Margaret R. Draper photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P1953

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Margaret R. Draper photograph collection consists of 10 boxes containing 4,006 black-and-white and color photographs and negatives, postcards, and photograph albums. The collection spans Margaret Draper's life, dating from approximately 1910 to 2005. Box 1 contains photographs of Draper's family, friends, and personal life. Boxe 2 contains snapshots depicting Draper's work for the American Red Cross during World War II and postcards collected by Draper during her travels. Boxes 3-4 contain photographs depicting Draper's work for hte United Seaman's Service in Italy and Vietnam and her global travels, primarily dating from the 1960s-1970s. Box 5 contains photographs and albums depicting Draper's travels in the 1980s and 1990s. Box 6 contains photographs depicting Draper's involvement in theatre and acting in Utah, New York, and other states dating from the 1940s to 1960s. Boxes 7-9 contain photograph albums. Box 10 contains overszied photographs of Draper.

Dates

1910-2005

Creator

Draper, Margaret, 1916- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Margaret R. Draper photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.

Biographical Note

Margaret Ruth Draper (1916-2011) was born on November 20, 1916, in Spanish Fork, Utah to Mary Rogers and Delbert M. Draper. She attended and graduated from East High School and the University of Utah. The family moved to Salt Lake City when Draper was a child. She attended East High School, where she began acting; she continued her participation in theater at the University of Utah. After her graduation from college, Draper moved to New York where she worked as an actress in theatre, radio, and television during 1940s-1950s. Between 1943-1946, Draper served in the American Red Cross in the Middle East and Germany. In 1949, Margaret married Joe DeSantis, with whom she had her son, Christopher Desantis in 1951. They later divorced in 1957. In 1959, Draper married Niccol Bissel; they divorced in 1960. In 1972, Draper married J. Norman Messer; they divorced in 1973. In 1997, she was married to Wesley Brown until his death in 2001.

When Draper returned to New York, some of her more prominent acting roles included playing Liz Dennis in The Brighter Day from 1949-1954 and Linda Pepper in Pepper's Young Family in 1954. Draper worked for several theatres and theatre companies including the Chekhov Players, Corning Theatre, and Barter Theatre. During the 1960s, she worked as an actor and model in commercials and advertisements. In 1966, Draper became a disc jockey for the all-women FM radio station WNEW-FM. From 1969-1979, she worked for the United Seamen's Service until she moved to Washington where she worked for the National Alliance of Business Private Sector Initiative Program (PSIP) Clearinghouse in the early 1980s. Draper retired in 1985. Following her marriage to Wesley Brown in 1997, Draper traveled before returning to live in Salt Lake City, Utah. Margaret R. Draper died October 14, 2011.

Extent

10 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Margaret R. Draper (1916-2011) was an actress known for her performances on television and radio from the late 1930s through the 1960s and her work as a disk jockey on WNEW-FM in the 1960s. During World War II, Draper served for the American Red Cross from 1943-1946. She spent her later life working for and establishing the United Seamen's Service Club in Camh Ran Bay, Vietnam; Naples, Italy; Genoa, Italy; Germany; and Alexandria, Egypt. This collection contains black-and-white and color photographs and negatives related to Margaret Draper's personal life, family, acting career, travels, and military activity and postcards collected during her travels and work around the world.