Albert Lewis family collection, bulk 1940s-1980s

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Summary

Creators:
Lewis, Burton, 1918-2002
Abstract:
This collection consists of playbills from the 1940s to the 1990s, collected by Burton, Arthur, and Albert Lewis. It also includes the autobiography of Arthur Lewis.
Extent:
6.75 Linear Feet 6 boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Albert Lewis family collection, Collection no. 2161, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of playbills from the 1940s to the 1990s, collected by Burton, Arthur, and Albert Lewis. It also includes the autobiography of Arthur Lewis. The Lewis family was involved in theater and film. Albert Lewis and Arthur Lewis were both producers and screenwriters of film and theater.

Biographical / historical:

The Lewis family consists of father Albert Lewis (1884-1978), eldest son Arthur Lewis (1916-2006), and younger son Burton Lewis (1918-2002). While Burton Lewis has just one Broadway acting and stage-managing credit for the play "Off to Buffalo," Albert and Arthur Lewis had long careers in entertainment. Albert Lewis started off as a partner of Max Gordon (1892-1978), creating single act plays for vaudeville. In 1925, Albert Lewis produced and directed the original Broadway production of "The Jazz Singer," which later became the talking picture "The Jazz Singer" (1927). In 1942, Albert Lewis and George Balanchine co-produced and co-directed "Cabin in the Sky," a Broadway musical with an all-black cast, that later became a film. He produced films like "Torch Singer" (1933), "Cabin in the Sky" (1943), and "Ready for Love" (1934). He also co-wrote films with his son, Arthur Lewis including "Oh You Beautiful Doll" (1949) and "Golden Girl" (1951). Together they also produced the Broadway musical "Three Wishes for Jamie" (1952). Arthur Lewis produced theater works including the plays "Guys and Dolls" (1953), The Boy Friend" (1954), "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (1963), Little Me" (1964), "Funny Girl" (1966), The Odd Couple" (1966), and "A Thousand Clowns" (1964). He produced films "Baxter" (1972) and "The Killer Elite" (1975). He also produced three television series, "Brenner" (1959), "The Asphalt Jungle" (1961), and "The Nurses" (1962), and the television film version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1980). Arthur Lewis is a University of Southern California alumni.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Burton Lewis, February 17, 1999.
Processing information:

This collection is unprocessed.

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], Albert Lewis family collection, Collection no. 2161, Cinematic Arts Library, 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
Website