Hi there!
The Life Magazine issue you are talking about is the November 22, 1943
issue.
I own the multi-media CD called "Life in Pictures (1936-1972) issued
by Life Magazine. Once Scriptor narrowed down the year for me, it was
easy to check my CD and find the month and date. Unfortunately, the CD
doesn't provide me with access to that particular article or photo.
It's a QuickTime deal that just gives me select access to the front
cover picture (Foot Soldier), "Photo of the Week" , some headlines and
the table of contents which lists: "Robeson in "Othello""
Contents of the November 22, 1943 issue:
Foot Soldier. Los Angeles, Ellery Queen Close-up, German General
Staff Corps photo essay, Shostakovich Symphony, South Pacific Atoll,
Robeson in “Othello"
If you're interested in owning the issue, you can buy it in good
condition online here for $10:
http://www.pastpaper.com/List-Life1943.htm
But wait! Before you shell out the 10 bucks plus shipping, you should
either check at the library or contact the folks who are selling the
issue to confirm if the photo is in fact there. As I said, I did not
actually SEE the picture - just the reference on my CD which is
further confirmed by the contents listing on the website above.
(I've spent the last hour trying to find more corroboration, but until
the library opens tomorrow, I can't check the actual issue.)
The only other issues that returned a search for Robeson or Othello
are:
May 9, 1949 - Photo of Robeson on stage singing "Old Man River" at a
Communist Peace Rally in Paris.
Mar 29, 1937 - Letter to the Editor mentioning Robeson
There was also one reference to Othello in the January 1943 issue
special section: "USA & Stage" but there is no mention of Robeson or a
photo there.
So, November 22, 1943 should be the issue you're after. If, on the off
chance this turns out to be not correct, please let me know by asking
for a clarification, and I'd be happy to make that trip to the
library!
-K~
Google search term used: Othello "Life Magazine" 1943 |
Request for Answer Clarification by
rrtnrvrb-ga
on
11 Jul 2002 13:59 PDT
Hello,
Sorry to take so long to reply, was away. The article I have that
mentions this photo (Sterling Brown, "Out of Their Mouths," Survey
Graphic, November 1942) predates the citation. It's possible that such
a photograph appeared more than once, but further confirmation would
be good. Other references in this article have been to the period
1941-42, mainly. Thanks!
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Clarification of Answer by
knowledge_seeker-ga
on
12 Jul 2002 12:17 PDT
Welcome back rrtnrvrb,
Oh, I didn't know you had an actual reference! I wish I had known
that, it would have helped me narrow things down more. If you have
ANY other information, I need that too. I don't want to go off on a
chase in the wrong direction.
The difficulty I'm having is that the Othello Broadway production you
refer to didn't run until 1943, so I didn't look at anything much
before that. Since I can't imagine there would be a photo of Robeson
and Hagen taken a full two years earlier, I'd guess we're looking at
1942 now.
In any case, I've put in a request to the Library of Congress to see
what they can dig up. They will get back to me within 5-7 working
days. I also sent an email to Time-Life Photos. Not sure how long
they will take.
I did find a nice photo of the two actors here, but it's dated 1944.
I'm fairly sure it's not the Life photo anyway, since they control
their copyrighted photos very tightly, but I thought you might enjoy
it. :-)
http://www.ccpexhibits.org/Robeson/spirit.htm
I'll get back to you as soon as I hear from the LOC or Time-Life.
-K~
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Clarification of Answer by
knowledge_seeker-ga
on
16 Jul 2002 16:25 PDT
Ok, the official word is in from the Library of Congress. This is the
entire content of the librarian's email:
**************************************
I have checked the print version of "Reader's Guide to Periodical
Literature" for the years 1939-1943.
There is a portrait of Paul Robeson as Othello in the following
publications:
"Theatre Arts", August, 1942, Vol. 26, Page 513
"Time", August 24, 1942, Vol. 40, Page 66
"Life", November 22, 1943, Vol. 15, Pgs. 87-8
None of these references indicated that Uta Hagen was in the picture,
and she was not indexed as being in a portrait with Robeson from
1939-1943 in Reader's Guide.
**************************************
Oh,and my email to Time-Life Photos came back undeliverable.
So, I guess that's it. My only last thought is that maybe the photo
your article references is either to one of the other publications
listed above or perhaps it was to an advertisement for the upcomming
opening of the play.
This is quite the project you are working on. Between this question
and your Bob Clark question, you've really tested my research
abilities! :-)
Best of luck in your endeavor -
-K~
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