Finding aid for the Laurell Gaines papers LSC.1761
Finding aid prepared by Yasmin Damshenas in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Lilace
Hatayama and Megan Hahn Fraser
UCLA Library Special Collections
December 2011
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Business Number: 310-825-4988
Fax Number: 310-206-1864
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
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.
Restrictions on Access
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Laurell Gaines papers (Collection 1761). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance
Gift of Henry H. Dearing, July 14, 2007.
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UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography/History
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.
Scope and Content
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
.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
1. U.S. Engagements, primarily 1923-1946, 1974-1976
2. Asia and Australia Tour, 1939-1941
Related Material
UCLA Library Special Collections, Ted Vaun Papers, box 1, scrapbook and photo album donated by Laurell Gaines in 1983.
U.S. Engagements
1923-1946, 1974-1976
Physical Description: 4 folders
box 1, folder 1
Letters received re: U.S. booking engagements
1933-1976
Physical Description: 1 folders
Scope and Contents Note
Includes letter referring to or addressed to Ted Mendenhall aka Ted Vaun. 1976 letter concerns a photograph LG donated to
Oakland Paramount Theatre.
box 1, folder 2
Clippings re: U.S. engagements
1923-1974
Physical Description: 1 folders
Scope and Contents Note
Newspaper clippings regarding LG's performances throughout the U.S. including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York,
Shreveport. Includes 1974 "Variety" obituary for Ted Mendenhall aka Ted Vaun.
box 1, folder 3
Scrapbook pages re: U.S. engagements
1932-1946
Scope and Contents Note
Mostly clippings. Includes programs for Beverly Hills Hotel and Catalina Casino.
box 1, folder 4
Publicity photographs
Ca. 1930s-1940s
Scope and Contents Note
Publicity photographs and professional portraits of LG, Ted Vaun, Florence Chappel. Includes work by Bruno of Hollywood (aka
Anthony Bruno), Romaine Photography Studio, San Francisco; A. Kohler; and Archer's Studio, Hollywood (Fred Archer).
Asia and Australia Tour
1939-1941
Physical Description: 3 folders
box 1, folder 5
Letters received re: Asian booking engagements
1940-1944
Scope and Contents Note
Copies of recommendation letters from Cowan and Bailey, letters re: bookings in China and Malaysia and from Washington D.C.
Office of Strategic Services re: photographic materials LG provided on Malaya, Colombo, Bali, Java, and the
Philippines
.
box 1, folder 6
Clippings re: Asian and Australian engagements
1939-1941
Scope and Contents Note
Clippings from newspapers including Malaya Tribune, South China Morning Post, the Singapore Free Press. Also, a few programs
and business cards.
box 1, folder 7
Scrapbook pages re: Asian and Australian engagements
1939-1940
Scope and Contents Note
Clippings and programs mostly concerning LG's engagements in Asia and some of Australian tour. Includes a publicity spread
with LG and Florence Chappel in Australia. Mention also made of her teaching in Singapore.