ANDY WILLIAMS - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 10/25/1993 - HFSID 270346

ANDY WILLIAMS
Andy Williams sends a typed letter of thanks for the book and to wish Phyllis Diller a Merry Christmas.
Typed Letter Signed: "Andy", 1 page, 8½x11. Branson, Missouri, 1993 October 25. On letterhead of the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller, Los Angeles, California. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "Thank you for the inspiring Actors as Artists book. I'm glad you enjoyed the deKooning in your dressing room and may I be one of the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. Love". Diller is a talented artist, known for her portraits of celebrities as well as other works. Williams, the first non-country performer to take up permanent residence in Branson, opened his Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in May 1992. He continues to entertain fans six nights a week from September-December. Best known for his signature song, "Moon River", his long-running variety show and his Williams family Christmas specials, ANDY WILLIAMS (1927-2012), the holder of 18 gold and three platinum records, began his career singing in the church choir established by his parents. He gained a wider audience from age eight, when the Williams Brothers Quartet began appearing on radio, first in Iowa and later in Chicago and Cincinnati. The Williams Brothers attracted the attention of Bing Crosby, who featured them on his 1944 hit, "Swinging on a Star". Three years later, the group teamed up with comedienne Kay Thompson, whose nightclub act toured widely throughout the U.S. and Europe. After the Williams Brothers disbanded in 1951, Andy headed to New York, where he became a regular performer on Steve Allen's Tonight Show. Signing with the Cadence label, Williams had his first Top 10 hit with "Canadian Sunset", which was followed by a string of hits including "Butterfly", "Lonely Street" and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", which bought his first Grammy nomination. Williams' continued to appear regularly on television in shows including The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Chevy Showroom With Andy Williams and his own 13-week summer replacement variety show. In 1962, he began his 28-year association with Columbia Records, turning out such hits as "Can't Get Used to Losing You" and "Moon River", the Oscar-winning song from Breakfast at Tiffany's that became his signature song after his stunning performance of it at the Academy Awards ceremony. The song, which charted for over 100 weeks, was No. 1 for 16 weeks. On September 16, 1963, The Andy Williams Show, which would run until 1972, debuted. The variety show would win three Emmy Awards for Best Musical/Variety (1966, 1967, 1969) and launch Williams' classic Christmas specials. During this time, Williams also toured, opening Caesar's Palace in 1966 (he would headline there for the next 20 years) and performing for fans worldwide. In 1991, Williams traveled to Branson, Missouri, where he built the Andy Williams Moon River Theater. Comedienne PHYLLIS DILLER (1917-2012), known for her outrageous appearance, zany outfits, distinctive laugh and a stand-up act that featured frequent references to her fictional husband, "Fang", and zingers about her sex appeal and numerous plastic surgeries, got her big break in March 1955 (at age 37), when she debuted at San Francisco's Purple Onion club. A subsequent appearance on The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar launched her national career, which got a big boost after Bob Hope saw Diller in a Washington, D.C. club. A favorite of the comedian, Diller would appear in three of Hope's films and 23 of his TV specials. Diller, who recorded her first comedy record album in 1959, took her groundbreaking "funny hausfrau" act to nightclubs and television variety shows and specials and she also appeared on the big screen. Her feature film credits include Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Fat Spy (1966), Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), The Sunshine Boys (1975) and The Silence of the Hams (1994), and she provided the voice of the Queen in A Bug's Life (1998). By 2000, the comedienne, who had trained as a concert pianist before her marriage (1939-1965) to Sherwood Anderson Diller, had appeared as a piano soloist with 100 symphony orchestras across the U.S. Despite retiring from nightclub/stage tours in May 2002 at the age of 84, Diller continued to make films (Motorcross Kids, 2004; Forget About It, 2005) and occasionally appear on TV programs, including two episodes of 7th Heaven (2002, 2003) and a guest shot on The Wayne Brady Show (2004). Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Fine condition.