Series I. Freedman family, onetime residents of Imperial Court Hotel (307 West 79th Street, Manhattan), 1912–1948, inclusive
Biographical note
Helen (Fox) Freedman (1895–1969), widow of Samuel Stanley Freedman (d. 1936) was the mother of William Marvin "Bud" Freedman (1923–2006) and Nancy Ruth Freedman (1928– ). William was a member of the Black Widow Night Fighter Squadron during World War II. Nancy sang professionally, most notably with the Skitch Henderson Orchestra, under the name "Nancy Reed." The family—which sometimes also used the shortened surname "Reed"—lived at various times in Miami Beach, Florida; Akron, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and New York City. Helen often accompanied Nancy as chaperone to the cities where she was performing. Documents in the collection indicate they were residents of the Imperial Court Hotel (307 West 79th Street) on Manhattan's Upper West Side during the 1940s.
Subseries I.A. Helen (Fox) Freedman (1895–1969), 1912–1948, inclusive
Bills, correspondence, receipts, etc., 1943–1948, inclusive
Corn Exchange Bank Trust Company statements and canceled checks, 1945–1948, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Statements and checks for July–August 1945 and September 1947 through January 1948.
Address book, [1946–1947?], inclusive
Photographs, 1912–1940s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Most of these photographs were found scattered throughout the collection. It is unclear if they all stem from the Freedman / Reed family (William "Bud" and Nancy are recognizable in some shots), or if they belong to other residents of 307 West 79th Street, Manhattan (see Series II).
Subseries I.B. William Marvin "Bud" Freedman (1923–2006), 1940–1947, inclusive
Correspondence, clippings, college grades, 1940, 1943–1947, inclusive
"Life in the Service" Record Book [blank], 1942, inclusive
Subseries I.C. Nancy Ruth Freedman / Nancy Reed (1928– ), 1930–1948, inclusive
Sheet music & manuscripts, 1930–1947, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• "Always in My Heart" (1942) [incomplete score]
• "Cement Mixer (Put-ti Put-ti)," Slim Gaillard and Lee Ricks (1946)
• "Come With Me My Honey (The Song of Calypso Joe)," Mack David, Joan Whitney, and Alex Kramer (1944)
• "Crosstown," James Cavanaugh, John Redmond, and Nat Simon (1940)
• "Don't Fence Me In," Cole Porter (1944)
• "Hiking in the Rockies With You," Harry LeRoy Elliott and Ethel Marie Isaak (1933)
• "I only have eyes for you" [mss. orchestration for Hal McIntyre Orchestra by Nancy Reed]
• "I Walked In With my Eyes Wide Open," Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh (1944)
• "In a Garden in Old Kalua," Mickey Kippel and Jack Aronson (1933)
• "In My Arms," Frank Loesser and Ted Grouya (1943)
• "Is It Any Wonder?," Chas J. Sinning (1936)
• "Is You Is, Or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)," Billy Austin and Louis Jordan (1944)
• "It Could Happen To You," Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen (1944)
• "I'm in a Jam with Baby," Ted Koehler, Ray Heindorf, and M. K. Jerome (1944)
• "It's Love, Love, Love!," Mack David, Joan Whitney, Alex Kramer (1943)
• "It's Swell of You," Mack Gordon and Harry Revel (1937)
• "A Kiss Goodnight" [mss. vocal part]
• "Lookie Lookie Lookie, Here Comes Cookie," Mack Gordon (1935) [1st violins and bass parts]
• "Lover! Are You There?," Jack Segal and Dick Miles (1944) [2 copies]
• "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet," Don Raye and Gene De Paul (1944)
• "The Music Goes 'Round and Around," "Red" Hodgson, Edward Farley, Michael Riley (1935)
• "My Ideal," Leo Robin, Newell Chase, and Richard A. Whiting (1930)
• "San Fernando Valley," Gordon Jenkins (1943)
• "She Broke My Heart in Three Places," Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston (1944)
• "Tomorrow is a Dream" (1947) [mss. by Nancy Reed & Buddy Freedman]
• "Too Marvelous For Words" [two-part mss. arrangement for female and male voices]
• "Without a Sweetheart," Henry Nemo (1944)
• "Would'st Could I But Kiss Thy Hand, Oh Babe," Will Osborne and Dick Rogers (1940)
• "You Don't Have to Know the Language," Johnny Burke and James Van Heusen (1947) [2 copies]
Bills, correspondence, ephemera, receipts, 1938–1948, undated, inclusive
Diary, 1940 January 1-August 28, inclusive
Scope and Contents
"Nancy Ruth Freedman / 1400 Pennsylvania Ave. / Miami Beach / Florida / Ida M. Fisher Jr. Hi." With list of addresses.
Autograph book, 1940, inclusive
Scope and Contents
"This auto-graph book / belongs to / Nancy Freedman / 1400 Pennsylvania Ave. / Miami Beach, Florida / January 6, 1940." Signed by family, friends, and some celebrities, such as singer and actress Dixie Dunbar (1919–1991) and ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (1903–1978). With tipped in photographs and ephemera.
Yearbook, Miami Beach Senior High School (Miami Beach, Fla.), 1942, inclusive
Scope and Contents
1942 edition of the Typhoon, with many autographs to Nancy Freedman.
Report cards, Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1943–1944, inclusive
Newspaper, Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1943–1945, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Three issues of The Foreword:
• vol. 33, no. 8 (December 23, 1943)
• vol. 35, no. 3 (October 20, 1944)
• vol. 36, no. 7 (May 18, 1945)
Includes printed program of the Class of 1945's production of "Janie," a comedy in three acts, which is advertised in the May 18, 1945 issue of The Foreword. Nancy Freedman performed the title role.
Newspaper & periodical clippings, 1943–1948, undated, inclusive
Yearbook, Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1944, inclusive
Scope and Contents
With many autographs to Nancy Freedman, and tipped in photographs, notes, and ephemera.
Classmate photographs (5), Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1945 February-March, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Each inscribed to Nancy Freedman.
Diploma and commencement ephemera, Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1945 June, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Contains program for "Thirty-First Commencement, Taylor Allderdice High School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) (June 13-14, 1945), admission ticket (June 14, 1945), and Nancy Freedman's diploma (June 22, 1945).
Julliard School of Music Summer School, 1945, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes course catalog, Nancy Freedman's class schedule and music theory exercise book.
Trade publications, 1945, 1947, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Song Parade, vol. 4, no. 5 (April 1945)
• Hit Parader, vol. 3, no. 11 (September 1945)
• International Musician, vol. 46, no. 4 (October 1947)
Dorothy Shay photographs (2), [1948], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Two photographs of American comedic recording artist Dorothy Shay (1921–1978), inscribed to Nancy. Shay appeared on the same bill with Nancy Reed (singing with the Skitch Henderson Orchestra) in the Boulevard Room, Stevens Hotel, Chicago. See the clipping from Variety, January 14, 1948, in Box 2, Folder 7.
"Pryde and Day" photograph, [1948], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Photograph of juggling team Pryde and Day inscribed to Helen and Nancy. They appeared on the same bill with Nancy Reed (singing with the Skitch Henderson Orchestra) in the Boulevard Room, Stevens Hotel, Chicago. See the clipping from Variety, January 14, 1948, in Box 2, Folder 7.