1. STAR TREK: The Musical! OK, not really, but even Mr. Spock would find fascinating what we dug up in the Billy Rose Theatre Division about the original Star Trek actors before they went stellar. Who knew that Nichelle Nichols sizzled in the local cabaret scene before taking up her earpiece on the starship Enterprise? Or that George Takei was an activist, or that William Shatner, of Shatner’s World; We Just Live in It… — first trod the Broadway boards over 50 years ago? Dust off your Klingon dictionary and stay tuned, as we bring you the stage origins of Kirk, Spock, Sulu and crew, and boldly go where few have gone before with rare photos in our Gallery.

    STAR TREK: The Musical! OK, not really, but even Mr. Spock would find fascinating what we dug up in the Billy Rose Theatre Division about the original Star Trek actors before they went stellar. Who knew that Nichelle Nichols sizzled in the local cabaret scene before taking up her earpiece on the starship Enterprise? Or that George Takei was an activist, or that William Shatner, of Shatner’s World; We Just Live in It… — first trod the Broadway boards over 50 years ago? Dust off your Klingon dictionary and stay tuned, as we bring you the stage origins of Kirk, Spock, Sulu and crew, and boldly go where few have gone before with rare photos in our Gallery.

  2. And the Academy Award for Best Performing Arts Library in New York City goes too.. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts! Believe it or not, but The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has TWO Academy Awards in its collections. One is the Oscar that Paul Muni won in 1937 for Best Actor in THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR and the other belonged to Burl Ives who won it for Best Supporting Actor in 1959 for THE BIG COUNTRY. 

    And the Academy Award for Best Performing Arts Library in New York City goes too.. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts! Believe it or not, but The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has TWO Academy Awards in its collections. One is the Oscar that Paul Muni won in 1937 for Best Actor in THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR and the other belonged to Burl Ives who won it for Best Supporting Actor in 1959 for THE BIG COUNTRY. 

  3. “WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT BASKIN!?!?” The beloved 1988 film BIG made us realize that Tom Hanks is awesome, Zoltar machines are dangerous, giant pianos can provide great exercise, and if MacMillan Toys was a real company it would be the coolest place to work. In other words the movie is a classic. The same cannot be said for the 1996 musical adaptation of the film that left many people saying: “I don’t get it.” BIG: THE MUSICAL opened and closed quickly on Broadway in 1996 and has become largely forgotten. Well forget no more. We found in our collections at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in our Billy Rose Theatre Division this original playbill. Can you say shimmy shimmy cocoa pop? 

    “WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT BASKIN!?!?” The beloved 1988 film BIG made us realize that Tom Hanks is awesome, Zoltar machines are dangerous, giant pianos can provide great exercise, and if MacMillan Toys was a real company it would be the coolest place to work. In other words the movie is a classic. The same cannot be said for the 1996 musical adaptation of the film that left many people saying: “I don’t get it.”

    BIG: THE MUSICAL opened and closed quickly on Broadway in 1996 and has become largely forgotten. Well forget no more. We found in our collections at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in our Billy Rose Theatre Division this original playbill. Can you say shimmy shimmy cocoa pop? 

  4. The film world lost a legend over the weekend when film director Sidney Lumet passed away at the age of 86. Lumet did not just make great films he made great NEW YORK films including 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Prince of The City, Before The Devil Knows Your Dead, and of course, Network (which he filmed part of at The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street). But his work went beyond the boroughs of New York as he also directed classics such as The Verdict, The Wiz, Equus, and Murder on the Orient Express. Most of his films are available at library branches throughout the system. So in honor of Sidney, what’s your favorite Lumet film?

    The film world lost a legend over the weekend when film director Sidney Lumet passed away at the age of 86. Lumet did not just make great films he made great NEW YORK films including 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Prince of The City, Before The Devil Knows Your Dead, and of course, Network (which he filmed part of at The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street). But his work went beyond the boroughs of New York as he also directed classics such as The Verdict, The Wiz, Equus, and Murder on the Orient Express. Most of his films are available at library branches throughout the system. So in honor of Sidney, what’s your favorite Lumet film?

  5. Where can you find an Oscar in New York City? And the winner is … The New York Public Library. In honor of this weekend’s 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, we thought we’d share an image of one of two Oscars that can be found in the Billy Rose Theatre Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The Oscars belonged to actors Burl Ives and Paul Muni — Muni won his for Best Actor in 1937’s “The Story of Louis Pasteur” and Ives won in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor in “The Big Country.” Both Academy Awards were donated to LPA by each actor’s family (when the Library received the rest of their papers). 

    Where can you find an Oscar in New York City? And the winner is … The New York Public Library. In honor of this weekend’s 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, we thought we’d share an image of one of two Oscars that can be found in the Billy Rose Theatre Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The Oscars belonged to actors Burl Ives and Paul Muni — Muni won his for Best Actor in 1937’s “The Story of Louis Pasteur” and Ives won in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor in “The Big Country.” Both Academy Awards were donated to LPA by each actor’s family (when the Library received the rest of their papers). 

  6. Matt Damon and George Nolfi take a break while filming The Adjustment Bureau in the Rose Main Reading Room of our Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street. We brought out this sort of oldie but goodie by NYPL Special Events guru Lis Pearson because last night was the movie’s premiere party, also at the Library (in Astor Hall). We are so gosh darn Hollywood. No, we really are. Check out a list of other popular movies filmed at NYPL.

    Matt Damon and George Nolfi take a break while filming The Adjustment Bureau in the Rose Main Reading Room of our Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street. We brought out this sort of oldie but goodie by NYPL Special Events guru Lis Pearson because last night was the movie’s premiere party, also at the Library (in Astor Hall). We are so gosh darn Hollywood. No, we really are. Check out a list of other popular movies filmed at NYPL.