Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of prominent entertainers series
Level
Series
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of prominent entertainers series
Level
Series
Fonds
80
Series
4
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1940-1955
Physical Description
38 photographs : b&w (19 negatives) : 18 x 12 cm or smaller.
Scope and Content
Series consists of negatives and proofs produced by Sylvia Schwartz in the studio. The images depict formal portraits of prominent American and Canadian entertainers from the 1940s and 50s. They chiefly consist of images of the head and upper body of the sitter. Two images show entertainers with their families, two include the entertainers with Sylvia's companions, Jewell Schwartz and Frances Gruber, while one depicts a sitter with his piano. There are 17 subjects in total, as multiple negatives of certain entertainers have been retained.
The most prominent entertainer included in the series is Duke Ellington. Other entertainers included in the series are Willie Byrant, Todd Duncan, Calvin Jackson, Isabelle Lucas, Phyllis Marshall, Herbert Mills (of the Mills Brothers), Libby Morris, Bert Niosi, Bennie Payne, Walter "Foots" Thomas, John Weinzweig, Portia White and Frank Shuster and Johnny Wayne of "Wayne and Shuster".
Most images were taken in Sylvia's Toronto studio, however two were taken at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. Despite the different location, these images are still formal portraits with plain backgrounds and do not feature any interior views of the Apollo.
Notes
All negatives have been scanned and entered into the database as item level descriptions
For Item 21, a portrait of Portia White, there is no negative. The proof has instead been used in scanning.
Subjects
Entertainers
Portraits
Related Material
Please note: Negatives of Paul Robeson, the American baritone and activist, can be found in Series 6 (European Visits and Travel). These negatives are informal photographs of Robeson in his hotel room or apartment with friends in London, U.K.
Arrangement
Series has been arranged into two sub-series. Sub-series 1 contains twenty negatives and Sub-series 2 contains their corresponding proofs. Each item number in Sub-series 1 corresponds with a matching item number in Sub-series 2. They have been arranged alphabetically by last name in each sub-series.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
1
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Feb. 1940
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 9 cm and 11 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Willie Bryant (b. August 30, 1908) was an American jazz bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Bryant grew up in Chicago. His first job in entertainment was dancing in the Whitman Sisters Show in 1926. He worked in various vaudeville productions for the next several years and in 1934 he appeared in the show Chocolate Revue with Bessie Smith.
In 1934, he put together his first big band, which at times included Teddy Wilson, Cozy Cole, Johnny Russell, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Eddie Durham, Ram Ramirez, and Taft Jordan. They recorded six times between 1935 and 1938 with Bryant singing on 18 of the 26 sides recorded.
Once his ensemble disbanded, Bryant worked in acting and disc jockeying. He recorded R&B in 1945 and led another big band between 1946 and 1948. During September and October 1949, he hosted Uptown Jubilee, a short-lived all-black variety show on CBS-TV . The show aired on Tuesday nights.
In the 1950s he was the emcee at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. He moved to California later in the 1950s and died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in February 9, 1964.
Scope and Content
This is a portrait of Willie Bryant. The photograph was taken at the Apollo Theatre in New York City.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
New York (N.Y.).
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
2
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Feb. 1940
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 9 x 13 cm
Admin History/Bio
Willie Bryant (b. August 30, 1908) was an American jazz bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Bryant grew up in Chicago. His first job in entertainment was dancing in the Whitman Sisters Show in 1926. He worked in various vaudeville productions for the next several years and in 1934 he appeared in the show Chocolate Revue with Bessie Smith.
In 1934, he put together his first big band, which at times included Teddy Wilson, Cozy Cole, Johnny Russell, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Eddie Durham, Ram Ramirez, and Taft Jordan. They recorded six times between 1935 and 1938 with Bryant singing on 18 of the 26 sides recorded.
Once his ensemble disbanded, Bryant worked in acting and disc jockeying. He recorded R&B in 1945 and led another big band between 1946 and 1948. During September and October 1949, he hosted Uptown Jubilee, a short-lived all-black variety show on CBS-TV . The show aired on Tuesday nights.
In the 1950s he was the emcee at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. He moved to California later in the 1950s and died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in February 9th,1964.
Scope and Content
Item is a portrait of Willie Bryant with two companions of Sylvia Schwartz: Jewell Schwartz and Frances Gruber. The photograph was taken at the Apollo Theatre in New York City.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Places
New York (N.Y.).
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
3
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Mar. 1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 11 x 9 cm
Admin History/Bio
Robert Todd Duncan (b. February 12, 1903) was an American baritone opera singer and actor.
Todd Duncan was born in Danville, Kentucky in 1903. He obtained his musical training at Butler University in Indianapolis with a B.A. in music followed by an M.A. from Columbia University Teachers College.
In 1933, Duncan debuted in Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana at the Mecca Temple in New York with the Aeolian Opera, a black opera company.
Duncan was George Gershwin's personal choice as the first performer of the role of Porgy in Porgy and Bess in 1935 and played the role more than 1,800 times. He led the cast during the Washington run of Porgy and Bess at the National Theatre in 1936, a staging which protested the theatre's policy of segregation. Duncan stated that he, "would never play in a theater which barred him from purchasing tickets to certain seats because of his race." Eventually management would give into the demands and allow for the first integrated performance at National Theatre. Duncan was also the first performer for the role of Stephen Kumalo in Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars.
In 1945, he became the first African American to sing with a major opera company, and the first black person to sing in an opera with an otherwise white cast, when he performed the role of Tonio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with the New York City Opera. In the same year he sang the role of Escamillo, the bullfighter, in Bizet's Carmen. In 1955, Duncan was the first to record Unchained Melody, a popular song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. The recording was made for the soundtrack of the obscure prison film Unchained. Following Duncan's version, the song went on to become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.
Duncan taught voice at Howard University in Washington, D.C. for more than fifty years. While teaching at Howard, he continued touring as a soloist with pianists William Duncan Allen and George Malloy. He had a very successful career as a concert singer with over 2,000 performances in 56 countries. He retired from Howard and opened his own voice studio teaching privately and giving periodic recitals.
He died of a heart ailment at his home in Washington, D.C., in 1998.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Todd Duncan.
Notes
This negative has two images on it.
Subjects
Actors
Singers
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
4
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 13 x 9 cm
Admin History/Bio
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (b. April 29, 1899) was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.
A prominent figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, and world tours.
Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category". These included many of the musicians who were members of his orchestra, some of whom are considered among the best in jazz in their own right, but it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz.
Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films.
Ellington led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Duke Ellington.
Name Access
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
5
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (b. April 29, 1899) was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.
A prominent figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, and world tours.
Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category". These included many of the musicians who were members of his orchestra, some of whom are considered among the best in jazz in their own right, but it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz.
Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films.
Ellington led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Duke Ellington.
Name Access
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
6
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (b. April 29, 1899) was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.
A prominent figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, and world tours.
Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category". These included many of the musicians who were members of his orchestra, some of whom are considered among the best in jazz in their own right, but it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz.
Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films.
Ellington led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Duke Ellington.
Name Access
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 7
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
7
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Dec. 1952
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 11 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Calvin Jackson (May 26, 1919, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader.
Jackson played piano from childhood and studied at Juilliard and New York University. Early in his career he worked with with Frankie Fairfax, then moved to Hollywood from 1943-47 as an assistant director of music for MGM. In 1947 he recorded with Phil Moore and also under his own name as a solo pianist for Discovery Records. He played with Mildred Bailey in New York in 1948, then moved to Toronto in 1950. His quartet appeared regularly at the Park Plaza Hotel, and he hosted a weekly program featuring jazz music on Canadian television. Over the course of the 1950s and early 1960s he released several LPs for labels such as Columbia Records.
In 1957 he returned to Los Angeles, where he continued to work as a composer for film and television. He also arranged for Ray Charles at one point, receiving an arrangement and co-producer credit for Charles' 1964 release "Sweet and Sour Tears".
By the early 1980s, he had moved to San Diego County, where he lived in semi-retirement in the Point Loma neighborhood, giving music lessons on a piano in his apartment.
Calvin Jackson died in Encinitas, California, in 1985.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Calvin Jackson.
Notes
This negative has two imags on it.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 8
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
8
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Sept. 1952
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 9 cm and 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Isabelle Harriet Lucas (b. 3 December 1927) was a Canadian-born actress and singer who gained prominence in Britain after achieving some notoriety in Canada.
Lucas was born in Toronto to a chef from Barbados who worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
After performing in amateur productions in Toronto, Isabelle Lucas moved to London in 1954. She made her first West End appearance in the show The Jazz Train in 1955. She also performed in Walk a Crooked Mile and Funny Girl. In addition to the theatre, she appeared in film and television roles during the 1950s and 1960s.
Lucas' first major television role was in The Fosters, playing the role of Pearl Foster. Since then she appeared in several minor British dramas and films. In 1985 she appeared in EastEnders. At the end of the 1980s she joined the long-running BBC Schools' show You and Me, and remained with it as a presenter until it finished in 1992. Lucas made several guest appearances in May to December from 1989 to 1992 and 1989 appeared as Gertrude in the CBBC series Bluebirds.
Lucas died in 1997 after a heart attack.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Isabelle Lucas.
Name Access
Lucas, Isabelle, 1927-1997
Subjects
Actors
Singers
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 9
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
9
Material Format
graphic material
Date
June 1946
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 11 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Phyllis Marshall (b. Barrie, ON, 4 Nov 1921) was a Canadian singer and actress. She studied piano as a child and was known as a track athlete, but made her debut at 15 as a singer on radio station CRCT. She then performed with Jack Arthur and on CBC radio with Percy Faith.
Her first nightclub engagement was at Toronto's Silver Slipper, September 1938, with the Canadian Ambassadors. Encouraged by the CBC announcer Byng Whitteker to sing blues and jazz, she performed during the 1940s with various Toronto dance bands, including an 18-month stint at Toronto's Park Plaza Hotel 1944-46, with her own trio, and on tour 1947-8 in the USA with the Cab Calloway Orchestra.
A contemporary of Eleanor Collins among early black performers on the CBC, Marshall appeared 1949-52 on radio's 'Blues for Friday' (later 'Starlight Moods') and starred on TV's 'The Big Revue' 1952-4, 'Cross-Canada Hit Parade' 1956-9, and other shows. She performed with Canadian jazz notables including Oscar Peterson and Bert Niosi, and also starred in the Canadian National Exhibition grandstand show. She performed in England on BBC TV in 1959 (The Phyllis Marshall Special) and again in 1964 in nightclubs. Her LP That Girl (1964, Cap FS-614), recorded in the company of US jazz stars Buck Clayton and Buddy Tate, captures Marshall's light, secure singing style and received a Juno Award as 'good music product LP'. Marshall had earlier recorded for Monogram in 1949.
Her second career, as an actress, began in 1956 at Toronto's Crest Theatre and included dramatic and musical roles in stage, radio, and TV productions such as the revue Cindy-Ella (1964), CBC radio's 'The Amen Corner' (1970), and CBS-CTV's Night Heat in the mid-1980s. She continued to sing on occasion - eg, at the ACTRA Awards in 1977, and for Freedom Fest (Harbourfront) in 1988.
Marshall is remembered as one of Canadian television's earliest stars, and as a pioneer among black Canadian performers.
She died in Toronto in 1996.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Phyllis Marshall.
Notes
This negative has two images on it.
Subjects
Actors
Black Canadians
Singers
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Related Material
Images of her performing at the Park Plaza Hotel in 1946 are included in Series 5, Sub-series 4, File 1 of this fonds.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 10
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
10
Material Format
graphic material
Date
June 1952
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 12 x 9 cm
Admin History/Bio
Herbert Mills (b. April 2, 1912, Piqua, Ohio) belonged to the Mills Brothers, an American jazz and pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records.
Among their many achievements, the Mills Brothers became the first African-Americans to have a network show on radio in 1930.
In 1934, The Mills Brothers became the first African-Americans to give a command performance before British royalty. They performed at the Regal Theatre for a special audience: King George V and Queen Mary.
After two of his borthers died. Herbert Mills continued to perform with his remaining living brother until his death in 1989 and was survived by his second wife Dorothy.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Herbert Mills with his wife Dorothy.
Name Access
Mills Brothers
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 11
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
11
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Dec. 1952
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 11 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Libby Morris (born 1930 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian comic actress and clown famous for her facial contortions and fast talking. She appeared in several BBC radio shows of the 1950s and moved into TV and film from the 1960s onwards.
She created her own one-woman show, which has played all over the world including off-Broadway and the West End. She has recorded several albums. In America she has appeared in cabaret in New York and Chicago, and has been a guest on various television shows including: The Johnny Carson Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, Jack Parr, and Art Linkletter.
She moved to London, England in the late 1950s, where she starred in her own show and became a successful actress where she is still working today.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Libby Morris.
Notes
This negative has two images on it.
Subjects
Actors
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 12
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
12
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Feb. 1944
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 10 cm and 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Bert Niosi (b. London, Ontario, February 10, 1909) was a Canadian bandleader, clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and arranger, known as "Canada's King of Swing".
He began studying flute and saxophone at age nine with Pasquale Venuta in London, Ont, and for a time in his teens played with Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians in Cleveland. He then toured on the Loew's vaudeville circuit with his own band, the McPhillips Buescher Boys' Orchestra, which included his brother Joe (bassist, b London, Ont, 26 May 1906, d Toronto 14 May 1977), Tony Briglia (drummer, later a founding member of the Casa Loma Orchestra), and Hugo D'Ippolito (pianist, later a member of the Royal Canadians).
In 1931 Niosi formed a nine-piece band to play at the Embassy Club in Toronto. In 1932 he expanded the band and moved to the Palais Royale dance hall where, in an 18-year residence, he became an institution in Canadian pop music. The band was heard nationally on CBC broadcasts and toured Canada in 1945 and 1946. It included Niosi's brother Johnnie (drummer, b London, Ont, 26 Sep 1914, d Toronto 21 Nov 1965).
Niosi next embarked on a career with the CBC, first as a member 1952-9 of the Happy Gang, and then as music director of the TV series 'Four for the Show,' 'Cross-Canada Hit Parade,' and, 1965-76, 'The Tommy Hunter Show'. He continued to lead a dance band on occasion and returned to the Palais Royale for appearances as late as 1979.
A versatile musician, Niosi was proficient on trumpet and trombone as well as with the alto saxophone and clarinet; accompanied by his brothers he played all four instruments on a CBC TV show ca 1957. On an earlier occasion (1950) he played Mozart's Clarinet Quintet with the Solway String Quartet for CBC radio.
Niosi's recordings included several 78s from the 1940s with a jazz sextet for RCA Victor and Musicana, and one with his orchestra for Zephyr. He also made an LP as leader of the Jack Kane Band (1963, CTL CTLS-5036) and others as a soloist with the Albert Pratz Orchestra (RCI 173 and 174) and with the Johnny Burt Strings (1964, CTL CTLS-5044). His compositions have been recorded by Lucio Agostini and by the pianist Alexander 'Ragtime' Read.
Niosi died in 1987 in Mississauga.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Bert Niosi.
Name Access
Niosi, Bert, 1909-1987
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 13
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
13
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Oct. 1941
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 8 x 14 cm
Admin History/Bio
Bennie Payne (b. 18 June, 1907, Philadelphia, PA) was a pianist and arranger. He played with the likes of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Chu Berry, and Fats Waller, but his longest collaboration was with the lounge singer Billy Daniels; during the 1950s, they were among the first African-American entertainers to appear on national television. In 1964, Payne appeared on Broadway in a revival of "Golden Boy" with Daniels and Sammy Davis, Jr.
He is best known as the pianist in Cab Calloway's band.
Payne died in 1986 in Los Angeles, CA.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Bennie Payne with two companions of Sylvia Schwartz: Jewell Schwartz and Frances Gruber.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 14
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
14
Material Format
graphic material
Date
June 1951
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 10 cm and 11 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Bennie Payne (b. 18 June, 1907, Philadelphia, PA) was a pianist and arranger. He played with the likes of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Chu Berry, and Fats Waller, but his longest collaboration was with the lounge singer Billy Daniels; during the 1950s, they were among the first African-American entertainers to appear on national television. In 1964, Payne appeared on Broadway in a revival of "Golden Boy" with Daniels and Sammy Davis, Jr.
He is best known as the pianist in Cab Calloway's band.
Payne died in 1986 in Los Angeles, CA.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Bennie Payne.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 15
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
15
Material Format
graphic material
Date
June 1951
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm
Admin History/Bio
Bennie Payne (b. 18 June, 1907, Philadelphia, PA) was a pianist and arranger. He played with the likes of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Chu Berry, and Fats Waller, but his longest collaboration was with the lounge singer Billy Daniels; during the 1950s, they were among the first African-American entertainers to appear on national television. In 1964, Payne appeared on Broadway in a revival of "Golden Boy" with Daniels and Sammy Davis, Jr.
He is best known as the pianist in Cab Calloway's band.
Payne died in 1986 in Los Angeles, CA.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Bennie Payne at his piano.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 16
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
16
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Oct. 1951
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 11 x 15 cm
Admin History/Bio
Frank Shuster (b. September 5, 1916, Toronto, ON) was a Canadian comedian best known as a member of the comedy duo Wayne and Shuster (with Johnny Wayne).
Wayne and Shuster met at Harbord Collegiate in Toronto, where they performed in annual revues. After receiving BAs in English from the University of Toronto, they were both studying for their masters when WWII intervened. After enlisting in the infantry, they were soon reunited, writing and performing for The Army Show.
Following the war, they returned to Canada and worked together on radio (by 1946 they had their own show on CBC) and later on television. In 1950 they began appearing as guests on various American TV programs, including a record sixty-seven performances on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
He was married to Ruth Shuster and had two children: Rosie and Steve. Rosie Shuster is a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live and other television programs, and former wife of Lorne Michaels. Steve Shuster is also in the entertainment industry.
In 1996, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and died in 2002 in Toronto.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Frank Shuster with his wife, Ruth, and his two children, Rosie and Steve.
Name Access
Shuster, Frank 1916-2002
Subjects
Comedians
Families
Portraits, Group
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 17
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
17
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Oct. 1941
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 12 x 9 cm
Admin History/Bio
Walter 'Foots' Thomas (b.1907, Muskogee, Oklahoma) was a saxophonist and arranger in Cab Calloway's orchestra. He moved to New York City in 1927, and played for a time with Jelly Roll Morton. He then joined the Missourians in 1929, just before Calloway took it over.
Since the 1940s, he lived in Englewood, New Jersey. He died on August 26, 1981 as a result of cancer.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Walter "Foots" Thomas.
Notes
This negative has two images on it.
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 18
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
18
Material Format
graphic material
Date
May 1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 9 cm and 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Johnny Wayne (b. Louis Weingarten, May 28, 1918) was a Canadian comedian best known as a member of the comedy duo Wayne and Shuster (with Frank Shuster).
Wayne was the son of a successful clothing manufacturer who spoke several languages and the eldest of seven children.
Wayne and Shuster met at Harbord Collegiate, Toronto, where they performed in annual revues. After receiving BAs in English from the University of Toronto, they were both studying for their masters when WWII intervened. After enlisting in the infantry, they were soon reunited, writing and performing for The Army Show.
Following the war, they returned to Canada and worked together on radio (by 1946 they had their own show on CBC) and later on television. In 1950 they began appearing as guests on various American TV programs, including a record sixty-seven performances on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Johnny Wayne died in 1990 of brain cancer.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Johnny Wayne.
Name Access
Wayne, Johnny, 1918-1990
Subjects
Comedians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 19
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
19
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1945
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 10 cm and 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
John (Jacob) Weinzweig (b. March 11, 1913) was a Canadian composer of classical music.
Born in Toronto, Weinzweig went to Harbord Collegiate Institute, and studied music at the University of Toronto. In 1937, he left for the United States to study under Bernard Rogers. During the Second World War, he began composing film music, and in 1952 he became a professor at the University of Toronto. In the previous year he had co-founded the Canadian League of Composers, and he was actively involved in several other organisations representing musicians and composers.
In 1974, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1988, he was awarded the Order of Ontario.
Weinzweig died in 2006.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of John Weinzweig.
Notes
This negative has two images on it.
Name Access
Weinzweig, John, 1913-2006
Subjects
Musicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Physical Condition
Negative is bent as if it has been rolled around something for a long period of time. Emulsion is still intact and not cracked as a result of the bending.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 80; Series 4; Item 20
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Sylvia Schwartz fonds
Portraits of Prominent Entertainers series
Level
Item
Fonds
80
Series
4
Item
20
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Mar. 1955
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 8 cm
Admin History/Bio
Portia May White (b. June 24, 1911), was a singer who achieved international fame because of her voice and stage presence. As a Black Canadian, her popularity helped to open previously closed doors for talented blacks who followed.
Portia White was born in the town of Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, to Reverend William Andrew White and Izie Dora White,and was the third child in a family of 13. She made her musical debut at the age of six in her father's church choir. At the age of 17, while she was teaching school in Lucasville just outside of Halifax, she received her first break, winning a silver cup in the Nova Scotia Music Festival. From this experience, she qualified and received a scholarship from the Halifax Ladies Music Club, so she could attend the Halifax Conservatory of Music.
One of the great contralto vocalists in the history of Canadian classical music, Portia made her debut on the national stage in Toronto in 1941. By 1944 she had made her international debut in New York City and later toured the world. When a rasp in her voice appeared, it forced her to retire. She settled in Toronto and taught some of Canada’s foremost pop singers of the day.
Portia White was asked to perform for Queen Elizabeth II, at the opening of the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1964. This was to be one of her last major concerts.
Her brother Bill was the first Canadian of African heritage to run for political office in Canada, standing as a candidate for the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in the 1949 election, and her brother Jack was a noted Canadian labour union leader. In addition to Bill's children, politician Sheila White and folk musician Chris White, Portia White was also the aunt of Senator Donald Oliver and playwright George Elliott Clarke.
Also of note was her youngest brother, R. Lorne White, who was on the national television show, Singalong Jubilee which launched the career of Anne Murray.
Portia White has been declared "a person of national historic significance" by the Government of Canada, and she was featured in a special issue of Millennium postage stamps celebrating Canadian achievement.
She died in 1968.
Scope and Content
This item is a portrait of Portia White.
Notes
There is no related negative for this proof
Name Access
White, Portia, 1911-1968
Subjects
Black Canadians
Singers
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions