Abstract:
This collection consists of research materials used by Gene Lees when he was writing his Johnny Mercer biography, Portrait of Johnny: The life of John Herndon Mercer. The papers include the correspondence files of both Gene Lees and Johnny Mercer, Mercer family biographical information, page proofs of Portrait of Johnny, as well as an unpublished manuscript entitled Song Lake Summer. Other...
Dates:
1808-2004; Majority of material found within 1990 - 2004
This collection consists of newsclippings, press releases, programs, an interview transcript and other material relating to Johnny Mercer, 1946-1977, which Georgia State University professor Geoffrey Parker gathered from various sources including recordings of a GSU tribute to Johnny Mercer.
George A. Mercer (father of songwriter Johnny Mercer) built the home at Vernon View, Savannah, Georgia that was used by the family as a summer home. The collection consists of four color photographs of the house, donated by longtime resident Georgia Roux.
This collection consists of fourteen color photo images (28 prints, 2 of each image) of the lobby at the Rialto Theater prior to the Mercer postal stamp celebration in September 1996.
Abstract:
Ginger Mercer was born Elizabeth Meltzer on June 25, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York, one of three daughters born to Anna and Joseph Meltzer. While a member of the cast of the Garrick Gaieties of 1930 Ginger met an aspiring actor named Johnny Mercer, her future husband, who had moved to New York from Savannah, Georgia to try his hand at a show business career. Following her husband's death, Ginger traveled widely and spent much of her time promoting her Johnny...
Scope and Content of the Collection
The John and Seymour Rennolds Collection covers the time period from 1933 to about 1992. The manuscript portion of the collection includes materials that the Rennolds gathered on twentieth-century lyricist and composer Johnny Mercer (1909-1976). Included in the collection are a brief history of the collection itself, general files, correspondence, clippings and programs, music and lyrics, song magazines, one photograph, and three videotapes.A significant part of the manuscript...
Dates:
1933-circa 1992; Majority of material found within 1970 - 1985
The collection consists of 24 contracts (dated 1933;1939, 1952-1978) signed by American lyricist Johnny Mercer (1909-1976), some with associated correspondence; and one contract signed by his son after his death.
The Johnny Mercer Foundation is a charitable organization with a stated mission of supporting the discipline of songwriting in the tradition of the Great American Songbook as exemplified by the life and work of Johnny Mercer. Board meeting minutes, correspondence, legal documents, financial records and audits, and reports from supported charities and initiatives make up their records, dated 1962-2018.
The collection consists of three compact discs made from audiotapes and a phonograph record. The recordings (circa 1967) feature Johnny Mercer vocals, accompanied by a piano or small combo, for 19 songs he composed for the unproduced musical "Mike," a musical comedy for the stage based on Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer.
Abstract
The Johnny Mercer Oral History Project includes interviews with family members, friends, and colleagues of Johnny and Ginger Mercer. John Herndon Mercer (1909-1976), a native of Savannah, Georgia, began writing songs at the age of fifteen and eventually became one of the foremost figures of 20th century American popular music. His catalog includes many numbers that have become American classics, and his activities as lyricist, composer, performer and businessman span a period of nearly five...
Prints, slides, transparencies, and digital images of 24 watercolor paintings by the American songwriter Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) plus one image of a manuscript. Subjects include family members and other figures, landscapes, and seascapes.
Abstract:
John Herndon Mercer (1909-1976), a native of Savannah, Georgia, began writing songs at the age of fifteen and eventually became one of the foremost figures of 20th century American popular music. His catalog includes many numbers that have become American classics, and his activities as lyricist, composer, performer and businessman span a period of nearly five decades. The Johnny Mercer papers consist of biographical materials (including an unpublished autobiography), correspondence, drafts...
Abstract
The Johnny Mercer Foundation worked with the Turner Classic Movies network, Rhapsody Productions, executive producer Clint Eastwood and director Bruce Ricker to create Johnny Mercer: The Dream's On Me, a 100-minute documentary on the life and music of songwriter Johnny Mercer, released in 2009. The collection includes production and research materials created or assembled for the film, 1912-2013, including newly-created interviews and performances as well as...
Abstract:
Leonora Gidlund conducted extensive research on resources relating to the life and career of Johnny Mercer while pursuing an M.A. degree in History at Georgia State University, resulting in a thesis in 1984. Her papers consist of correspondence with educational institutions, archives, historical societies, book dealers, radio stations and private collectors holding research materials relating to Johnny Mercer, and include a number of copies of original materials (including draft lyrics and...