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Creator
Schechter, Scott, 1961-2009
Call number
*T-Mss 2010-108; *T-MSS 2010-108
Physical description
10.1 linear feet (27 boxes, 1 tube)
Preferred Citation

Scott Schechter collection of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli materials, *T-MSS 2010-108. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Scott Schechter was a Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli historian. He was an author and producer, devoting many years to researching the careers of Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minnelli and in the process became an authority on their lives.

Biographical/historical information

Schechter was a Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli historian. He was an author and producer, devoting many years to researching the careers of Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minnelli and in the process became an authority on their lives.

Schechter was born February 26, 1961, the youngest of four children. He grew up in the Philadelphia area and began his dedication to Judy Garland while in junior high. For school projects, he wrote reports and created scrapbooks about Garland and Minnelli.

In 1998, Schechter co-produced what is considered the definitive audio overview of Garland's career: the 4-CD box set Judy, which spans the entire 40 years of her recorded legacy, from her earliest known recordings in 1929 at age 7, to one of her final appearances in 1969, shortly before her passing…Also that year Schechter was instrumental in bringing Garland's entire long-lost 1963-1964 TV series, The Judy Garland Show, to the DVD format.

In 2000, Schechter was instrumental in getting Garland's historic Grammy-winning Album of the Year Judy at Carnegie Hall released (on CD) complete and uncut, exactly as it happened that night in its proper running order, for the first time ever…

Schechter published the book Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend, in 2002. The book presented Garland's career and legacy in great detail.

Schechter also worked to get Liza Minnelli: The Complete A & M Recordings and Liza Minnelli: Ultimate Collection available to the public. In 2004 he published the book The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook containing never before seen photographs, extensive lists (records, television appearances, radio shows, movies, awards, etc.) and a detailed written overview of Minnelli's many acheivements. Schechter and Minnelli had an on-going professional relationship which included invitations to attend recording sessions and other events.

At the time of his death, Schechter was working to release a CD set of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli-'Live' at the London Palladium. The CD, with liner notes written by Schechter, was to be re-mastered. He was also working to bring to CD for the first time ever, Liza at the Winter Garden.

Scott Schechter died suddenly on May 15th, 2009 of a heart attack. He leaves behind his long-time partner, Russell Klein.

Sources: Schechter, Scott, The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook (New York: Citadel Press Books, 2004), 226-227

Scope and arrangement

The Scott Schechter Collection of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli materials contains both original documents that Schechter created as well as purchased documents regarding Garland and Minnelli. Files consist of correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, lists, newsletters, fan club material, advertisements, press releases/kits, manuscripts, music, posters, souvenir programs and ephemera.

The bulk of the correspondence is mostly to Schechter, dating from the 1980s and 1990s, and is from other fans of Garland and Minnelli. The Garland letters are photocopies. The Minnelli correspondence is notes between her and Schechter. Photographs are primarily copies of studio publicity shots for movies that Garland and Minnelli starred in although there are copies of photographs of concert performances. Snapshots of both Garland and Minnelli were bought by Schechter and tend to be unidentified in both place and date. There are also personal photographs depicting Garland and her family and friends. Please note that the publicity stills are not originals from the studios.

Schechter created the scrapbooks between the years 1975-1984. Each year's scrapbook contains clippings about Garland and/or Minnelli that were published and collected during that particular year. The scrapbooks are bound. Newsletters are from Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli fan clubs. The following titles are represented in the collection: Rainbow Review (1964-2005); Garlands for Judy (1995-2008); The Garland Gazette (1956-1966); The Garland News (1964-1968); Limelight on Liza (1965-1995) and many others. There is also music from The Judy Garland Show, some of the songs contain parts. Posters are for movies and concerts of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli. Some of the posters are quite large (27" x 40"). These have been removed from the collection and are housed separately. Ephemera is wide-ranging with magnets, buttons, key rings, paper dolls and standees, fan magazines and decorative cases of various sizes. Souvenir programs are mostly from Liza Minnelli concerts and Broadway performances.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged alphabetically by format.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Russell Klein and Rene Klein, 2010.

Processing information

Compiled by L. Reyman, 2011.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Access restrictions

Inquiries regarding audio and video materials in this collection may be directed to the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound (rha@nypl.org). Audio/visual materials will be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.