Identity Statement
| Title | Cecil Brock Document Collection |
| Archive Reference | IE IFA/8 |
| Web Link to this Entry | https://iar.ie/archive/cecil-brock-document-collection |
| Creation Dates | 1950-1996 |
| Extent Medium | 1 box |
Context
Creator(s): Cecil Brock
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Administrative History ↴
Cecil Brock was born in 1915 in Dublin. His acting career began in the 1940s, and in 1948 he starred in the Irish production “My Hands Are Clay”. He went on to act in both film and television productions in the UK and Ireland, including “Lilli Marlene” (1950), “Sherlock Holmes” (1954-55), “BBC Sunday Night Theatre” (1950-59), “Ivanhoe” (1958) and “The Four Just Men” (1960). Brock cultivated friendships with a number of Hollywood stars, most notably the actor Ramón Novarro (1899-1968) and actress Mae Clarke (1910-1992). During the 1980s he wrote regular magazine columns for Hollywood Studio Magazine entitled “I Once Knew Them”, and for Classic Images Magazine entitled “These I Have Known” detailing his relationships with Hollywood actors including Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, Laurence Harvey, Vivien Leigh, Maureen O'Hara, Rita Hayworth and Laurence Olivier. Brock died in Northwood, England in 1999. -
Archival History ↴
Unknown -
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Unknown
Content & Structure
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Scope & Content: Cecil Brock ↴
The collection consists of Brock’s personal papers, the majority of which are letters. His friendships with actors Ramón Novarro and Mae Clarke are chronicled up to the their deaths. Ramón Novarro’s arrest for drunk driving and his eventual murder are also recorded in newspaper clippings.
The collection also contains copies of Hollywood Studio Magazine and Classic Images magazine, as well as correspondence regarding Brock’s columns. In relation to his acting career, the collection contains contracts, letters and clippings.Brock also kept an album of signed photographs of Hollywood stars, with shots of Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Englebert Humperdink, Errol Flynn, Joan Crawford and Ramon Novarro, many of which include personal inscriptions. Stills from Brock’s films and television appearances, including “Police Dog” (1950), “Lilli Marlene” (1950), “Sherlock Holmes” (1954), “Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents: The Present” (1956), “The Errol Flynn Theatre: The Duel” (1957) and a number of headshots are also held in the Stills collection.
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Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention -
Arrangement ↴
The collection consists of Brock’s personal papers, the majority of which are letters. His friendships with actors Ramón Novarro and Mae Clarke are chronicled up to the their deaths. Ramón Novarro’s arrest for drunk driving and his eventual murder are also recorded in newspaper clippings.
The collection also contains copies of Hollywood Studio Magazine and Classic Images magazine, as well as correspondence regarding Brock’s columns. In relation to his acting career, the collection contains contracts, letters and clippings.Brock also kept an album of signed photographs of Hollywood stars, with shots of Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Englebert Humperdink, Errol Flynn, Joan Crawford and Ramon Novarro, many of which include personal inscriptions. Stills from Brock’s films and television appearances, including “Police Dog” (1950), “Lilli Marlene” (1950), “Sherlock Holmes” (1954), “Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents: The Present” (1956), “The Errol Flynn Theatre: The Duel” (1957) and a number of headshots are also held in the Stills collection.
Conditions of Access & Use
| Access Conditions | Accessible at the Irish Film Archive with an appointment |
| Conditions Governing Reproduction | Copyright and other restrictions may apply. |
| Creation Dates | 1950-1996 |
| Extent Medium | 1 box |
Allied Materials
There are no Allied Materials
Descriptive Control Area
| Archivist Note | Niamh Collins; Rebecca Grant |
| Rules/Conventions | ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000. |
| Date of Descriptions | 2009-2010 |