Scope and Content Note
The George S. Kaufman and Anne Kaufman Schneider Papers consist of materials related to Kaufman's life and career and to productions of his plays in the four decades following his death, which were managed by Schneider, his daughter. A small portion of these latter materials pertain to actress Eva Le Gallienne, a friend of Schneider, and to producer Irene Mayer Selznick, for whom Schneider's husband Irving worked. Correspondence largely falls into two categories: letters from Kaufman, primarily to Schneider, Beatrice Kaufman, Moss and Kitty Hart, and actress Mary Wickes; and letters to Schneider about posthumous productions of Kaufman's plays. In addition, the correspondence contains letters from Beatrice Kaufman to Schneider and friends, as well as a small amount of George Kaufman’s correspondence with Edna Ferber, Garson Kanin, Cole Porter, and others.
Photographs in the collection include portraits and candid images of Kaufman, Schneider, Beatrice Kaufman, Moss and Kitty Hart, Eva Le Gallienne, and various members of the Kaufman family. Other notable personalities present are Brooks Atkinson, Sam Zolotow, Alexander Woollcott, Harpo Marx, Howard Dietz, Sam Harris, Lorenz Hart, George M. Cohan, Richard Rodgers, Jacqueline Susann, Clifton Fadiman, Sam Levenson, Margalo Gillmore, Katherine Cornell, Helen Hayes, Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, Yip Harburg, Monty Woolley, Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt, Irene Castle, Mary Astor, and Ginger Rogers. Photographs from posthumous productions of Kaufman’s plays and other plays include images of Le Gallienne, Kate Burton, Jack Cassidy, Estelle Parsons, Stephen Sondheim, Kevin McCarthy, Ellis Raab, Sam Levene, Tom Bosley, Avery Schreiber, Faye DeWitt, Donny Most, Jason Robards, James Coco, Colleen Dewhurst, and Elizabeth Wilson. Several pages from a photo album kept by Schneider as a child and a variety of production stills from Kaufman plays are also included.
The remaining miscellaneous materials in the collection chiefly consist of playbills and scripts. These include a small number of items from original productions of Kaufman plays and many more from revivals and adaptations. Any notes or other annotations on the scripts are from later producers of the plays. Only a small quantity of the clippings are from Kaufman's lifetime; the majority are critical reviews and other articles about posthumous productions of his plays. Promotional materials, scrapbooks, writings of Schneider and Beatrice Kaufman, and items related to the George S. Kaufman Award round out the series.