Name/Title
Signe Hasso CollectionEntry/Object ID
2024.3.4Scope and Content
Collection of writings, correspondence, photographic material, and professional files related to the Swedish-American actress Signe Hasso.
Series I: Professional files
Dates of Creation: 2000 and Undated
Documents related to Hasso's acting career. Contains magazine article with quotes from Hasso, list of dramatic roles she played, and a list of films by collaborator and friend, the director George Cukor.
Series II: Photographic material
Dates of Creation: Undated
Contains photographs of Hasso from her acting career and later years. Also contains signed photograph of silent film stars Lou Tellegen and Eve Casanova.
Series III: Writings
Dates of Creation: 1970
Contains poem by Hasso titled "Resting on the Rainbow."
Series IV: Correspondence
Dates of Creation: 1956-1980 and Undated
Contains postcards, cards, letters, and a telegram addressed to Hasso. Correspondence is from many prominent figures in Hollywood and the arts, such as actress/director Eva La Gallienne, agent Milton Goldman, actor Henry Fonda, novelist Margareta Bergman, director Harold Prince, and director George Cukor.Context
Signe Hasso was born Signe Larsson in Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. She began her acting career at age 12 at Sweden's famed Royal Dramatic Theatre, where she became their youngest acting student at age 16. She acted in many plays in Sweden throughout the 1930s, and married German film director/cameraman Harry Hasso in 1933. They had a son the next year in 1934. She and her husband would divorce in 1942.
After gaining fame in Sweden's theater world, she was convinced to move to the U.S. by Hollywood's Howard Hughes. She would go on to act in Broadway plays and then transition to a career in Hollywood once she signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the mid-1940s. She starred in many Hollywood films and acted alongside leading men such as Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and Ronald Goldman.
After her son was killed in an automobile accident in 1957, she paused her career in Hollywood. She focused on her stage career and would act in occasional Swedish films and televisions series throughout the 1960s. Hasso also composed music and wrote lyrics and poems; in a 1994 interview she said that she would rather be remembered for her writing than her acting. She translated Swedish folk songs into English and wrote a novel about her childhood called "Momo."
In 1994, Hasso was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She would continue acting in her final years, with her last role being in a 1998 film. She passed away from cancer-related pneumonia in 2002, at the age of 86.Acquisition
Accession
2024.3Source or Donor
Wooten, JamesAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of James WootenLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Actresses, Correspondence, Photographs, Performing artists, Fame, Theatrical productions, Film industry (Motion pictures), Television industry, Plays, Television showsSearch Terms
California--Los Angeles--HollywoodArchive Details
Creator
Signe HassoDate(s) of Creation
1956 - 2000Restrictions
The collection is open to research with restrictions. The collection contains sensitive and personal information.Primary Language
Swedish, EnglishRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
George Cukor, Signe HassoRelated Places
Place
State/Province
California, New YorkCountry
United States, SwedenContinent
North America, EuropeCity
Los Angeles, New YorkCounty
StockholmRegion
Northern EuropeCopyright
Copyright Details
Ownership was legally transferred to the Swedish American Museum per the gift agreement. Certain works may be protected by copyright not governed by the Swedish American Museum.Reproductions
Notes
Reproduction of the Museum's archives for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires written permission.
