Manuscripts

A. Early Gilmor Brown Troupes, Savoy Theatre

Description: Contains materials documenting theatrical work of Gilmor Brown, circa 1903-1916; various companies affiliated with Gilmor Brown, 1916-1917; and Savoy Stock Company and Savoy Theatre, 1916-1917. Also includes photographs, clippings, reviews, and photocopies plus a portrait and scrapbook materials concerning Virginia Lykins, 1906-1916.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: Approximately 1903-1917
Call number: mssPlayhouse
Creator: Pasadena Playhouse(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of Pasadena Playhouse Alumni and Associates,; Additional gifts have been supplemented by former affiliates of the Playhouse over the years.

Interior views; Gilmor Brown

Manuscripts

Items 10890-10969 and 10979-10981: Various views of interiors, undated. Items 10970-10978: Playbox interior and exterior views, 695 Herkimer Street, undated. Items 10982-11066: Gilmor Brown, circa 1888-1960, including portraits of Brown as a youth and in various roles, among them as part of pre-Playhouse companies such as the Gilmor Brown Players; depictions of Brown with others, including at a New York Pasadena Playhouse Alumni Associate Breakfast (1956) and with Charlie Prickett, Victor Mature, Dana Andrews, Robert Preston, and Murray Yates; and images of Brown speaking, rehearsing, and traveling.

mssPlayhouse

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Early documents, correspondence, and meeting minutes

Manuscripts

Includes an invitation to join the Community Playhouse and rules for players, 1917; an undated document, How a Community Play is Made; and a report on the Community Playhouse's 1921-22 season; documentation of the relationship between Actor's Equity and Little Theaters, including Pasadena Community Playhouse, circa 1936-1937; State Theater of California designation, 1937: and the Red Cross's recognition of the Savoy Stock Company and Gilmor Brown, 1917; a photograph of an early board meeting, circa 1925-1929; applications to the Rockefeller Foundation (1947) and a Ford Foundation proposal and reports (1951); a report to the Board on instructional activities, including a school calendar (1946-1948); sales agreements and appraisals of properties (1943-1949); and documentation of various development initiatives (circa 1950-1952).

mssPlayhouse

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Savoy Star, National Newsletter

Manuscripts

Contains the Savoy Star and other early publications (circa 1957-1960); National Newsletter (1960-1979); and National Newsletter/Stage Whispers (1980-1982).

mssPlayhouse

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Lenore Shanewise and Fairfax Walkup

Manuscripts

Materials relating to Lenore Shanewise include awards and honors; clippings and correspondence; performance and portrait photographs; programs from various productions; eulogies for Eugenia Ong (1955) and Gilmor Brown (1960); and some material from her service as a member of the Board of Trustees, including Task Force Committee reports (circa March 1966) and Board meeting minutes (1967). Materials relating to Fairfax Walkup include personal correspondence (1951-1971); her reflections on Gilmor Brown (circa 1960); resumes; and honors and tributes.

mssPlayhouse

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Biographical information and business records

Manuscripts

Contains an address by Brown, The Drama of History (1937); address books, circa 1948-1953; brochures and announcements; marketing and publicity materials; clippings and articles relating to Brown's involvement with the Little Theater movement and theatrical organizations; photographs, including one of Brown standing outside of the Playbox (1930); Harriet Green's biography, Gilmor Brown: Portrait of a Man - and an Idea (1933); obituaries and tributes to Brown; ephemera; some personal correspondence; invoices and receipts from lodging and insurance; a memoir by Percy MacKaye and a World War II poster inscribed to Brown; and records of gifts.

mssPlayhouse

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Pasadena Playhouse Association scrapbook

Manuscripts

Includes one disbound scrapbook covering approximately 1928-1957, plus the scrapbook of Marvin S. Alter, containing photocopies of photographs of Oliver Prickett, Gilmor Brown, and various actors and actresses, undated.

mssPlayhouse

A. Early Gilmor Brown Troupes, Savoy Theatre

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Interior views; Gilmor Brown

Early documents, correspondence, and meeting minutes

Savoy Star, National Newsletter

Lenore Shanewise and Fairfax Walkup

Biographical information and business records

Pasadena Playhouse Association scrapbook