Fritz Leiber Sr. papers, ca. 1909-1947 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Fritz Leiber Sr. papers, ca. 1909-1947

ID: 01/01/MSS00029

Primary Creator: Leiber, Fritz (1882-1949)

Extent: 16.9 Cubic Feet

Languages: English

Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. (1882-1949) was an American Shakespearean actor in the early twentieth century. Born January 31, 1882 in Chicago, Illinois to German parents Albrecht and Meta (Klett) Leiber, Fritz Leiber began a career on stage in 1902 at the old Dearborn Theater, where he performed in "The Girl I Left Behind Me." According to The Los Angeles Times, "in 1905 he joined Ben Greet's company and made his first appearance on the New York stage as Macduff in Macbeth." From there, he toured with Julia Marlow and Olga Petrova from 1908-1909 before joining the Robert B. Mantell company from 1909-1915. Leiber married fellow performer Virginia Bronson March 9, 1910 in Santa Barbara County, California. In 1918, Leiber formed his own Shakespearean company--Fritz Leiber & Co--which he toured with for nine years before becoming involved in the Chicago Civil Shakespeare Society until 1934. Afterwards, he toured with his own company of performers once again. Following each of his dramatic performances, Leiber had portraits in a variety of formats commissioned of himself in his roles.

Not only was Leiber involved in stage productions, but he also had several notable roles in films. Leiber made his debut in film by playing Mercutio in the Francis X. Bushman version of Romeo and Juliet (1916). He was the father of science fiction and fantasy writer Fritz Lieber Jr., who appeared side-by-side with him in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939). In 1947, Leiber worked side-by-side with Charlie Chaplin as the priest who visits Monsieur Verdoux. Leiber died October 14, 1949 of heart failure, completing his part as Mr. Poole in Devil's Doorway just two days prior to his death. His death made national headlines.

Sources

Ancestry.com California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 [database online]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.

"Character Actor Taken by Death in Hollywood." The Tampa Times. 15 October 1949.

Fritz Leiber Papers. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.

"Fritz Leiber Takes Last Curtain Call." The Los Angeles Times. 15 October 1949.

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Correspondence

Sub-series 1: General correspondence

Box 1

Box 2

Sub-series 2: Correspondence to Fritz and Brownie Leiber

Box 3

Box 4

Box 5

Box 6

Series 2: Reviews, Publicity, Programs

Box 7

Box 8

Box 9

Box 10

Box 11

Box 12

Series 3: Correspondence of the Leiber family

Box 13

Box 14

Box 15

Box 16

Box 17

Series 4: Personal and professional data

Box 18

Box 19

Box 20

Box 21

Box 22

Box 23

Series 5: Scripts and prompt books

Box 24

Box 25

Box 26

Box 27

Box 28

Box 29

Series 6: Photographs

Box 30

Box 30a

Box 31

Box 32

Box 33

Box 34

Box 35

Series 7: Props and costume pieces

Box 36

Box 37

Box 38

Box 39

Box 40

Box 41

Series 8: Scrapbooks

Box 42

Box 43

Box 43 Supplement 1

Box 43 Supplement 2

Series 9: Sound recordings

Box 44

Box 45

Box 45a