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Finding Aid for the Laurell Gaines papers, ca. 1923-1976
1761
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Title: Laurell Gaines papers
Date (inclusive): ca. 1923-1976
Collection number: 1761
Creator:
Gaines, Laurell, 1909-2004.
Extent:
1 oversize flat box (15" x 19")
Abstract: Laurell Gaines was a dancer who performed in vaudeville, musical revues and Hollywood films from the 1920s-1940s. This collection
contains newspaper clippings, letters, programs, portraits and publicity photographs. It covers both her U.S. engagements
and her tour of Asia and Australia during WWII.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Language of the Material:
Materials are in English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Henry H. Dearing, July 14, 2007.
Processed by Yasmin Damshenas in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Lilace Hatayama
and Megan Hahn Fraser, December 2011.
[Identification of item], Laurell Gaines papers (Collection Number 1761). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, UCLA.
Laurell Gaines was a ballet and ballroom dancer who performed in vaudeville, musical revues and Hollywood films from the 1920s-1940s
throughout the U.S., as well as coastal Asia and Australia. She was born in Missouri in 1909 and trained in ballet on the
West Coast with Theodore Kosloff (1882-1956), a Russian choreographer and silent film actor. At the age of 15 she began dancing
professionally to support her family after the death of her father. She danced in vaudeville shows for Fanchon and Marco,
performed in Hollywood films, and went on to partner with Ted Mendenhall (stage name Ted Vaun). Together, Gaines and Vaun
performed throughout the United States at hotels, nightclubs and resorts in cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco,
Shreveport and Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Laurell and Ted performed at a number of popular spots like the Biltmore Hotel
Supper Room, Beverly Hills Hotel, Café de Paree, the Palomar Ballroom and the Catalina Casino. In 1939 she began a tour of
coastal Asia with Lynn Cowan and Bill Bailey's "Cocoanut Grove" Entertainers. She performed in Singapore, Colombo, Cathay,
Manila, Federal Malaya States and Hong Kong. Stranded in Colombo when WWII broke out and the troupe's French steamer was recalled,
Gaines made her way back to America via Singapore, Manila and eventually Australia, where she performed with Florence Chappel.
Once she secured a steamer for the West Coast, she stopped over in Honolulu where she witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor
from her hotel. Gaines retired after returning to Los Angeles on a refugee convoy. During WWII she worked an office job by
day and took a defense job by night. Post-WWII she continued working office jobs until her retirement. She passed away in
2004.
This collection contains newspaper clippings, letters, programs, portraits and publicity photographs. It covers both Laurell
Gaines's U.S. engagements and her tour of Asia and Australia during WWII. It also contains some of the letters that Gaines
received from the Office of Strategic Services regarding the identification of photographic materials she provided of Malaya,
Colombo, Bali, Java, and the Philippines.
Arranged in the following series:
- U.S. Engagements, primarily 1923-1946, 1974-1976
- Asia and Australia Tour, 1939-1941
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Gaines, Laurell, 1909-2004 --Archives.
Women dancers --United States --Archival resources.
Ted Vaun Papers (Collection 1336).
Box 1, scrapbook and photo album donated by Laurell Gaines in 1983. Available at Library Special Collections, UCLA.