The Hart and Carlisle papers consist of scripts, correspondence, a diary, non-theatrical writings, photographs, and scrapbooks. The collection covers Hart's entire career and his personal life, although the depth of the documentation varies. The documentation about Mrs. Hart is less complete. The collection is arranged as correspondence of both Harts, biographical material concern Hart, his generically-arranged writings, and Kitty Carlisle's scrapbooks and papers. Photographs received with the papers are available in the WCFTR Name and Title files.
The CORRESPONDENCE includes material pertaining to both Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle. Correspondence from the period 1935-1945 includes personal letters to Carlisle from Irving Caesar, George Gershwin, Sinclair Lewis, George S. Kaufman, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, and Kurt Weill as well as a few items received by Hart.
The correspondence, although incomplete with regard to both Hart's personal and professional life, contains letters from a virtual Who's Who of the theatre. Included are letters from such prominent individuals as George Abbott, Brooks Atkinson, Bernard Baruch, Bruce Barton, Cecil Beaton, S.N. Behrman, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote, Bennett Cerf, Edward Choate, Jerome Chodorov, Claudette Colbert, Hume Cronyn, Russel Crouse, George Cukor, Edna Ferber, Judy Garland, George Gershwin, Sir John Gielgud, Mark Goodson, Oscar Hammerstein II, Rex Harrison, Leland Hayward, Lillian Hellman, George S. Kaufman, Elia Kazan, Jerome Kern, Jean Kerr, Arthur Kober, Alan J. Lerner, Sinclair Lewis, Howard Lindsey, Joshua Logan, Henry R. Luce, Sidney Lumet, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Fredric March, Michael Myerberg, Sir Laurence Olivier, John Osborne, Cole Porter, Anthony Quayle, Jerome Robbins, Morris Rubin, Harry Ruby, Robert E. Sherwood, Herman Shumlin, Jean Sibelius, Phil Silvers, Adlai E. Stevenson, Theodore H. White, and Emlyn Williams.
The largest portion of the correspondence consists of fan mail concerning the publication of Act One in 1959. In addition to the material donated by the Harts, this section also includes letters donated by George Cukor and others (some via Kitty Carlisle), business correspondence from the late 1940s donated by Joseph Hyman, and copies of autographed photographs. A separate file here relating to Hart's reputation as an art and antique collector contains several letters from Aaron Bohrod and a catalog for the sale of antiques from the Harts' Bucks County (Pennsylvania) home. The financial miscellany contains a complete appraisal of the furnishings.
The MOSS HART BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL includes a diary, correspondence, legal and financial miscellany, biographical clippings and a scrapbook, recorded interviews and appearances, and an undated photograph album concerning family members and overseas travel. The typescript diary, which covers only the years 1953 and 1954, was undertaken by Hart as self therapy during a period when he was apparently depressed and experiencing difficulty with his writing. The diary includes frank comments about theatrical friends and associates, his theatrical work, and the Harts' social activities. Also here are miscellaneous financial papers, tributes and memorabilia, clipping scrapbooks, an extended interview about the musical stage, and films of the Harts presenting the 1961 Academy Awards and of their appearance on Person to Person in 1959. The earliest scrapbook, which is also available on microfilm, provides the only primary documentation about Hart's early work in the collection. The small clipping books filed here were photocopied in order to preserve their intellectual content and the originals returned to the donor.
The bulk of the collection consists of generically-arranged writings, primarily drafts of Broadway PLAYS. For productions from 1925 to 1952 there are handwritten drafts, edited typescripts, and published editions. Well known for his lavish spending, Hart often had his manuscripts expensively bound and many of these volumes are included. For few productions, however, is Hart's writing process fully represented. Most extensively documented are Once in a Lifetime (1930), Jubilee (1935), You Can't Take It With You (1936), Winged Victory (1943), Christopher Blake, (1946), Light Up the Sky (1948), and The Climate of Eden (1952). Also included for a few titles are photographs, clippings, playbills, financial statements, correspondence, and sheet music. The files on Jubilee include a typescript diary and a photographs album concerning the tour Hart undertook with Cole arranged writings, primarily drafts of Broadway PLAYS. For productions from 1925 to 1952 there are handwritten drafts, edited typescripts, and published editions. Well known for his lavish spending, Hart often had his manuscripts expensively bound and many of these volumes are included. For few productions, however, is Hart's writing process fully represented. Most extensively documented are Once in a Lifetime (1930), Jubilee (1935), You Can't Take It With You (1936), Winged Victory (1943), Christopher Blake, (1946), Light Up the Sky (1948), and The Climate of Eden (1952). Also included for a few titles are photographs, clippings, playbills, financial statements, correspondence, and sheet music. The files on Jubilee include a typescript diary and a photographs album concerning the tour Hart undertook with Cole Porter while working on the script. The section also includes a script used by Hart in directing My Fair Lady in 1956.
Similar, but smaller quantities of material document Hart's SCREENPLAYS and TELEVISION work. Most prominent of these are the materials for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), A Star Is Born (1953), and Camelot (1967).
NON-THEATRICAL WRITING is represented by several folders of speeches, articles, and short works and by the files on Act One. The latter includes a handwritten draft, a typed draft, the published first edition, a microfilmed clipping scrapbook of reviews, and a French translation. Correspondence received from theatrical friends and the general public in response to the book is discussed above.
KITTY CARLISLE'S PAPERS consist of an annotated draft of her autobiography, nine clipping scrapbooks concerning her career from 1932 through 1946 (available only on microfilm), a few playbills, and a photograph album.
