Women in Entertainment Resources in Library Special Collections

The UCLA Library Special Collections holds a large amount of primary source materials pertaining to women in the entertainment industry. This guide is intended as a starting place to point researchers to these materials and also serves as a basic orientation on using Library Special Collections holdings. If you have questions or comments about the guide, please contact the Performing Arts Curator, Peggy Alexander.

The R.K.O. Studio Collection includes payroll cards for all studio employees.

Look at the wages these women made way back then!

Here you will find information about archival collections of papers belonging to specific women in the entertainment industry.

Fanny Brice, c. 1938	Rosalind Russell	Vanessa Brown	Hedy Lamarr	Hattie McDaniel

Women comedians are represented in individual collections pertaining to a single individual as is seen in the Carol Burnett Papers, or the Phyllis Diller Papers. They can also be represented in as parts of larger collections such as the Hal Goodman Papers, or the Jack Benny Papers.  For instances such as these, search the full name of the individual in quotation marks in the Online Archive of California.

Women comedians within other collections include:

Edie Adams, Gracie Allen, Eve Arden, Bea Arthur, Lucille Ball, Roseanne Barr, Nora Bayes, Joh Behar, Sandra Bernhard, Peggy Bernier, Elayne Boosler, Chelsea Brown, Sandra Bullock, Ruth Buzzi, Carol Channing, Charo, Cher, Kate Clinton, Imogene Coca, Cass Daley, Joan Davis, Sandy Duncan, Barbara Eden, Nanette Fabray, Totie Fields, Estelle Getty, Whoopie Goldberg, Valerie Harper, Goldie Hawn, Vicki Lawrence, Cloris Leachman, Mary Livingstone, Moms Mabley, Mary Mack, Shirley MacLaine, Andrea Martin, Elaine May, Hattie McDaniel, Bette Midler, Mary Tyler Moore, Polly Moran, Julie Newmar, LaWanda Page, Minnie Pearl, Zasu Pitts, Gilda Radner, Martha Raye, Joan Rivers, Rita Rudner, Lily Tomlin, Sophie Tucker, Marcia Wallace, Mae West, Betty White

Dorothy Jeakins	Bonnie Cashin

Library Special Collections holds many collections pertaining to women in design. Selections include:

Florence Strauss, head of the story department at First National

in: Columbia Pictures col.

Library Special Collections holds a large amount of archival collections pertaining to women musicians. A selection of collections follow:

                                                 Paul Spitalny and his all girl orchestra of the "Hour of Charm"

Ethel Hill, writer.                        Eunice Chapin, screenwriter     Frances Mason, story editor         Gertrude Purcell, screenwriter

In Columbia Pictures col.           In Columbia Pictures col.       In Columbia Pictures col.                In Columbia Pictures col.

Vera Caspary, screenwriter   Thyra Samter Winslow, author    Tess Gilbert, script asst.     Mary C. McCall Jr., screenwriter

In Columbia Pictures col.      In Columbia Pictures col.          In Columbia Pictures col.      In Columbia Pictures col. 

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  Nina Wilcox Putnam, author     Ketty Frings, screenwriter (on right)   Verna Fields, film editor

  in Columbia Pictures col.         in Motion Picture Still col.                 in LA Times Photo Archive