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Durante (Jimmy) papers
PASC-M.0195
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Table of contents
Description
Jimmy Durante had a decades-long career as a musician, songwriter, comedian, and actor. The collection consists of script
material, scrapbooks, photographs, written music, audio recordings, printed material and ephemera, and a small amount of correspondence
documenting Durante's extensive career as an entertainer on stage, radio, film, and television.
Background
Born James Francis Durante in 1893 on the Lower East Side of New York to working-class Italian immigrant parents, Durante
had began his performing career playing for parties at age 15, and by 1910, was performing in clubs on Coney Island. He worked
for numerous clubs in New York City, performing with the Original New Orleans Jazz Band and Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band. In
1923, with partners Eddie Jackson, Harry Harris and Frank Nolan, he opened Club Durant, where he, Jackson, and Lou Clayton
developed the raucous comedy act that would bring them fame on Vaudeville stages as Clayton, Jackson, and Durante. The trio
made their Vaudeville debut in March of 1927, and went on to headline at the Palace Theatre and appeared in Florenz Zeigfield's
revue Show Girl, in 1929.
Extent
150 Linear Feet
(342 boxes)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Availability
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.