Research Catalog

Title

Franne Lee papers and designs, 1969-1997.

Author

Lee, Franne, 1941-2023.

Supplementary Content

Finding Aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Belushi, John.
• Brook, Peter, 1925-2022.
• Doyle-Murray, Brian.
• Geisler, Robert Michael.
• Lee, Eugene, 1939-
• Prince, Harold, 1928-2019.
• Vega, Suzanne.
• Rolling Stones.

Description

15.5 linear feet (31 boxes)

Summary

The Franne Lee papers and designs contain correspondence, professional papers, and designs related to Lee's work as an award-winning costume and production designer between 1969 and 1997.

Uniform Title

Saturday night live (Television program)

Subjects

• Lee, Franne, 1941-2023
• Renderings
• Women costume designers > United States > 20th century
• Theaters > Stage-setting and scenery
• Sketchbooks
• Costume design drawings
• Programs
• Set designers
• Clippings
• Prince, Harold, 1928-2019 > Correspondence
• Preliminary sketches (sketches)
• Swatches
• Lee, Eugene, 1939-
• Preliminary drawings (drawings)
• Design drawings
• Correspondence
• Costume designers
• Geisler, Robert Michael > Correspondence
• Costume design > New York (State) > New York

Genre/Form

• Clippings.
• Correspondence.
• Costume design drawings.
• Design drawings.
• Preliminary drawings (drawings)
• Preliminary sketches (sketches)
• Programs.
• Renderings.
• Sketchbooks.
• Swatches.

Access (note)

• Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Biography (note)

• Franne Lee (born 1941) has had a distinguished and varied career as a costume and production designer for theater, film, and television, as well as a producer and visual artist.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

• Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Call Number

*T-Mss 1999-021

OCLC

NYPG06-A185

Author

Lee, Franne, 1941-2023.

Title

Franne Lee papers and designs, 1969-1997.

Restricted Access

Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Biography

Franne Lee (born 1941) has had a distinguished and varied career as a costume and production designer for theater, film, and television, as well as a producer and visual artist. Born in the Bronx, Lee initially studied art at the University of California, Berkeley, but, while studying painting at the University of Wisconsin, she was recruited to create sets for the theater department and switched her focus to set and costume design. Her professional career began in Philadelphia with the Theatre of the Living Arts productions of Harry Noon and Night (1969) and A Line of Least Existence (1970). While working on these productions she met Eugene Lee, the set designer, with whom she lived and worked for the next ten years. Together they designed the Manhattan Project's highly acclaimed production of Alice in Wonderland (1970), directed by Andre Gregory, for which they shared a 1971 Drama Desk Award. The couple soon began dividing their time between New York and Rhode Island, where they worked with the Trinity Square Repertory Company. Other notable collaborators included the director Peter Brook and producer/director Harold Prince. Work with Prince included the revival of Candide (1974) and the original production of Sweeney Todd (1979), both of which earned Lee a Tony award for costume design. During this time, the Lees also ventured into television work, becoming the original designers for Saturday Night Live (1975-1980). Franne earned an Emmy award for set and costume design on the show, creating such iconic outfits as the Killer Bees and the Coneheads. The Lees divorced in 1980, but they collaborated occasionally on projects. Franne continued to work in theater and television, and branched into film; among her projects were John Sayles' Baby It's You (1982), Al Pacino's The Local Stigmatic (1992) and Chinese Coffee (1997). She also designed several music videos, including the Harlem Shuffle (1986) with the Rolling Stones, and created the sets for Suzanne Vega's Days of Open Hand Tour. Lee moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1995, and became increasingly involved in television. In 1998 she moved to Nashville and began working on local music videos, commercials, and theater.

Indexes

Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

Request Access to Theatre Division Special Collections material

Finding Aid

Occupation

Costume designers.

Set designers.

Added Author

Belushi, John.

Brook, Peter, 1925-2022.

Doyle-Murray, Brian.

Geisler, Robert Michael.

Lee, Eugene, 1939-

Prince, Harold, 1928-2019.

Vega, Suzanne.

Rolling Stones.

Added Title

Saturday night live (Television program)

Research Call Number

*T-Mss 1999-021