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Creator
Morgan, Ralph, 1883-1956
Call number
*T-Mss 1975-002
Physical description
0.5 linear feet (1 box)
Preferred Citation

The Claudia & Ralph Morgan Papers, *T-Mss 1975-002. 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.

The Claudia & Ralph Morgan Papers contain the certificates, contracts, correspondence, scripts, telegrams and miscellaneous material relating to the acting careers on stage, in motion pictures and with professional organizations (e.g. Screen Actors Guild) for this father and daughter collection.

Biographical/historical information

Ralph Morgan Ralph Morgan (Raphael Kuhner Wupperman) was born on July 6, 1883 in New York City, NY. Despite earning a law degree from Columbia University, Ralph Morgan decided to turn his back on the courtroom and become an actor on stage and in film. In Hollywood, he played leading roles in such productions as Strange Interlude and Rasputin and the Empress before settling into secondary character parts-e.g. Randolph in Magnificent Obsession. Ralph Morgan is known for playing the "surprise" killer in Hollywood murder mystery films.

In addition to acting, Ralph Morgan focused on the politics and labor relations of actors within the film / stage industries. He was "largely concerned with issues of extras, and enacting the first Agency Regulations. As a President (1933 and 1938-1940), as well as one of the founders and charter members, of the Screen Actors Guild, he successfully fought a second attempt of IATSE President, George Browne and his 'personal representative' in Hollywood, Willie Bioff (from Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti's Chicago mob), to take over the jurisdiction of ALL actor unions"¹.

Ralph Morgan was the brother of Frank Morgan (who played the title role in The Wizard of Oz 1939), the husband to Grace Arnold (stage actress) and father of Claudia Morgan (an actress best known for her portrayal of Nora Charles on the Thin Man radio series).

Ralph Morgan died on June 11, 1956 in New York, NY.

Source: ¹http://www.sag.org/history/presidents/morgan.html

Claudia Morgan Claudia Morgan (Claudeigh Louise Wuppermann) was born on June 12, 1911 in Brooklyn, NY to Ralph Morgan and Grace Arnold. She debuted onstage as a teenager, and appeared in nearly two-dozen plays on Broadway between 1929 and 1952. She was most active on stage and in radio, making just a handful of film appearances; one, a lead role in the 1937 Universal feature That's My Story, with Ralph. In the 1940s she was nationally-known to radio audiences as "Nora Charles" in the Thin Man series. None of her four marriages resulted in a grandchild for Ralph and Grace, so when Claudia died on September 17, 1974, she was the last actor of the family line.

Source: http://www.sag.org/history/presidents/claudia.html

Scope and arrangement

The Claudia & Ralph Morgan Papers contain the certificates, contracts, correspondence, scripts, telegrams and miscellaneous material relating to the careers on stage, in motion pictures and with professional organizations (e.g. Screen Actors Guild) for this father and daughter collection. Of special interest in the collection is Claudia Morgan's script for The Man Who Came to Dinner, the two poems written by Ralph to his daughter, the numerous letters from Grace Arnold to Ralph Morgan and the references to Ralph Morgan's connection to the Screen Actors Guild.

Even though Frank Morgan is the uncle and brother of Claudia and Ralph Morgan, respectively, there are only a few items that refer to Frank Morgan in the collection. Also, there are no film or stage materials for Ralph Morgan, nor is there material from the Adventures of the Thin Man for Claudia Morgan.

Arrangement

Alphabetical

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Claudia & Ralph Morgan Papers were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division by Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Clark of New York City in 1975.

Processing information

Processed by Thea Constantine; Machine-readable finding aid created by Thea Constantine.

Related Material

Microfilmed scrapbooks are available from the Billy Rose Theatre Division.

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.