Collection Summary
Ruth Gordon and Garson
Kanin Papers
1921-1993
(bulk 1940-1959)
1921-1993
(bulk 1940-1959)
MSS85114
Gordon, Ruth,
1896-1985
Kanin, Garson,
1912-1999
5,900
items
19 containers
7.6 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Author and actress Ruth
Gordon and her husband Garson Kanin, actor, author, producer, and director.
Correspondence with colleagues in the entertainment industry.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Bagnold, Enid--Correspondence.
Bagnold, Enid. Chalk garden. 1956.
Bagnold, Enid. Matter of gravity : a comedy in three acts. 1978.
Beaton, Cecil, 1904-1980--Correspondence.
Beaumont, Hugh, 1909-1982--Correspondence.
Chevalier, Maurice, 1888-1972--Correspondence.
Cohn, Harry, 1891-1958--Correspondence.
Cukor, George, 1899-1983--Correspondence.
Evans, Edith, 1888-1976--Correspondence.
Gordon, Ruth, 1896-1985. Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin papers. 1921-1993.
Guthrie, Tyrone, 1900-1971--Correspondence.
Holliday, Judy.
Kanin, Garson, 1912-1999. Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin papers. 1921-1993.
Mainbocher, 1891-1976--Correspondence.
Olivier, Laurence, 1907-1989--Correspondence.
Schary, Dore--Correspondence.
Tracy, Spencer, 1900-1967.
Organizations
Columbia Pictures Corporation. It should happen to you. 1954.
Columbia Pictures Corporation. Marrying kind. 1952.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Actress. 1952.
Subjects
Fashion--United States.
Motion picture actors and actresses.
Motion picture industry--United States.
Symbolism.
Theater--England--London.
Theater--United States.
World War, 1939-1945--Theater and the war.
Titles
Garson Kanin papers
Ruth Gordon papers
Occupations
Actors.
Authors.
Motion picture directors.
Motion picture producers.
Theatrical directors.
Theatrical producers.
Provenance
The papers of Ruth Gordon, author and actress, and Garson Kanin,
actor, author, director, and producer, were purchased by the Library of
Congress in 2004. Material given by Ed Slakter in 2003 was added to the
collection in 2006.
Transfers
A dictaphone record has been transferred to the Library's Motion
Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where it is identified as
part of these papers.
Related Material
The Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin Papers complement separate
collections of their papers, the Ruth Gordon Papers and the
[Garson
Kanin] Papers, which are also held by in the Manuscript Division.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Ruth Gordon
and Garson Kanin is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title
17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Ruth Gordon
Date
Event
1896, Oct. 30
Born, Wollaston, Mass.
1915
Appeared as Nibs in
Peter Pan
(play)
1918
Married Gregory Kelly (died 1927)
1936
Appeared as Margery Pinchwife in
The Country Wife
(play)
1940
Appeared as Mary Todd Lincoln in
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
(film)
1942
Married Garson Kanin
1946
Wrote
Years Ago
(play)
1949
Wrote
Adam's Rib
(film)
1952
Wrote
Pat and Mike
(film)
1953
Wrote
The Actress
(film based on play
Years Ago
)
1955
Appeared as Dolly Levi in
The Matchmaker
(play)
1965
Appeared as Mrs. Clover in
Inside Daisy Clover
(film)
1968
Appeared as Minnie Castevet in
Rosemary's Baby
(film)
1969
Won 1968 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in
Rosemary's Baby
1971
Appeared as Maude in
Harold and Maude
(film)
1978
Appeared as Ma Boggs in
Every Which Way But Loose
(film)
1985, Aug. 28
Died, Edgartown, Mass.
Garson Kanin
Date
Event
1912, Nov. 24
Born, Rochester, N.Y.
1932
1933
Attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York,
N.Y.
1933
Appeared as Tommy Deal in
Little Ol' Boy
(play)
1942
Married Ruth Gordon (died 1985)
1946
Wrote
Born Yesterday
(play)
Directed
Years Ago
(play)
1949
Wrote
Adam's Rib
(film)
1952
Wrote
Pat and Mike
(film)
1955
Wrote and directed
The Diary of Anne Frank
(play)
1964
Directed
Funny Girl
(play)
1990
Married Marian Seldes
1999, Mar. 13
Died, New York, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ruth Gordon (1896-1985) and Garson Kanin (1912-1999)
span the years 1921-1993, with the bulk of the material dating from 1940 to
1959. Gordon and Kanin were a married couple prominent in the American theater
and film industry as actors and writers for half a century. They used their
collaborative relationship as a model for their film
Pat and Mike
starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
The papers consist mainly of correspondence with attached and related newspaper
clippings and printed ephemera. An addition to the collection includes more
correspondence and miscellaneous personal files.
The correspondence contains incoming letters and copies of outgoing
letters. Chief correspondents are Enid Bagnold, Cecil Beaton, Hugh (“Binkie”)
Beaumont, Main R. Bocher, Maurice Chevalier, Harry Cohn, George Cukor, Edith
Evans, Tyrone Guthrie, Laurence Olivier, and Dore Schary. Letters from Bagnold
discuss the symbolism and characterizations in the plays
The Chalk Garden
and
A Matter of Gravity
. The correspondence from Bocher
contains an inventory of Gordon's collection of haute
couture designed for her by Mainbocher. The letters of Cohn and Cukor
provide insight into film personalities, especially Judy Holliday and Spencer
Tracy. They discuss all aspects of production for films such as
The Marrying Kind
,
The Actress
, and
It Should Happen to You
. Evans and Guthrie describe the
state of London theater during World War II.
An addition contains further correspondence as well as contracts,
insurance policies, investment material, printed matter, and Gordon's and
Kanin's marriage certificate.
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, followed
by an addition arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2004085114]
Container List
1
Correspondence
Acheson, Dean and Alice,
1961-1969, undated
Aldrich, Richard,
1948
Alsop, Joseph,
1969-1977
Anderson, Judith,
1950-1952
Anderson, Maxwell and Gertrude
(“Mab”) Higger, 1946-1951, undated
Aronson, Boris, 1955-1963,
1974-1975
Ashcroft, Peggy, 1953,
undated
Atkinson, Brooks and Oriana,
1951-1952, 1958-1959, 1969, undated
Aumont, Jean-Pierre,
1954
Bagnold, Enid, 1953-1974, 1981,
undated
Barry, Philip, 1949
Baylis, Lilian, 1937
Beaton, Cecil, 1936-1938,
1944-1972, undated
(4 folders)
Beaumont, Hugh
(“Binkie”)
1946-1953
2
1954-1972, undated
(7 folders)
Behrman, S. N., 1950, 1958-1963,
undated
Benny, Jack and Mary,
1969-1974
Berlin, Irving, 1970
Bloomgarden, Kermit,
1955
Bocher, Main R., and
Douglas Pollard, 1943-1969, 1975-1978, undated
(6 folders)
3
Bolger, Ray and Gwendolyn, 1950,
1987, undated
Born Yesterday
, cast of, undated
Brisson, Frederick
[
See Container 13, Russell, Rosalind](bri3)
Brynner, Doris (Mrs. Yul),
1966
Burke, Billie, 1957, 1970,
undated
Calder, King, 1943
Carlisle, Kitty
[
See Container 9, Hart, Moss](car3)
Champion, Gower, 1965
Chatterton, Ruth, 1946-1951,
1960, undated
Chayefsky, Paddy, 1946-1947,
1955-1958, undated
Chevalier, Maurice
Correspondence, 1948-1969,
undated
Miscellany, 1921-1944, 1950,
1964-1967, undated
Clair, René, 1941, 1952, 1958,
1971-1974
Claire, Ina, undated
Coca Cola Co.
[
See Container 7, Farley, James](coc3)
Cohn, Harry, 1950-1954,
undated
(3 folders)
Colbert, Claudette,
1954
Columbia Pictures Corp.
[
See same container, Cohn, Harry](col3)
Cornell, Katharine,
1941-1973, undated
[
See also Container 11, McClintic, Guthrie](cor3)
Cotten, Joseph,
undated
Coward, Noel, 1938
Craven, Frank,
undated
Crawford, Cheryl,
1956
Crawford, Joan, 1959,
1969-1970
Crouse, Russel,
1946-1950, 1959, 1966, undated
[
See also Container 11, Lindsay, Howard](cro3)
Cukor, George
Correspondence
1941
4
1942-1952
(7 folders)
1953
Jan.-Apr.
5
May-Nov.
(2 folders)
1954-1971, 1978, 1992
(5 folders)
Undated
(1 folder)
6
(1 folder)
Miscellany, 1951, 1962-1965,
1988, undated
Dauphin, Claude,
1946-1952
Davis, Bette, 1962,
1975
De Mille, Agnes,
undated
Derwent, Clarence,
1956
Dieterle, William, 1939-1942,
1969-1970, undated
Dietrich, Marlene, 1954,
undated
Dietz, Howard, 1941-1942,
1950-1952
Dunnock, Mildred, 1948,
undated
Evans, Edith
1937-1949
(3 folders)
7
1950-1973, undated
(2 folders)
Evans, Maurice, 1956,
1971
Farley, James,
1953
Ferber, Edna, 1942-1943,
1965-1966, undated
Ferrer, José, 1947, 1954, 1975,
1983-1986, undated
Field, Betty
[
See Container 13, Rice, Elmer](fie7)
Fine, Sylvia
[
See Container 10, Kaye, Danny](fin7)
Fontanne, Lynn, and
Alfred Lunt, 1941-1962, 1969-1977, undated
(2 folders)
Frankfurter, Felix
1941-1969
(6 folders)
8
1977, 1982-1985,
undated
Fry, Christopher,
1955
Gernreich, Rudi,
undated
Gershwin, Ira, 1968
Gibbs, Wolcott, 1947
Gilson, Joanna, 1954-1956,
undated
Gish, Dorothy, 1941-1942, 1948,
1960-1964, undated
Gish, Lillian, 1940-1964,
1977-1980, undated
Goddard, Paulette,
1966-1969
Golden, John, undated
Grant, Cary, undated
Guthrie, Tyrone
1936-1963
(7 folders)
9
1964-1971, undated
(2 folders)
H. M. Tennant, Ltd.
[
See Containers 1 and 2, Beaumont, Hugh](hm9)
Halliday, Richard
[
See Container 11, Martin, Mary](hal9)
Hammerstein, Oscar (1895-1960),
1946-1951
Hammett, Dashiell, 1947,
1965
Harris, Jed, 1926-1931, 1962,
1980, undated
Harrison, Rex, 1950-1954, 1966,
undated
Hart, Moss, and Kitty
Carlisle, 1947-1960, undated
Hayes, Helen, 1931-1985, undated
(3 folders)
Hayward, Leland, 1943, 1949-1968,
undated
Head, Edith, 1969
10
Hellman, Lillian, 1942-1948,
1964-1976, 1984, undated
Helpman, Robert, 1946-1950, 1962,
undated
Hepburn, Audrey, 1954, 1963-1969,
1976
Hobson, Laura Z.,
1971-1975
Holliday, Judy,
undated
Hurlock, Madeline
[
See Container 14, Sherwood, Robert](hur10)
Hurok, Sol, 1969
Inge, William, 1959-1963,
1969
Johnson, Nunnally, 1942,
1954-1957, 1963, undated
Kasha, Lawrence, 1964
Kaufman, George S. and Leueen,
1942-1960, undated
(2 folders)
Kaye, Danny, and Sylvia
Fine, 1942-1961, 1968-1971, undated
Keller, Helen, 1956-1958,
1969
Korda, Alexander,
1956
Krasna, Norman, 1941-1970,
undated
(2 folders)
Laughton, Charles, circa 1942,
1950
Lawrence, Gertrude,
1952
Le Gallienne, Eva,
1982
Lefkowitz, Nat, 1961
11
Leigh, Vivien,
1961-1967, undated
[
See also Containers 11 and 12, Olivier,
Laurence](lei11)
Leighton, Margaret, 1956,
1962-1963, undated
Lerner, Alan Jay, 1961,
1967-1973, 1983, undated
Lillie, Bea,
1954-1955
Lindsay, Howard,
1943-1950, 1956-1959, 1966-1968, undated
[
See also Container 3, Crouse, Russel](lin11)
Loesser, Frank, 1953-1961,
undated
Loos, Anita, 1947-1971,
1978-1981, undated
Luce, Claire Booth,
1966-1969
Lunt, Alfred
[
See Container 7, Fontanne, Lynn](lun11)
Mainbocher, Inc.
[
See Container 2, Bocher, Main R.](pol13)
March, Fredric and Florence,
1947-1952, undated
Martin, Mary, and
Richard Halliday, 1955-1958, 1965, undated
Marx, Groucho, Harpo, and Susan,
1947-1949, 1956-1969, 1986, undated
Massey, Raymond, 1946-1947, 1959,
1965, 1976-1979, undated
Maugham, W. Somerset, circa 1942,
1958, 1965-1969, undated
McBride, Mary Margaret,
1950
McClintic, Guthrie,
1931, 1939-1960, undated
[
See also Container 3, Cornell, Katharine](mcc11)
Meredith, Burgess,
1941-1942
Mielziner, Jo, 1950,
1956-1965
Miller, Arthur, 1955
Minnelli, Denise, Lee, and Liza,
1968, 1982-1986
Miscellaneous, 1938-1951, 1963,
undated
Molnár, Ferenc, 1948
Murphy, George, 1969
Murphy, Gerald, 1943
Nathan, George Jean, 1930,
1946
Nesbitt, Cathleen, 1964-1965,
undated
Oberon, Merle, 1967-1969,
1975
Odets, Clifford, 1942,
undated
Ogden, Angela, 1967
Olivier, Laurence
[
See also Container 11, Leigh, Vivien](oli11)
1940-1942
1946
Feb.-Aug.
12
Sept.-Nov.
1947-1988, undated
(12 folders)
13
O'Neill, Carlotta Monterey (Mrs.
Eugene), 1956
Osborn, Paul, 1949,
undated
Paley, William S., 1980-1986,
undated
Palmer, Lilli, 1950,
undated
Papp, Joseph,
1975-1988
Peekskill Declaration signers,
1949
Pollard, Douglas
[
See Container 2, Bocher, Main R.](pol13)
Porter, Cole, 1949-1951,
1960
Rattigan, Terence, 1956,
1963-1966
Redgrave, Michael, 1939-1943,
1954-1960, 1971-1976, undated
Remick, Lee, 1959, 1963-1965,
1980
Revson, Charles (Revlon Products
Corp.), 1950-1951
Rice, Elmer, and Betty
Field, 1940, 1947-1957, undated
Richardson, Tony,
1955
Ritter, Thelma, 1956
Roberts, Rachel, 1970,
undated
Robinson, Edward G., 1952-1957,
1970
Robson, Flora,
undated
Rodgers, Richard, 1947-1950,
1958-1970
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1939-1941,
1947, 1955-1962
Rose, Billy, 1941, 1946-1950,
1961-1962
Rosenthal, Jean, 1957
Rubinstein, Arthur, 1954, 1961,
undated
Russell, Rosalind, and
Frederick Brisson, 1957-1970, undated
(2 folders)
Saroyan, William, 1942-1943,
1959
Schary, Dore
1942-1951
14
1952-1980, undated
(3 folders)
Schildkraut, Joseph, 1954-1964,
undated
(2 folders)
Schneider, Alan, 1936, 1947-1948,
1963
Seberg, Jean,
1961-1967
Selznick, David O. and Daniel,
1943-1948, 1956, 1968
Selznick, Irene, 1947-1960,
1969
Severeid, Eric,
1970-1978
Shaw, Irwin, 1970
Shawn, Ted, 1956
Sheldon, Edward, 1940-1949,
undated
Sherwood, Robert E.,
and Madeline Hurlock, 1927, 1938-1939, 1948-1961, 1967
Shubert, Lee and Marcella,
1949-1971, undated
Silvers, Phil, 1942-1943,
1955-1962, 1971, undated
Skinner, Cornelia Otis, 1956,
1964
Snow, Carmel, 1949,
undated
15
Spewack, Bella and Sam, 1937,
1952, 1967-1970, 1979
Streisand, Barbra, 1983,
undated
Sturges, Howard, 1949,
undated
Tarkington, Booth and Susannah,
1921-1929, 1940-1966, undated
(2 folders)
Taylor, Laurette, 1941-1947,
1967, undated
Todman, William (“Bill”),
1963
Tracy, Spencer, 1941-1969,
undated
(4 folders)
Truman, Bess Wallace,
1947
16
Ulric, Lenore, 1943-1950, 1956,
undated
(3 folders)
Van Druten, John,
1950
Vidor, Doris (Mrs. Charles),
1956, 1974
Vidor, King, 1956,
undated
Vreeland, Diana, 1960, 1969-1976,
undated
Walker, Nancy, 1961
Wallis, Hal B., 1977
Waring, Fred,
1977-1978
Warren, Robert Penn,
1986
Webb, Clifton,
1951-1953
Webster, Margaret,
undated
Whitney, John Hay, 1963-1964,
undated
Widmark, Richard,
1968
Wilder, Thornton, 1948-1949,
1964, 1970, undated
Williams, Emlyn, 1949-1952,
1962-1971, undated
Wilson, Earl, 1959,
1976
Wood, Natalie, 1962-1974,
undated
Wood, Peggy,
1956-1965
Woolcott, Alexander, 1936-1947,
1974, undated
17
Addition
Contracts, 1942-1946,
1969
Correspondence
“A-G” miscellaneous, 1934-1984,
undated
(8 folders)
“Ha” miscellaneous, 1955-1971,
undated
(2 folders)
18
“He-Hu” miscellaneous,
1949-1983, undated
(4 folders)
“K-V” miscellaneous, 1939-1993,
undated
(8 folders)
19
“W” miscellaneous, 1967-1977,
undated
Unidentified, 1969, 1983,
undated
Insurance, 1944-1948
Investments,
1946-1947
Marriage certificate,
1942
Mielziner, Jo, set designs for
Violence
(play), undated
Miscellany, 1943,
undated
Printed matter, 1943, 1949-1954,
1983-1985, undated
Receipts for clothing and
jewelry, 1958-1959
Research material,
1944-1945