Scope and arrangement
The collection dates from the 1930s to 2012 and primarily documents Forrest Bonshire's dancing career with photographs, programs, letters, telegrams, clippings, contracts, and a scrapbook. Photographs make up the majority of the collection. It is grouped by Dancing; Brookhaven Theatre Dance Guild; Personal and Portraits; and Scrapbook.
The Dancing group covers Bonshire's career from the 1930s to 1957. There are several photographs of Bonshire dancing as a teenager in Muncie and with the Littlefield Ballet Company. Performance shots of Broadway musicals, such as Look Ma, I'm Dancin'! and Love Life, and his United Service Organizations (USO) tour are included. There are also performance and promotional photographs of Bonshire's tenure at the Lido de Paris and with Judy Johnson and Her Dates. Additionally, the Dancing group contains programs for the 1948 Tony Awards and 1950 Guys and Dolls production, telegrams to Bonshire mainly concerning Love Life, and a 1946 contract for Billion Dollar Baby. Letters, contracts, and passes for his USO tour accompany the photographs.
Brookhaven Theatre Dance Guild photographs depict rehearsals from the 1980s, as well as a 2008 tribute event for Bonshire.
The Personal and Portraits group contains headshots of Bonshire from the 1940s and photographs of him with friends and colleagues throughout his life. There are also portraits of other people, notably dancer Marilyn Mosier and Bonshire's first dance teacher, Marjorie Jeanne Burgauer. Some of these photographs are inscribed to Bonshire.
The Scrapbook mostly includes photographs of Bonshire performing, especially in Broadway productions.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by Dancing; Brookhaven Theatre Dance Guild; Personal and Portraits; and Scrapbook.