Faye Emerson Coloring Book: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

FAYE EMERSON COLORING BOOK. (Akron, OH: The Saalfield Publishing Co., 1952), 16 pgs. Color illustration, front and back cover, of Faye Emerson wearing pearls, flowers in hair, pink ruffled gown, surrounded by camera lights; camera man on crane in upper left corner. Pictures and text describe typical activities of the film and tv star.

Faye Emerson was an American entertainer best known for hosting a number of groundbreaking television programs in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She began her career in stock theater in and around her hometown of San Diego, California before signing a contract with Warner Bros. to appear in films in 1941. The attractive and intelligent actress became a minor star, especially known for her roles in film noir movies like The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Lady Gangster (1942), and Guilty Bystander (1950). After marrying President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s son Elliott in 1944, Emerson largely retired from film acting, but moved to New York and began working on the stage and in the emerging medium of television. CBS offered Emerson the opportunity to host a novel 15-minute-long late night television talk show, which aired as The Faye Emerson Show from 1949 to 1951. Well-read, curious, and affable, Emerson forged the late night format with her diverse range of guests (including celebrities and experts), combination of performance and conversation, and living room-style set. With this popular hosting role and her subsequent series Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town (1951–1952), Author Meets the Critics (1952), and Faye and Skitch (1953–54), in this last hosting alongside her third husband, bandleader Skitch Henderson, Emerson earned the nickname “The First Lady of Television.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1952
• publisher: Saalfield Publishing Co.
• depicted: Emerson, Faye
• maker: Saalfield Publishing Co.
• Object Name: Coloring Book
• Measurements: overall: 14 in x 11 in; 35.56 cm x 27.94 cm
• place made: United States: Ohio, Akron
• associated subject: Motion Pictures
• associated subject: Television
• associated subject: Comedy
• ID Number: 2001.3007.17
• nonaccession number: 2001.3007
• catalog number: 2001.3007.17
• Credit Line: Gift of Donald E. Grepke in memory of Carolyn Grepke
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.