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Creator
Barstow, Richard
Call number
*T-Mss 1981-013
Physical description
.21 linear feet. (1 box)
Preferred Citation
Correspondence to Morgan James, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
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The correspondence consists largely of personal letters written by Richard Barstow to his friend Morgan James, as well as some business related correspondence and documents related to litigation. Also includes a script entitled THE RAINBOW YEARS, dated January 30, 1958, for a performance marking the twentieth anniversary of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, i.e. the "March of Dimes." The script features material written for celebrity performers such as Lillian Gish, Eddie Cantor, Don Ameche, and Rudy Vallée.

Biographical/historical information

Richard Barstow (1908-1981) was a director and choreographer, known for his work for the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, for industrial shows, and for stage and television productions. Richard Barstow was born the youngest of seven children in Ashtabula, Ohio, on April 1, 1908; his family relocated to Seattle shortly after his birth. He travelled as part of a dance act with his sister Edith (1908-1960), then, upon her marriage, settled in Chicago where he found work at the Palmer House with Eddie Duchin's revue, learning choreography and directing. After Army service during World War II, Richard Barstow, who had never seen a circus, was offered a job by Ringling Brothers, for whom he worked as choreographer for many years. He served as choreographer for Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 film THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. Richard Barstow died on May 2, 1981.

Scope and arrangement

The correspondence consists largely of personal letters written by Richard Barstow to his friend Morgan James, as well as some business related correspondence and documents related to litigation. Also includes a script entitled THE RAINBOW YEARS, dated January 30, 1958, for a performance marking the twentieth anniversary of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, i.e. the "March of Dimes." The script features material written for celebrity performers such as Lillian Gish, Eddie Cantor, Don Ameche, and Rudy Vallée.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift, James, Morgan

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