Scope and arrangement
The Simeon Gest papers, dating from 1918 to 1959, hold letters, photographs, scripts, programs, and clippings documenting portions of Gest's career.
The letters date from 1923 to 1956. They are written to Gest from various figures in the theatrical and cinematic industries, including David Belasco; Cecil B. DeMille; Norman Bel Geddes; Morris Gest; Oliver Sayler and his wife, Marjorie Berkentin (Morris Gest's press agents); José Ferrer; Nance O'Neil; and the German film director Paul Leni. Some letters are to Maria Bekefi Gest or Morris Gest. Clippings and programs are included with some of the letters. Simeon Gest's 1923 United States certificate of naturalization is also among the letters.
Photographs date from 1918 to 1959. They include publicity postcards (dated from 1918 to 1923) from the Moscow Art Theatre picturing Russian actors; publicity photographs of Gest, including one of him with Sol Hurok; an image of Morris Gest; and an autographed portrait of Mary Costellie Berenson.
The scripts mostly date from 1928. That year, Gest made an arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to have the Russian playwright and producer Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko supervise the preparation of Russian stories and plays for cinematic production in the United States. Danchenko sent Gest scripts for consideration. Written by Danchenko, Mikhail Bulgakov, and other writers, some were originally produced by the Moscow Art Theatre. These scripts are in either English or Russian. Other scripts were sent to Gest for his consideration by American writers, including Frederic and Fanny Hatton. Some scripts contain letters to or from Gest regarding his or others' interest in them.
Arrangement
The collection is in three divsions: Letters, Photographs, and Scripts.