This collection consists of eight scrapbooks and five posters documenting the burlesque career of Irene Jewell (stage name Ricki Covette), who at 6'8" was billed as "The World's Tallest Exotic Dancer." The albums contain clippings; letters; certificates; photographs, including photographs of her act; ephemera, such as postcards, travel brochures, postcards, and decals, from her travels; advertisements; and theater programs.
Scope and Contents:
Scrapbooks and posters documenting the burlesque career of Irene Jewell (stage name Ricki Covette), who at 6'8" was billed as "The World's Tallest Exotic Dancer."
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Scrapbooks
Series 2: Posters
Biographical / Historical:
Born in 1925 in rural Alberta, Canada, Irene Jewell aspired to become a singer and dancer. Moving to the United States in the 1950s, Jewell began a thirty-year career in show business, including theater, small parts in television and film, but especially burlesque, under her stage name "Ricki Covette." Billed as "The World's Tallest Exotic Dancer" at 6'8" and the "Glamazon," Covette's career spanned the peak of burlesque's popularity; her career highlights included headlining at clubs, including an 82-week stint at the ShoBar in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a solo act world tour in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the Americans. Besides her burlesque career, Covette also had parts in theater, including playing the role of Gymnasia in the 1963-1964 tour of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and appearing in the 1966 film The Swinger. After she left show business, she started a successful second career as a real estate broker in the Los Angeles area and travelled with her husband, cinematographer Stuart Jewell, shooting footage of nature and culture. In 2010 she appeared in Leslie Zemeckis's documentary, Behind the Burly! Covette died in February 2016.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2014 by Irene Jewell (stage name Ricki Covette).
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Social Security numbers are present and have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
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.
Papers documenting the life and career of Shirley May Jones, stage name Shirley Leonard, an exotic dancer from Cincinnati, Ohio. The papers, photographs, and clippings document her childhood, early life, and professional career.
Scope and Contents:
Papers documenting the life and career of exotic dancer Shirley May Jones, stage name Shirley Leonard, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Leonard performed primarily throughout the Midwest but also worked in Florida, California, and Louisiana. The collection includes family, performance, venue, and publicity photographs, photographs of other entertainers (some inscribed), correspondence, clippings, a childhood scrapbook, sheet music, recorded music, printed materials, home movies, and financial and business records such as contracts and wage slips.
Arrangement:
The papers are divided into five series.
Series 1: Personal Papers
Series 2: Business, Financial, and Legal Records
Series 3: Performance Materials
Series 4: Photographs
Series 5: Audiovisual Materials
Biographical / Historical:
Exotic dancer, active during the 1940s and 1950s.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts related to this collection including some of Jones' costumes and accessories.
Provenance:
Purchased by the National Museum of American History from Cowan's Historic Americana Auction in 2005. Addendum donated to the Archives Center in 2006 by Kathleen D. Connick, a relative of Shirley May Jones.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. Researchers must use photocopies of scrapbooks due to the fragility of the originals, unless special access is approved.
Technical Access: Viewing film and listening to audio disc recordings is only possible by special arrangement, please inquire.
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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
REELS 3999-4001: Photocopies of school records from 1945; an award certificate, 1970; a resume, 1972; a contract with Art/Video Productions for co-partnership with Gerald L. Rosen and Andy Eason to produce interview videos; clippings, 1969-1975; 2 diaries, 1974 and 1975; correspondence with friends and associates, 1963-1985; 2 typescripts by White: "R. M. Shindler - An Architectural Analysis and Interpretation" and "Performance Chronology"; 14 notebooks, undated and 1965-1976; notes written as a student at the Patri School of Art Fundamentals, 1962-1965, and at the Otis Art Institute, 1964-1969; miscellaneous notes, 1949-1975; and subject files for 25 performance/installation works of art including "Dirt Event, Bronson Canyon", "Boulder Delivery", "Time and Space", and "Art Walk", 1968-1978, containing letters, notes, drawings, and printed material.
REEL 1817 (fr. 1229-1230): Photograph of John White performing "Conceptual Striptease (Clothing as Form)," 1971, Los Angeles, Calif. Photographer unknown. Photo was previously microfilmed under Photos of Artists II and has since been scanned and returned to the White papers.
Biographical / Historical:
Conceptual artist; Venice California.
Provenance:
Donated 1979 & 1981 by John M. White. Photograph donated with papers 1979 and microfilmed with Photographs of Artists-Collection II in 1980.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- California -- Venice Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life Search this
Michaels, Dewey, 1898- (theater owner, director, producer) Search this
Names:
Palace Burlesque Theatre (Buffalo, N.Y.) Search this
Extent:
0.33 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Clippings
Photographs
Place:
Buffalo (N.Y.) -- photographs -- 1920-1970
Date:
late 1920's-1967
Scope and Contents:
Newspaper clippings; advertising brochures; and photoprints of performers at the Palace Theatre (including studio publicity portraits). The majority of the items are silver gelatin photoprints. Some photographers are listed below as index terms. Subjects of photographs include strippers and comedians; photographs of women include portraits as well as full-length figures, nude or in costume.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series. Arranged alphabetically by subjects' names within categories.
Biographical / Historical:
George Dewey Michaels (1898-1982) was owner, director, general manager and producer of the Palace Burlesque Theater in Buffalo, New York until it closed on September 29, 1977, when Michaels was 79 years old. Michaels started in the business when he was 19 years old. Through the years, he featured Abbott and Costello, Phil Silvers, Jerry Lewis, Red Buttons, and Sammy Davis, Jr. who was then a dancer with the Will Master Trio which included his father and uncle. The Palace Burlesque was part of a 40-city circuit. Michaels was married in 1920 to Phyllis Boasberg. She died in 1969, leaving two sons and one daughter. On December 4, 1980, Michaels donated a backdrop, used in the theatre, to the Smithsonian. The backdrop had a musical theme with a clarinetist and notes rendered in extravagant art nouveau. Michaels was then 83 years old. Other backdrops were distributed to other theatres and collectors. They were 60-100 years old, painted in Diamond Dye, and worth about $1,000 apiece.
Related Materials:
Theatrical backdrops and director's chair located in the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Provenance:
Collection donated by Mr. Dewey Michaels, January 31, 1981.
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.
This series contains scripts and materials written, performed, or used by Jess Mack. Materials are arranged alphabetically by title.
Biographical / Historical:
Jess Mack was born May 14,1905. He was a booking agent and comedy writer. The Jess Mack Papers at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas document the professional life of burlesque agent and comedy writer Jess Mack from 1916 to 1988 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to contracts, correspondence, engagements, and newspaper articles, the collection contains five boxes of jokes, scripts
and scenes used in various burlesque productions. Other material includes photographs of entertainers and burlesque stars, joke booklets, and issues of Mack's magazine, Cavalcade of Burlesque, dating from
1951 to 1954.
"Jess Mack, born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 14, 1905, was an actor for 30 years, and a producer, comedy writer, and agent for 35 years in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mack wrote for comedians including Phil Silvers, Rags Ragland, Red Buttons, Charlie Kemper, Phyllis Diller, and Rip Taylor. He also wrote comedy lines and sketches for Abbott and Costello, Jackie Gleason, George White's Scandals and Minsky's Follies. Mack was also the writer and publisher of the Cavalcade of Burlesque magazine. As an agent, Mack represented a number of prominent striptease dancers. " "Mack first appeared in a comedy act in Las Vegas in 1944 with Charles Kemper at the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and Casino. He made two trips to the South Pacific with the United Service Organizations (1945 and 1946). Mack continued to work and travel until 1969 when he moved to Las Vegas permanently and opened the Jess Mack Theatrical Agency. His 35 years as an agent culminated on June 24, 1990 when the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) presented him with the Outstanding Achievement Award for being the first franchised SAG agent in Las Vegas, Nevada." He died
October 29, 1990.
Additional archival collection at University of Pittsburgh "Ralph G. Allen Burlesque Collection"
Guide to the Ralph G. Allen Burlesque Collection, 1905-1962 CTC.1972.02 | Digital Pitt.
A related archival collection is available at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/finding-aids/MS-00022.pdf
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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:
Henry "Buddy" Graf and George Cahill Vaudeville and Burlesque Collections, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection measures about 3 cubic feet, dates from 1917 to 1999, and documents the life and career of the prominent burlesque stripteaser Lili St. Cyr. Found within the papers are personal financial documents; photographs of her family; her personal passport holder; publicity shots of Dardy Orlando and herself; correspondence with family and friends; business contracts; newspaper clippings and magazine articles, featuring and advertising her work; and biographical materials, including notes, drafts, contracts, photographs, a couple audio reels, a recorded interview with St. Cyr on 18 audio cassette tapes, and two biographies. The papers reflect Lili St. Cyr's personality as a performer and as a person.
Content Description:
The papers document the personal and professional life of the burlesque dancer Lili St. Cyr. They include collection includes photographs, publicity materials, correspondence, greeting cards, manuscript versions of a biography of St. Cyr co-authored by St. Cyr and Mathew Tombers, open reel audiotapes, audiocassettes of oral history interviews with St. Cyr, clippings, magazines, two biographies, financial records, legal records, business records, and her personal passport holder.
Arrangement:
Materials are arranged in chronological order. Artifacts are housed in boxes 6 and 7. Audio cassette tapes are housed in box 9.
The collection is arranged into 4 series:
Series 1: Publicity, 1941-1999
Series 2: Personal Papers, 1917-1980
Subseries 2.1: Financial RecordsPapers, 1954-1979
Subseries 2.2: Correspondence, 1956-1978
Subseries 2.3: Photographs of Family, 1917-1967
Subseries 2.4: Miscellaneous Materials, 1980
Series 3: Professional, 1963-1970
Series 4: Biographical Materials, 1968-2015
Biographical / Historical:
Lili St. Cyr was a prominent burlesque stripteaser of the 1940s and 1950s, deemed the most famous woman in Montreal during that period and billed as the "Anatomic Bomb" while performing at Ciro's Nightclub in Hollywood, in 1947. Accused of indecent, immoral, and offensive performances, St. Cyr was arrested several times throughout her career, most famously in 1951, during her act at Ciro's. The arrest made front pages of newspapers, and her case went to trial. She performed her act in the courtroom for the jury, and the charges were dropped, marking "a real victory for the profession."
St. Cyr was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1917. Her birth certificate read "Marie Klarquist." Lili was named after the woman she believed to be her mother (although actually her grandmother), Mariah Marie Curry Klarquist (aka "Maud"). Lili's biological parents were Maud's daughter Idella and a Dutchman who left shortly after Marie's birth, Edward Van Schaack. Upon realization of her true family tree, Marie Klarquist changed her last name to Van Schaack (occasionally respelt as "Van Schaak," "Van Chaack," or "Van Schaacht"), and she periodically added the first name "Willis," Lili St. Cyr also started referring to her biological grandmother as "Alice" and her biological mother as "Adelaide" or "Mom."
By the time Lili St. Cyr learned the truth about her family, her mother Idella had already remarried twice. In 1919, Idella married Louis Sherman Cornett, Jr., and together they had Betta Lee (or Bettie Lue, aka "Betty") and Louis "Jack" Cornett. In 1923, Idella married John Alfred "Ian" Blackadder, and they raised Idella Ruth Blackadder and Rosemary Blackadder. Both Blackadder daughters had successful careers in burlesque, going by the stage names Barbara Moffett (Idella) and Dardy Orlando (Rosemary). Barbara married the American toy maker and businessman Louis Marx in 1982, changing her name back to Idella, and they had five children--the eldest named Spencer. Dardy married the adopted son of the eldest Minsky's Burlesque brother Harold Minsky, and together they raised Danny and Ava.
St. Cyr never had children, but she did marry six times, and had numerous affairs throughout (particularly with a man named Jimmy Orlando in Montreal). She first married the racer Cordy Milne in 1937. Her second marriage was to Richard Hubert in 1941. She then married the actor Paul Valentine (aka "Val Valentinoff") in 1946, followed by her marriage to restauranteur Armando Orsini in 1950. She then married actor Ted Jordan in 1955 and special effects man Joseph Albert Zomar in 1959. Every marriage ended in divorce, the last having ended in 1964. It was around this time she met Donald Andrew Markick, a man seventeen years her junior who had served as a paratrooper toward the end of the Korean War. He dreamed of becoming a magician, so she took him under her wing, renaming him "Lorenzo Holmes." His family refused to call him by that name, and they disapproved of his relationship with Lili St. Cyr. Thus, he was kicked out of his house, and he moved in with Lili. He was with her for nearly thirty years. They never married, but she often introduced him as her husband, calling herself "Mrs. (Lili or Marie) Holmes."
By the 1970s, St. Cyr had retired, and she had opened her own lingerie line "The Undie World of Lili St. Cyr," selling garments similar to what she wore onstage. In her later years she was determined to keep herself hidden away with Lorenzo and her cats--Tiny, Bootsie, Tiger, Baby Bear, Little Two Shoes, Max, Big Boss, and Lee-Enze. In 1978, Lili, going by the name Marie Garrelick (the last name of her one-time neighbor, with whom she was staying), applied to rent an apartment from Mathew Tombers. After getting to know her, Tombers began helping Lili write her autobiography.
Lili St. Cyr died at the age of 80, on January 29, 1999, in Los Angeles, California.
Provenance:
Collection donated in 2017 by Mathew Tombers.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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.
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929- -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
3.9 Linear feet
7.98 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Vhs (videotape format)
Diaries
Transcripts
Interviews
Video recordings
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Date:
1964-2009
Summary:
The papers of painter, sculptor, and performance artist Robert Delford Brown measure 3.9 linear feet and 7.98 GB and date from 1964-2009. The papers document his career as an artist and in particular the arts space "church" he founded in New York City, known as The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, church records, printed and digital material, photographic material, and video records of performance art. Brown's early career is documented in one scrapbook containing photographs, notes, press materials, and select artwork and documentation of ephemeral and performance artworks.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, sculptor, and performance artist Robert Delford Brown measure 3.9 linear feet and 7.98 GB and date from 1964-2009. The papers document his career as an artist and in particular the arts space "church" he founded in New York City, known as The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, church records, printed and digital material, photographic material, and video records of performance art. Brown's early career is documented in one scrapbook containing photographs, notes, and press materials.
Biographical material includes a career summary, one diary, one interview transcript, and two interview recordings on videocassette. Correspondence is minimal and includes four letters written by Brown and letters and postcards from others. Printed material consists mostly of books and event announcements documenting Brown's career. Photographs depict his travels in Brazil and China, artwork, and a collaborative event in Paris. Video recordings depict a solo performance art piece and three collaborative performance art events.
Records of the First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. include items produced for events, such as graphics, a t-shirt, "teachings," as well as reproductions of artwork created as part of the church. Also included are founding documents and manifestos.
One scrapbook contains detailed documentation on Brown's career from 1964 to 1974. Included are photographs and press materials for his "Meat Show" event, additional records of the founding of his church, and photographs of various events and happenings at his church. People depicted in the photographs include Brown, Claes Oldenburg, and art critic Mario Amaya, among others.
Artwork includes works on paper incorporating stamps and text from around 2002 to 2008, as well as artwork documentation for ephemeral and performance artworks including Originale (1964), Out of Order Please Use Toilet Down the Hall Across the Lobby (1965), Free Striptease with Drum and Bugle Corps Accompaniment (1966), The Great Building Crack-Up (1967), Mr. Jesus Christ Contest (1972), Turd Forest (1972), and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1992-2009 (Box 1, 5; 0.7 linear feet, ER01; 2.23 GB)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2009 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 3: First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. Records, 1968-2000s (Box 1, 4, 5; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1964-2008 (Box 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographic Material, 1965-2009 (Box 2-3; 1.1 linear feet, ER02; 0.785 GB)
Series 6: Video Recordings of Performance Art, 1994-2005 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet, ER03-ER05; 4.96 GB)
Series 7: Scrapbook, 1964-1974 (Box 5; 4 folders)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1965-2008 (Oversize 6-7)
Biographical Note:
Robert Delford Brown (1930-2009) was a painter, sculptor, and performance artist practicing in New York City, N.Y. Brown was a participant in many art happenings in New York during the 1960s and frequently performed in the persona of a religious leader and founder of his own religion and church, The First National Church of the Exquisite Panic, Inc. which functioned as a community arts space.
Brown was born in Portland, Colorado. His family later moved to Long Beach, California, and he recived bachelor's and master's degrees at University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career as a Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist painter, and in 1959 moved to New York City. In 1963 he married Rhett Cone. While visiting Paris he met the artist Allan Kaprow who encouraged him to participate in a 1964 performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Originale." This performance served as the inspiration for founding The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. That same year Brown also gained media attention for his "Meat Show," an installation of raw meat which he created in a refrigerated room at the Washington Meat Market in New York City.
In 1967 Brown selected a former New York City branch library as a home for his church and hired Modernist architect Paul Rudolph to redesign the interior. He called the space "The Great Building Crack-Up" and lived there until 1997, hosting art exhibitions, happenings, and preaching his philosophy known as Pharblongence. During Brown's later career he organized many participatory art events, such as "Collaborative Action Gluings." He moved to Houston, Texas in 1997 and later moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, in preparation for a solo exhibition at the Cameron Art Museum in 2008. Robert Delford Brown died in 2009.
Provenance:
Donated in 2010 and 2018 by Lynda Roscoe Hartigan who purchased the collection at auction.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Performance artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
VHS (videotape format)
Diaries
Transcripts
Interviews
Video recordings
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Citation:
Robert Delford Brown papers, 1964-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Artwork includes works on paper incorporating stamps and text from around 2002 to 2008, as well as artwork documentation for ephemeral and performance artworks including Originale (1964), Out of Order Please Use Toilet Down the Hall Across the Lobby (1965), Free Striptease with Drum and Bugle Corps Accompaniment (1966), The Great Building Crack-Up (1967), Mr. Jesus Christ Contest (1972), Turd Forest (1972), and others.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Robert Delford Brown papers, 1964-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection is open for research use. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Lili St. Cyr Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
