Actors' Equity Association Certified Pearl Bailey Hand-Signed 1945 William Morris Agency Representation Contract

This listing highlights an exceptional, museum-grade piece of theatrical history and music entertainment lore: the original, fully executed corporate Actors' Equity Association Personal Representative Agreement, dated December 24, 1945. This historic talent document is boldly hand-signed by legendary singer, actress, and humanitarian Pearl Bailey at the monumental dawn of her Broadway career.

Fully executed business contracts hand-signed by the Tony Award winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient from the 1940s are extraordinarily scarce, serving as a premier centerpiece asset for advanced performance art archives and elite manuscript collections worldwide.

Key Archive Features & Production Specifications

• HISTORIC WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY LINEAGE: Establishes a formal talent representation agreement employing the prestigious William Morris Agency, Inc. as her exclusive Personal Representative. This document dates to the exact period when William Morris was orchestrating Bailey's historic transition from a big-band vocalist into a frontline Broadway stage star, leading directly to her award-winning breakout role in St. Louis Woman (1946).

• EXACT UNION METRICS & FINANCIAL GUARANTEES: Registered as an official Actors' Equity Association union covenant, the contract details highly structured financial and logistical protections assigned to Bailey:

  • Term: Locked for a strict one-year duration spanning December 24, 1945, to December 23, 1946.

  • Commission: Capped at the standard union rate of 10% of the salary received for engagements in the legitimate theater and musical comedy fields.

  • Guaranteed Employment: William Morris legally bound itself to secure employment for Bailey for at least 20 weeks during the contract year.

  • Guaranteed Salary: Dictates a minimum weekly performance salary of not less than $200.00.

• COMPREHENSIVE TWO-PAGE ARCHIVE: The bundle includes the primary contract page and the extensive second-page "Extracts From Permit" rider outlining strict union guidelines regarding territory definitions, motion picture crossover structures, and non-assignability covenants.

Key Autograph Feature & Archival Condition

• AUTHENTIC PEARL BAILEY SIGNATURE: The document is elegantly hand-signed "Pearl Bailey" in fountain pen ink across the primary "Member" validation line on page one, showing a beautifully preserved example of her early-career cursive signature.

• COLLECTOR'S ARCHIVAL CONDITION: Spanning over eight decades of American entertainment history, this original legal document is in wonderful condition. The vintage paper stock remains clean, crisp, and structurally sound. The typography, layout fields, and hand-inked signature are perfectly preserved, bold, and entirely unblemished inside clear archival-grade sleeves.