Skip to main content

Mary Dawson Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SpC MS 0904-sc

Scope and Contents Note

The papers of a stage and vaudeville star. Included are letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, postcards, and memorabilia concerning her family and her stage career. Included is a collection of love letters sent to her from 1911 to 1954; the majority are from the period 1911-1913. Included are letters or carbon copies of letters between Dee Fearon and Fifi (Mary Dawson) from 1974. Included is a collection of newspaper clippings about her daughter Dolores Dawson. Included also is a collection of newspaper clippings about the death in 1941 of Joe Penner, a comedian, and a signed letter from Barbara Walters.

Dates

  • Creation: 1911-1982

Creator

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Use Restrictions

Information on literary rights available in the repository.

Biograhpical Note

Mary E. Dawson (nee Elizabeth Buzby) was born in 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in 1982 in Florida. She was the daughter of a Philadelphia policeman. She performed some of her first dancing routines in Old Town, Maine, in 1905. She became known in the entertainment world as Mademoiselle Fifi. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, but spent many years touring the world. During the 1920's she was a headliner at the Minsky burlesque houses in New York. Her daughter Dolores Dawson Salazar was a dancer and actress and owner along with her husband Mickey Salazar of the Pink Pussycat Lounge in North Palm Beach, Florida.

Extent

3 Folders

1 folio folder

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The papers of a stage and vaudeville star. Included are letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, postcards, and memorabilia concerning her family and her stage career.

Organization and Arrangement

Large newspaper clippings are located in folio folder.

Custodial History

Mary Dawson sent her letters and memorabilia to Dee Fearon who was an editor for Elderberry Times, a weekly newspaper in Old Town, Maine published in 1974.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposited by Dee Fearon in 1974.

General

No finding aid - see Special Collections librarian for assistance.

Title
Guide to the Mary Dawson Papers
Status
No Additional Box Or Folder List For This Small Collection
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English.

Repository Details

Part of the Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207-581-1686