The Papers of Norman Sweetser

After the close of the war, Mr. Sweetser returned home and pursued his interests in music and theater. He performed with the Savoy Opera Company and later appeared in such Broadway shows as "Blossom Time," "Ginger," "Mayflowers" and "Annie Dear."

In 1927 Mr. Sweetser began his radio career as an announcer for WJZ New York, one of the first New York City radio stations and an early affiliate in the NBC network. He also performed as a singer on such shows as WJZ's "Among Ourselves." In 1928 he was assigned to accompany presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith on the New York governor's campaign tour of the West, during which he served as the official announcer for all of Gov. Smith's radio speeches. By 1929 he was working primarily as a special announcer for shows such as the Palmolive, Pure Oil and other radio hours and as a production director for NBC broadcasts. His direction credits include "Just Plain Bill," which debuted on CBS in 1932, and "Stella Dallas," the long-running NBC serial drama first broadcast in 1937.

Mr. Sweetser died in 1980.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTES

The Papers of Norman Sweetser contain an assortment of materials that document Mr. Sweetser's experiences in the New York theater and radio broadcasting worlds of the early to mid 20th century. Mr. Sweetser's activities brought him into contact with many show business personalities of the day, from actors to announcers to production crew members, all of whom are captured vividly in photographs and in portrait sketches done by Mr. Sweetser.

A set of large portrait sketches forms the first part of the collection. The balance consists of two scrapbooks containing smaller portrait sketches and photographs covering the period from Mr. Sweetser's college days through his radio career, as well as theater programs, newspaper and magazine clippings, correspondence and miscellaneous items such as membership cards. The collection spans the years 1913-1971, with the bulk of the items dating from 1913-1941. A small number of the late items are undated.

The papers have been arranged in the following series:

Series I: Portrait Sketches
Series II: Scrapbooks

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS


Series I: Portrait Sketches, 1937-1941 (1 linear ft.)

This series consists of 127 large (8 1/2" x 11") portrait sketches done by Mr. Sweetser on the backs of radio show scripts dating from 1937-1941. The subjects of the sketches are radio personalities with whom Mr. Sweetser worked, including Betty Garde, Ed Herlihy, Milton Cross, Ralph Edwards, Ruth Russell and Arthur Hughes from "Just Plain Bill," and Karl Swenson and Lucille Wall from "Lorenzo Jones." There are two sets of sketches, 52 of women and 75 of men, with each set arranged in alphabetical order in Boxes 1 and 2 respectively. Each person is given an individual folder; numbers in parentheses on the upper left side of a folder indicate multiple sketches of the person.



Series II: Scrapbooks, 1913-1934, 1966, 1968, 1975 (1 linear ft.)

This series consists of a much wider variety of materials. The first scrapbook contains materials documenting Mr. Sweetser's involvement in collegiate and professional theatrical productions and his later radio work with NBC. Photographs include cast and individual shots of performers in the University of Pennsylvania's Mask and Wig productions of the 1910's and snapshots of acquaintances from World War I. Complementing these are 82 small portrait sketches (up to 4" x 6") by Mr. Sweetser of show business personalities, many of them cast members who performed with Mr. Sweetser in 1920's Broadway shows such as "Beggar on Horseback," "Mayflowers," and "Annie Dear." Another set of photographs consists mostly of shots of actors, announcers and production staff involved with NBC radio broadcasts of the late 1920's through 1930's. Among the remaining items are play reviews, theater programs, articles about Mr. Sweetser's radio activities and identification cards certifying his membership in several broadcasting organizations.

The second scrapbook contains photographs and 8 small (under 4" x 6") portrait sketches by Mr. Sweetser of performers and other notables from Mr. Sweetser's career in Broadway theater in the 1920's and radio broadcasting in the 1920's and 1930's. A few items date from the 1960's and 1970's, including an article about a television movie recreating the Orson Welles 1938 "War of the Worlds" broadcast, and several others are undated. Many of the photographs are autographed, including those of Ben Grauer, Eddie Cantor, Billie Burke, Rudy Vallee and Babe Ruth.

The scrapbooks have been rehoused in acid-free binders and maintain the original order of pages.

For further information, contact the Library of American Broadcasting.