Albert Lewis family collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of playbills from the 1940s to the 1990s, collected by Burton, Arthur, and Albert Lewis. It also includes the autobiography of Arthur Lewis. The Lewis family was involved in theater and film. Albert Lewis and Arthur Lewis were both producers and screenwriters of film and theater.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1940s-1980s
Creator
- Lewis, Burton, 1918-2002 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library at ctlibarc@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biographical / Historical
The Lewis family consists of father Albert Lewis (1884-1978), eldest son Arthur Lewis (1916-2006), and younger son Burton Lewis (1918-2002). While Burton Lewis has just one Broadway acting and stage-managing credit for the play "Off to Buffalo," Albert and Arthur Lewis had long careers in entertainment. Albert Lewis started off as a partner of Max Gordon (1892-1978), creating single act plays for vaudeville. In 1925, Albert Lewis produced and directed the original Broadway production of "The Jazz Singer," which later became the talking picture "The Jazz Singer" (1927). In 1942, Albert Lewis and George Balanchine co-produced and co-directed "Cabin in the Sky," a Broadway musical with an all-black cast, that later became a film. He produced films like "Torch Singer" (1933), "Cabin in the Sky" (1943), and "Ready for Love" (1934). He also co-wrote films with his son, Arthur Lewis including "Oh You Beautiful Doll" (1949) and "Golden Girl" (1951). Together they also produced the Broadway musical "Three Wishes for Jamie" (1952). Arthur Lewis produced theater works including the plays "Guys and Dolls" (1953), The Boy Friend" (1954), "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (1963), Little Me" (1964), "Funny Girl" (1966), The Odd Couple" (1966), and "A Thousand Clowns" (1964). He produced films "Baxter" (1972) and "The Killer Elite" (1975). He also produced three television series, "Brenner" (1959), "The Asphalt Jungle" (1961), and "The Nurses" (1962), and the television film version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1980). Arthur Lewis is a University of Southern California alumni.
Extent
6.75 Linear Feet (6 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection consists of playbills from the 1940s to the 1990s, collected by Burton, Arthur, and Albert Lewis. It also includes the autobiography of Arthur Lewis.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Burton Lewis, February 17, 1999.
Processing Information
This collection is unprocessed.
Subject
- Lewis, Arthur, 1916-2006 -- Archives (Person)
- Lewis, Albert, 1884-1978 -- Archives (Person)
- Title
- Finding aid for the Albert Lewis family collection
- Status
- Unprocessed
- Author
- Marissa Chavez for History Associates Incorporated
- Date
- 2022 February
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library Repository
Doheny Memorial Library G4
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0185 United States
ctlibarc@usc.edu