Guide to the Harold Fielding Ltd. Records Regarding Production of "A Thurber Carnival" in England, circa 1962, 1981 July SPEC.RARE.0259 Finding aid prepared by Mackenzie Sommers Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2019 February This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2019-02-13T09:59-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Harold Fielding Ltd. Records Regarding Production of “A Thurber Carnival” in England SPEC.RARE.0259 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.25 Cubic feet circa 1962, 1981 July Harold Fielding was a British theatrical producer who adapted American Broadway shows to London’s West End, including A Thurber Carnival, a revue written by American author and humorist, James Thurber. A Thurber Carnival originally premiered on Broadway in 1960 as an adaptation of Thurber's short stories and cartoons. Fielding reprised the show in England in 1962. The Harold Fielding Ltd. Records Regarding Production of "A Thurber Carnival" in England contains forms and correspondence related to the productions staged in Brighton and London in March of 1962. The collection includes contracts for several actors and a management company, correspondence with the musical producer, and Harold Fielding's script for A Thurber Carnival. Also in this collection is a worker's accident form from a production at the Palladium Theatre in London, England in July 1981. Materials in this collection are dated circa 1962, primarily from February 28, 1962 to March 14, 1962. The worker's accident form dates from July 1981. (1) 2.5" legal document box English Fielding, Harold Arrangement of Materials

Materials are arranged in chronological order. Items with the same date are arranged alphabetically within that date.

 Acquisitions Information

Purchased, 2009 March.

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Harold Fielding Ltd. Records Regarding Production of “A Thurber Carnival” in England, SPEC.RARE.0259, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Mackenzie Sommers, 2019 January; Finding aid written by: Mackenzie Sommers, 2019 February.

 Biographical Note

Harold Fielding (1917-2003) was a British theatrical producer who adapted American Broadway shows to bring to London’s West End. Fielding was born in Surrey and was a musical prodigy as a child. He gave up playing the violin before 1942 and began arranging performances for other musicians. The first series of large performances he arranged was a group of Sunday Opera concerts at the Opera House in Blackpool. His first major theatre production in London was a staging of Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Coliseum Theatre in 1958. From there, Fielding went on to produce such shows as The Music Man, Half a Sixpence, Sweet Charity, Mame, Show Boat, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, as well as many other shows.

A Thurber Carnival is a revue written by American author and humorist, James Thurber, adapted from his own short stories and cartoons. The original Broadway production that opened on February 26, 1960 was directed by Burgess Meredith. It ran for 223 performances between its opening until November 26, 1960. Henry Fielding brought A Thurber Carnival to England with a two week run of shows, starting on March 12th, 1962 in Brighton, and ending in London on March 26th, 1962. Tom Ewell, who starred as "First Man" in the original Broadway production, agreed to reprise his role in the English shows.

 Scope and Contents

The Harold Fielding Ltd. Records Regarding Production of A Thurber Carnival in England contains forms and correspondence relating to the productions staged in Brighton and London in March of 1962. There are contracts and correspondence related to actor Tom Ewell's involvement in the productions, as well as his management company's involvement. Also included is a contract for another actor's involvement with the productions, Tom Chatto. In addition, the collection contains correspondence to the musical producer, and Harold Fielding's copy of the script. These materials are dated from February 28, 1962 to March 14, 1962, with one item dated circa 1962. Also in this collection is a worker's accident form from a July 1981 production of A Thurber Carnival at the Palladium Theatre in London, England. The form's connection to the rest of the materials is unclear, but was included with the other materials purchased.

 Fielding, Harold Harold Fielding, Ltd. Thurber, James, 1894-1961 A Thurber Carnival Accident reports Contracts Revues--Production and direction--England--Brighton--20th century Revues--Production and direction--England--London--20th century Scripts (documents) Theater management--England--Brighton--20th century Theater management--England--London--20th century Theater--Production and direction--England--Brighton--20th century Theater--Production and direction--England--London--20th century Theatrical producers and directors--England--20th century Script, property of Harold Fielding 1 1 circa 1962 Ewell (Tom) contract letter 1 2 1962 February 28 Ewell (Tom) Esher Standard Contract for London Theater agreement 1 3 1962 February 28 Ewell (Tom) Esher Standard Contract for London Theater agreement through Martate Enterprises, INC. 1 4 1962 February 28 Chatto (Tom) Esher Standard Contract for London Theater agreement 1 5 1962 March 7 Fielding (Henry) correspondence to Johnny Dankworth, musical producer and musician contractor 1 6 1962 March 7 Henry Fielding LTD correspondence to Mr. Blackburn regarding Martate Enterprises Inc. 1 7 1962 March 14 Hirst (Christopher) accident report form from the production 1 8 1981 July Scope and Contents

This worker's accident form from a circa July 1981 production of A Thurber Carnival at the Palladium Theatre in London, England was included with the Harold Fielding Ltd. Records when the collection was purchased in 2009. The form's connection to the rest of the materials is unclear, but will remain in the collection because it was included with the material upon purchase.