University of Wyoming
Jean Howard was a Hollywood actress, hostess, celebrity, and photographer. Her book, Jean Howard’s Hollywood: A Photo Memoir (1989), depicts the time of the Palm Springs movie colony and studio rule. She was born Ernestine Hill on October 13, 1919 in Longview, Texas. Her father financed her participation in fashion shows and beauty contests. She signed a contract with MGM, but went to New York with Lorenz Ziegfeld instead. She was in the 1930s Ziegfeld Follies and later in a number of films including The Prize Fighter and The Lady. Louis B. Mayer fell in love with her and proposed marriage, but she rejected him and married Charles Feldman (agent-producer) instead. They divorced in 1948, but continued to share their intimate and professional life until his death in 1968.
Cole Porter’s wife, Linda, was a close friend of Jean Howard. After she died, Howard accompanied the songwriter on two tours of Europe and the Middle East. The photographs that Howard took in 1955 and 1956 with Porter became the subject of her second book, Travels with Cole Porter (1991). In 1964, she met musician Tony Santoro in a Capri nightclub. They lived together and migrated between Capri, Italy and California until they eventually married and settled in California in 1973. After their divorce, Howard spent more of her time in Italy, but returned to California during her last years. She died at home in 2000.
Howard’s friends and acquaintances were many. Her friends included Cole and Linda Porter, Marlene Dietrich, and the Darryl Zanuck family. She mingled with numerous others, including Tyrone Power, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland. Howard’s elegant Spanish colonial house in Coldwater Canyon was the location for numerous Hollywood parties.
Jean Howard’s interest in photography began during the 1940s on the advice of a graphologist, who convinced her to take some serious classes (her student work is in the collection). Her ability to capture fellow celebrities at their ease makes her pictures remarkable. They appeared in Life, Vogue, and other major magazines while her fame as a photographer grew.
The Jean Howard Papers and Photographs are a valuable resource for those who wish to learn about the Hollywood celebrity culture from the 1930s through the 1980s. They include biographical materials relating to Howard and her very successful husband, Charles Feldman, who was a Hollywood agent/producer. There is some correspondence arranged by date and other correspondence arranged by topic. The major part of the collection, however, consists of Jean Howard’s celebrated photographs and their negatives, which portray celebrity events, and portraits. Jean Howard’s personal photographs and negatives are also included. The rest of the collection consists of subject files organized alphabetically, including notes related to her books on Hollywood and her trips with Cole Porter.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no known other archival collections created by at the date of processing.
Item description, Box Number, Folder Number, Jean Howard Papers, Collection Number 10714, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at
The Jean Howard Collection was received from the Jean Howard Trust on October 24, 2000 and Catherine Phillips in 2017.
The collection was processed by John Hanks in June 2003 and updated by Jamie Greene in June 2018.
Select materials from this collection were digitized by Kathy Gerlach from 2017-2018.
Axelrod, Joan; Baroness D'Ehrlanger; Ballanchine Dance Co.; Behind the Scenes; Brens Milton Party; Caron, Leslie and Dancers; Cinemescope; Colby, Anita; Dietrich and Warner; Directors; Feldman Party with Richard Burton and Judy Garland; Feldman, Charles' Parents Anniversary; Film: All Fall Down; Film: Bicycle Thieves; Film: How to Marry a Millionaire; Film: Prince of Foxes; Hathaway Party; Hollywood Mothers
Italy, Venice; July, 4 Party at Coulters; McGuire, Dorothy and John Swope; Litvak Parties; Palm Beach; Porter, Cole (Trip 1); Porter, Cole (Trip 2); Southampton; Still Lifes; Thurmond, Teddy; Teek, Inga; Tierney, Gene; Todd, Mike; Warners; Wedding of Tyrone and Linda Power; Wrightsmans-Palm Beach; Zanuck Family; Unknown,
Aarons, Michael; Amory, Chessie; Annabella; Bacall, Lauren; Ballard, Lucien; Brando, Marlon; Burton, Richard; Cocteau, Jean; Cooper, Stony; Cotton, Joseph; Dauphin, Claude; Davidson, Jim and Speed; Davalos, Dick; Dunn, Irene; Faulkner, William; Feldman, Charles; Five Artists, Gardner, Nada; Gordon, Jerry; Harriman-Borden; Hathaway, Mrs. Henry; Heminway, Natalie; Howard, Jean; Hull, Verna; Isherwood, Christopher; Johnson, Van.
Monroe, Marilyn; More, Kenneth; NeFolder, Hildegarde; Oberon, Merle; O'Blensky, Ivan; O'Brien, Dolly; Olivier, Laurence and Vivien Leigh; Page, Geraldine; Paul, Betty in Maggie; Pearman, Michael; Ray, Man; Rubinstein Family; Power, Tyrone; Saroyan, William and Family; Selznik, David; Shaw, Irwin; Sinatra, Frank; Smith, Mrs. Earl; Stevens, G.; Stevens, Marti; Serling, Tish; Teek, Inga; Warner, Barbara; Webb, Clifton; Zanuck, Virginia and Family
Jean Howard's Hollywood, Miscellaneous Book Covers, and Index Cards