Loading...
Creator
Muni, Paul, 1895-1967
Call number
*T-Mss 1967-005
Physical description
4 linear feet (10 boxes)
Language
Some material is in Yiddish
Preferred Citation

Paul Muni Papers, *T-Mss 1967-005, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

The Paul Muni papers span the years 1920 through 1967 and consist of correspondence, photographs, clippings, scrapbooks, personal papers and writings documenting his career as an actor of stage and screen. The correspondence contains letters from many notables of the day and often discuss Muni's political and professional opinions. Correspondents include: Maxwell Anderson, Sherwood Anderson, Rex Beach, Noel Coward, Albert Einstein, Lion Feuchtwanger, John Golden, Arthur Hopkins, Helen Morgan, Dick Powell, Billy Rose and Blanche Yurka. Personal papers contain many programs and personal photographs as well as a notebook written by Muni in Hebrew or Yiddish and a sketch of him by Staats Cotsworth. Scrapbooks in the collection are primarily clippings with reviews and articles about Muni and his roles in plays and movies. However three of the scrapbooks document trips taken by him and his wife to Paris, Vienna and Israel. Other items of note include autographed photographs from friends and a photograph of Muni with Amelia Earhart on the set of The WOMAN I LOVE.

Biographical/historical information

Paul Muni (Mehilem Weisenfreund), actor of stage and screen, was born in Austria on September 22, 1895. Muni's early career on the American stage was in the Yiddish theater where he acted under the name Muni Weisenfreund. His first role was in the production Two Corpses at Breakfast in 1908. During the years 1908 through 1926 he toured in Yiddish theater productions becoming a member of the Yiddish Art Theatre in 1918. Paul Muni married Bella Finkel an actress of the Yiddish theater on May 8, 1921.

In 1926 he played Morris Levine in the play We Americans followed in 1927 by the play Four Walls. In 1930 he began using the name Paul Muni. Plays he starred in after that date include Counseller-At-Law, Key Largo, A Flag Is Born, They Knew What They Wanted, Death of a Salesman and Inherit the Wind for which he won a Tony Award.

Muni was also a successful motion picture actor, appearing in many notable Hollywood films including Scarface, I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Black Fury, Dr. Socrates, The Story of Louis Pasteur for which he won an Oscar in 1936, The Good Earth, The Woman I Love, The Life of Emile Zola, We Are Not Alone, Commandos Strike At Dawn and The Last Angry Man.

Paul Muni had a great interest in the plight of European Jews and this can be seen in the correspondence with his friends and professional contacts. He starred in Ben Hecht's pageant A Flag Is Born which rallied support for Israel. Paul Muni died in California on August 25, 1967.

Scope and arrangement

The Paul Muni papers span the years 1920 through 1967 and consist of correspondence, photographs, clippings, scrapbooks, personal papers and writings documenting his career as an actor of stage and screen. The correspondence contains letters from many notables of the day and often discuss Muni's political and professional opinions. Correspondents include: Maxwell Anderson, Sherwood Anderson, Rex Beach, Noel Coward, Albert Einstein, Lion Feuchtwanger, John Golden, Arthur Hopkins, Helen Morgan, Dick Powell, Billy Rose and Blanche Yurka. Personal papers contain many programs and personal photographs as well as a notebook written by Muni in Yiddish containing an adaptation of a work by Sholem Aleichem and a sketch of him by Staats Cotsworth. Scrapbooks in the collection are primarily clippings with reviews and articles about Muni and his roles in plays and movies. However three of the scrapbooks document trips taken by him and his wife to Paris, Vienna and Israel. Other items of note include autographed photographs from friends and a photograph of Muni with Amelia Earhart on the set of The Woman I Love.

The Paul Muni papers are arranged in four series:

  • Series I: Correspondence,.
    ca. 1932-1962
    22 folders

    This series contains correspondence to Paul Muni from many friends, associates and business acquaintances. The letters are primarily from the 1930s and 1940s and reflect Muni's concerns for the war, the Jews in Europe and other timely issues of the era. Correspondents include Maxwell Anderson, Rex Beach and John Golden. Of special note is a copy of a letter from Albert Einstein with a translation included.

  • Series II: Personal Papers
    ca. 1929-1959
    13 folders

    This series contains awards given to Muni, programs from some of his productions, photographs, some personal, as well as production photographs, writings and other ephemera belonging to Paul Muni and his wife, Bella. Included as well are 2 pamphlets, one entitled Fundamentalism vs Evolution at Dayton, Tennessee and the other, Medicine Under Mussolini. Of special note is a sketch of Paul Muni done by Staats Cotsworth and a notebook written probably by Paul Muni in either Hebrew or Yiddish.

  • Series III: Scrapbooks
    1927-1949
    8 volumes

    This series contains bound volumes of clippings and photographs documenting events in Muni's life as well as his career. Three of the scrapbooks are of trips which he and his wife took to Paris, Vienna and Israel. The remaining scrapbooks contain articles and reviews for plays and movies in which Muni starred. Included in these are the plays Four Walls, Counsellor-At-Law, Key Largo and They Knew What They Wanted. Films include Black Fury, Bordertown, The World Changes, Seven Faces, The Valiant, The Life of Emile Zola, The Good Earth, The Story of Louis Pasteur, Dr. Socrates, The Woman I Love, Juarez and We Are Not Alone.

  • Series IV: Oversized Materials
    2 boxes

    This series is primarily oversized photographs of Paul Muni in his stage and motion picture roles. There are also some awards and press materials for the motion pictures Commandos Strike At Dawn, Bordertown, The Valiant, The Life of Emile Zola and Scarface. Of special interest is a photograph of Paul Muni and Amelia Earhart on the set of The Woman I Love.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The collection was donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division sometime before 1969.

Source of acquisition

Gift, Bella Muni, 1967

Processing information

Processed by Mary Ellen Rogan.

The collection was reprocessed and recataloged with a finding aid written both for the repository and the Web between January and April 2000.

Separated material

  • The Last Angry Man - 8-MFLP
  • The Last Angry Man- MFLM +
  • Nobel- MFLM +
  • Nobel- MFLM +
  • They Knew What They Wanted - NCOF 74-485
  • Inherit the Wind- NCOF +
  • Counsellor-at-Law-NCOF +
  • The Light of Heart- NCOF +
  • Home At Seven- NCOF + 74-123

Related Material

Lawrence and Lee Collection of Paul Muni Materials at the Harvard Theatre Collection

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

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.