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Gertrude Berg Papers

An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: -
Date: May 1966

Biographical History

Mrs. Gertrude Berg was born in New York City on October 3, 1899, the daughter of Jacob and Diana Edelstein. She married Lewis Berg in 1918 and has 2 children, Cherney and Harriet. She first appeared in radio as actress-author-producer of the program The Goldbergs in 1929. She also wrote the program Kate Hopkins and was writer-producer of The House of Glass in 1935. Mrs. Berg was a collaborator on the film Make a Wish with Bobby Breen, and was Mollie in the filmThe Goldbergs. She appeared in the television series The Goldbergs and also in the series Mrs. G. Goes to College. She has appeared in the Broadway production of A Majority of One and also in summer stock productions. Mrs. Berg received the Antoinette Perry Award in 1959 and is the author of Molly and Me and Memoirs of Gertrude Berg.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Gertrude Berg Papers are divided into six series. The incoming Correspondence has been maintained in the scrapbooks established by the recipient; there is some overlapping of dates within the books, also some correspondence scrapbooks deal with specific subjects; scrapbooks include letters, cards, press clippings, magazines and other memorabilia. The correspondence covers a period from 1931 to 1961 and consists of ten books; the scrapbooks have been numbered for ease of access.

Subject file contains an autograph book, play programs, publicity, souvenir programs, and newspapers relating to Roosevelt.

General scrapbooks (1930-1957), are collections of press notices from newspapers, magazines, etc. related to Berg's professional activities, while Scrapbooks - specific subjects consist of material relating to paticular projects or productions. There is some overlapping of dates.

Radio and television scripts contains more than a thousand scripts from radio and television productions and spans more than thirty years. Individual scripts may consist of the original, typescripts, carbon copies, and mimeographed copies with revisions, or any combination thereof. The name of the program is given followed by the date of the script, whether it was daily, weekly, or a special show. The majority of the scripts are for The Goldbergs, House of Glass, and Mrs. G. Goes to College, but also included are special scripts and scripts dealing with special subjects (e.g., scripts for movies, plays, summer stock, interviews, and other subjects).

Published materials contains published materials by and about Gertrude Berg and covers the years from 1932-1960.

Arrangement of the Collection

The incoming Correspondence, in the scrapbooks established by the recipient, are arranged chronologically; there is some overlapping of dates within the books

The Subject file is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

General scrapbooks that cover a range of dates are arranged chronologically, while Scrapbooks - specific subjects are arranged alphabetically by topic.

Radio and television scripts are arranged chronologically within their respective years. Special scripts within a given year are arranged alphabetically after the regular scripts. Scripts dealing with special subjects are arranged alphabetically at the end of the series.

Published material is arranged alphabetically by title of the magazine in which it appeared.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Berg, Gertrude, 1899-1966.
Berg, Gertrude, 1899-1966. -- Goldbergs.
Berg, Gertrude, 1899-1966. -- House of glass.
Berg, Gertrude, 1899-1966. -- Mrs. G. goes to college.

Subjects

Actors -- United States.
Jewish actors.
Jews, American.
Radio authorship.
Radio programs.
Radio scripts.
Radio serials.
Television actors and actresses.
Television scripts.

Places

United States -- Popular culture.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Interviews.
Programs (documents)
Scrapbooks.
Scripts (documents)

Occupations

Actors.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Gertrude Berg Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Gertrude E. Berg, 1965-1966.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Subject files

General scrapbooks

Scrapbooks on specific subjects

Radio and T.V. Scripts

Published materials

Inventory