Garson Kanin
A Register of His Papers in the Library of
Congress
Prepared by Grover Batts
Revised
by Donna Ellis
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2006
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2008
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms008067
Title: Garson Kanin Papers
Span Dates: 1941-1965
ID No.: MSS29280
Creator:
Kanin, Garson,
1912-1999
Extent: 2,500
items;
18 containers;
7.5 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Actor, author,
producer, and director. Correspondence and production material relating to
Kanin's stage and film projects.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Personal Names
Clair,
René, 1898-1981--Correspondence.
Guinness,
Alec, 1914-2000--Correspondence.
Kanin,
Garson, 1912-1999.
Massey,
Dorothy Ludington, 1902-1982--Correspondence.
Sherwood,
Robert E. (Robert Emmet), 1896-1955--Correspondence.
Subjects
Drama--Stories, plots,
etc.
Motion pictures--Production
and direction.
Theater--Production and
direction.
Related Names
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Amazing Adele (1950)
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Born yesterday (1946)
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Boy (1956)
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Come on strong (1962)
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Diary of Anne Frank (1955)
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Do re mi (1955)
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999.
Hole in the head (1956)
Occupations
Actors.
Authors.
Motion picture
producers and directors.
Theatrical producers
and directors.
Provenance:The papers of Garson Kanin, actor, author, producer, and director,
were deposited in the Library of Congress by Kanin in 1969.
Processing History:The Kanin Papers were arranged and described in 1972. In 2006 the
papers were rehoused and the finding aid was updated.
Transfers: Photographs have been transferred to the Library's Prints and
Photographs Division where they are identified as part of these papers.
Copyright Status: The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Garson Kanin
is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Garson Kanin Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
| Date |
Event |
| 1912, Nov. 24 |
Born, Rochester, N.Y. |
| 1933 |
Graduated, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York,
N.Y.
Acted for the first time on Broadway in
Little Ol' Boy
|
| 1934 |
Appeared in
Spring Song (play)
|
| 1935 |
Appeared in
Three Men on a Horse (play)
|
| 1936 |
Directed
Hitch Your Wagon (play)
|
| 1938 |
Directed
A Man to Remember (film)
|
| 1939 |
Directed
The Great Man Votes (film)
|
| 1940 |
Directed
My Favorite Wife (film)
|
| 1941 |
Directed
Tom, Dick and Harry (film)
|
| 1941-1945 |
Served with the United States army |
| 1942 |
Married Ruth Gordon (died 1985) |
| 1945 |
Codirectored with Carol Reed,
The True Glory, Dwight D. Eisenhower's film report
on the Allied victory in Europe
|
| 1946 |
Wrote and directed
Born Yesterday (play) for which he received the
Donaldson Award and the Sidney Howard Memorial Award
Directed
Years Ago (play)
|
| 1948 |
Coauthored with Ruth Gordon
A Double Life (screenplay)
|
| 1949 |
Coauthored with Ruth Gordon
Adam's Rib (screenplay)
|
| 1950 |
Wrote the English libretto and directed
Die Fledermaus for the Metropolitan Opera
Co.
|
| 1952 |
Coauthored with Ruth Gordon
Pat and Mike (screenplay)
|
| 1955 |
Wrote and directed
The Diary of Anne Frank (play)
|
| 1959 |
Published
Blow Up a Storm. New York: Random House
|
| 1960 |
Wrote and directed
Do Re Mi (play)
|
| 1964 |
Directed
Funny Girl (play)
|
| 1966 |
Published
Remembering Mr. Maugham. New York: Atheneum
|
| 1969 |
Published
Cast of Characters. New York: Atheneum
|
| 1971 |
Published
Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir. New York:
Viking Press
|
| 1990 |
Married Marian Seldes |
| 1999, Mar.13 |
Died, New York, N.Y. |
The papers of Garson Kanin (1912-1999) span the years 1941-1965 and
consist of
General
Correspondence and a
Production
File.
The
General
Correspondence features letters exchanged with the playwright, editor,
and biographer Robert E. Sherwood beginning when Kanin was a private in
military training in 1941 and ending with Sherwood's death in 1955. Other
correspondents include René Clair, Alec Guinness, and Dorothy Massey.
The
Production
File is comprised of scripts of plays and screenplays that Kanin wrote or
directed including
The Amazing Adele,
Born Yesterday,
The Boy,
Come On Strong,
The Diary of Anne Frank,
Do Re Mi, and
A Hole in the Head. The scripts are accompanied by related
matter such as casting deliberations, performance evaluations, technical notes,
financial records, foreign productions, stock and amateur rights, publicity,
and printed matter.
The Garson Kanin Papers complement the
Ruth Gordon Papers and the
Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin Papers, which are also
located in the Manuscript Division.
The collection is arranged in two serines:
| Container |
Series |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BOX 1
|
|
|
Letters sent and received by Kanin. |
|
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. |
|
| BOX 1-18
|
|
|
Article, book, film, and stage files. |
|
Arranged by type of writing or production and therein
alphabetically by title.
|
| Container |
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BOX 1
|
General Correspondence,
1941-1964
|
|
Letters sent and received by Kanin. |
|
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. |
|
| BOX 1
|
Clair, René
See Container 5, Foreign productions, France
|
|
|
Guinness, Alec, 1964 |
|
|
Massey, Dorothy, n.d. |
|
|
Sherwood, Madeline (Mrs. Robert
E. Sherwood), 1949-1954
|
|
|
Sherwood, Robert E., 1941-1955
|
|
(4 folders)
|
|
| BOX 1-18
|
Production File,
1945-1965
|
|
Article, book, film, and stage files. |
|
Arranged by type of writing or production and therein
alphabetically by title.
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Article, “On Playwriting,”
Diners' Club Magazine, 1962
|
|
|
Book,
Blow up a Storm, reviews, 1959-1960
|
|
|
Films |
|
|
Born Yesterday
|
|
|
Script, 1950 |
|
|
Correspondence |
|
|
Cohn, Harry,
1950-1951
|
|
|
Cukor, George,
1950
|
|
|
Frankfurter, Felix,
n.d.
|
|
|
“H-W” miscellaneous,
1948-1956
|
|
|
Legal papers,
1947-1953
|
|
|
Miscellany, 1950 |
|
|
Printed matter,
1950-1951
|
|
|
The Old Boy, screenplay, 1956
|
|
|
The True Glory, printed matter, 1945
|
|
| BOX 2
|
Stage |
|
|
The Amazing Adele
|
|
|
Script, n.d. |
|
(2 folders)
|
|
|
Correspondence,
1950
|
|
|
Barillet,
Pierre
|
|
|
De Courville,
Albert
|
|
|
Shubert, Lee |
|
|
“A-W”
miscellaneous
|
|
|
Financial records,
1950
|
|
|
Ticket requests, 1950
|
|
(5 folders)
|
|
|
Miscellany, 1950 |
|
| BOX 3
|
Printed matter,
1950
|
|
|
Born Yesterday
|
|
|
Script, 1945 |
|
(4 folders)
|
|
|
Books |
|
|
Netherlands,
n.d.
|
|
|
United States,
1946
|
|
|
Correspondence |
|
|
Arthur, Jean,
1945
|
|
|
“A-B” miscellaneous,
1946-1951, 1963
|
|
(2 folders)
|
|
|
Chaney, Lon (1906-1973),
1948
|
|
| BOX 4
|
“C-F” miscellaneous,
1946-1955, 1962
|
|
(3 folders)
|
|
|
Gordon, Max,
1945-1949
|
|
|
“G-L” miscellaneous,
1946-1951
|
|
(5 folders)
|
|
|
McKay, Scott,
n.d.
|
|
|
Mantle, Burns,
1946
|
|
|
“M-O” miscellaneous,
1946-1949
|
|
(3 folders)
|
|
|
Pardoll, David,
1948-1949
|
|
|
Parker, Jean,
1948
|
|
|
Porter, Cole,
1948
|
|
|
“P” miscellaneous,
1946
|
|
|
Robinson, Edward G.,
1949
|
|
|
Rogers, Ginger,
1949
|
|
|
“R-V” miscellaneous,
1946-1950
|
|
(5 folders)
|
|
|
William Morris Agency,
1946-1955
|
|
|
Foreign
productions
|
|
|
Argentina,
1946-1953
|
|
|
Australia,
1948-1953
|
|
|
Austria,
1948-1950
|
|
|
Belgium,
1952-1958
|
|
|
Brazil,
1952-1954
|
|
|
China, 1948 |
|
|
Czechoslovakia,
1946-1951
|
|
|
Denmark, 1947-1960
|
|
(2 folders)
|
|
| BOX 5
|
England,
1946-1959
|
|
|
France,
1946-1949
|
|
|
Germany,
1947-1962
|
|
|
Greece, 1947-1948,
1957
|
|
|
Hungary, 1948 |
|
|
Iceland,
1951-1956
|
|
|
India,
1953-1959
|
|
|
Ireland,
1948-1949
|
|
|
Israel,
1948-1949
|
|
|
Italy,
1947-1953
|
|
|
Japan, 1949 |
|
|
Mexico,
1952-1959
|
|
|
Netherlands, 1947,
1958-1960
|
|
|
Norway,
1947-1956
|
|
|
Poland, 1946 |
|
|
Portugal, 1958 |
|
|
Spain,
1953-1959
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Sweden, 1946-1959
|
|
(3 folders)
|
|
|
Switzerland,
1947
|
|
|
Turkey, 1959 |
|
|
Yugoslavia,
1959
|
|
|
Productions outside the
continental United States
|
|
|
Hawaii,
1948-1949
|
|
|
Puerto Rico,
1962
|
|
|
Stage manager's
reports
|
|
|
1946 |
|
(4 folders)
|
|
| BOX 7
|
1947 |
|
(7 folders)
|
|
| BOX 8
|
1948 |
|
(5 folders)
|
|
|
1949 |
|
(2 folders)
|
| BOX 9
|
(4 folders)
|
|
|
Financial papers,
1946-1951
|
|
(4 folders)
|
| BOX 10
|
(1 folder)
|
|
|
Stock and amateur rights,
1946-1959
|
|
|
Miscellany, 1949,
n.d.
|
|
|
Printed matter, 1946-1950,
1966, n.d.
|
|
(2 folders)
|
|
|
The Boy, script, 1956
See also Containers 16-18,
A Hole in the Head
|
|
(5 folders)
|
| BOX 11
|
(2 folders)
|
|
|
Come on Strong
|
|
|
Script, French translation,
1964
|
|
|
Correspondence |
|
|
Bacall, Lauren,
1961
|
|
|
Baker, Carroll,
1961-1962
|
|
|
Cassini, Oleg,
1962
|
|
|
Davis, Sammy,
1962
|
|
|
Hopper, Hedda,
1962
|
|
|
Horne, Lena,
1962
|
|
|
Johnson, Van,
1961-1962
|
|
|
Merrick, David,
1962
|
|
|
Pardoll, David,
1962-1964
|
|
|
Stevens, Roger L.,
1962
|
|
|
“A-W” miscellaneous,
1962-1965
|
|
(2 folders)
|
|
|
Casting,
1961-1962
|
|
|
Contracts,
1962-1963
|
|
|
Financial papers,
1962
|
|
|
Music, 1962 |
|
|
Production notes, 1961-1962,
n.d.
|
|
(1 folder)
|
| BOX 12
|
(1 folder)
|
|
|
Stage manager's reports,
1962
|
|
|
Ticket requests for premiere,
1962
|
|
|
Printed matter,
1961-1962
|
|
|
The Diary of Anne Frank, scripts,
n.d.
|
|
(4 folders)
|
| BOX 13
|
(4 folders)
|
|
|
Do Re Mi
|
|
|
Scripts, 1953-1961,
n.d.
|
|
(3 folders)
|
| BOX 14
|
(7 folders)
|
| BOX 15
|
(8 folders)
|
| BOX 16
|
(1 folder)
|
|
|
Playbill, 1960 |
|
|
A Hole in the Head, Scripts, 1955-1957, n.d.
See also Containers 10-11, The Boy
|
|
(5 folders)
|
| BOX 17
|
(8 folders)
|
| BOX 18
|
(2 folders)
|
|
|
How I Wonder, contracts, 1947
|
|
|
The Rugged Path, printed matter,
1945
|
|
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