Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922.

Description

1. 2.5 linear feet (2 boxes )

Summary

1. The Lillian E. Bradley papers consist of three folders of photographs, mainly of Lillian Bradley.

Subject

1. Impresarios
2. Sopranos (Singers)
3. Scores
4. Memorial cards
5. Impresarios > United States
6. Correspondence
7. Women singers > United States
8. Scrapbooks
9. Benefit performances > New York (State) > New York
10. Sopranos (Singers) > United States
11. Bradley, Lillian E
12. World War, 1914-1918 > Civilian relief
13. Programs
14. Photographs
15. Clippings

Genre/Form

1. Clippings.
2. Correspondence.
3. Memorial cards.
4. Photographs.
5. Programs.
6. Scrapbooks.
7. Scores.

Call number

1. JPB 06-24

Source (note)

1. Graham, Elizabeth

Biography (note)

1. Lillian E. Bradley (1880-1961) was a soprano on the popular musical stage, who later also acted as a theatrical agent and impresario, well-known for giving and arranging performances for charity.

Indexes/finding aids (note)

1. Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Author

1. Bradley, Lillian E.

Title

1. Lillian E. Bradley papers, circa 1893-1961.

Biography

1. Lillian E. Bradley (1880-1961) was a soprano on the popular musical stage, who later also acted as a theatrical agent and impresario, well-known for giving and arranging performances for charity. Born Lillian Elizabeth Rustmann, she married John James Bradley, the son of wealthy contractor, William Bradley in 1904. The marriage proved to be an unhappy one and ended in a well-publicized divorce case. Choosing to support herself and her young daughter (also called Lillian), Bradley began to sing professionally in local venues after leaving her husband. By the time her divorce was finalized in 1912, Bradley was giving concerts at hotels and resorts and had published a popular song, Without You Dear, I'm So Lonely. During World War I, she toured extensively, but also organized the Bradley Volunteer Entertainers, which solicited donations to support performers who went to military hospitals and training camps around the United States. In the 1930s, she presented variety programming under the auspices of the Lillian Bradley Entertainment Bureau. In 1940, Bradley celebrated her twentieth year in show business, with a lavish Gay Nineties Ball at the Hotel Warwick in New York City. This event was a benefit for the Stagecrafters Dinner Club, and the patrons included Milton Berle, Irving Berlin, Al Jolson, Mary Pickford, and Ed Sullivan. Throughout the 1940s and early 1950s she continued to entertain in hospitals and homes for the aged, arranging programs that featured a varied bill of singers, child performers, and magicians. Her own performances on these occasions traded on 1890s nostalgia; she became known for Lillian Russell impersonations.

Indexes

1. Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

1. Request Access to Music & Recorded Sound Division Special Collections material
2. Finding Aid

Occupation

1. Impresarios.
2. Sopranos (Singers)

Added author

1. Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922.

Research call number

1. JPB 06-24