Description: Pictured here is a scene called "Toby Steps Out" from the play "The Girl and the Game," featuring actors Mary and Henry Rollins, George Hill, and Fred Campbell, with Catherine Reynolds starring in the leading roll of Nellie Mays. The note on the reverse of the photograph records that Reynolds' father, Thomas J. Reynolds, was the captain and owner of the Majestic, one of the last traveling showboats on the Ohio River. Built in 1920, the Majestic was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989. It is currently permanently docked at the Cincinnati Public Landing and is a venue for comedies and musicals. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F01_024_001
Subjects: Showboats; Theaters--Ohio; Actors--Ohio; Performing arts--Audiences; Entertainment; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Middleport (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows stage actors performing a scene from "No Mother to Guide Her" on Captain Billy Bryant's showboat. Captain Billy Bryant owned and operated several showboats on the Ohio River in the early 1900s, and in 1936 he published a memoir chronicling his career titled "Children of Ol' Man River." This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F01_025_001
Subjects: Showboats; Actors--Ohio; Theaters; Performing arts--Audiences; Entertainment; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: A promotional image of Dean Martin singing. Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio, to Italian immigrant parents. He dropped out of high school to work in a steel mill and he was also involved in bootlegging liquor across state lines during Prohibition. When he was 17 began singing at local nightclubs in Ohio, and by 1943 he was living in New York and working as a signed singer with the Riobamba Room. Martin’s big break came when Jerry Lewis offered to have Martin fill in at one of his shows in 1946. The duo began to perform together and produced hits including My Friend Irma (1949) and Jumping Jacks (1952). Their last performance together was ten years later in 1956. Martin was a member of the Rat Pack, a group of actors and singers including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop who appeared in movies and shows together including Ocean’s Eleven (1960). Martin’s mellow singing style brought him many hits such as “That’s Amore,” “Which Way Did My Heart Go?,” “Everybody Loves Somebody,” and “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometimes”. He also started a show in 1965 on NBC called “The Dean Martin Show” which was largely successful. Martin died on December 25, 1995. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07667
Subjects: Musicians; Actors; Motion picture actors and actresses
 

Description: Dated May 4, 1936, this photograph shows the cast of "Adam and Eva," a play put on by the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), a New Deal project to fund theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the Great Depression. It was one of five Federal One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The FTP's primary goal was employment of out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F12_013_001
Subjects: Federal Theatre Project (U.S.); Theater; Entertainment; Actors
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated August 27, 1935, this photograph shows the cast of "Adam and Eva" taken from the rear of the Federal Theater. "Adam and Eva" was a play put on by the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), a New Deal project to fund theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the Great Depression. It was one of five Federal One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The FTP's primary goal was employment of out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F12_014_001
Subjects: Federal Theatre Project (U.S.); Theater; Entertainment; Actors
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated May 4, 1936, this photograph shows the cast of "Adam and Eva," a play put on by the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), a New Deal project to fund theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the Great Depression. It was one of five Federal One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The FTP's primary goal was employment of out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F12_016_001
Subjects: Federal Theatre Project (U.S.); Theater; Entertainment; Actors
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Carte de visite portrait of an actor in costume with hood and makeup, ca. 1860-1868. The actor is unknown. The Fisher Brothers Photographic Artists, Emery P. Fisher and Edward P. Fisher, of 193 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts, are responsible for taking this portrait. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03507
Subjects: Actors; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Costumes
Places: Boston (Massachusetts)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows an audience watching a showboat comedy on the Majestic, owned by Captain Thomas J. Reynolds, in Middleport, Ohio. Built in 1920, the Majestic is the last of the original traveling showboats on the Ohio River. It is a registered historic riverboat in Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on December 20, 1989. Today it is permanently docked at the Cincinnati Public Landing and is a venue for comedies and musicals. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F01_027_001
Subjects: Showboats; Ohio River; Actors; Theaters; Performing arts--Audiences; Entertainment
Places: Middleport (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio)
 

Description: A postcard depicting Clark Gable's birthplace in Cadiz, Ohio. An image of Gable is included in the bottom left corner. Cadiz was established in 1803 and is the County Seat of Harrison Country, Ohio. As of 2010, the village was home to 3,353 people and is primarily focused on the shale industry. Clark Gable was born in 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio. His mother died shortly after his birth, so gable lived with his grandparents until his father remarried in 1907. His step mother, Jennie Dunlap, encouraged him to read and learn music. When his father, William, bought a farm, he wanted Gable to help him on the farm, but Jennie convinced him not to. Instead, Gable worked in theater companies. Gable moved to Portland, Oregon, where he met Josephine Dillon, an acting teacher. She took an interest in Gable, gave him acting lessons and fixed his hair and teeth. They moved to Hollywood together and were married in 1924. Gable struggled to find acting roles because of his large ears. His break came from his supporting role in The Painted Desert (1931), which impressed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) executives into signing Gable. Over the next several years Gable became a Hollywood leading man. He appeared in movies such as Red Dust (1932), Dancing Lady (1933), It Happened One Night (1934), and many others. In 1939, he appeared in what was perhaps his most famous role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Gable married his third wife, Carole Lombard, in 1939, but the actress was killed in a plane crash in 1942. After her death, Gable left Holylwood to join the Army Air Corps, where he served as a tail gunner in World War II. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. After the war, he returned to acting. Some of his well known films include The Hucksters (1947), Mogambo (1953), and The Misfits(1961), in which Marilyn Monroe costarred. Gable died from a heart attack on November 16, 1960. By his death Gable had starred in sixty-five films. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07666
Subjects: Birthplaces; Motion picture actors and actresses; Actors; Postcards
Places: Cadiz (Ohio); Harrison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Theater Project Group in street clothing June 20, 1936, on steps of Memorial Hall at Soldiers' Home, Dayton, Ohio. Director Garland [Geden?] on top row with straw hat." The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was a New Deal project to fund theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the Great Depression. It was one of five Federal One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The FTP's primary goal was employment of out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F12_009_001
Subjects: Federal Theatre Project (U.S.); Theater--Ohio--Dayton; Actors--Ohio--Dayton; Soldiers' homes--Ohio--Dayton
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of children during a stage performance of "Tents of Grace," a play written by Elizabeth Ann James and put on by the Columbus Junior Theater of the Arts, March 4, 1989. The play was about the massacre of members of the Delaware Tribe by United States soldiers at the settlement of Gnadenhutten in 1782. The Columbus Junior Theater of the Arts was founded in 1963, and is now known as the Columbus Children’s Theatre. The Columbus Free Press began as a bi-weekly publication in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. An underground newspaper, it replaced the Ohio State University publication The People, Yes. The earliest known issue of the newspaper appeared on January 4, 1971. The newspaper underwent a series of name changes over the decades, with titles including the Columbus Free Press & Cowtown Times (1972-1976), the Columbus Freepress (1976-1992) and The Free Press (1992-1995). The paper, which covered many liberal and progressive causes, was an alternative to mainstream news sources in central Ohio with the slogan “The Other Side of the News.” In 1995, the paper ceased publication briefly before reemerging as a website in early 1996, and returning as a print publication under the Free Press title in the form of a quarterly journal in 1998. Published under various frequencies during the first part of the 21st century, the Free Press again became a nonprofit monthly publication in 2017 with both a print and web presence, published by the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism and operated by a volunteer staff and board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1301AV_B02F05_01
Subjects: Actors; Actresses; Arts and entertainment; Theater--Ohio; Children--Ohio; Gnadenhutten Massacre;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Group portrait of an African American acting troupe identified as the Spirit Drama Society during the 1984-85 season, from the Columbus Free Press Collection. The Columbus Free Press began as a bi-weekly publication in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. An underground newspaper, it replaced the Ohio State University publication The People, Yes. The earliest known issue of the newspaper appeared on January 4, 1971. The newspaper underwent a series of name changes over the decades, with titles including the Columbus Free Press & Cowtown Times (1972-1976), the Columbus Freepress (1976-1992) and The Free Press (1992-1995). The paper, which covered many liberal and progressive causes, was an alternative to mainstream news sources in central Ohio with the slogan “The Other Side of the News.” In 1995, the paper ceased publication briefly before reemerging as a website in early 1996, and returning as a print publication under the Free Press title in the form of a quarterly journal in 1998. Published under various frequencies during the first part of the 21st century, the Free Press again became a nonprofit monthly publication in 2017 with both a print and web presence, published by the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism and operated by a volunteer staff and board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1301AV_B02F05_02
Subjects: Actors; Actresses; African American Ohioans; Arts and entertainment; Theater--Ohio;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)