Scope and arrangement
The Paramount Theatre stage manager's records consist of stage layouts for orchestras, song lists, simple lighting plots, rehearsal schedules for performers, film schedules, and a small amount of correspondence.
During the period covered in this collection, New York's Paramount Theater featured live musical performances and comedians in conjunction with regular film screenings. The musicians who appeared at the Paramount included many of the top performers of the era, including the orchestras of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, and others. Vocalists who appeared included Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Ethel Merman, Perry Como, Sarah Vaughan and Ethel Waters. Comedians who played the Paramount included Danny Kaye, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Jackie Gleason & Art Carney, Henny Youngman, and Imogene Coca. Material pertaining to these performers is not detailed, but in some cases includes rehearsal schedules, lists of songs or routines performed, and stage floor plans.