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Finding Aid for the Polly Bergen Musical Arrangements Collection
1955-1970
48-M
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Title: Polly Bergen Musical Arrangements
Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1955-1970
Collection number: 48-M
Creator: Bergen, Polly
1930-
Extent:
226 song titles
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Performing Arts Special Collections
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: Television and stage show arrangements for
singer/actress, Polly Bergen.
Physical location: SRLF
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
[Identification of item], Polly Bergen Musical Arrangements Collection, 48-M,
Performing Arts Special Collections , University of California, Los Angeles.
Actress/singer Polly Bergen was born July 14, 1930 in Knoxville, TN, making
her radio debut at the age of 14 and honing her craft on the summer stock
circuit before journeying to Hollywood in 1949. She soon made her feature debut
in Across the Rio Grande, quickly followed by roles in no less than three Dean
Martin/Jerry Lewis comedies -- At War with the Army, That's My Boy and The
Stooge. Increasing dissatisfaction with the roles coming her way prompted Bergen
to walk away from a lucrative movie contract in 1953, however, and she soon made
her Broadway debut in the revue John Murray Anderson's Almanac; upon recovering
from throat surgery, two years later she also recorded her self-titled debut LP
for Jubilee, followed later that year by Little Girl Blue. She jumped to
Columbia for 1957's Bergen Sings Morgan, and continued recording for the label
until the early 1960s; in the meantime she also maintained her stage career,
additionally finding success in the business world through a series of ventures
including Polly Bergen Cosmetics, Polly Bergen Jewelry and Polly Bergen Shoes.
In 1960, she also authored the first of three books, Fashion and Charm. Bergen
returned to film in the 1961 noir classic Cape Fear, although in the decades she
was perhaps best known for her many television appearances, including a starring
role in the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War and its 1988 sequel War and
Remembrance.
The collection predominantly consists of television and stage show
arrangements used by Polly Bergen.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Musical Arrangements
- Series 2. Orchestrations
- Series 3. Other Items