The Bell Family Collection

Archived exhibit from 2007. Click on the images to see a larger version. Return to this page with your browser's Back button.

Ricardo Bell

The Bell Family collection tells the saga of this family from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. The papers include photographs, interviews, clippings, magazines, advertising materials, show programs, original scripts, contracts for performances, letters, and other family keepsakes, as well as Edward Bell Jr.'s research notes on the history of the Bells.

The son of Edward Andre Sr. and Missouri-born Nellie Lewis, Edward Andre Jr. (Sao Paulo, 1917 - Fort Worth, 1984) moved from Mexico to Austin, Texas, first as a movie actor and then to pursue an academic career. In 1947, Edward became an American citizen. In 1956, he married Harriet Griffith Inniss. In 1964, Edward and his wife moved to Fort Worth, where he was a professor of Spanish at Texas Christian University. The couple lived in a Mediterranean house on Fifth Avenue. Edward retired in 1977. With no direct heirs, he left his family papers and part of his estate to TCU.

Finding aid for the Bell Family Papers.

The Bell Family Papers have been digitized and are available in our digital repository.