Lot 401
Orson Welles: Typed Letter Signed on Mercury Productions, Inc. Letterhead dated 1941. Also 1945 Recording of Radio Broadcast of "Snow White" (1915-1985) Orson Welles, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter is remembered as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. In 1937 he and John Houseman (Supporting Oscar winner for THE PAPER CHASE) founded the Mercury Theater whose critically smash productions offered a stable of incredible actors which he drew from in casting his films. Here Welles is responding to a request by Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, at the time one of America's leading newspaper and magazine writers, a humorist of immense popularity. He writes declining an offer to involve himself in one of his charity efforts due to a conflict of one of his own. Of note this letter is written during the immense controversy of his film CITIZEN KANE still fully engaged against William Randolph Hearst and the execrable Louella Parsons and other controversies regarding its release.
On Mercury Productions, Inc. 11 x 8.5" inch letterhead and his name, Welles has signed boldly in red fountain pen ink. Light folds from original mailing, letter itself is pristine.
Also included is a rare vinyl recording, not a commercial issue, of Orson Welles recording Snow White for Cresta Blanca Wine a radio broadcast in 1945. n the introduction to the show, Welles shares that it's his oldest daughter's seventh birthday and that he knows of no better story to share with her than Snow White. As one would expect, his narration is phenomenal. Jane Powell, who starred in the 1944 Screen Guild Theater performance, repeats her role as the princess. Excerpts of the songs from the film are performed throughout with live orchestra accompaniment. Broadcast of this show ran just at 30 minutes which appears to be in it's entirety on this recording. Broadcast can be heard on Orson Welles On The Air archived at CBS (and available on the internet.). Estimated Value $600 - 1,000
From the Collection of Mark Rofeh.
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| Realized $400 |
