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Robert Bromley Collection, circa 1907-1980
GPC_b189-b192  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biography/Administrative History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms
  • Additional collection guides

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Robert Bromley Collection, circa 1907-1980
    Dates: 1907-1980
    Collection Number: GPC_b189-b192
    Creator/Collector: Bromley, Robert.
    Extent: 4 boxes in collection (2 linear ft.)
    Repository: Los Angeles Public Library
    Los Angeles, California 90071
    Abstract: Robert Bromley (1907-1981) was a world-renowned puppeteer who popularized the “visible puppeteer” style of puppetry. Bromley used his marionettes to satirize personality archetypes. His marionettes danced, sang, played piano, flew from a trapeze, and one even did a strip tease. Over the course of his career Bromley performed all over the United States and in over twenty countries on five continents in the most famous nightclubs and cabarets of the time, and in his later years, school assemblies throughout the United States. Bromley performed for notables ranging from royalty to Hollywood celebrities. Bromley was the first puppeteer to appear on British television (BBC) and was a guest twice on the Ed Sullivan show. Bromley documented his extensive career in a series of scrapbooks. The bulk of the collection documents his career from the late 1920s to the late 1970s. Contents include photographs, programs, ephemera, personal and business correspondence, and newspaper clippings.
    Language of Material: English

    Access

    This collection is stored on-site at the Central Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. It is open for research by appointment only.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Robert Bromley Collection, circa 1907-1980. Collection Number: GPC_b189-b192. Los Angeles Public Library

    Acquisition Information

    Gift of Charles Taylor, October, 2021.

    Biography/Administrative History

    Robert Bromley (1907-1981) was a world-renowned puppeteer who popularized the “visible puppeteer” style of puppetry. Bromley used his marionettes to satirize personality archetypes. His marionettes danced, sang, played piano, flew from a trapeze, and one even did a strip tease. Over the course of his career Bromley performed all over the United States and in over twenty countries on five continents in the most famous nightclubs and cabarets of the time, including the Lido Cabaret on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergère, the Palladium in London, and La Scala in Berlin. Bromley performed for such notables as the King and Queen of England and for Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. Bromley was the first puppeteer to appear on British television (BBC) and was a guest twice on the Ed Sullivan show. Bromley performed and produced shows far and wide, from Los Angeles to North Africa to Australia, and many places in between. Bromley, whose given name was Robert Cressy, was born Minnesota in 1907. He began his puppetry career in the late 1920s while studying to be a theatrical producer at Yale University. He applied for a position with the famous Yale Puppeteers and was hired by Harry Burnett, one of the founding members. The surname Bromley was adopted at the request of the Yale Puppeteers (Harry Burnett, Forman Brown, and Richard "Roddy" Brandon) for alliterative purposes. While in college, Bromley spent his summer vacations traveling the Northeast performing with the Yale Puppeteers, who also invited him to perform at their Teatro Torito on Olvera Street in Los Angeles in the early 1930s. After graduating, Bromley did a brief stint as director of a Beverly Hills theater before going on to work in the miniatures department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in the early 1930s. Bromley built models for crashes and disasters, as well as stand-ins for celebrities for scenes too dangerous to film. As was true throughout his career, Bromley hand-carved and painted his marionettes, with only a few exceptions. He entertained MGM celebrities with their life-like puppet counterparts. Marie Dressler was especially impressed with Bromley’s puppetry talent and encouraged him to start his own puppet theater. After leaving MGM, Bromley took Dressler’s advice and opened his own theater on Olvera Street. Like his Yale Puppeteer colleagues, Bromley attracted many celebrities to his shows, including Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin. During the mid 1930s, Bromley was appointed director of the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Los Angeles puppet theater, Theatre of the Magic Strings, where he produced and directed many shows, including “Captain Kidd.” In 1936, Bromley began touring the United States, performing at famous venues like the Savoy Hotel in Chicago and the renowned Rainbow Room in New York City. In 1939, Bromley accepted an offer to perform in “High Time,” a variety show at the Palladium in London. This one-year engagement began a four decades-long career of traversing the globe performing in cabarets, nightclubs, casinos, and theaters. He also performed for thousands of children throughout his career, especially in his later years, while touring the country performing at school assemblies. He also performed at children’s hospitals and shelters for abused children wherever he traveled in the world. Throughout his career and extensive travels, Bromley photographed the people and places he encountered, including rare glimpses into the daily lives of indigenous peoples in North Africa and South America. Bromley not only documented his storied career through photography and scrapbooks, but also documented life around the globe throughout the 20th century. In addition to this very personal collection of scrapbooks, Bromley also has collections at the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress (WPA Federal Theater Project), and the Puppeteers of America.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Robert Bromley collection is composed of personal scrapbooks documenting the life and career of world-renowned puppeteer, Bob Bromley (1907-1981), who compiled the scrapbooks himself. The scrapbooks are roughly in chronological order, but the timeline sometimes varies within volumes. The scrapbooks begin circa 1907 when Bromley was an infant and end in 1980, a year before his death. Over the course of his career Bromley performed all over the United States and in over twenty countries on five continents in the most famous nightclubs and cabarets of the time, including the Lido Cabaret on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergère, the Palladium in London, and La Scala in Berlin. Bromley performed for such notables as the King and Queen of England and for Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. Bromley was the first puppeteer to appear on British television (BBC) and was a guest twice on the Ed Sullivan show. Bromley performed and produced shows far and wide, from Los Angeles to North Africa to Australia, and many places in between. The bulk of the collection documents his career from the late 1920s to the late 1970s. Contents include photographs (personal travel photos with friends, co-stars, and citizens of the countries he visited; famous landmarks in foreign countries; autographed photographs of celebrities; publicity photos of Bromley and his marionettes); programs; ephemera (ticket stubs; foreign currency; travel documents); personal and business correspondence on original stationery (telegrams, invitations to perform; congratulations and thank you letters; fan letters); and newspaper clippings (reviews, advertisements for shows; and articles detailing Bromley’s career).

    Indexing Terms

    Puppeteers--California--Los Angeles.
    Marionettes--California--Los Angeles.
    Puppet theater--California--Los Angeles.
    Documentary photography.
    Bromley, Robert.
    Los Angeles (Calif.)

    Additional collection guides