Research Catalog
Clara Rotter papers
- Title
- Clara Rotter papers, 1961-1984.
- Author
- Rotter, Clara.
- Supplementary Content
- Finding Aid
Items in the Library & Off-site
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2 Results Found
| Status | Vol/Date | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box 2 | Mixed material | Supervised use | *T-Mss 1993-011 Box 2 | Offsite | |
| Box 1 | Mixed material | Supervised use | *T-Mss 1993-011 Box 1 | Offsite |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Description
- 1.75 linear feet (2 boxes )
- Subjects
- Secretaries
- Administrative assistants
- Atkinson, Brooks, 1894-1984 > Correspondence
- Secretaries > New York (State) > New York
- Theater > New York (State) > New York
- Scrapbooks
- Rotter, Clara
- Atkinson, Oriana > Correspondence
- New York Times Company
- Sheratsky, Rodney E > Correspondence
- Off-Broadway theater
- Theater critics > United States > Correspondence
- Correspondence
- Administrative assistants > New York (State) > New York
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence.
- Scrapbooks.
- Access (note)
- Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.
- Location of Other Archival Materials (note)
- Berg Collection, New York Public Library.
- Biography (note)
- Long time secretary for the drama department of the New York Times, Clara Rotter, (1910-1992), was an influential fixture within the New York theatrical community for many years.
- Indexes/Finding Aids (note)
- Collection guide available in repository and on internet.
- Call Number
- *T-Mss 1993-011
- OCLC
- 123906708
- Author
- Rotter, Clara.
- Title
- Clara Rotter papers, 1961-1984.
- Restricted Access
- Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.
- Summary
- The Clara Rotter papers consist mainly of correspondence from Brooks Atkinson and his wife, the writer Oriana Atkinson, to Clara Rotter, as well as two scrapbooks of Atkinson's Critic at Large columns. The letters from Brooks Atkinson (1967-1974 and undated) were sent from his summer home in Durham, New York and date from the period following his official retirement from the Times in 1965. These letters often request favors from Rotter and express his appreciation of her research skills and ability to acquire materials that he needed for various writing projects. The letters also touch on Atkinson's views of current events, including Nixon's trip to China and Watergate. It is apparent from Atkinson's correspondence to Rotter that she had primary responsibility for the care of her parents, while not enjoying robust health herself. Atkinson and Rotter communicated regularly and his letters frequently comment on her lively wit and discriminating judgment of current productions. There also are two 1984 letters to Rotter from Dr. Rodney E. Sheratsky requesting an interview with Rotter for a proposed authorized biography of Brooks Atkinson that he had received permission from Oriana Atkinson to write after the death of the critic. The two scrapbooks that contain Atkinson's Critic at Large columns from 1960-1965 demonstrate the breadth of topics he covered in his writings, including local history, the environment, politics, and culture. The collection also contains one undated photograph of Brooks Atkinson.
- Biography
- Long time secretary for the drama department of the New York Times, Clara Rotter, (1910-1992), was an influential fixture within the New York theatrical community for many years. Rotter started working for the newspaper in 1945. She developed a close professional relationship with Brooks Atkinson, who was the chief drama critic of the Times throughout much of her own career. Among her many duties was the compilation of an annual list of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater productions, which was published under her byline for nine years. Atkinson, who died in 1984, bequeathed $2,500 to Miss Rotter, who donated the money to a fund to help emerging playwrights, which had been named in the critic's honor. In addition to her relationship with Atkinson, Rotter's position enabled her to develop friendships with many other notable figures, including the playwright Sean O'Casey, with whom she maintained a lengthy correspondence. She lived in Woodside, Queens, and retired from the Times in 1980, when she was 70. An interview with Rotter is included in The Line King (1997), a documentary about the theater caricaturist, Al Hirshfeld.
- Location of Other Archival Materials
- See also Sean O'Casey collection of papers ( Berg Coll MSS O'Casey) in the Berg Collection, New York Public Library.
- Indexes
- Collection guide available in repository and on internet.
- Connect to:
- Occupation
- Administrative assistants.Secretaries.
- Added Author
- Atkinson, Brooks, 1894-1984.Atkinson, Oriana.Sheratsky, Rodney E.New York Times Company.
- Research Call Number
- *T-Mss 1993-011