Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift, Sylvia Fine, 1990; Gift, Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation, 1992, 2010-2013; Gift, Dena Kaye 2019-2020.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Processing History
Susan Davidson, Stephan Patejek, and Mary Edsall arranged and rehoused the initial donations between 1993 and 1997. The original finding aid was created in 1997 using Word Perfect software. In 2011, Janet McKinney edited and coded the finding aid for EAD format. Between 2009 and 2014, Sarah Lindblom and Daniel Walshaw processed the accruals from the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Foundation. Lydia Tang and Anita M. Weber reprocessed the entire collection and substantially revised the finding aid, with assistance from Chris Hartten, from 2015-2016. Anita M. Weber arranged and rehoused the 2019 accession accruals and updated the finding aid in 2024.
A number of items in the 2019 accrual were damaged in a fire. Soot was removed prior to the material’s acquisition, but many items are stained. The materials, in particular the condolence letters and recipes, also retain a smoky odor. Researchers with smoke sensitivities and allergies are advised to wear a mask and gloves when handling the materials.
Transfers
Audiovisual materials were transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Some of the audiovisual materials have been cataloged separately and are identified as part of the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Collection (Library of Congress) (MAVIS no. 3851).
Six maps from the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine collection were transferred to the Library of Congress Geography and Maps Division in 2021. An inventory of this transferred material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
One hundred and fifteen items from the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine collection including postcards, artworks, bound volumes, photographs, and ephemera were transferred to the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in 2023. An inventory of this transferred material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
One volume from the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine collection was transferred to the Library of Congress Rare Books and Special Collections Division in 2024. An inventory of this material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
Published, typescript, and photocopied versions of musical comedy play scripts collected by Sylvia Fine for use in teaching and producing television programs on musical comedy were separated from the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Collection. They now constitute the Sylvia Fine Musical Comedy Library Scripts.
Other Repositories
Special collections at the University of Michigan holds the Holly Fine and Danny Kaye Papers.
Related Material
The following Library of Congress collections contain Danny Kaye and/or Sylvia Fine correspondence, photographs, scripts, and oral history transcripts:
- Irving Berlin Collection
- Leonard Bernstein Collection
- Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy Papers
- Burt Boyar Collection of Sammy Davis Jr. Biographical Material
- Jerry Valburn Collection on Duke Ellington
- Sylvia Fine Musical Comedy Library Scripts
- Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon Collection
- Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Trust Archive
- Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin Papers
- Andre Kostelanetz Collection
- Burton Lane Papers
- Joshua Logan Papers
- Look Magazine Picture Research File (Library of Congress)
- Clare Booth Luce Papers
- Henry Mancini Papers
- Vincent Price Papers
Online Content
Selected materials from the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Collection are available on the Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov/collections/danny-kaye-and-sylvia-fine/about-this-collection/.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, and container number, as appropriate], Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.