Manuscripts

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Gallaudet University Archives
Call No.: MSS 180
Creator:
Title: Papers of Bernard Bragg, 1950-1993
Quantity: 6.5 linear feet (7 document boxes and 1 oversize box)
Abstract: Bernard Bragg is a world-famous deaf actor and mime. This collection consists of articles, correspondence, lists, manuscripts, newsletters, photographs, programs, publications, and reports.
Note:

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information: The Papers of Bernard Bragg was donated to the Gallaudet University Archives by Bernard Bragg on October 27, 1994.
Processed By: Jeffrey Peterson, 2010 October 8.
Processing Note:
Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open to the public with no restrictions. Photocopies may be made for scholarly research.

Related Material in the Archives

Photographs

• Bernard Bragg [picture]. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Portraits
• That Makes Two of Us [picture]. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Drawer B1

Small Manuscripts

• Papers, Bernard Nathan Bragg. 1949. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: SMSS

Vertical Files

• Bernard Bragg. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Deaf Biographical

Biographical Sketch

Bernard Nathan Bragg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 27th, 1928, to parents Wolf and Jennie Bragg. In 1933 Bernard entered the New York School for the Deaf, Fanwood, and graduated as valedictorian in 1947. Bragg then moved on to Gallaudet College and majored in English and Education until he graduated in 1952. Following his graduation, Bernard was offered a teaching position at the California School for the Deaf, Berkley, where he taught for 15 years from 1952 to 1967. In 1959 he received his MA in Special Education from San Francisco State University.

Bernard Bragg's biggest and most influential impact was as a deaf performer. Bernard's father ran an amateur theatre company in New York which provided Bernard with an early glimpse and familiarity with the world of theatre. He developed a keen interest in poetry and drama and during his years at Gallaudet performed as the lead roles of such plays as "The Miser," "The Merchant Gentleman," and "Tartuffe."

While performing in a nightclub in San Francisco in 1956 the famous French mime Marcel Marceau was captivated with his performance and invited Bragg to France to be his pupil. There Bragg learned the artistry of mime, returned to Berkley, and continued performing in small clubs earning him the nickname "The Houdini of Pantomime." In 1958 he was selected by Life magazine as one of the best small night club performers of the year.

In 1960 Bragg became the first deaf person to perform regularly on TV with his show "The Quiet Man" that ran for 4 years. He appeared in several other television shows as well: "A Child's Christmas in Wales," "And Your Name is Jonah," "Can Anybody Hear Me," and "My Third Eye."

With David Hays, Bragg established the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) in 1966. Bragg continued to make waves by, according to one biography, being the first American actor in over 100 years to perform with a Russian company in 1973.

Bragg accepted a post as artist-in-residence at Gallaudet College in 1977 and continued to travel, perform, and provide workshops on sign language and theatre for the deaf.

Scope and Content

The papers of Bernard Bragg consists of 7 document boxes and 1 oversize box for a total of 6.5 linear feet and approximately 5,600 pages. The materials within the collection range from 1950 to 1993 with the majority of content from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The bulk and strongest component of the papers are articles, newsletters, and publications. Bernard Bragg's talents were internationally known so most of the collection is comprised of printed material about his exploits as a performer. The weakest part of the collection is information relating to the establishment of the National Theatre of the Deaf. As one of its co-founders one would expect to see more material in regards to how the NTD was erected but the only documents relating to this is via correspondence with Edna Levine.

One box containing photographs is also in this collection.

Of particular interest to the researcher is a transcribed interview with Marcel Marceau about his impressions of Bernard Bragg.

Series Description and Folder Lists
No Series

 

Box	Folder	Title	Date
01	01	Advertisements/Fliers	1974-1993
01	02	Advertisements/Fliers	n.d.
01	03	Articles	1950-1964
01	04	Articles	1967-1973
01	05	Articles	1974-1977
01	06	Articles	1978-1980
01	07	Articles	1981-1984
01	08	Articles	1985-1993
01	09	Articles	n.d.
02	01	Biographies - Bragg, Bernard	n.d.
02	02	Booklets - Captioned Media for Hearing-Impaired Youngsters: What Parents Need to Know	1984
02	03	Booklets - Casts of Characters (Russian)	n.d.
02	04	Books - Døveteater: Gennem Mange År (Danish: Deaf Theatre: Over Many Years)	1985
02	05	Books - I'm Deaf Too: 12 Deaf Americans	1973
02	06	Catalogs - Kapiolani Community College American Sign Language/Interpreter Education Program	1992
02	07	Certificates	1974-1993
02	08	Conventions - Sixteenth Annual Story Telling Festival	1988
02	09	Conventions - Twenty-Third Annual Conference International Visual Literacy Association	1991
02	10	Correspondence - A - I	1978-1993
02	11	Correspondence - Board of Cooperative Educational Services	1984
02	12	Correspondence - Capital Cities Television Productions	1977-1979
02	13	Correspondence - Gallaudet College Alumni Association Chapters	1983-1985
02	14	Correspondence - Gallaudet College/University	1977-1991
02	15	Correspondence - Greeting/Holiday Cards	n.d.
02	16	Correspondence - K - P	1977-1993
02	17	Correspondence - Levine, Edna	1970-1985
02	18	Correspondence - National Endowment for the Arts	1983-1984
02	19	Correspondence - National Theatre of the Deaf	1991
02	20	Correspondence - Post Cards	1978
02	21	Correspondence - Pugin, Mary Ann	1986
02	22	Correspondence - Rockstad, Beth	1985
02	23	Correspondence - S - Z	1984-1986
02	24	Correspondence - Schools	1983-1994
02	25	Correspondence - Unidentified	1983
02	26	Correspondence - Very Special Arts	1985-1987
02	27	Correspondence - Williams, Boyce	1984
02	28	Grant Applications - Model Community Theatre of the Deaf	1979
02	29	Grant Applications - School for Mime in Theatre	n.d.
03	01	Grant Applications - Theatre in Sign	1976-1977
03	02	Historical Sketch - National Theatre of the Deaf	n.d.
03	03	Interview with Marcel Marceau	1978
03	04	Invitations	1984-1992
03	05	Lectures - Signs of Silence	1977
03	06	Lists - And Your Name is Jonah Staff and Crew List	1978
03	07	Lists - Døvefilm Video (Norwegian: Deaf Film Videos)	1979-1980
03	08	Lists - Gallaudet University Authors and Editors	1993
03	09	Lists - National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities First Forty Inductees	1983-1990
03	10	Lists - Reception for Bernard Bragg in Finland Guest List	n.d.
03	11	Manuscripts - Backstage at the Club of the Deaf	1979
03	12	Manuscripts - Bragg Scores Another Hit	n.d.
03	13	Manuscripts - Culture Without Captions	n.d.
03	14	Manuscripts - Happy to be in America	n.d.
03	15	Manuscripts - Progress Report: Better English Through Sign	1986
03	16	Manuscripts - Proposal for an International Theatre Seminar for the Deaf	n.d.
03	17	Manuscripts - Pulse of My Horizon: Prologue	n.d.
03	18	Manuscripts - Tales from a Clubroom	n.d.
03	19	Manuscripts - Theatre by the Deaf: Perspectives	1977
03	20	Manuscripts - This Makes All of Us (Review of "That Makes Two of Us")	1980
03	21	Manuscripts - Transcending Limitations	n.d.
03	22	Manuscripts - Wonders of the Soundless World of Bernard Bragg	n.d.
03	23	Memorandums	1978-1984
03	24	Memorandums	1985-1987
03	25	Minutes - Hughes Memorial Theatre/Model Community Theatre for the Deaf	1979
03	26	Miscellaneous - Addresses and Business Cards	n.d.
03	27	Miscellaneous - Best Wishes from the Original Cast "Tales from a Clubroom" (Autographed)	1982
03	28	Miscellaneous - Careers in the Arts for Disabled People: Information Sheet	1983
03	29	Miscellaneous - Chinese Paper Cutouts	n.d.
03	30	Newsletters - Access	1981
03	31	Newsletters - Articulator	1983
03	32	Newsletters - Bettendorf Bookmark	1989
04	01	Newsletters - Center Dialogue	1988
04	02	Newsletters - Coup d'Oeil (French: Glance)	1978
04	03	Newsletters - Developments	n.d.
04	04	Newsletters - Folklore Society of Greater Washington Newsletter	1983
04	05	Newsletters - Gallaudet Alumni Bulletin	1962
04	06	Newsletters - Gallaudet Alumni Newsletter	1979-1988
04	07	Newsletters - Impact	1989
04	08	Newsletters - Knob Hill News	1979
04	09	Newsletters - League for the Hearing Impaired	1992
04	10	Newsletters - National Theatre of the Deaf	1991
04	11	Newsletters - Special School of the Future Update	1980
04	12	Newsletters - Voice of the Maryland Association of the Deaf	1987
04	13	Newsletters - WID News (Western Institute for the Deaf)	1983-1984
04	14	Newsletters - Your World and You	1979
04	15	Notes - Class Lectures	1983
04	16	Notes - Resource Materials for Using Drama with the Disabled Student	1983
04	17	Notes - Review of Question-and-Answer Session Following my Keynote Address	1985
04	18	Notes - Selecting Jeff Bravin for "And Your Name is Jonah"	n.d.
04	19	Notes - Short Ear Enterprises, Inc. 6-Month Budget	n.d.
04	20	Notes - World Tour Lecture	n.d.
04	21	Play Bills - That Makes Two of Us, White Hawk	n.d.
04	22	Poems - Mervin D. Garretson's Poem in Foreign Languages	n.d.
04	23	Poems - Silent Words	1980
04	24	Press Releases	1977-1990
04	25	Printed Photographs	n.d.
04	26	Proceedings - First National Conference on Scouting for the Hearing Impaired	1979
04	27	Programs	1962-1993
04	28	Programs	n.d.
04	29	Publications - Arts Accessibility for the Deaf	1981
04	30	Publications - Deaf American	1968-1978
04	31	Publications - Deaf Players' Guide	1979-1980
04	32	Publications - Disabled USA	1980
04	33	Publications - Elternvereins-Nachrichten (German: Parents' Association News)	1977
04	34	Publications - Epoca (Spanish: The Time)	1993
05	01	Publications - Faro del Silencio (Spanish: Lighthouse Silence)	1977
05	02	Publications - FiAPAS (Federacion Española de Asociaciones de Padres y Amigos de los Sordos, Spanish: Spanish Federation of Associations of Parents and Friends of the Deaf)	1992
05	03	Publications - First Public Performances of the Deaf Theatre Troup (Chinese)	n.d.
05	04	Publications - GLAD News (Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness)	1986
05	05	Publications - Hollywood Reporter	1978
05	06	Publications - Irish Deaf Journal	1991
05	07	Publications - Junior Deaf American	1980
05	08	Publications - Kiwanis	1984
05	09	Publications - Kuurojen Lehti (Finnish: Journal of the Deaf)	1977
05	10	Publications - NAD Broadcaster	1984
05	11	Publications - National Theatre of the Deaf: Twenty-Five Years	n.d.
05	12	Publications - On the Green	1978-1986
05	13	Publications - People	1979
05	14	Publications - PROAS (Promocion y Asistencia a Sordos, Spanish: Promotion and Assistance to the Deaf)	1977
05	15	Publications - Sense	1992
05	16	Publications - Sign Writer Newspaper	1984
05	17	Publications - Silent Worker	1960
05	18	Publications - Span	1978
05	19	Publications - Staten Island Sunday Advance	1979
05	20	Publications - TV Guide	1979
05	21	Publications - Voix du Sourd (French: Voice of the Deaf)	1977
05	22	Publications - World Today (Chinese)	1978
05	23	Publications - В ЕДИНОМ СТРОЮ (Russian: United and Moved)	1974-1975
05	24	Reports - First 50-Day Period Progress Report of Work Completed by Bernard Bragg	1982-1983
06	01	Reports - Last 50-Day Period Progress Report of Work Completed by Bernard Bragg	1983
06	02	Reports - National Committee, Arts for the Handicapped Final Report	1979-1980
06	03	Reports - Six Month Progress Report of Work Completed by Bernard Bragg	1980
06	04	Reports - Use of Television to Promote the Social Rehabilitation of the Deaf	n.d.
06	05	Resumes - Bailey, Robert E.	n.d.
06	06	Resumes - Bragg, Bernard	1983
06	07	Schedules - Artist-in-Residence Schedule	1986
06	08	Scripts - Tales from a Clubroom	1982
06	09	Synopses - Treasure Island	n.d.
06	10	Workshops - Deafness in the Arts	n.d.
06	11	Workshops - Workshops with Bernard Bragg	n.d.
OV 01	01	Articles	1974
OV 01	02	Calendars - Silent Achievers	1980
OV 01	03	Publications - Life	1979
OV 01	04	Publications - Moscow Pantomime Drama Theatre	n.d.
OV 01	05	Publications - National Theatre of the Deaf	1984-1987
OV 01	06	Publications - Soviet Life	1981
OV 01	07	Publications - Washington Post Magazine	1979

Photographs List

 

Box	Title	Date
07	Bernard Bragg as Captain Marvelous	1981
07	Disabled Genius at Sister Kenny Institute's 40th Anniversary Celebration	1982
07	France	1977-1978
07	Illinois School for the Deaf	n.d.
07	Negatives	1987
07	Russian Deaf Theatre	1972
07	S.P. Baghcheban (Autographed)	n.d.
07	Unidentified	n.d.