Loading...
Creator
Gray, Nadja, 1923-1994
Call number
*T-Mss 1995-007
Physical description
5.66 linear feet (9 boxes, 14 volumes)
Preferred Citation

Nadia Gray papers, *T-Mss 1995-007. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

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

Nadia Gray (1923-1994) was a twentieth century Romanian actress who worked in European theatre and film from the late 1940s to the late 1960s, when she moved to New York and performed as a cabaret singer. She is most remembered for performing a striptease in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The Nadia Gray papers contain scrapbooks, photographs, scripts, sheet music, programs, correspondence and clippings.

Biographical/historical information

Nadia Gray was born Nadia Kujnir-Herescu on November 23, 1923 in Bucharest, Romania. She began her acting career on the stage in post-World War II Bucharest, often appearing under her married name, Nadia Cantacuzino. With her first husband, the Romanian aviator Constantin Cantacuzino, she fled the communist regime in Romania to settle in Western Europe. She got her big break when Noël Coward cast her opposite him in the 1948 Paris production of Present Laughter (Joyeux Chagrins). Gray made her film debut in L'Inconnue d'un Soir (1949) an Austrian-French coproduction. In the 1950s and 1960s she appeared in various films, mostly Italian, French, German or English productions, performing with actors such as Errol Flynn, Rod Cameron, Peter Sellers, Robert Ryan, Marcello Mastroianni, Gina Lollobrigida, Fernandel, Viktor de Kowa, Vittorio De Sica, and O.W. Fischer. Her best-known role was in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960). From 1959 to 1967 she also made several guest appearances in various television productions. In 1967 she married New York attorney Herbert Silverman, and moved to New York. She retired from film in 1976 to concentrate on a career as a cabaret singer. She died of a stroke on June 13, 1994 in Manhattan.

Scope and arrangement

The Nadia Gray papers document her stage, film, and cabaret careers and to a lesser extent, her personal life.

Scrapbooks and albums of Gray's early stage career contain photographs and clippings from theatrical productions in which she appeared in Bucharest and in Paris. A highlight of materials from Gray's stage career is a copy of the script for Joyeux Chagrins, the French version of Noël Coward's Present Laughter, inscribed to Gray by Coward.

Film career files consist of photographs, clippings, and programs. Production stills and photograph albums document productions including The Captain's Table (1958), Court Martial (1965), The Crooked Road (1967), Crossed Swords (1954), La Dolce Vita (1959), Hengst Maestoso Austria (1956), L'Inconnu d'un Soir (1949), Maniac (1962), Moglie per una Notte (1951), Musik im Blut (1955), The Oldest Profession (1966), Parola di Ladro (1957), Puccini (1953), Rosen der Liebe (1949), Wenn Beide Schuldig Werden (1962), Winnetou and Old Firehand (1966), Valley of the Eagles (1951), and Zwei Whisky und ein Sofa (1963). Production scrapbooks date between 1949 and 1963 and contain clippings and reviews. There are also clippings from German, English, French, Italian, and Austrian newspapers dating from 1963 to 1976. Film career files include programs from L'Inconnue d'un Soir (1949) and Night Without Stars (1951).

There is sheet music from songs Gray performed or considered performing in her New York cabaret act, many of which are in Russian, German, and Polish; as well as photographs of her performances. There are also photographs, notes, contracts, and publicity materials from Gray's cabaret career in Europe and New York.

Personal photographs consist of portraits and headshots of Gray and colleagues. These are generally in black and white, and several are signed. Personal photographs show Gray with friends and associates such as Fernandel, Federico Fellini, Peter Sellers, and Robert Ryan. A 1958 photograph album documents Gray's visit to HMS Victory in Portsmouth, England. Other photograph albums depict Gray as a child and members of her family. There is also one folder of correspondence, which includes a 1977 letter to Gray from Fellini.

Arrangement

The Nadia Gray papers are arranged into the following categories: Stage Files, Film Files, Cabaret Files, and Personal Photographs.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Herbert Silverman, 1995.

Processing information

Compiled by Diana Bertolini, 2014

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

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatrediv@nypl.org.