Overview
Consists of the papers of Black American comedian, actor, and activist Godfrey Cambridge.
Dates
- Creation: 1950-1979
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to most of this collection. Collection is open for research.
Three boxes of material were separated at the time of accessioning and are closed for conservation; their description will be updated when they are available.
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
24.29 linear feet (34 boxes and 1 folder)Contains the papers of actor and comedian Godfrey Cambridge, including scripts from productions and titled monologues, public service announcements and advertisements, and stand-up comedy performances (Series I). Some scripts are early drafts; many are annotated by Cambridge. Some production scripts were simply submitted to Cambridge and he was not further involved. Also contains correspondence (Series II), including professional correspondence relating to his acting, comedy, and other performances; contracts; legal and financial correspondence; as well as personal correspondence, including that with friends, fellow celebrities, and family members. In Series III, there are audiovisual recordings, including cassettes, reel-to-reel, and 16 mm film. These include recordings of productions, films, and television and radio interviews, as well as recordings of live comedy performances and rehearsals, recorded private conversation and notes, and then a sub-series of Cambridge’s collected recordings of other performers and musicians. Series IV contains press and publicity information, including biographies, as well as programs and other papers directly related to productions like schedules, and awards for both performances and activism. Series V includes photographs and negatives, both including those Cambridge took of friends, family, parties, and on-set (and exhibited occasionally) as well as photos by professionals and friends for publicity and promotion. Also includes many contact sheets and negatives. Featured amongst the photographs are many celebrities and activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Peter Sellers, Nina Simone, as well as a set of photos for a Ku Klux Klan satire in Esquire. In Series VI, one can find personal papers and collected publications, such as magazines, poetry books, and other publications, as well as a sizable collection of Cambridge’s personal books.
Biographical / Historical
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Cambridge was born in New York City on February 26, 1933, to Alexander and Sarah Cambridge, who were immigrants from British Guiana. His parents, dissatisfied with the New York Public School System, sent him to live with his grandparents in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, during his primary school years. When he was 13, Cambridge moved back to New York and attended Flushing High School in Flushing, Queens.
In 1949, Cambridge studied medicine at Hofstra College, which he attended for three years before dropping out to pursue a career in acting. His first role was as a bartender in the off-Broadway play Take a Giant Step, and he made his Broadways debut in 1957 in Nature’s Way. In 1961 he received an Obie award for his role in The Blacks and in 1962 a Tony Award nomination for his role in Purlie Victorious. He also performed in a stock version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Cambridge had film roles in: The Last Angry Man (1959), The President’s Analyst (167), Watermelon Man (1970), Cotton Comes to Charleston (1970) and its sequel Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972), Bye Bye Braverman (1968), and Friday Foster (1975). Other film appearances include roles in The Busy Body (1967), The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968), The Biscuit Eater (1972), Beware! The Blob (1972), and Whiffs (1975).
Cambridge was also a touring standing comedian, during which he was known for his sarcasm and topical humor, particularly regarding racism and the contemporary politics of mid-century America. He made many appearances on network television shows, particularly talk shows but also narrative shows such as Car 54 Where Are You?, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy, The Monkees, The Phil Silvers Show, and Police Story. He performed with Tom Bosely in the episode “Make Me Laugh” of Night Gallery, which was directed by Steven Spielberg, and was featured in comedic commercials for Jockey underwear.
Cambridge hosted, financed, and produced an anti-narcotics film Dead is Dead (1973), and spoke to many groups on the topic as well. He struggled with weight and health issues throughout his life and also used this as comedic and interview fodder. Cambridge was also politically active. He organized one of the first benefits for Martin Luther King, Jr. in New York City with Maya Angelou and Hugh Hurd in the late 1950s.
Cambridge was married twice, first to actress Barbara Ann Teer from 1962-1965. He semi-retired in the 1970s and married Audrey Meyers in 1972; the two remained wed until his death of a heart attack on November 29, 1976, while on the set of Victory at Entebbe, in which he was to play Idi Amin.
Arrangement
Arranged into six series: I. Scripts; II. Correspondence; III. Audio-visual recordings; IV. Publicity, Productions, and Awards; V. Photographs; VI. Personal papers and collected publications.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Special equipment or surrogate required; consult Houghton staff.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Custodial History
These papers were stored by Audrey Cambridge after Godfrey Cambridge's death in 1976. She worked with DogStar Books to assess the collection contents and kept some private/family materials originally stored with the collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2023MT-41. Purchased from DogStar Books with the Frank E. Chase Bequest and Hermon Dunlap Smith Bequest, 2023 February 8.
Processing Information
Processed by Betts Coup, 2023.
- Title
- Cambridge, Godfrey, 1933-1976. Godfrey Cambridge papers, 1950-1979 (MS Thr 2252): Guide.
- Status
- in_progress
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University.
- Date
- 2023 May 3
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03530
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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