Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll Kyser Papers, 1906-2004

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Summary

Creator:
Kyser, Kay. and Kyser, Georgia Carroll.
Abstract:

James Kern Kyser (Kay Kyser) was born in 1905 in Rocky Mount, N.C. He attended the University of North Carolina, 1923-1927, where he was the leader of the cheerleading squad. He is best known as a big band leader and as the "Ol' Professor" on the radio show Kollege of Musical Knowledge. In 1944, Kyser married model, actress, and singer Georgia Carroll of Blooming Grove, Tex., who had joined the show the year before. In 1951, he and his family retired to Chapel Hill, N.C. Through the Kyser Foundation, he gave scholarships to students of music and dramatic art at the University of North Carolina. He was also instrumental in improving health care in North Carolina, starting the state's public television station, and establishing a highway safety program. He was active in the Christian Science Church, directing the church's radio and television broadcasting division at the Boston headquarters in the 1970s, lecturing, and serving as national honorary president in 1983.

The collection contains scripts, correspondence, printed materials, photographs, memorabilia, realia, audiovisual materials, and other items relating to Kay Kyser, Georgia Carroll Kyser, and the Kollege of Musical Knowledge and its cast and orchestra members. Scripts are from the Kollege of Musical Knowledge and other shows. Correspondence primarily pertains to planning for a 1948 program commemorating the Kollege of Musical Knowledge's tenth season on NBC and to Kay Kyser's death in 1985. Printed materials, including clippings, magazines, biographical materials, sheet music, movie posters, and scrapbooks, document Kay Kyser's college days, his musical career, and his death. Photographs include pictures of Kay Kyser, Georgia Carroll Kyser, band and orchestra members, and friends and relatives. Many of the photographs were taken during radio broadcasts. Some photographs are from shows performed for troops during World War II, and there is also a photograph album with materials taken from orchestra member Ish Kabibble (Merwyn Bogue)'s diary written while entertaining troops with Kyser in the South Pacific in 1945. Among those appearing in photographs are Harry Babbitt, Mike Douglas, Clark Gable, Ish Kabibble, Diane Pendleton, and Jane Russell. Audio materials include audiodiscs with songs performed by Kyser and his orchestra, 1930s-1940s; two compilation albums released in the 1970s; and an audiotape of a 1944 episode of Kollege of Musical Knowledge. Subject files contain clippings and other materials about people and topics associated with the Kysers. Also included are diplomas, certificates, memorabilia, realia, and other items.

Extent:
7500 items (23.5 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

James Kern "Kay" Kyser was born 18 June 1905 in Rocky Mount, N.C., to Paul Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser, both pharmacists. His mother was the first registered female pharmacist in North Carolina. His uncle, Edward Vernon Howell, opened the pharmacy school at the University of North Carolina in 1897 and served as the dean until his death in 1931. His cousin, Vermont Connecticut Royster, was the editor of the Wall Street Journal from 1958 to 1971. Another member of the Royster family, Julianna Royster Busby, established Jugtown Pottery in Moore County, N.C., in 1920.

Following his family's lead, Kyser entered the University of North Carolina in 1923. At school, he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and was active in the Playmakers Theatre. He was also the school's head cheerleader, establishing the cheering section known as the Carolina Cheerios. Kyser's bandleader career began in 1926, when he took over as the leader of the school orchestra. He graduated with high honors in 1927. In 1937, Kyser wrote "Tar Heels on Hand," which became the school's fight song.

After graduation, Kyser and his band hit the road in pursuit of a musical career. The band had little success for several years, barely able to make ends meet. In 1934, the band received its big break when they became regular performers at the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago. In 1937, the band began to get the audience involved by asking questions about music. Originally known as Kay's Klass, the performance went nationwide on NBC in 1938 as the Kollege of Musical Knowledge (often written as the Kollege of Musical Knowledge) when the American Tobacco Company bought the show for Lucky Strike. The Kollege of Musical Knowledge ran on NBC from 1938 to 1950, first on radio and then briefly on television. The show performed weekly to nearly 20 million listeners, with Kay, the "Ol' Professor," questioning contestants who won money and a diploma. The Kollege of Musical Knowledge had many members during its run, including Harry Babbitt, Mike Douglas, George Duning, Ish Kabibble (whose real name was Merwyn Bogue), Georgia Carroll Kyser, Sully Mason, and Ginny Simms. The act was the first to perform for troops during World War II. Kyser and the orchestra also appeared in several movies, including That's Right, You're Wrong and Carolina Blues.

In 1944, Kyser married singer Georgia Carroll, who had joined the Kollege of Musical Knowledge the year before. The couple had three children: Kimberly, Amanda, and Carroll. In 1951, Kyser quietly retired from show business, moving his family to Chapel Hill, N.C. No longer in the Hollywood spotlight, he became active in the Chapel Hill community. Through the Kyser Foundation, he gave scholarships to students of music and dramatic art at the University of North Carolina. He was also instrumental in improving health care in North Carolina, starting the state's public television station, and establishing a highway safety program. He was also active in the Christian Science Church, directing the church's radio and television broadcasting division at the Boston headquarters in the 1970s, being a guest lecturer, and becoming the national honorary president in 1983.

Kyser died in Chapel Hill on 24 July 1985 and is buried in Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

Georgia Carroll Kyser was born 18 November 1919 in Blooming Grove, Tex. A fashion model, actress, and singer, she is perhaps best known as "Gorgeous" Georgia Carroll as part of Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge. She appeared in three films: Around the World, Carolina Blues, and Thousands Cheer.

Scope and content:

Papers of big band leaderKay Kyser and model, actress, and singerGeorgia Carroll Kyser contain scripts, correspondence, printed materials, photographs, memorabilia, realia, audiovisual materials, and other items. There are scripts are from the Kollege of Musical Knowledge (sometimes referred to as Kay's Klass or Kay Kyser's Musical Klass), as well as other shows, including the Fitch Bandwagon and the Silver Theatre. Some scripts have outlines, answers to quiz questions, multiple revisions, and relevant correspondence included. Major themes in the correspondence series include planning and for the 1948 salute program commemorating the Kollege of Musical Knowledge's tenth season on NBC and Kay Kyser's death in 1985, as well as letters to Georgia Carroll Kyser from Kay Kyser's biographers Steven Beasley and Raymond Hair.

Printed materials include clippings, magazines, sheet music, scrapbooks, biographical materials, movie posters, books, journals, and catalogs. Clippings from the 1940s include documentation of the orchestra's work entertaining troops during World War II, both on American soil and in the Pacific theater. Later clippings document Kay Kyser's involvement with Christian Science, including his 1983 honorary presidency of the Christian Science Church. There are also many clippings documenting his death in 1985. Magazine titles include Song Hits, Band Leaders, Time, Life, Radio & Television Best, Radio Life, and Radio Mirror. Sheet music consists of songs written or performed by Kay Kyser and his orchestra, including "Tar Heels on Hand,""I Came Here to Talk for Joe,""Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," and "Thinking of You." The scrapbooks document Kay Kyser's career through the 1940s, including his college days at the University of North Carolina. Biographical materials include manuscripts, discographies, photocopies of chapters, printouts of websites, and other materials containing biographical information about Kay Kyser and his orchestra. The most lengthy of these materials is an unpublished biography written by Raymond Hair. Movie posters come from the seven movies in which Kay Kyser starred: That's Right, You're Wrong (1939), You'll Find Out (1940), Playmates (1941), My Favorite Spy (1942), Around the World (1943), Swing Fever (1943), and Carolina Blues (1944).

Photographs include pictures of Kay Kyser, Georgia Carroll Kyser, band and orchestra members, and other friends and relatives. Other celebrities depicted in the photographs include Harry Babbitt, Mike Douglas, Clark Gable, Ish Kabibble (whose real name was Merwyn Bogue), Diane Pendleton, and Jane Russell. Many of the photographs were taken during radio broadcasts, including shows performed for troops during World War II. Other pictures are photocopies of photographs contained in the Kay Kyser Collection at the North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which have been numbered and annotated by Georgia Carroll Kyser. There are two photograph albums mostly containing photographs from the 1940s. The first album consists of excerpts taken from Ish Kabibble's original World War II diary written when he joined Kay Kyser to entertain the troops in the South Pacific in 1945. The second album consists of photographs of Kay Kyser taken by Charlie Killebrew in Rocky Mount, N.C.

Other papers include diplomas, certificates, postcards, and memorabilia and realia pertaining to Kay Kyser. Certificates and diplomas include Kay Kyser's high school diploma and recognitions for his performances and philanthropy. Also included is the speech Kay Kyser made announcing Japan's surrender during World War II, as well as photographs showing the Japanese surrender team. Realia includes the ink stamps Kay Kyser's orchestra and the Kollege of Musical Knowledge used to endorse checks and the medal Kay Kyser received for being the "Television Father of the Year" in 1950. Subject files contain clippings and other materials about people and topics associated with Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll Kyser, including Kay Kyser's brother, Edward Vernon Kyser, and Mack Riggsbee, who is described as having been Kay Kyser's "chef, chauffeur, valet, personal secretary, and chaperone."

Audio materials include audiodiscs containing songs performed by Kay Kyser and his orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s, two compilation albums released in the 1970s, and an audiotape consisting of a 1944 episode of Kollege of Musical Knowledge that took place in Los Alamedos, Calif.

Acquisition information:

Received from Georgia Carroll Kyser in 2006 (Acc. 100480, 100483) and in 2009 (Acc. 100944). Acc. Additions received in 2012 (Acc. 101642), 2016 (Acc. 102703), and 2023 (Acc. 20230717.3).

Processing information:

Processed by: Dawne E. Howard, October 2006

Encoded by: Dawne E. Howard, October 2006

Updated: November 2018; Nancy Kaiser, March 2021; Laura Smith and Ari Smith, October 2023; Jodi Berkowitz, December 2023

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

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Use of audio or moving image materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Access to streaming audio or moving image materials may be restricted to researchers who can authenticate with an ONYEN or who are physically present on campus. For further information about access to streaming audiovisual materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff at Wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll Kyser Papers #5289, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu