Research Catalog

Title

Interview with George and Ethel Martin [sound recording].

Author

Martin, George (Dancer)

Publication

2003.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Martin, Ethel.
• Gennaro, Liza.

Description

3 sound cassettes (ca. 195 min.) +

Summary

• Cassette 1, ca. 90 min. (1/17/03). Ethel Martin discusses her first exposure to dance; her first teachers and professional experience; the opportunity to work with Jack Cole; George Martin describes his early dance experiences and training; attending the Jacob's Pillow Summer festival when he was 17; his first professional jobs; touring with Lady in the dark; Jack Cole's influence on night club choreography; the Martins' experiences under contract at Columbia Pictures including the opportunity to get paid for their training; Cole's training and teaching; stories about working with Cole in film and in nightclubs; Cole's lack of work for the concert stage; Cole's preparation and work in musical theater, including Magdalena and A funny thing happened on the way to the forum; Cole as director; the relationship between choreographer and director; working with Bob Alton; the relationship of dance to story in musical theater of this period; use of the term jazz dance.
• Cassette 2, ca. 15 min. (1/17/03). The Martins discuss teaching; Cole's work in film; Ethel Martin's experiences with Lee Theodore and The American Dance Machine; Cole's legacy; other choreographers and teachers, including Matt Mattox.
• Cassette 3, ca. 90 min. (2/25/03). More on Ethel Martin's childhood and experiences travelling with her aunt and uncle, vaudeville performers with an act called the Sherman and Rose revue; her first professional jobs including experiences at the Roxy, Radio City Music Hall and at Casa Mañana where she met Cole; working at [Billy Rose's] Aquacade and on Something for the boys; leaving Broadway for Hollywood; working on the Milliken breakfast show; more on Ethel Martin's childhood, family, and experiences in vaudeville and at the Aquacade; George Martin's memories from Jacob's Pillow and working with Agnes De Mille; Gennaro asks about people active in the musical theater at that time, including Gae Foster; George Martin discusses the many places that he worked with Jack Cole; the Martins describe Cole's curiosity about and research on a wide variety of dances; working with Kay Thompson; brief comparision of Bob Alton and Jack Cole.

Donor/Sponsor

National Endowment for the Arts, 2001-2002.

Alternative Title

• Dance Oral History Project.
• Dance Audio Archive.

Subjects

• American Dance Machine (Dance troupe)
• Rose, Billy, 1899-1966 > Aquacade
• Cole, Jack, 1911-1974
• Thompson, Kay, 1909-1998
• Martin, George (Dancer)
• Dance in motion pictures, television, etc
• Vaudeville > United States
• Martin, Ethel
• Audiotapes > Martin, E
• Theodore, Lee
• Variety dancing > 20th century
• Alton, Robert, 1897-1957
• Audiotapes > Martin, J
• Musicals
• Musical comedies > Something for the boys

Note

• Interview with George and Ethel Martin conducted by Liza Gennaro at the Martins' home in Goshen, N.Y., on Jan. 17 (cassettes 1-2) and Feb. 25, 2003 (cassette 3).
• For transcript see: *MGZMT 3-2379.

Access (note)

• Photography of the transcript permitted for research purposes only.

Funding (note)

• Preservation was made possible in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, 2001-2002.

Call Number

*MGZMT 3-2379

OCLC

NYPY03-R57

Author

Martin, George (Dancer), interviewee.

Title

Interview with George and Ethel Martin [sound recording].

Imprint

2003.

Funding

Preservation was made possible in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, 2001-2002.

Local Note

Open as of December, 2015.

Restricted Access

Photography of the transcript permitted for research purposes only.

Local Subject

Variety dancing -- 20th century.

Musical comedies. Something for the boys.

Audiotapes -- Martin, J.

Audiotapes -- Martin, E.

Added Author

Martin, Ethel. Interviewee

Gennaro, Liza. Interviewer

Research Call Number

*MGZMT 3-2379

*MGZTC 3-2379