Research Catalog

American Negro Theatre Alumni photograph collection

Title: American Negro Theatre Alumni photograph collection [graphic].
Publication: [193?]-[198?]

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request Appointment Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints	Still image	Use in library	Sc Photo American Negro Theatre Alumni Collection	Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints

Details

Additional Authors

Description

131 items (1.3 lin. ft., 1 box); 35 x 28 cm. and smaller.
2 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
77 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
41 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
8 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
2 photographic prints : col. ;
1 photographic postcard : silver gelatin, b&w ;

Donor/Sponsor

Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.

Alternative Title

3 is a family.
The Fighter.
Angel Street.
Days of our youth.
Ghosts.
Henri Christophe.
Juno and the Paycock.
Natural man.
Salvation on a string.
The school.
Something of value
Starlight.
On Striver's Row.
Tin top valley.
Walk hard
You can't take it with you.

Subjects

Genre/Form

Publicity photographs – 1930-1989.
Portrait photographs – 1930-1989.
Group portraits – 1930-1989.
Gelatin silver prints – 1930-1989.
Contact sheets – 1930-1989.
Photographic postcards – 1930-1989.
Inscriptions – 1930-1989.

Note

Title devised by cataloger.
Some photographs bear photographer's or photography studio's handstamp on verso or have name printed on recto. Some items have handwritten captions on verso and/or printed captions on recto. Some photographs are inscribed. Some photographs are mounted on scrapbook pages. Some prints are cropped.
Photographers include James Latimer Allen, Morgan Smith, Helen Merrill and others.

Terms of Use (note)

Restricted: Permission of copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

The American Negro Theater (ANT) is considered to have been the foremost community theater organized and developed almost exclusively by African-Americans.

Call Number

Sc Photo American Negro Theatre Alumni Collection

OCLC

NYPG00-F12

Title

American Negro Theatre Alumni photograph collection [graphic].

Imprint

[193?]-[198?]

Summary

The American Negro Theatre Alumni Photograph Collection was assembled by the American Negro Theater (ANT) Alumni Committee as part of a fundraising campaign which led to the renovation of ANT's original home in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Materials documenting the history of ANT were gathered for an exhibition to mark the theater's 1991 re-dedication. After the exhibition, nine former ANT members donated their photographs to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The collection documents various ANT productions and other activities, as well as the later career pursuits of some former ANT members after the group's demise in the early 1950s.

The collection consists mainly of publicity portraits, scenes and candid shots of theatrical, political and social events. Most images are from the 1940s and 1950s with some shots taken through the early 1980s. The collection does not reflect the majority of personalities and productions associated with ANT, nor does document the donors' personal lives. Some images are unidentified. The collection is organized into nine series, representing the material given by the nine donors.

I. The Maxwell Glanville series (194?-195?), the largest of the nine collections, consists of scenes and publicity portraits. Among the plays represented are "Days of our Youth" (1946), "Henri Christophe" (1945), "Juno and the Paycock," "On Striver's Row" (both 1940-41 and 1946 productions), "3 is a Family" (1943) and "Tip Top Family." Scenes from "Juno and the Paycock" depict Harry Belafonte in his first leading role. The series includes publicity portraits of Ruby Dee, Maxwell Glanville, Stanley Greene, Earle Hyman, Hilda Simms, and Ernest "Tad" Truesdale. Also shown are director Harry Wagstaff Gribble and authors Curtis Cooksey, Samuel Kootz and Father Will Whalen, whose image is on a photographic postcard.

II. The William Greaves series (196?-198?) depicts the later activities of producer/director William Greaves with candid shots of him on movie and television locations and in an editing room (ca. 1970s). Greaves appears in two group portraits, one with Anthony Quinn and Olivia Stanford (n.d.), the other in a color photograph with Indian President Zail Singh (1985). A production still of the Greaves-produced documentary "The Fighter" (1972) depicts Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The series does not contain any documentation of Greaves' years as a member of ANT.

III. The Vickie Henderson series (194?-197?) documents some of Henderson's stage and film activities throughout Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Also known as Vickie Henderson-Loriel, she is depicted in two German musical revues, one dated 1976; a production still from a German movie (ca. 1970s); and in a candid shot with French movie actor Michel Simon (n.d.). The series contains three publicity portraits of Henderson at various ages, but is void of any ANT documentation.

IV. The Claire Leyba series (194?-196?) consists of scenes and publicity portraits of Leyba at various ages. Among the productions depicted are "Ghosts" (1950 London production), "Natural Man," "Starlight" and "On Striver's Row" (ca. 1941).

V. The Frederick O'Neal series (194?-196?) includes portraits of O'Neal, ANT production stills, and group portraits. The two production stills are of "Salvation on a String" and "Something of Value." Two group portraits document ANT's London tour, one showing a Champagne celebration (ca. 1950s). Group photographs, not related to ANT activities, depict O'Neal with Vice President Hubert Humphrey (1968); Burt Lancaster (n.d.); Noble Sissle, Leigh Whipper, and Honi Coles (n.d.); Rachel Robinson, George Gregory, Jr., Milton Galamison, Vilma Kurer, Tom Helmore, and Georginna Fodera (n.d.); and President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and Roy Wilkins on the occasion of the signing of the bill creating the National Foundation of the Arts and Humanities (1965).

VI. The Meyer Rowan series (194?-195?) includes images of Meyer and Pearl Rowan and an inscribed publicity portrait of Hilda Haynes. The series contains no material reflecting his involvement with ANT.

VII. The Martin Slade series (196?-198?) consists of views of an elderly Slade ballroom dancing and attending a meeting (ca. 1980s). Also included are candid shots of him posed with various individuals in an office setting (1967). The series contains no documentation of his ANT activities.

VIII. The Franklin Thomas series (194?-196?) includes a publicity portrait of Thomas and a scene from "You Can't Take It with You," but contains no documentation of his association with ANT.

IX. The Emmett "Babe" Wallace series (194?-198) consists of portraits of Wallace at various ages; a movie still from "Stormy Weather" which depicts him with Lena Horne and Cab Calloway (1943); and a candid shot of a French theater audience awaiting Wallace's performance at the Follies Bergere (1950s). There is no documentation of his ANT appearances, nor of ANT in general.

Terms Of Use

Restricted: Permission of copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography

The American Negro Theater (ANT) is considered to have been the foremost community theater organized and developed almost exclusively by African-Americans. It was established in Harlem, New York City, and was originally located in the basement of the 135th Street Branch Library of The New York Public Library, now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. ANT was founded in 1940 by playwright Abram Hill and actor Frederick O'Neal, who were disillusioned with the limited opportunities for Blacks in the theater. They created a cooperative environment that trained approximately 200 actors and technicians, introduced new playwrights, and staged over 325 performances which attracted some 50,000 patrons. According to Hill, four A.N.T. productions transferred to the commerical theater: "Anna Lucasta," "Freight," "On Striver's Row" and "Walk Hard." Other ANT activities included a high school-level school of drama, the first to be incorporated by the New York City Board of Education, and a 30-minute weekly radio series, presenting both drama and opera. Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier all began their acting careers as ANT troupe members. The company dissolved in the early 1950s.

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Added Author

Allen, James L. (James Latimer), 1907-1977. Photographer

Clorell, Cecil. Photographer

Grumio, Dan. Photographer

Karger, Jiří. Photographer

Merrill, Helen. Photographer

Polacheck, Jean. Photographer

Rosegg, Carol. Photographer

Smith, Morgan, 1910-1993. Photographer

Tucker, Lorenzo. Photographer

Willard, Avery. Photographer

Archer Assoc. (New York, N.Y.)

The Bing Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Blackstone (New York, N.Y.)

Bloom (Chicago, Ill.)

Chidnoff Studio (New York, N.Y.)

De Mille (New York, N.Y.)

Graphic House, Inc. (New York, N.Y.)

M. and M. Smith (New York, N.Y.)

Ottomar Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Added Title

3 is a family.

The Fighter.

Angel Street.

Days of our youth.

Ghosts.

Henri Christophe.

Juno and the Paycock.

Natural man.

Salvation on a string.

The school.

Something of value

Starlight.

On Striver's Row.

Tin top valley.

Walk hard

You can't take it with you.

Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.

Research Call Number

Sc Photo American Negro Theatre Alumni Collection

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