Photograph of Bill “Hawk” Hawkins, Mantan Moreland, and Paul Williams: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with Paul Williams, Mantan Moreland, an unidentified man, and an unidentified woman. The photograph, taken from the inside the DJ booth in Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio, depicts the group clustered together at one end of the booth. They are standing behind the DJ console’s microphone and turntable. Hawkins is depicted at the center, smiling, and looking slightly downwards. He is wearing a white collared shirt, dark trousers, a medium-toned belt, and a pair of headphones over his ears with black wires draped down the front of his shirt. The man on the far left, Paul Williams, is wearing a dark suit, white collared shirt, and a tie with checker and floral patterns. His face is partially obscured by the microphone on the DJ console. The woman second from the left is wearing an off-the-shoulders, dark sequined dress with a sweetheart bodice. She is resting her hands on William’s proper left shoulder and chest. The man on the far right, comedian Mantan Moreland, is wearing a medium-toned suit, dark collared shirt, patterned tie, a white pocket square in his proper left breast pocket. He is standing in front of an unidentified man, second from the right. He is wearing a houndstooth patterned collared shirt, and a thin houndstooth patterned jacket. In the background is the corner of two wood paneled walls with two windows with white shades. There is yellowed tape residue at all four corners and along the right edge. The photograph has a white border and a landscape orientation. The back of the photograph is white with a stamp along the top left edge and several handwritten black ink inscriptions. The black ink stamp reads [[JAMES A. JOYCE / PHOTOGRAPHER / TY 1-0748 CLEVELAND, OHIO].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1954
• Photograph by: James A. Joyce, American
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Mantan Moreland, American, 1902 - 1973
• Subject of: Paul Williams, American, 1915 - 2002
• Subject of: George Williams
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio, American
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 5 1/4 × 7 1/16 in. (13.3 × 17.9 cm)
• Place captured: Cleveland, Cayuhoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Object number: 2018.91.2.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of W. Allen Taylor, son of "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins," The First Black Disc Jockey of Cleveland, Ohio
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.