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Creator
Fletcher, Bramwell
Call number
*T-Mss 1988-006
Physical description
1.5 linear feet (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Bramwell Fletcher papers, *T-Mss 1988-006. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
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Bramwell Fletcher (1904-1988) was a British stage, film, and television actor best known for his work in plays by George Bernard Shaw, and for his one-man show, The Bernard Shaw Story. The Bramwell Fletcher papers (1934-1981) document his career in theater and television through photographs; annotated scripts and readings; and business papers.

Biographical/historical information

Bramwell Fletcher (1904-1988) was a British stage, film, and television actor best known for his work in plays by George Bernard Shaw, and for his one-man show, The Bernard Shaw Story. He worked in theater and film in Britain before moving to the United States in the early 1930s. Fletcher worked in Hollywood through the thirties, appearing in many films, most notably The Mummy and Svengali. He left the film industry in the early 1940s and returned to the stage, appearing in over 20 Broadway productions, and working in television as well. Fletcher frequently toured in The Bernard Shaw Story, a script he compiled from Shaw's writings, in the 1960s and 1970s. He died in New Hampshire in 1988.

Scope and arrangement

The Bramwell Fletcher papers (1934-1981) document the actor's career in theater and television through photographs, annotated scripts and readings, programs, and business papers. Photographs and scripts comprise the bulk of the collection.

Photographs contain negatives, contact sheets, and prints, and consist of publicity and performance images of Fletcher and other actors in both theater and television productions. Productions featured include The Bernard Shaw Story, Pygmalion, Little Glass Clock, Getting Married, The Day After Tomorrow, To What Red Hell, Goodbye Mr. Fancy, Candida, and Saint Joan. Other actors present in the photographs include Alison Stanley, Carol Channing, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. One folder (box 1, folder 3) holds negatives and contacts sheets of Richard Avedon photographs taken to promote The Bernard Shaw Story. Sixteen large prints, produced by the National Endowment for the Humanities, show Fletcher in a dressing room preparing for his role as Shaw.

The annotated scripts and readings hold various versions of The Bernard Shaw Story; and plays by Shaw, John L. Balderston, Sean O'Casey, Charles C. Mark, and Moliére. They also contain a lecture by Fletcher titled "If Shaw Were Alive Today"; a folder of poetry and other readings meant for public performance; and the original incidental music for the play Within the Gates, by Sean O'Casey (copies of manuscripts).

Business papers hold a contract, itineraries for The Bernard Shaw Story, and letters of thanks from presenters of the show.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged by format.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Unknown.

Processing information

Compiled by Matthew Snyder, 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 theatre@nypl.org.