16mm motion picture films, produced in the 1930s and 1940s by various film production companies, documenting performances by jazz and popular music performers, including Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Lena Horne, the Mills Brothers, and Rosemary Clooney, and others listed below.
Scope and Contents:
Five (5) reels of 16mm motion picture film created in the 1940s by various commercial film production companies, featuring performances by jazz and popular music performers. Individual titles have been assembled into compilation reels by the donor.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection (NMAH.AC.0491)
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection (NMAH.AC.0808)
Provenance:
The Ben and Ruth Liman Jazz Film Collection was donated to the Archives Center in 2001.
Restrictions:
No reference copies exist. If their condition allow the films may be viewed.
Rights:
Copyright and related intellectual property rights issues may restrict reproduction.
1 Reel (16mm black and white composite optical track print, 1665 ft.)
Container:
Reel OF 775.2
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Reels
Date:
1940s
Scope and Contents:
Compilation reel created by donor consisting of:
1."Lazy Bones"
Corporate Creator: Soundies Distributing Corp. of America (Official Films)
Copyright: 1941
Performers: Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Dandridge, Peter Ray
2. "Virginia, Georgia, and Carolina"
Corporate Creator: Soundies Distributing Corp. of America
Copyright: 1942
Performers: Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
3."The Band Parade"
Corporate Creator: Castle Films
Copyright: 1949
Performers: Tony Pastor and His Band
4. "Musical Film Revue"
Corporate Creator: Official Films
Performers:
5. "The Band Parade"
Corporate Creator: Castle Films
Copyright: 1949
Performers: Tommy Tucker and his band.
6. "Lazy Rhythms"
Corporate Creator: Official Films
Copyright:
Performers: Mills Brothers
7. "Boogie Woogie Dream"
Corporate Creator: Soundies Distributing Corp. of America (Official Films)
Copyright: 1944
Performer: Lena Horne
Collection Restrictions:
No reference copies exist. If their condition allow the films may be viewed.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and related intellectual property rights issues may restrict reproduction.
Collection Citation:
Ben and Ruth Liman Jazz Film Collection, 1930s-1940s, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Descriptive Summary: 1220f., b&w, a composite reel created by Ernie Smith
Performer(s): Count Basie and His Orchestra
Song Title(s):
1. "Take Me Back Baby", vocals by Jimmy Rushing, Official Films
2. "Air Mail Special", Official Films, 1941
3. "Sent for You Yesterday", vocals by Jimmy Rushing from the short musical film Choo Choo Swing, 1942
4. "One O'Clock Jump", from the filmRevielle With Beverly, Columbia Pictures, 1943, the band includes Don Byas and Buck Clayton
5. "Sunny Side of the Street", with Lester Young, Harry Edison, Marie Bryant from the musical short, Jammin' the Blues, 1944
6. A dance number from Jammin' the Blues, 1944, danced by Marie Bryant and Archie Savage
7. "If I Could be With You", vocals by Helen Humes
8. "You're Not the Only Girl in Town/I Don't Like You No More", vocals by Joe Williams
9. "I Left My Baby", vocals by Jimmy Rushing with an introduction by John Crosby
Video reference copy
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
Descriptive Summary: 915f., b&w, an Archives Center compilation reel:
1. Lazy Rhythms Starring the Mills Brothers - A Musical Film Review
Copyright: 1944
Corporate Creator: The New Official Films
Producer:
Director: William Forest Crouch
Performer(s): The Mills Brothers
Song Title(s): a. "Lazy River" b. "Rockin' Chair" c. "Til Then"
2. Movie Newsreels Presents Diving Exhibitions - Santa Barbara, Calif.
Copyright: ca/ 1944-1948
Performer(s): Margie Gastring (sp?)
3. "Rockin' Chair" (Same as #1-2 above.)
4. I Ain't Got Nobody
Descriptive Summary: a cartoon short featuring the music of the Mills Brothers who sing and scat "Tiger Rag" while images of members of various ethnic groups (Chinese, African, Mexican, American Indian) engage in stereotypical behavior as viewed on a television set. This is followed by a "sing-along" of "I Ain't Got Nobody".
Copyright: 1932
Corporate Creator: Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Producer: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Performer(s): The Mills Brothers
Song Title(s): a. "Tiger Rag" b. "I Ain't Got Nobody"
6. "Tiger Rag"
Descriptive Summary: introduced by a radio announcer
Performer(s): The Mills Brothers
Song Title(s): "Tiger Rag"
Video reference copy available.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
Series consists of the personal papers of Cornell's younger brother, Robert, nicknamed Snicky. Even though he suffered from cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair for most of his life, Robert led an active and creative life, pursuing hobbies such as drawing, train collecting, and short wave radio, and sharing many of Cornell's interests such as music, films, and Christian Science. Stemming from his creative activities and interests, and his close relationships with family members, his papers include correspondence received by him ( See Series 2 for correspondence written by him), writings, art works, printed material, photographs, notes, QSL cards (which are traded amongst amateur radio operators), financial material such as his financial diary and receipts, address book, and his last will and testament.
It is possible that either Cornell kept Robert's papers amongst his own or that Benton placed Robert's papers in with Cornell's in the course of preparing them for donation. However Robert's papers came to be included amongst Cornell's, it most likely is not an accident. Both Cornell and Benton were concerned with how Robert would be remembered. This concern is reflected in Cornell's use of Robert's drawings in his series of memorial collages and in Benton's expressed tendency to include one of Robert's drawings (usually a copy) when loaning or donating Cornell art works ( See copy of letters to Aline Porter in Subseries 10.1). The fact that Robert's papers can be found amongst Cornell's can be interpreted as part of the family's effort to foster Robert's memory.
Arrangement note:
The Robert Cornell Papers are arranged alphabetically according to format.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the original papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection contains approximately 2,500 costume designs in colored pencil and pastels, on tissue paper mounted on mat boards. The designs were created for entertainers such as Liberace, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Dionne Warwick, the Fifth Dimension, Nancy Sinatra, and others. Some were created for the television show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the sketches and finished renderings of costumes created over approximately thirty years by Michael Travis. Many are signed by the artist; most are not, which may indicate that Travis collected renderings done by other designers to save them from destruction. They are done in a variety of media and many pencil "roughs" are present as well as the finished art presented to clients. The earlier works are relatively small in size and are believed to have been created in the late 1950s and 1960s for New York costume houses and theatrical productions. The larger format works are primarily designs for the musical performers and television productions that comprised Travis's clients in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s.
During his career his style of illustration evolved and he may also have used several different styles to suit the subject. It is likely that he used assistants for some of the drawings, especially for large productions. In any case, the liveliness of the drawings, the brilliance of their color, the sheer panache they posess is the essence of the drama and excitement that is the lifeblood of the entertainment industry. Many of the illustrations have one (or many) fabric swatches attached to them; a group of large fabric samples is included as well.
Other materials include ephemera, a few publications, and photographs. There is also a small group of artworks by other artists, particularly Waldo Angelo, a long-time friend and colleague.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Costume Designs for Individual Performers and Performing Groups, 1961-1986, undated
Series 2: Costume Designs for Theatrical and Television Productions, 1958-1978, undated
Series 3: Ephemera, Publications, and Photographs, 1977-1985, undated
Series 4: Fabric Samples, undated
Series 5: Artworks by Others, 1947-1968, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Costume designer Michael Travis was born Louis Torakis to a Detroit Greek-American family in 1928. While serving in the postwar United States Army he was stationed in Paris. Upon his discharge in1949 he remained in the city to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Sorbonne on the GI Bill. Also studying haute couture, he met the designers Jacques Fath and Pierre Balmain and occasionally provided sketches for their collections.
Travis left Paris to seek work in New York and was hired at Eaves Costume Company. The company had been founded in 1863 and was the premier costumer for Broadway productions. He was hired as a secretary (his army employment) but became an assistant to the designers. With the owner's encouragement, he passed the exam for the costumers union and became a member of the Designers Guild. This made him eligible to design for Broadway shows and union films.
Travis became an assistant at Brooks Costume Company where he worked with famous Broadway and Hollywood designers such as Raul Pene du Bois and Irene Sharaff. This would lead to his designing the costumes for Ionesco's play Rhinosceros, starring Zero Mostel. The director of the play then hired Travis for a series of Public Television theater productions. Following these, he became the designer for two television programs featuring operatic and theatrical stars, The Voice of Firestone and The Bell Telephone Hour.
Beginning in 1958, Travis worked on the Motion Picture Acadmey of Arts and Sciences (MPAAS) Academy Awards, the Oscars, for eight years as assistant to well-known costume designer Edith Head. She persuaded him to move from New York to Los Angeles in the mid 1960s and he was hired to design for The Steve Lawrence Show, produced by George Schlatter. Travis and Schlatter became close friends and when Schlatter produced the ground-breaking comedy-variety show Laugh-In, Travis was hired as costume designer. The show ran for six seasons, 1968-1973, and required as many as 300 costumes per episode for a large cast, numerous guest stars, and the corps of dancers. He was nominated for an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) award, the Emmy, and more importantly, met and worked with a great many of the musical, film, and theatrical stars of the time. When the show ended in 1973 he was himself a star in his field.
Travis was now able to concentrate on his clientele of musical performers and groups. These included The Supremes, The Temptations, The 5th Dimension, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and solo artists Dionne Warwick, Connie Stevens, Nancy Sinatra, John Denver, Wayne Newton and many others. He also acquired his most extravagant client, Liberace, when the flamboyant pianist's designer retired in 1973.
Frank Ortiz had designed an elaborately beaded and decorated jacket for Liberace as early as 1959 and, with other designers, continued to design elaborate costumes for him throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Following this tradition, Travis was encouraged by Liberace to create the most fabulous, beautiful, and exquisitely crafted suits, vests, boots, and capes possible. The costumes were made using the finest fabrics, embroideries, crystals, sequins, feathers and furs—even lights! Anna Nateece, Liberace's longtime furrier, continued to supply his furs. One of these ensembles was valued at $300,000 dollars and they could weigh over 100 pounds. They were objects of awe for his audiences and made a spectacular appearance with the pianos and automobiles in his stage show. One of Liberace's favorite sayings was "Too much of a good thing is wonderful!" Travis was able to demonstrate how right he was and continued as his designer and friend until the pianist died in 1987.
When Travis was in his forties he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The disease gradually disabled him to the point that walking was extremely difficult and eventually he became wheelchair-bound. After Liberace's death, he retired from his work but continued an active social life and traveled with his care-givers both within the United States and to European countries. In 2010 he received The Career Achievement in Television Award at the 12th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills. His friends, George Schlatter and Nancy Sinatra, were with him at the ceremony. He died on May 1, 2014 at the age of 86.
Source
Liberace Extravaganza! by Connie Furr Soloman and Jan Jewett, HarperCollins 2013
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2015 by George Lavdas.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Compilation film of a variety of short musical 'Soundie' films made for music-film jukeboxes and television, by the Snader Telescription and Studio
companies in the 1950.
Object Number:
2012.79.1.84.1a-d
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Media Preservation team can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Compilation film of a variety of short musical 'Soundie' films made for music-film jukeboxes, and television, by the Snader Telescription and Studio
companies in the 1950s.
Object Number:
2012.79.1.85.1a-d
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Media Preservation team can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Compilation of a variety of short musical 'Soundie' films made for music-film jukeboxes, and television, by the Snader Telescription and Studio companies in the 1950s.
Object Number:
2012.79.1.105.1a-d
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Media Preservation team can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Media Preservation team can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture
The papers of popular songwriter Harry Warren, three time Academy Award winner and prolific contributer to the American songbook.
Scope and Contents:
The Harry Warren Papers consists of original music manuscripts, scores, song sheets, commercial sheet music, bound scores, scripts, business records, correspondence (business, personal and fan), clippings, magazines, photographs, cassette tapes, LP records, posters and programs and personal memorabilia. The material documents the personal life and professional career of composer, songwriter and lyricist Harry Warren from 1894 to 1981 and to a lesser extent the operation of his Four Jays Music Corporation, circa 1954-2000. The bulk of the collection covers the years 1927-1980. The collection is organized into eight series.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into eight series.
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, 1928-1987
Subseries 1.1: Original Holographic Theatre and Motion Picture Music Manuscripts, 1930-1960
With the possible exception of Irving Berlin, no one has contributed as much material to the canon of American popular song in the 20th century as Harry Warren (1893-1981). Warren was born in Brooklyn, New York, December 24, 1893, to Italian immigrant parents. His birth name was Salvatore Anthony Guaragna. By the time he graduated from grade school, he was known as "Harry Warren". He legally changed his name in 1938. He was educated in the public schools of New York but had no formal musical training. He taught himself to play the organ and piano and also sang in the church choir. Both Warren's sister and brother were performers so the theatrical world was not unknown to him. He worked as an actor and assistant director for the Vitagraph film studio in New York and played mood music for actress Corinne Griffith. During World War I, Warren served in the United States Navy at Montauk Point, New York. For a few weeks after the war, he worked as an insurance examiner for The Travellers Agency.
In December 1918, Warren married Josephine Wensler (1897-1993). Their first child was a son named Harry Warren, Jr. (1920-1937). In 1920, Warren became a song plugger for the music publishing firm of Stark & Cowan. Warren continued writing and in 1922 along with lyricist Edgar Leslie produced his first song hit, "Rose of the Rio Grande." From that point on, Warren composed a continuous stream of hits introduced by such artists as Paul Whiteman and others. By 1925, a second child, Joan (1924-1991), nicknamed "Cookie", was born. Warren continued his success with such songs as "I Love My Baby (My Baby Loves Me)," "In My Gondola" and the very popular 1928 hit "Nagasaki."
By 1929, Warren was the director of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He held that position until 1933. He also served on the ASCAP Board of Directors. During this time Warren worked with various musicians including Gus Kahn, Bert Kalmer, and Harry Ruby. In 1930, he wrote his first motion picture score for the film Spring is Here. Al Jolson asked him to compose a song for the show, Wonder Bar (1931). During the 1930s, Warren composed three other Broadway shows, Sweet and Low (1930), Crazy Quilt (1931) featuring Fanny Brice, and Laugh Parade (1931) starring Ed Wynn.
In 1932, Warren was hired by Warner Brothers Studios to help write songs for the Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler film 42nd Street (1933). Along with lyricist, Al Dubin, Warren wrote such hits as "We're in the Money" and "The Shadow Waltz". Warren continued composing memorable songs for motion pictures such as Gold Diggers of 1933, The Singing Marine (1937), and Footlight Parade (1933). Gold Diggers of 1935 included Warren's first Academy Award winning song, "Lullaby of Broadway". Warren made cameo appearances in a few films during his stay at Warner Brothers. He and lyricist Dubin can be seen in 42nd Street, Go Into Your Dance (1935), and A Very Honorable Guy (1934). He also appeared in a Vitaphone short entitled Harry Warren: America's Foremost Composer.
Warren left Warner Brothers for 20th Century Fox in 1940. At Fox he helped compose the scores for such motion pictures as, Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Orchestra Wives (1942), and The Gangs All Here (1943) that included the Carmen Miranda standard, "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat". During this period, he worked with lyricists Ralph Rainger, Mack Gordon and Leo Robin, and others. Hello Frisco, Hello (1943) garnered Warren his second Academy Award for the song, "You'll Never Know". While at Fox, Warren composed "Chattanooga Choo Choo" a song that became the first gold record in the history of the recording industry.
In 1945, legendary musical film producer Arthur Freed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer courted Warren for his MGM production unit. Freed quipped that Warren would have the office right next door to his--and he did. For Warren the offer to write music at the studio that practically invented the movie musical was irresistible and he left 20th Century Fox for MGM. He joined Freed in writing the songs for Yolanda and the Thief (1945) starring Fred Astaire and Freed's protégée Lucille Bremer. The film was directed by the incomparable Vincent Minnelli. His next high profile score was for The Harvey Girls (1946) composed with renowned lyricist Johnny Mercer. The picture starred Judy Garland and John Hodiak. Directed by George Sidney, it was a major success, due in part to Warren's tuneful "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe". This song brought Warren his third and what would be his final Academy Award.
While at MGM, Warren worked with lyricists Mack Gordon, Ralph Blane, and others. In 1948, he and Blane composed the song score for Freed and director Rouben Mamoulian's ambitious film adaptation of Eugene O'Neills stage play Ah Wilderness entitled Summer Holiday (1948) starring Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven. This is reported to have been Warren's favorite film assignment, but the film was not an unqualified success. Warren remained at MGM until the 1950s composing for such films as The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), starring Astaire and Rogers, Summer Stock (1950), starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly and his final film for MGM, Skirts Ahoy! (1952), starring Esther Williams and Vivian Blane. After leaving MGM, Warren wrote the score for the Bing Crosby film, Just for You at Paramount. Warren also served on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Warren went on to write the music for two Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin films, The Caddy (1953) for which he composed "That's Amore", Artists and Models (1955) and for three Jerry Lewis films, Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958), Cinderfella (1960), and The Ladies Man (1961). Warren also composed instrumental pieces one being a "Mass in Honor of St. Anthony".
Warren returned to Broadway in 1956 with the musical Shangri-La, based on the novel Lost Horizon. The show was not a success and closed after fewer than thirty performances. He composed the title song for the Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr film, An Affair to Remember (1957); this song brought him his last nomination for an Academy Award. The song was later used in the motion picture Sleepless in Seattle (1993) starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
During the 1950s, Warren started his own music publishing company, Four Jays Music Corporation. After writing the songs for The Ladies Man, Warren retired from films but continued to write for piano, even composing the song for the Miss Oklahoma Pageant. His last film effort was to compose one song for the motion-picture Rosie (1968). During the last years of his life Warren composed and ran his music publishing business, but remained largely forgotten as the man who had composed a great deal of America's musical heritage.
With the resurgence in the appreciation of the movie musical in the early 1970s, the tunes composed during Warren's heyday were back in vogue, brought on in a large part by the phenomenal success of MGM's That's Entertainment! (1974). In 1980, he was asked to compose the musical numbers for an upcoming movie musical entitled, Manhattan Melody but it was never produced.
1980 brought the Warren name back to the marquees of Broadway with the David Merrick production of 42nd St.. The full budgeted big Broadway musical used the basic storyline from the 1933 film and drew upon the whole of the Warren and Dubin catalogue for the score. The production proved to be wildly popular, running in excess of five years on Broadway. Warren died in California on September 22, 1981. He was interred in the Sanctuary of Tenderness at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles beside his wife and son. After Warren's death, his daughter Joan "Cookie" Warren Jones administered the music publishing company until her death in 1991.
Key:
OF = Original Film, RV = Reference Video, MV = Master Video
Separated Materials:
The Division of Cultural History (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) has three dimensional objects related to Harry Warren.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution by Julia Riva and Jophe Jones, granddaughters of Harry Warren, on December 15, 2000.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the audiovisual materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy existsContact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
