Research Catalog

Alexander Scourby papers

Title: Alexander Scourby papers, 1940-1989.
Author: Scourby, Alexander, 1913-1985.
Supplementary Content: Finding Aid

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15 Items

Item details
Status	Container	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 15	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 15	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 14	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 14	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 13	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 13	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 12	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 12	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 11	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 11	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 10	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 10	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 9	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 9	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 8	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 8	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 7	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 7	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 6	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 6	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 5	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 5	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 4	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 4	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 3	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 3	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 2	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 2	Offsite
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person.	Box 1	Text	Supervised use	*T-Mss 1986-002 Box 1	Offsite

Details

Additional Authors

Description

6.05 linear feet (15 boxes)

Summary

The Alexander Scourby papers document the professional career of the prolific actor and narrator through contracts, correspondence, photographs, scripts, and other material.

Subject

Genre/Form

Clippings.
Contracts.
Correspondence.
Financial records.
Photographs.
Scripts (documents)

Note

The collection originally was processed and cataloged in 1991; additional material was incorporated into the collection in 2007. Sound recordings and films were separated from the collection and catalogued individually. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound holds the sound recordings and films are stored in the Donnell Library Media Center.

Access (note)

Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Source (note)

Mrs. Alexander Scourby

Biography (note)

Although he had a long and varied career as an actor and narrator, Alexander Scourby (1913-1985), considered his most important work to be the performances he gave as a voice actor in the Talking Books recordings he made for the American Foundation for the Blind.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

Collection guide available in repository and internet.

Processing Action (note)

Received
Described and Cataloged
Reprocessed and cataloging record edited

Call Number

*T-Mss 1986-002

OCLC

NYPW91-A26

Author

Scourby, Alexander, 1913-1985.

Title

Alexander Scourby papers, 1940-1989.

Restricted Access

Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Biography

Although he had a long and varied career as an actor and narrator, Alexander Scourby (1913-1985), considered his most important work to be the performances he gave as a voice actor in the Talking Books recordings he made for the American Foundation for the Blind. In 1933, Scourby became an apprentice with the Civic Repertory Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in 1936 as the Player King in the Leslie Howard production of Hamlet. Scourby auditioned for the American Foundation for the Blind in 1937, and, after playing a few small parts in recordings of plays, he soon found a niche in which he could utilize his impressive speaking voice by reading novels and other works of literature for the Talking Books service. Over the next forty years, he would provide the narration for over 500 books. His best known recording became the full set of the King James version of the Bible (1966). Scourby also worked extensively in radio during the 1940s and did broadcasts in Greek and English for the Office of War Information during the Second World War. In 1943, he married Lori von Eltz, an actress who went by the professional name of Lori March. The two occasionally worked together on theater, film, and television projects. Scourby remained active in summer stock and New York theater throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. During the 1950s, he began to work more often as an actor in films, frequently playing villains. Among his films were Affair in Trinidad (1952), The Big Heat (1953), Ransom (1956), and Giant (1956). He also worked increasingly in television as both an actor and narrator. His television credits as an actor include Playhouse 90, Circle Theater, and Studio One. As a narrator, he was associated with the NBC television series, Project 20, for many years.

Indexes

Collection guide available in repository and internet.

Connect to:

Request Access to Theatre Division Special Collections material

Finding Aid

Occupation

Actors.

Motion picture actors and actresses.

Radio actors and actresses.

Television actors and actresses.

Voice actors and actresses.

Added Author

March, Lori.

American Foundation for the Blind.

Research Call Number

*T-Mss 1986-002

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