COLLECTION DESCRIPTION
Personal items include correspondence; a 1935 Cornellian with pictures and notes; photographs of family and friends; and a notebook from a Philosophy course taken at Cornell.
Material relating to her singing career includes telegrams; publicity photographs and photographs of shows; a dress worn at the Cotillion room; newspaper clippings; billings; contracts; scripts; victrola records; and an extensive collection of sheet music.
Material from Speech career includes books and audio cassettes by Dorothy Sarnoff; newspaper clippings; UHS, U-Matic, and VHS recordings of training courses and television appearances; "LUV letters"- correspondence thanking Ms. Sarnoff for speech services; notes on meetings with President Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin; memorabilia from Alan L. Bean and Skylab; a scrapbook relating to her visit to the White House; and assorted memorabilia from famous people. Books authored by Dorothy Sarnoff include Speech Can Change Your Life, Make the Most of Your Best, and Never Be Nervous Again.
Dates
- 1920 - 1998
- Majority of material found within 1941 - 1984
Creator
- Sarnoff, Dorothy. (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Singer, Speech Consultant, and Author
Dorothy Sarnoff was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1914 and graduated in the Cornell University class of 1935. She became an accomplished singer on Broadway, television, and in Opera, starring in "The King and I" with Yul Brynner. Her performance credits include "Rosalinda," "My Darlin' Aida," "Tosca," "Magdalena," "The Ed Sullivan Show," a USO show in Germany, and Super Club Acts at the Pierre Hotel's Cotillion Room and the Americana Hotel's Bal Masque Supper Club. She founded "Speech Dynamics Inc.," a speech consultancy firm, and held speech cosmetics classes in New York City. In this capacity she aided Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin with a public speaking engagement and in 1980 she assisted President Jimmy Carter with his State of the Union Address. Dorothy Sarnoff died on December 20, 2008, in Manhattan.
Extent
28.9 cubic feet. (28.9 cubic feet.)
Abstract
Material relating to Dorothy Sarnoff's personal life and careers as a Singer and Speech Consultant.
SERIES LIST
Series I. Personal, 1927-1970
Correspondence, Financial Documents, Material related to Dorothy Sarnoff's Education, Photographs
Series II. Singing Career, 1933-1971
Correspondence, Contracts, Awards, Programs, Billings, Publicity Material, Sheet Music and Scripts, Recordings, Photographs and Art, Miscellany
Series III. Speech Career, 1957-1998
Correspondence, Clippings, Photographs, Administrative and Advertising Material, Recordings, Books and Cassettes, Memorabilia from Famous People, Miscellany
Series IV. Scrapbooks, 1940-1959
Scrapbooks of Newspaper Clippings
Series V. Clippings, 1930-1979
Newspaper and Magazine Articles about Dorothy Sarnoff
Physical Description
Correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, published material, sheet music, audio and video recordings.
General
- Contact Information:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524 rareref@cornell.edu http://rmc.library.cornell.edu
- Compiled by:
- Sarah K. GordonJulie Lonnberg
- Date completed:
- April 14, 2003
- EAD encoding:
- Sarah K. Gordon, April 2003;Peter Martinez, February 2004; Julia Parker, October 2009
- Date modified:
- Marcie Farwell, July 2017
- Bean, Alan L.
- Begin, Menachem, 1913-
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Opera.
- Photographs.
- Revues.
- Sarnoff, Dorothy. (Title of work: Speech can change your life..)
- Scrapbooks.
- Sheet music.
- Singers.
- Speech.
- Speeches, addresses, etc.
- Sullivan, Ed, 1902-
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1977-1981.
- Women singers.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Compiled by Sarah K. Gordon, Julie Lonnberg
- Date
- April 14, 2003
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Repository
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-3530
607-255-9524 (Fax)
rareref@cornell.edu