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Creator
Luce, Claire
Call number
*T-Mss 1990-015
Physical description
17.01 linear feet (46 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Claire Luce papers, *T-Mss 1990-015. 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

Claire Luce (1903 -1989) was an American stage and screen actress and dancer. The Claire Luce papers hold correspondence, theater and film files, scripts, photographs, writings, art, scrapbooks and memorabilia documenting the actress's career in dance, theater, film, and radio.

Biographical/historical information

Claire Luce (1903 -1989) was born in Syracuse, New York. In her teens she studied dance at the Denishawn School in New York City with Michel Fokine and Florence Colebrook Powers. In 1921, Luce made her professional debut dancing in Sol Hurok's Russian Opera Company. She starred in many Broadway plays and revues from 1923 until 1952, including Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue (1924) and the Ziegfeld Follies (1926). Her big break came when she co-starred with Fred Astaire in the original Broadway production of Gay Divorce (1932). During the London run of Gay Divorce, Luce suffered a serious injury to her hip that ended her stage dancing career. She had a brief career in Hollywood, starring in Up the River (1930). She also appeared in several British films.

She returned to the stage to star in A Portrait in Black (1938) and in the Broadway and London productions of Of Mice and Men (1937-1939). Luce often worked in London and remained there throughout the war years. She performed a number of Shakespearean roles during that time and in 1945 led the company at the Stratford-on-Avon Memorial Theatre's summer Shakespeare Festival as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra. During World War II she also toured with the Entertainments National Service Association, an organization established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel.

Luce continued to work in regional and summer stock theater throughout the 1950s and 1960s. She starred in The Time of the Cuckoo at several reigonal theaters from 1954-1956, and also appeared in The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1966) and In the Time of My Life (1962).

In the 1960s, Luce put together a one-woman show (developed under various titles) in which she performed scenes of many of the great Shakespearean female characters. She was also an avid painter and had several solo shows. In 1965 she published a book, Letters from Patrick - Letters of Life and Love from an R.A.F. Pilot-Bombardier to the American Actress, Claire Luce. Luce retired in New York City, and was working on her autobiography at the time of her death in 1989.

Scope and arrangement

The Claire Luce papers hold correspondence, theater and film files, scripts, photographs, writings, art, scrapbooks and memorabilia documenting Luce's career in dance, theater, film, and radio. Correspondence is both personal and professional and includes letters from theater critic Phillip Page, Richard Churchill, friend "Gillo" Gillan, and love letters from Anthony Drexel Cassatt and Clifford Warren Smith.

Photographs consist of production shots, film stills, and fashion portraits of Luce as well as personal snapshots. Of note are Luce's fashion portraits, created by prominent photographers of the first half of the 20th century, including G. Maillard Kesslère, Lee Miller, Edward Thayer Monroe, and Hal Phyfe. Memorabilia holds travel items such as menus, guidebooks, luggage tags, and passenger lists, as well as pins and badges from the 1952 Eisenhower presidential campaign and personal items such as driver's licenses, awards, and membership cards.

Scripts consist of film sides, radio scripts, spoken word scripts, and theater production scripts. All are annotated and some include blocking diagrams. Scrapbooks are arranged by production or year, and hold reviews, magazine articles, and gossip columns that mention Luce or her co-stars. Theater files hold programs, contracts, congratulatory telegrams, and correspondence relating to individual productions. A few productions have costume pieces and props, including Antony and Cleopatra, Much Ado About Nothing, and two Ziegfeld revues. Film files are correspondence with Fox Movie Studios and publicist Jeannette Saure and an advertising spread for Let's Make a Night of It. Television files hold contracts and correspondence regarding Broadway Television Theater and Pastiche.

Files documenting Luce's war work consist of correspondence from the Entertainments National Service Association arranging radio broadcasts and appearances. There are also letters documenting her involvement with the American Eagle Club and newsletters from the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies. War work files also hold posters, flyers, and letters with various government authorities authorizing travel to France for troop entertainment.

Sheet music consists of music used by Luce in performance, as well as copies of My Foolish Heart, an original number composed by Luce in 1941. Teaching files document her time as a guest lecturer at New York University in 1966, as well as a course on Shakespeare at St. Paul's, and hold correspondence, class plans, and notes on student progress.

Writings are notes and drafts for Letters from Patrick and her unpublished autobiography, as well as her diaries. The diaries primarily date from the 1970s. Art consists of small canvases and charcoal and pastel sketches signed by Luce. These depict women and appear to be costume or character sketches. Audio recordings are rehearsals and performances of various iterations of her one-woman show (1958-1966) and dramatic readings.

Inquiries regarding audio/visual materials in the collection may be directed to the Billy Rose Theatre Division (theatrediv@nypl.org). Audio/visual materials will be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.

Arrangement

Alphabetical by file type.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Jeanne Luce Selvin, 1990,1991.

Processing information

Compiled by Lea Jordan, 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.

Access restrictions

Inquiries regarding audio/visual materials in the collection may be directed to the Billy Rose Theatre Division (theatrediv@nypl.org). Audio/visual materials will be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.