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The Papers of Irene Beasley
Processed by: John Wood, July 1996Revised by: Karen Fishman, October 1999
3.5 lin. ft
BIOGRAPHY
Elizabeth Irene Beasley (1904-1980), known as Irene Beasley, American composer, singer, and radio personality, was born in 1904 in Whitehaven, Tennessee. Her family moved to Amarillo, Texas, when Irene was six years old. Beasley spent summers with her maternal grandmother in Plum Point, Mississippi. It was her grandmother Holmes who gave Beasley her first piano lessons and stimulated Beasley's lifelong love of music. Her mother died when Beasley was twelve years old, and she became close to her grandparents and aunt and uncle in Memphis, Tennessee. Though her father, James Neel Beasley, was a modest planter when Beasley was born, he became a wealthy grain and oil man in Amarillo.
Irene Beasley attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia and taught all subjects in county elementary schools in Mississippi and Tennessee. She later went to Memphis to teach math, music and business management at a junior high school.
While teaching, Beasley spent her free time and vacations selling records at a phonograph store and promoted songs by singing them at a five-and-ten. Beasley soon began writing her own songs. Her first song, "If I Could Only Stop Dreaming," written about an older man over whom she had had a youthful crush, was published by her father. Beasley found a piano player with a radio show to broadcast the song. He did so on the condition that Beasley sang. This led to her radio debut in Memphis in 1928. She sang on the radio in Memphis through 1928, then performed for a year in Chicago theaters, studios and clubs. She came to New York City in 1929 and was signed by the Columbia Broadcasting System. Beasley performed in nightclubs and vaudeville houses throughout the country and starred in the musical comedy "Thumbs Up."
Irene Beasley's radio career was long and varied. Due to her height, she became known as the "long, tall gal from Dixie." Beasley starred in a number of radio series including "Old Dutch Cleanser" series, "Mennen's Sports Slants" (co-starring with Ted Husing), "La Palina Cigars" (co-starring Guy Lombardo) and the Armour Star Hour. She produced and wrote a children's radio series entitiled "Aunt Zelena." In 1934, she was voted "Queen of Radio" in a national radio magazine contest.
However she achieved her greatest success and celebrity as part of the series "Grand Slam," a musical quiz show that ran on CBS between 1943 and 1953. "Grand Slam" was conceived, written, designed, produced and emceed by Ms. Beasley. The show was the first to allow radio listeners to compete along with the studio audience on equal terms. "Grand Slam" began as a CBS Wesson Oil feature in the late afternoons, but became a five-day-a-week morning show for Continental Baking. By the 1940s, Beasley owned a corn and cotton plantation in Mississippi. After her radio career, she opened a real estate office in Ardsley, N.Y. which she operated until 1977. She died of pneumonia on January 7, 1980 at the age of 75.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTES
The Irene Beasley Collection spans the years 1908 to 1978, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1953. The collection contains photographs, busness records and correspondence, publicity and promotional material, sheet music, 78 lp records, and some miscellaneous material.
The collection is divided into the following series:
Series I: Publicity
Series II: Business Records and Correspondence
Series III: Photographs
Series IV: Promotional material
Series V: Music
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Series I: Publicity (.5 lin. ft.)
This series contains articles about Ms. Beasley from newspapers and radio magazines written between 1930 and 1953 and contains some undated material. Most of the articles were written during the popularity of "Grand Slam." Some of the later magazine articles are in depth and are accompanied by photos of Irene at work on "Grand Slam" or at home.
Series II: Business Records and Correspondence ( .5 lin. ft.)
This series contains various business records and correspondence from the life and career of Irene Beasley spanning the years between 1928 and 1976 but also contains some undated material. Included in this series is correspondence from the Ted Bates Advertising Agency, correspondence concerning copyright of Ms. Beasley's songs, congratulatory telegrams, and scripts from "Grand Slam." The series also contains a New York state real estate broker's license from 1971, and a 1976 letter from a young acquaintance asking for information about Ms. Beasley's career.
Series III: Photographs (.5 lin. ft.)
This series contains photographs of Irene Beasley dating from 1908 to 1952 but also includes some undated material. Most of the photos cover the period from 1930 to 1952. It includes many posed still photos of Ms. Beasley as well as performance photographs. Some show theaters with Irene Beasley's name on the marquee. There are also photographs of Ms. Beasley with other entertainers from the period such as Paul Ash, Ted Husing and the Old Dutch Cleanser Orchestra.
Series IV: Promotional Material (1 lin. ft.)
This series contains promotional material from Ms. Beasley's career spanning the years 1946-1952 and containing much undated material. It contains photo montages, pages from a promotional scrapbook, programs from nightclub performances, and a promotional postcard. "Grand Slam" promotional materials, including a station promotional packet, a commemorative issue of "Grand Slam News" for the sixth anniversary show (1952), two tickets to the sixth anniversary show, plus promotional information releases from 1946 and 1948 including biographical information about Ms. Beasley are in this series. The series also includes a complete scrapbook highlighting Ms. Beasley's commercial ability.
Series V: Music (1.5 lin. ft.)
This series contains undated music written and sung by Ms. Beasley, including the song "Choo Choo Train" with original music sheets, proofreader copies as well as the final printed product. Also, scripts and music from the program, Aunt Zelena. This series also contains thirty-four 78 lp records. They are housed with the Audio Collection but access to these are extremely limited since they have not been reformatted or cataloged.
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For further information, contact the Library of American Broadcasting.
labcast@umd.edu
Library of American Broadcasting
University of Maryland, College Park
