Roger Edens papers
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Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the papers of American composer, arranger, and associate producer of film Roger Edens (1905-1970). The papers include scripts, production information, and music scores. Edens was associate producer for a number of musical films, including "On the Town" (1949), "Show Boat" (1951), "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), and "The Band Wagon" (1953).
Materials include correspondence, memos, and personal files relating to Edens' career at MGM and other studios. There are original arrangements for stars such as Judy Garland and Ethel Merman, sheet music from other composers, books, records, and transcriptions. There are scripts in various stages for many MGM musicals including Good News (1947), Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), Show Boat (1951), An American in Paris (1951), and Funny Face (1957).
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1930s-1960s
Creator
- Edens, Roger, 1905-1970 (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
Roger Edens (1905-1970) was an American composer, arranger, and associate producer of film. Edens was associate producer for a number of musical films, including "On the Town" (1949), "Show Boat" (1951), "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), and "The Band Wagon" (1953). He often worked with Judy Garland and composed music specifically for her. He won 3 Academy Awards for Best Score in 1948, 1949, and 1950.
Extent
64.25 Linear Feet (53 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection consists of scripts, production information, and music scores from American composer, arranger, and associate producer of film Roger Edens (1905-1970). Edens was associate producer for a number of musical films, including "On the Town" (1949), "Show Boat" (1951), "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), and "The Band Wagon" (1953).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Roger Edens, March 18, 1971.
Processing Information
This collection is not fully processed.
Subject
- Edens, Roger, 1905-1970 -- Archives (Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Academy Awards (Motion pictures) -- Archival resources
- Arrangers (Musicians) -- Archival resources
- Composers -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- Motion picture producers and directors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
- Music -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- Musical films -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
- Title
- Finding aid for the Roger Edens papers
- Status
- Minimally Processed
- Author
- Marissa Chavez & Brandon Werts for History Associates Incorporated. Addition description provided by Diann Benti based on an inventory created by Edward S. Comstock.
- Date
- 2022 January
- 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