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Lot 1012
A large archive of celebrity letters pertaining to director Michael Curtiz
10 December 2019, 14:00 PST
Los AngelesUS$3,000 - US$5,000
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A large archive of celebrity letters pertaining to director Michael Curtiz
Approximately 62 pp comprising a Typed Letter Signed ("Bing"), 3 pp recto, 8vo, November 18, 1975, on monogrammed stationery, in which the humble crooner recounts his experience watching the rushes with Curtiz while making White Christmas (1954): "He would laugh hysterically and sometimes even cry. He was so carried away with what we were doing and about our ability–which in my case was minimal"; an Autograph Letter Signed ("Ingrid Bergman"), 2 pp recto and verso, February 5, 1975, in which she recalls Curtiz during the making of Casablanca (1942) as being under great stress: "All his actors were nervous, not knowing what was going to happen, all of them asking for their dialogue"; an Autograph Letter Signed ("Lauren Bacall"), where Bacall relays a story of Curtiz being angry at Gary Cooper and taking it out on her; a Typed Letter Signed ("Kirk Douglas"), in which Douglas comments: "He was a man of tremendous vitality–too much for most of the cast because he never wanted to stop for lunch"; 2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Walter Matthau") in which he remembers Curtiz calling him "Walty" and Elvis Presley "Elvy," and yelling at him, "WALTY, YOU ARE HIGH PRICE ACTOR–MAKE BELIEVE YOU ARE LOW PRICE ACTOR. DON'T ACT TOO MUCH"; and much more, including Typed Letters Signed by John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Garson Kanin, Nanette Fabray, Hal Wallis, Olivia de Havilland (who for years was never sure whether Curtiz liked her or not despite their many films together), Will Rogers, Jr., Rudy Vallee, and more; and Autograph Letters Signed by Kay Kuter, Michael Wilding, Rosalind Russell, and more. Many of the letters are on monogrammed stationery and include the original transmittal envelope; all are housed in a white 3-ring binder. A complete list is available upon request.
11.25 x 11.25 x 3 in.
11.25 x 11.25 x 3 in.