Irene Dunne papers, 1920-1971

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Summary

Creators:
Dunne, Irene, 1898-1990
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of American actor Irene Dunne (1898-1990) and chiefly consists of press clippings, photographs and film stills, and business files related to her movie career.
Extent:
22 Linear Feet 17 boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Irene Dunne papers, Collection no. 2217, Cinematic Arts Library, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the papers of American actor Irene Dunne (1898-1990) and chiefly consists of press clippings, photographs and film stills, and business files related to her movie career. Additional materials include small files of awards, correspondence, and event programs, two music books, and four scripts (A Guy Named Joe; How the West was Won; I Remember Mama; and The White Cliffs of Dover). There are also some scrapbooks/commemorative albums including ones for the christening of the S.S. Carole Lombard in 1944 (Box 16, Volume 2); a New Jersey war bond luncheon and rally in 1942 (Box 16, Volume 3); and an American Red Cross album, 1949 (Box 16, Volume 4).

The press clippings consist of files of loose newspaper clippings and well as forty-six 11 x 17" volumes with pasted clippings of articles that mention or feature Dunne, dating from 1935 to 1951. While most of the clippings relate to her celebrity as a movie star, the last volume (Box 11, Volume 7) deals with her work with St. John's Hospital.

There is little in the collection that reflects Dunne's personal life or family.

Biographical / historical:

Irene Dunne (1898-1990) was an American actor who starred in over forty movies between 1930 and the 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress five times but never won. Outside of acting, Dunne was involved in philanthropic and humanitarian causes. Dunne was married to Dr. Francis D. Griffin and they had one daughter, Mary Frances Griffin.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Irene Dunne.
Processing information:

Processed by USC students in 2019 as part of the "Piloting a Shared Practice for Accessible Archival Descriptions" Dean's Challenge Grant. Additional description and some rearrangement by Diann Benti in 2021.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library at ctlibarc@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Irene Dunne papers, Collection no. 2217, Cinematic Arts Library, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
Cinematic Arts Library
Doheny Memorial Library, Room G4
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0185, US
Contact:
(213) 740-8383
ctlibarc@usc.edu
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