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Creator
Morehouse, Ward, 1898-1966
Call number
*T-Mss 1971-001
Physical description
1.25 linear feet (3 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Ward Morehouse Papers, *T-Mss 1971-001, 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

Ward Morehouse, journalist and playwright. The papers include correspondence, interviews, writings articles and ephemera documenting his career in the theater world.

Biographical/historical information

Ward Morehouse was a journalist and playwright. He was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1898 to Augustus Ward Morehouse and Sallie McIntosh Morehouse. He began writing plays in high school and found he had a knack for the written word. Later he became a newspaper man, writing for such papers as ,The Savannah Press, The Atlanta Journal, The New York Tribune and The Herald Tribune. In 1926 he began writing for The New York Sun first as the writer for the column "Broadway After Dark" and later as the drama critic and roving correspondent. Some of his best writings were theatrical interviews of which he was called a master.

He also wrote articles for periodicals such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Theatre Arts, Pageant, Look, Pic, American Mercury, Playboy, The Reader's Digest and The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Ward Morehouse was a playwright as well. Among his works are Gentlemen of the Press, U.S. 90, The Boss and Miss Quis. Other writings include theater histories and biographies such as American Reveille, George M. Cohan : Prince of the American Theatre, Matinee Tomorrow : 50 Years of our Theatre and the autobiographical works Just the Other Day and Forty-Five Minutes Past Eight.

Ward Morehouse received the Silurian Award and the Literary Achievement Award from the Georgia Writers Association. He died in 1966.

Scope and arrangement

The Ward Morehouse papers contain correspondence, interviews, writings, articles and ephemera documenting his career as a journalist, drama critic and playwright. The materials are rich in information on the theater community in the mid part of the 20th century. Through the interviews one gains a sense of Morehouse's writing style which brings the personalities to life through his sharp and often witty characterizations. Personalities of note documented in the collection include Irving Berlin, William A. Brady, Billie Burke, William Gillette, Moss Hart, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Elia Kazan, Lunt and Fontanne, Clifford Odets, Marjorie Rambeau, Richard Rodgers and Dwight Deere Wiman.

Other materials in the collection include research notes, correspondence and drafts for a proposed biography of Dwight Deere Wiman. Information included encompasses not only Wiman himself but his family including the Deere family.

The Ward Morehouse papers are arranged in three series:

  • Series I: Correspondence
    1924-1966
    1 box

    This series contains letters to Ward Morehouse from friends and professional contacts. Some of the correspondents are Brooks Atkinson, Maude Adams, Irving Berlin, Constance Collier, Joan Crawford, William Fields, Elsie Ferguson, William Gillette, Lillian Gish, Norman Hackett, Oscar Hammerstein, Moss Hart, Helen Hayes, Hal Holbrook, Elia Kazan, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Grant Mitchell, Frank Morgan, Channing Pollock, Marjorie Rambeau, Samson Raphaelson and Basil Rathbone. Of special note is a letter from M. Byer Allan (Rita Jolivet) describing her experience as a passenger during the sinking of the Lusitania.

  • Series II: Writings

    This series contains transcripts of interviews by Ward Morehouse, articles written by him and papers regarding a proposed biography of Dwight Deere Wiman which was never completed.

  • Series III: Ephemera
    ca. 1877-1966
    5 folders

    This series contains clippings and reviews documenting the life and career of Ward Morehouse, as well as other ephemeral items. Of special note is a report on the theater knowledge of Harry Truman and two letters written by Josephine Baker and Benjamin Farjeon collected by Ward Morehouse.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The collection was donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 1971 by Mrs. Rebecca Morehouse.

Source of acquisition

Gift, Mrs. Ward Morehouse, 1971

Processing information

Processed by Mary Ellen Rogan.

The collection was reorganized and cataloged with a finding aid written in 2000.

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.