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Gaines (Laurell) papers
LSC.1761
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Laurell Gaines Papers
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1761
Physical Description:
2 Linear Feet
(1 oversize flat box)
Date (inclusive): circa 1923-1976
Abstract: Laurell Gaines was a dancer who performed in vaudeville, musical revues and Hollywood films from the 1920s-1940s. This collection
contains newspaper clippings, letters, programs, portraits and publicity photographs. It covers both her U.S. engagements
and her tour of Asia and Australia during WWII.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
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Property rights to the 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.
[Identification of item], Laurell Gaines papers (Collection 1761). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Gift of Henry H. Dearing, July 14, 2007.
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UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9969434983606533
Laurell Gaines was a ballet and ballroom dancer who performed in vaudeville, musical revues and Hollywood films from the 1920s-1940s
throughout the U.S., as well as coastal Asia and Australia. She was born in Missouri in 1909 and trained in ballet on the
West Coast with Theodore Kosloff (1882-1956), a Russian choreographer and silent film actor. At the age of 15 she began dancing
professionally to support her family after the death of her father. She danced in vaudeville shows for Fanchon and Marco,
performed in Hollywood films, and went on to partner with Ted Mendenhall (stage name Ted Vaun). Together, Gaines and Vaun
performed throughout the United States at hotels, nightclubs and resorts in cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco,
Shreveport and Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Laurell and Ted performed at a number of popular spots like the Biltmore Hotel
Supper Room, Beverly Hills Hotel, Café de Paree, the Palomar Ballroom and the Catalina Casino. In 1939 she began a tour of
coastal Asia with Lynn Cowan and Bill Bailey's "Cocoanut Grove" Entertainers. She performed in Singapore, Colombo, Cathay,
Manila, Federal Malaya States and Hong Kong. Stranded in Colombo when WWII broke out and the troupe's French steamer was recalled,
Gaines made her way back to America via Singapore, Manila and eventually Australia, where she performed with Florence Chappel.
Once she secured a steamer for the West Coast, she stopped over in Honolulu where she witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor
from her hotel. Gaines retired after returning to Los Angeles on a refugee convoy. During WWII she worked an office job by
day and took a defense job by night. Post-WWII she continued working office jobs until her retirement. She passed away in
2004.
This collection contains newspaper clippings, letters, programs, portraits and publicity photographs. It covers both Laurell
Gaines's U.S. engagements and her tour of Asia and Australia during WWII. It also contains some of the letters that Gaines
received from the Office of Strategic Services regarding the identification of photographic materials she provided of Malaya,
Colombo, Bali, Java, and the Philippines.
Arranged in the following series:
1. U.S. Engagements, primarily 1923-1946, 1974-1976
2. Asia and Australia Tour, 1939-1941
UCLA Library Special Collections, Ted Vaun Papers, box 1, scrapbook and photo album donated by Laurell Gaines in 1983.