. The white owner, producer and actor Jimmie Cooper, combined dancing, singing, jazz, comedy, and blackface in his company. The revue formed part of the circuit of the Columbia Amusement Company and performed in New York, Boston, London, and Montreal. Roley also performed in Shuffle Along (1922) and the play The Conjur Man Dies. She was the lead singer in the choir of Lew Leslie's road company of Blackbirds (1929) in Paris, later performing as a soloist and doing song recitals. She also wrote a few short stories. The Ida Roley collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the career of this entertainer, writings by her, and other material. The scrapbook contains news clippings and programs of Roley's performances in Jimmie Cooper's Revue, Lew Leslie's Blackbirds, Shuffle Along, and Plantation Days (1923), in addition to programs of her solo recitals. The scrapbook, which dates from 1923 to 1933 (bulk dates), also contains snapshots of Roley and other performers, news clippings about other singers, and productions in which she did not appear. In addition, the collection contains handwritten manuscripts for two stories Roley wrote in 1937, "Silver Dollars" and "The Unfaithful Wife." There are also two letters from W.C. Handy (1950) regarding his 77th birthday celebration. less

Born in 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker, a dancer and singer, achieved fame in Paris in the 1920s. In the 1950s, she sought to promote racial equality by adopting twelve children of various races and nationalities to create what she called a "rainbow family". Miki Sawada was the founder and director of the Elizabeth Sanders Home in Tokyo for ostracized mixed-race children fathered by U.S. servicemen with Japanese women. She and Baker had become friends in the 1930s in Paris, where her husband, Renzo Sawada, was stationed as a diplomat. The collection consists of 25 letters and postcards written by the renown dancer and cabaret singer Josephine Baker to her Japanese friend Miki Sawada and other parties; a scrapbook of press clippings assembled by Sawada; and material from Baker's 1952 South American tour. The latter part of Baker's correspondence with Sawada was concerned with the adoption of a Japanese boy in 1954. Other materials in the collection include three speeches from her 1952 lecture tour in Argentina and Brazil to promote "the spiritual freedom of mankind" and an end to racial discrimination, and printed matter from her 1954 tour of Japan. less

African American jazz soloist Maxine Sullivan was known for her cool and arresting "whispering voice," soothing style, gentle rhythmic phrasing, and intricate swing delivery. She became well known in the late 1930s for her swing performance of the Scottish traditional ballad "Loch Lomond". The song became her signature piece and catapulted her career. During this period, Sullivan performed as the main act at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street in New York City, alongside bassist John Kirby and his band. The two married in 1938 but were divorced three years later. In 1950, Sullivan married pianist Cliff Jackson. Excluding a ten-year break she took from show-business in 1957, Sullivan's career spanned four decades. Sullivan was also popular with jazz enthusiasts outside of the United States and she toured internationally several times. The collection contains a photocopied transcript of an interview with Maxine Sullivan conducted as part of Rutgers University's Institute of Jazz Studies Oral History Project. The transcript is particularly rich in its detail of Sullivan's recording career and collaboration with other artists. Eleven tapes were transcribed, totaling 750 pages. less

The Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections (HAJMTC) were formed by over two hundred file-folder level collections (one-three file folders per personality or event). The collections contain information dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, and they document early dramatic actors, minstrel shows, vaudeville, musical revues, Broadway productions, and protest dramas, among others. In addition to actors, playwrights, singers, musicians, and dancers and the productions in which they appeared, there are collections for poets and visual artists. less