Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Ava Williams papers
Williams, Ava, 1912-2003
Coll 225
5 cubic feet
11 document cases, 1 oversize box, 2 oversize folders
1880-2004
Ava Williams (1912-2003) performed as a popular music singer and pianist on stages on both coasts of the United States from 1939 to the late 1990s. She grew up in Eastern Oregon and spent her final years in Portland. In the intervening years, she lived and worked in California; New York City; Provincetown and Boston, Massachusetts; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her personal collection spans from her childhood to her death, and includes papers, photographs, and sound and video recordings, mostly pertaining to her musical career. The collection also includes family papers and photographs dating back to 1880.
English
Collection is open for research.
Gift of the estate of Ava Williams, care of Donald J. Lee, February 2004 (Lib. Acc. 25377).
The collection is arranged in four series:
- Series 1: Personal papers
- Series 2: Family papers
- Series 3: Photographs
- Series 4: Audiovisual materials
Comedienne, songwriter, singer and pianist Ava Williams (aka Ava Lorraine) made her show business debut at the age of 19 in Sacramento, California, and soon moved on to Los Angeles and Hollywood. In 1939, Williams moved to New York City and began a thirty-year residence in East Coast cafes, nightclubs, hotels, and cocktail lounges. In 1962, she commenced an annual tour as the "Piano Lady" in Provincetown, Massachusetts, giving her final performance there in 1983.
Williams was born on March 4, 1912 in Pendleton, Oregon, to parents Joseph A. Williams and Laura Merritt Williams. Her brother, Dick, was born eighteen months later. The family moved to La Grande in 1916, and eventually owned both a barber shop and an adjacent restaurant. Ava Williams' early exposure to music came through her father's barber shop, the local church, and her mother's restaurant, where local vaudeville acts dined. She began vocal training at age 12. Williams attended high school in Enterprise, Oregon, where the family lived for one year, and graduated from La Grande High School in 1931. She married Jorge (George) Carlozzi in 1941 in the Panama Canal Zone, but returned to New York without him after a few months. The marriage later ended in divorce.
During her years on the East Coast, Ava Williams regularly returned to Portland in the summer months and performed there in order to spend more time with her parents. After her mother passed away in 1982, Williams gave up her apartment in New York City in 1984 and followed her forty-three boxes of music to Portland, where she lived until her own death on June 4, 2003.
Ava Williams papers, Coll 225, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Photographs in Box 10, folders 1-8, were removed from "magnetic," 1980s-era, and other photo albums for preservation purposes. Collection guide was revised in July 2023 to conform to current standard.
The bulk of the collection pertains to Ava Williams' career as a musical performer from 1939 to the 1990s, and includes photographs, clippings, programs, and other ephemera relating to Ava Williams and fellow performers, as well as commercial sound recordings and video recordings. The collection also includes family photos, papers, legal documents, memorabilia, and correspondence of family members Joseph A. Williams and Laura Merritt Williams, Martin R. Williams, and J.C. Williams; World War I correspondence of Mort Merritt, and papers and memorabilia relating to Ava's childhood and her marriage to Jorge Carlozzi.
A framed oil painting of Ava Williams was transferred to museum collections at the Oregon Historical Society.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Williams, Ava, 1912-2003
Williams, Joseph A.
Williams, Laura Merritt
Williams, Martin Richard
Williams family
Portland (Or.)--Social life and customs
Women musicians--United States--20th century
Performing arts--Massachusetts--Provincetown
Performing arts--New York (State)--New York
Performing arts--Oregon--Portland
Popular music--United States--20th century
Portland
Performing Arts
Women
photographs
videotapes
clippings (information artifacts)
scrapbooks
albums (sound recordings)
Personal papers
Series 1
1918-2004
Autobiography
undated
1
1
Correspondence
1934-2002
undated
1
2
Birthday cards
1955-2002
undated
1
3
Other greeting cards
1970-1990
undated
1
4
Certificates
1924
1978-2000
1
5
Ephemera
1939-1986
undated
1
6
Guest books
1981
1993
1
7
Notes
undated
1
8
Memo book
undated
1
9
World War II savings bond book
circa 1942
1
10
Divorce papers
1943-1944
1
11
Regarding old age in Portland
2002-2003
1
12
Poems written for Ava Williams
1951
1976
undated
1
13
"Prayerful Moments," poetry by Ava Williams
circa 1999
1
14
Memorials and obituaries - Ava Williams
2003
1
15
Other obituaries
1985-2002
1
16
Contracts
1947-1976
1994
2
1
Programs
1954
1977
2
2
Publicity - Ava Williams
1942-2004
undated
2
3
Publicity - others
1961-1992
undated
2
4
Songs and song lists
1935-1974
undated
2
5
Clippings (folder 1)
approximately 1945-1992
2
6
Clippings (folder 2)
approximately 1945-1992
2
7
Clippings (folder 3)
approximately 1945-1992
2
8
Clippings - Oregon
1960-2003
undated
2
9
Lesson book
1918
3
1
Enterprise High School (Enterprise, Oregon) - yearbook, "Hi-Life"
1928
3
2
Enterprise High School (Enterprise, Oregon) - memory book, "Hi-Life"
1929 May
3
3
Enterprise High School (Enterprise, Oregon) - yearbook, "Hi-Life"
1930
3
4
School autograph book
circa 1931
3
5
La Grande High School (La Grande, Oregon) - diploma, pep book, and 1931 yearbook, "The Mimir"
1927-1928
1931
3
6
La Grande High School (La Grande, Oregon) - class reunion programs
1961
3
7
Autograph books
1933-1938
1941
3
8
Scrapbook
1934-1964
1987
3
9
Scrapbook
undated
4
1
Daybook
circa 2002
4
2
Address books
undated
4
3
Address books
2002
undated
4
4
"Who's Who in Show Business"
1951-1952
4
5
"Music & Dance in New York State"
1951
5
1
Hildegarde, "Over 50 - So What!" (autographed copy)
1963
5
2
Gary Simmons, "Madame My Misbegotten Memoirs" (autographed copy)
1963
5
3
James Gavin, "Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret" (autographed copy)
1991
5
4
Family papers
Series 2
1909-1983
J. A. and Laura Williams - Correspondence
1911-1981
undated
6
1
J. A. and Laura Williams - personal papers
1910-1982
undated
6
2
Marriage certificate - J. A. and Laura (Merritt) Williams
1910 August 2
undated
12
1
Joseph A. Williams - business papers
1909-circa 1980
6
3
Williams family - "Lorraine" trademark
1947
6
4
J. A. and Laura Williams - political papers
1938-1950
undated
6
5
Martin Williams memorabilia
1932-1934
circa 1940
1946
6
6
J. C. Williams
1927-1952
6
7
Williams family - World War I correspondence and ephemera
1942-1945
6
8
Letters from Mort Merritt (World War I)
1918-1919
6
9
Legal papers regarding estate of Margaret M. Donahue
1923-1974
6
10
Other estate papers
1978-1983
6
11
Silhouettes (probably Ava Williams and her parents, J. A. and Laura Williams)
undated
6
12
Guest book for Laura and Joe Williams
1976 September 27-28
12
For the celebration of their 65th wedding anniversary, and Joe Williams' 90th birthday.
Photographs
Series 3
approximately 1880-2002
Family photo album
circa 1920
7
1
Family photos
circa 1900-1984
7
2
Ava's parents, Laura and Joe Williams
circa 1920-1976
7
3
J. C. Williams
approximately 1935-1941
7
4
Ava Williams
approximately 1934-1999
7
5
Marquees advertising Ava Williams' shows
approximately 1950-1980
7
6
Ava Williams and friends
approximately 1936-1999
7
7
Ava Williams with Judy Garland
circa 1965
7
8
Loose pages from photo albums
approximately 1940-1962
7
9
Publicity portraits of Ava Williams (negatives)
approximately 1975
8
1
35 unnumbered negatives, assigned a-e and 1-32, with numbers 18 and 24 missing from sequence.
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
1933
circa 1935
8
2
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
1941
8
3
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
1955
8
4
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
circa 1970
8
5
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
circa 1975
8
6
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
1983
8
7
Publicity portraits - Ava Williams
1993
8
8
Publicity portrait - oversize mounted color photograph
1993
Oversize 1
Publicity portraits - others
approximately 1930-1990
8
9
Presidential photographs
1935
circa 1990
8
10
Photograph of Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act of 1935, and portrait of George H. W. and Barbara Bush, circa 1990.
Barber shop, La Grande, Oregon
approximately 1890-1930
9
1
Soda fountain, La Grande, Oregon
1910s or 1920s
9
2
Group photo in front of First Baptist Church, location unknown
circa 1940
9
3
La Grande High School (La Grande, Oregon) reunion
1961
9
4
Portraits and snapshots - men (mostly unidentified)
approximately 1915-1980
9
5
Portraits and snapshots - women (mostly unidentified)
approximately 1915-1980
9
6
Portraits and snapshots - men and women (mostly unidentified)
approximately 1930-1985
9
7
Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Otis Vale (La Grande, Oregon)
1920s?
9
8
Oversize photographs of an unidentified group in Portland, Oregon, and an unidentified baseball team
1940s
undated
Oversize 2
Other photos
undated
9
9
Picture postcards - people
1910s-1940s
9
10
Scenic postcards (blank)
approximately 1920-1990
9
11
Postcards with messages are filed with correspondence.
Family photo album
circa 1915-1975
10
1
Photo album / scrapbook
approximately 1933-1980
10
2
Photo album
approximately 1940-1974
10
3
Photo album
approximately 1940-1978
undated
10
4
Photo album
1961-1971
undated
10
5
Photo album
1963-1964
undated
10
6
Photo album
1967-circa 1985
undated
10
7
Family photo album
approximately 1880-1980
10
8
Photo album - Ava at 90
2002
10
9
Audiovisual materials
Series 4
circa 1950-2001
Video recordings, sound recordings, and related items.
VHS tapes
1989-2001
undated
11
Provincetown!
undated
Ava's B-Day Final Master
undated
Rose Tattoo 1989 / Ava Williams Valentine Show 1990 / Ava Williams & Rod Barrows
circa 1989-1990
Ava's Birthday Party at Darcelle's 1993
1993
Ava's Birthday 1996 Jasmine Tree
1996
Ava's 86th Birthday Party
1998
Ava's Birthday March 4, 2000
2000 March 4
Ava's 89th Birthday Party (2001)
2001
Ava Williams sound recordings and related materials
circa 1950-1970
circa 2000
12
Yours (45 rpm record, 2 copies)
circa 1950-1970
A Night with Ava (long-playing record)
circa 1950-1970
Ava Misbehaves (long-playing record)
circa 1950-1970
All of Ava (long-playing record)
circa 1950-1970
All of Ava (compact disc)
circa 2000
Print block for "All of Ava" album cover
circa 1950-1970