Papers, Overview of the Collection. Biographical Note

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1 Overview of the Collection Creator Williams, Ava Title Papers Dates (inclusive) Quantity 5 cubic feet, (11 document cases, 1 oversize box, 2 oversize folders) Collection Number Coll 225 Summary Ava Williams ( ) performed as a popular music singer and pianist on stages on both coasts of the United States from 1939 to the late 1990s. She grew up in Eastern Oregon and spent her final years in Portland. In the intervening years, she lived and worked in California, New York City, Provincetown (Mass.), Boston, and Philadelphia. Her personal collection spans from her childhood to her death, and includes papers, photographs, sound and audiovisual recordings, mostly pertaining to her musical career. The collection also includes family papers and photographs dating back to Repository Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library Davies Family Research Library Oregon Historical Society 1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR Telephone: Fax: libreference@ohs.org Access Restrictions The collection is open to the public. Languages Sponsor English Funding for processing this collection and encoding this finding aid was provided by the OHS Performing Arts fund. Biographical Note Comedienne, songwriter, singer and pianist Ava Williams (aka Ava Lorraine) made her show business debut at the age of 19 in Sacramento, California, and soon moved on to Los Angeles and Hollywood. In 1939, Ms. Williams moved to New York City and began a thirty-year residence in East Coast cafes, nightclubs, hotels, and cocktail lounges. In 1962 she commenced an annual tour as the Piano Lady in Provincetown, Massachusetts, giving her final performance there in Ava Williams was born on March 4, 1912 in Pendleton, Oregon, to parents Joseph A. and Laura Merritt Williams. Her brother Dick was born eighteen months later. The family moved to LaGrande in 1916, and eventually owned both a barber shop and an adjacent restaurant. Ava s early exposure to music came through her father s barbershop, the local church, and her mother s restaurant, where local vaudeville acts dined. She began vocal training at the age of twelve. Ava attended high school in Enterprise, OR, where the family lived for one year, and graduated from LaGrande High School in 1

2 1931. Beneath her senior photo she reportedly wrote, Life is short, enjoy it while you can. She married Jorge (George) Carlozzi in 1941 in the Panama Canal Zone, but returned to New York without him after a few months. The marriage later ended in divorce. Ava was a devoted daughter. She regularly returned to Portland during the summer months and performed there in order to spend more time with her parents. Her mother passed away in Ava gave up her apartment in New York City in 1984 and followed her forty-three boxes of music to Portland, where she lived until her own death June 4, A long life, thoroughly enjoyed. Content Description The bulk of the collection pertains to Ava William's career as a musical performer from 1939 to the 1990s, and includes photographs, clippings, programs, and other ephemera relating to Ava Williams and fellow performers, as well as commercial sound recordings and audiovisual materials. The collection also includes family photos, papers, legal documents, memorabilia, and correspondence of family members Joseph A. and Laura Merritt Williams, Martin R. Williams, and J.C. Williams; World War I correspondence of Mort Merritt, and papers and memorabilia relating to Ava's childhood and her marriage to Jorge Carlozzi. Use of the Collection Restrictions on Use The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders. Preferred Citation Ava Williams Papers, Coll 225, Oregon Historical Society Research Library Administrative Information Arrangement The collection is arranged in the following series: Series A: Personal papers Series B: Family papers Series C: Photographs Series D: Audiovisual materials Acquisition Information Lib. Acc

3 Separated Materials Framed oil painting of Ava Williams transferred to the OHS museum collection. Detailed Description of the Collection The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection. Series A: Personal Papers, Container(s) Description Dates Box/Folder 1/1 Autobiography Undated 1/2 Correspondence ; 1/3 Birthday cards ; 1/4 Other greeting cards ; 1/5 Certificates 1924; /6 Ephemera ; 1/7 Guest books 1981; /8 Notes 1/9 Memo book 1/10 World War II savings bond book circa /11 Divorce papers /12 re: Old age in Portland

4 1/13 Poems written for Ava 1951; 1976; 1/14 " Prayerful Moments", Poetry by Ava Williams circa /15 Memorials & obituaries - Ava Williams /16 Other obituaries /1 Contracts ; /2 Programs 1954; /3 Publicity - Ava Williams ; 2/4 Publicity - others ; 2/5 Songs & song lists ; 2/6 Clippings (folder 1) approx /7 Clippings (folder 2) approx /8 Clippings (folder 3) approx /9 Clippings - Oregon ; 3/1 Lesson book /2 Yearbook, ' Hi-Life', Enterprise High School (Enterprise, Ore.) /3 Memory book, ' Hi-Life', Enterprise High School (Enterprise, Ore.) 1929 May 3/4 Yearbook, ' Hi-Life', Enterprise High School (Enterprise, Ore.)

5 3/5 School autograph book circa /6 LaGrande High School (LaGrande, Ore.) Yearbook, ' The Mimir', 1931 High school diploma Pep Book 3/7 Class reunion programs, LaGrande High School (LaGrande, Ore.) ; /8 Autograph books ; /9 Scrapbook ; /1 Scrapbook 4/2 Daybook circa /3 Address books 4/4 Address books 2002; 4/5 Who's Who in Show Business /1 Music & Dance in New York State /2 Hildegarde, Over 50 - So What! (autographed copy) /3 Gary Simmons, Madame My Misbegotten Memoirs (autographed copy) 5/4 James Gavin, Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret (autographed copy) Series B: Family Papers, Container(s) Description Dates Box/Folder 6/1 J.A. and Laura Williams - Correspondence ; 5

6 6/2 J.A. and Laura Williams - Personal papers ; 12/1 Marriage certificate - J.A. and Laura (Merritt) Williams 1910 August 2; 6/3 Joseph A.Williams - Business papers 1909-circa /4 Williams Family - " Lorraine" trademark /5 J.A. and Laura Williams - Political papers ; 6/6 Martin Williams memorabilia ; circa 1940; /7 J.C. Williams /8 Williams Family - World War I correspondence & ephemera /9 Letters from Mort Merritt (World War I) /10 Legal papers re: Estate of Margaret M. Donahue /11 Other estate papers /12 Silhouettes Probably Ava Williams and her parents, J.A. and Laura Williams Box 12 Guest book for Laura & Joe Williams For the celebration of the 65th wedding anniversary of Laura & Joe Williams, and Joe Williams' 90th birthday September Series C: Photographs, approx Container(s) Description Dates Box/Folder 7/1 Family photo album circa /2 Family photos circa

7 7/3 Ava's parents, Laura & Joe Williams circa /4 J.C. Williams approx /5 Ava Williams approx /6 Marquees advertising Ava Williams's shows approx /7 Ava Williams and friends approx /8 Ava Williams with Judy Garland circa /9 Loose pages from photo albums approx /1 Negatives of publicity portraits of Ava Williams 35 unnumbered negatives, assigned a-e and 1-32, with numbers 18 and 24 missing from sequence approx /2 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams 1933; circa /3 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams /4 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams /5 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams circa /6 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams circa /7 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams /8 Publicity portraits - Ava Williams 1993 Oversize folder 1 Publicity portrait - oversize mounted color photograph /9 Publicity portraits - Others approx

8 8/10 Presidential photographs Photograph of Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act of 1935, and portrait of George H.W. and Barbara Bush, circa ; circa /1 Barbershop, LaGrande, Ore. approx /2 Soda Fountain, LaGrande, Ore. 1910s or 1920s 9/3 Group photo in front of First Baptist Church, location unknown circa /4 LaGrande High School (LaGrande, Ore.) reunion /5 Portraits & snapshots - Men (mostly unidentified) approx /6 Portraits & snapshots - Women (mostly unidentified) approx /7 Portraits & snapshots - Men & Women (mostly unidentified) approx /8 Portraits of Mr. & Mrs. Otis Vale (LaGrande, Ore.) 1920s? Oversize folder 2 Oversize photographs Unidentified baseball team, Unidentified group (Portland, Ore.), 1940s 9/9 Other photos 9/10 Picture postcards - people 1910s-1940s 9/11 Scenic postcards Postcards with messages are filed with correspondence. 10/1 Family photo album Photos removed from 1980s-era album for preservation. 10/2 Photo album / scrapbook Photos removed from album for preservation. approx circa approx

9 10/3 Photo album Photos removed from " magnetic" album for preservation. 10/4 Photo album Photos removed from album for preservation. 10/5 Photo album Photos removed from album for preservation. 10/6 Photo album Photos removed from album for preservation. 10/7 Photo album Photos removed from album for preservation. 10/8 Family photo album Photos removed from 1980s-era album for preservation. approx approx ; ; ; 1967-circa 1985; approx /9 Photo album - Ava at Series D: Audiovisual Materials, circa Audiovisual recordings, sound recordings, and related items Container(s) Description Dates Box/Folder Box 11 VHS tapes Provincetown! Ava's B-Day Final Master Rose Tattoo 1989 Ava Williams Valentine Show 1990 Ava Williams & Rod Barrows Ava's Birthday Party at Darcelle's 1993 Ava's Birthday 1996 Jasmine Tree Ava's 86th Birthday Party Ava's Birthday March 4, 2000 Ava's 89th Birthday Party (2001) circa Box 12 Ava Williams's sound recordings & related materials Yours (45 rpm record, 2 copies) A Night with Ava (long-playing record) Ava Misbehaves (long-playing record) All of Ava (long-playing record album) circa

10 All of Ava (compact disc) Print block for All of Ava album cover Names and Subjects Subject Terms : Performing arts -- Oregon -- History Popular music -- 20th century. Women musicians -- United States -- Photographs World War, Correspondence Personal Names : Merritt, Mort Williams, Joseph A. Williams, Laura Merritt Williams, Martin Richard Williams, Ava--Archives (creator) Family Names : Williams Family -- Archives Geographical Names : New York (N.Y.) -- Popular music Portland (Or.) -- Social life and customs Provincetown (Mass.) -- Performing arts Form or Genre Terms : Clippings Personal papers Photographs Scrapbooks Sound recordings Videotapes Finding aid prepared by Shawna Gandy 2011 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West: