IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
SHIRLEY RICH (1922-2009)
PAPERS, 1929-2010
(bulk 1940-1947)
12.5 linear inches
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 109) were received from Shirley
Rich Krohn in 1992 and in succeeding years. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers are open for research. |
|
AUDIOVISUAL: |
Five audiocassettes shelved in audiocassette
collection (AC193-AC196, AC1348, AC1358-1361). |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University
of Iowa. |
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PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In box 1. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Catherine E. Rymph, 1992, Robert J. Jett, 1994,
Rosemary Reiss, 2010. |
Biography
Shirley Rich, casting director in
theater, television and film, was born in Chicago on December 10, 1922. Her parents,
Meyer and Hattie Rich, were immigrants from Eastern Europe. Rich grew up in Ottumwa, Iowa and graduated
from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) in 1944 with a
bachelor of fine arts degree. In 1946 she
received a masters degree in theater from Smith College, where she studied
under Hallie Flanagan Davis.
Rich then moved to New York
City. In 1946 she worked for the
American National Theater and Academy (ANTA) having received a Rockefeller
Foundation Fellowship the first year.
During her second year with ANTA Rich worked for their experimental
theater which included such productions as Galileo
with Charles Laughton and Skipper Next To
God with John Garfield. From 1948 to
1951, she worked for Rodgers and Hammerstein as assistant casting director,
taking time out in 1950 to do public relations and press work for the Ballet
Theater during its State Department tour of Europe. While with Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rich
worked on South Pacific and The King and I, among other productions.
From 1951 to 1954, she worked as the eastern talent scout for the Talent
Department of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.
In 1952, Rich married Lewis M.
Krohn, an investment banker. They had
two children, Steven and Lisa. Rich
spent the next several years raising her children in Scarsdale, New York.
In 1963, Rich resumed her career,
working as casting director for Hal Prince. During the following six years,
Rich cast such productions as Fiddler On
The Roof, Cabaret, and Zorba.
In 1969, she founded Shirley Rich Casting and began work as a free-lance
casting director. In this capacity, she
worked on films such as Taps, Kramer vs. Kramer, Serpico, Three Days of The
Condor, Rachel, Rachel and Saturday Night Fever, and television
programs including the American Playhouse production of Andre's Mother and the soap opera Ryan's Hope, winner of many Emmy Awards. Her theater productions include Ballroom and Crimes of the Heart.
Rich has received numerous awards
including: in 1983 the Smith College Medal, awarded to distinguished alumnae
who best exemplify the true purpose of a liberal arts education; in 1991 the
Hoyt Bower Award from the Casting Society of America for Outstanding
Contribution to the Casting Profession; and in 1994 the Distinguished Alumni
Award from the University of Iowa. In
addition, as part of the Sesquicentennial of Ottumwa, Iowa, the Ottumwa Arts
Council honored her as one of four creative artists from Ottumwa in March 1994.
Scope and Content Note
The Shirley Rich papers date from
1929 to 1996 and measure 5 linear inches.
The papers are arranged in six series: Biographical material,
Audiocassettes, Childhood and education, Photographs, Smith College, and
Professional files. The bulk of the
material relates to Rich's career in theater.
In many cases, Rich has identified (with handwritten notes) the date
and/or context of the item.
The first series, Biographical
material (1950-2010) includes lists of Rich's casting accomplishments, her
entry from Who's Who in Entertainment,
newspaper clippings, a copy of the University of Iowa's Dividends magazine, in which Rich was featured for her gifts to the
university, and a photocopy of the speech she delivered upon receiving the
Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa in 1994.
The Childhood and education
series (1940-1944) consists of photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters
from former teachers which relate to Rich's activities, performances, and
achievements.
Smith College (1944-2007) consists
of correspondence and newspaper clippings from Rich's days at Smith as well as
those relating to her ongoing relationship with Smith. This series also contains a scrapbook which
documents her performances and other theater-related activities at Smith.
The Professional files series
(1940-2008) includes newspaper clippings (spanning four decades) concerning
reviews or descriptions of performances with which Rich was involved, as well
as interviews with Rich. Articles from
Iowa newspapers describe her Iowa roots.
Correspondence (sparsely covering four decades) includes a letter from
Rod Steiger (September 3, 1965), and a few notes from Richard Rodgers (1950).
Also included in this series is a radio script from 1947 when Rich, along with
an unemployed actor, was interviewed on the Margaret Arlen show.
Photographs feature Rich as
well as Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Hallie Flanagan Davis, Jackie
Cooper and Rod Steiger.
Audiocassettes series
consists of three sessions with Shirley Rich Krohn: the first is a lecture
recorded in 1978 at the University of Iowa Theatre Department for students
interested in pursuing a career in theatre, the second is an interview recorded
in 1992 by Peter Ullian at the University of Iowa Theatre in which Shirley Rich
Krohn discusses her thoughts on the University of Iowa Theatre Department. The third is an interview with Shirley Rich
recorded in 1995.
Related Collections
Profile of casting director: Shirley
Rich Krohn. WSUI Public Radio, Iowa
City, March 13, 1992. Julie Englander,
Producer [shelved with audiocassette collection: AC121].
Box no. Description
Box 1
Biographical material
Audiocassettes [shelved in audiocassette collection]
Lecture by Shirley Rich given to the University of Iowa Theatre
Department, 1978 (AC193-AC194)
Interview of Shirley Rich Krohn by Peter Ullian at the University of
Iowa Theatre Department, February 2, 1992 (AC195-AC196)
Interview with Shirley Rich, JBI lecture series, spring 1995 (AC1348)
Childhood and education
Correspondence, 1940, 1944
Diplomas, 1940, 1944
Newspaper clippings, 1929?-1944 and undated
Ottumwa High School yearbook, 1940
Photographs
Smith College
Correspondence, 1946-1983
Scrapbook, 1944-1945
Professional files
Correspondence, 1947-1993
Flyers
National Association of Talent Representatives Award, 1987
Newspaper clippings, 1943-1994
Playbills, 1950-1987
Radio script, 1947