The Paul Lavern Cummings Papers are comprised of Cummings' personal papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials dating from 1927 to 2018. Cummings worked as an actor and performed as a female impersonator under the name Lavern Cummings. The majority of the collection documents his career working at Finnochio’s, a nightclub in San Francisco, California. Materials in this collection includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, sheet music arrangements, photographs, digital audio files, and ephemera. The collection also includes interviews and biographical research material about Cummings and other female and male impersonators.
This interview conducted by Cork Proctor and is part of the Arnold Shaw Collection at UNLV University Libraries Special Collections. It has been added to the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project with Mr. Morris?s permission. In this conversation, Morris reflects upon his career, how he got started as a musician, and the wide range of influential artists he has worked with over the years, as a drummer, musical director and talent manager. Stories include playing with Louis Prima, live and on his albums; serving as Elvis? musical director; filling in for Frank Sinatra?s drummer; entertaining Howard Hughes; and playing at President John F. Kennedy?s inauguration.