EXTREMELY RARE BRUCE LEE SIGNED ESSAY. INCLUDES 180 WORDS IN HIS OWN HAND! AMONG EARLIEST KNOWN WRITING EXAMPLES. Autograph Manuscript signed: "Bruce Lee", blue ink, 2p (front and back), 6½x8. Headed: "Dictation", circa late 1950's. This essay appears to be an English dictation exercise, likely written during Lee's time (1956-1959) at St. Francis Xavier College in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Found throughout are Lee's own handwritten corrections to grammar or spelling showing is dedication to proper language use. Writing reflects Lee's famous flowing signature and graceful writing style. Uneven tearing to left-side edge, with minor creasing throughout; light markings present at upper left corner, not affecting text. Overall, fine condition. Accompanied by Beckett letter of Authenticity. In part: "The history of aviation is full of adventures, and their happy outcome has proved how great is man's ability to brave the dangers which confront him. Not long ago an aviator, while flying over a part of Africa, met with engine trouble at a time when visibility was poor, and was compelled to descend in an swamp at the edge of a large lake. His machine turned upside down and became deeply embedded in the mud.…"

10¼x13 rare, stunning image of the ill-fated star, signed "for the lovely hair", from the estate of Hollywood hairdresser Wally Wallace! Exceptional item from Farmer, who is rare in any format! Photograph signed: "For the lovely hair/Frances F.". B/w, 10¼x13. FRANCES FARMER (1913-1970) had a reputation as a talented, but demanding and rebellious, actress who battled the studios, alcohol and other addictions and mental illness. At the time of the release of her film Son of Fury, costarring Tyrone Power, in 1942, the 29-year-old actress was arrested and convicted of drunk driving. Inundated with negative publicity, she traveled to Mexico. However, by leaving the U.S., Farmer was found in violation of her probation. Put on trial and deemed mentally ill, Farmer was committed to a mental institution where she underwent shock treatments, hydrotherapy baths and reportedly received a trans-orbital lobotomy. Over the next few years, her physical and mental health deteriorated; she developed a debilitating dependency on alcohol and suffered from a series of nervous breakdowns. Her best films included Come and Get It (1936) and Son of Fury (1942). A film about her life, Frances, starring Jessica Lang, was released in 1982.

Collection of ten items from the production of this 1949 film, the true story of a great baseball comeback. Included are the original contract signed by Monty Stratton; his pass to the MGM studios; a baseball signed by 15 cast and crew members; a signed baseball card showing the White Sox pitcher; photos and lobby cards signed by stars James Stewart and June Allyson; a DVD of the movie; a release form signed by Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey allowing use of  his photo stills from this film; and a souvenir album inscribed by cast and crew to Monty's son Dennis! Collection comprised of: 1) Contract signed: "Monty Stratton", 25 pages, 9x13½. Culver City, California, 1948 February 26. Agreement between Monty Stratton ("the artist") and Loew's, Incorporated ("the producer"), acquiring Stratton's services as "technical adviser, director, coach, and/or technical writing assistant" at the discretion of the producer. Also signed by a Loew's Vice President (name illegible). He may also be used as an actor, and shall make personal appearances for film promotion. Stratton is to be paid $500 per week for the length of the contract, one year beginning on the signing date. Interestingly, the contract never mentions The Stratton Story.

Striking matted presentation of individual photographs signed by three of the stars of the classic Western, including a rare signature of Dan Blocker. Comprises: (1) MICHAEL LANDON. Photograph inscribed and signed: "To Tobi,/Best Wishes/Michael/Landon". B/w, 6¾x8¾. Minor surface creases. Light vertical striation at facial image. Fine condition. (2) LORNE GREENE. Photograph inscribed and signed: "To Tobi-/Best Bonanza Wishes/Lorne Greene". B/w, 6¾x8¾. Minor surface creases and smudges (most not evident head on), light creases at facial image. Overall, fine condition. (3) DAN BLOCKER. Photograph inscribed and signed: "My best to/Tobi -/Dan Blocker". B/w, 6¾x8¾. Some writing is light (completely legible). Minor surface creases and striations (most not evident head on). Fine condition. Bonanza, the story of the Cartwright family, who lived and worked on their sprawling Ponderosa ranch, ran on NBC from 1959-1973. Bonanza was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best TV Show in 1964.

Chastened by a messy divorce from his first wife, the famed director signs a prenuptial agreement with his bride to be, Evelyn Baldwin, who has also signed here. Document signed: "David Wark Griffith", "Evelyn Baldwin", 2 pages, 8½x13. No place, 1936 March 2. In anticipation of his pending marriage to Evelyn Baldwin, Griffith irrevocably transfers to her all rights to an annuity contract with the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, yielding annual income of $5,632.80 for the rest of her life. In exchange, Baldwin releases Griffith, along with his heirs and assigns, from any additional claims except for assets freely given to Baldwin by Griffith. The agreement is to become effective only on the consummation of the Griffith-Baldwin marriage. David Llewelyn Wark GRIFFITH (1875-1948) directed his first film in 1908, and in 1910 became the first to shoot a film in Hollywood. His Judith of Bethulia (1914) was among the first feature films, and the controversial Birth of a Nation (1915), became the first blockbuster movie hit, inspiring the movie industry that we have known since. Griffith co-founded United Artists studio with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Five of his movies are deemed important enough for preservation in the US Film Registry.

The first black actress to win an Academy Award is shown standing in a living room and wearing a fur coat in this sepia photograph, signed in blue felt tip. Inscribed Photograph Signed: "Best Wishes/Always To/Miriam Hutchinson/From/Hattie McDaniel/9-3-46" in blue felt tip. Sepia, 8x10. Hattie McDaniel (1895-1952) was the first Black actress to win an Academy Award, capturing the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1939 for her role of Mammy in Gone With the Wind. McDaniel had a strong film resume even before Gone With the Wind, especially in light of the limited opportunities for black actors in that era, beginning with small roles in films like Mae West's I'm No Angel (1934) and Shirley Temple's The Little Colonel (1935), working up to major roles in Saratoga (1937) and The Shopworn Angel (1938). She was also the first Black woman to sing on American radio, and after many performances on such radio programs as Amos 'n Andy and the Eddie Cantor Show, she starred in the title role of Beulah on the radio. Because of other commitments, she appeared in only six 1952 episodes of the television version, which ran from 1950-1953. Autographs of McDaniel are scarce and desirable. Minor crease at lower right background. Lightly soiled at right background, edges slightly worn.

He signs a replica 40-inch Japanese katana on the handle, adding ""Kill Bill'". Ephemera signed: "David Carradine "Kill Bill"". Between his name and the film title, he has drawn a yin/yang symbol. Replica Japanese katana, 40" long, with cloth wrapped handle, decorative blade collar and red scabbard, signed on the scabbard in silver ink. The eldest son of actor John Carradine, stage, screen and television actor David Carradine, born John Arthur Carradine, is best known as the Chinese-American Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in TV's Kung Fu (1972-1975). Carradine, who took a strong interest in the Asian martial arts and the philosophy behind them when he began the role, has produced action films, two exercise videos and a book, Spirit of Shaolin, on the subject. Carradine, who earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of Woody Guthrie in the film Bound for Glory (1976), made his film debut in 1964's Taggart, and has appeared in such films as Boxcar Bertha (1972), The Long Goodbye (1973), Mean Streets (1973), Death Race 2000 (1975), Gray Lady Down (1977), The Long Riders (1980) and Bird on a Wire (1990), and he found success later in his career in the two "Kill Bill" movies (2003-2004).

Photo of a large crowd taken outside at a 1927 MGM convention, signed by 27 MGM stars, including Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney, Sr. Important Historical Photograph signed: "Greta Garbo", "Lon Chaney", "Norma Shearer", "Joan Crawford", "Conrad Nagel", "Dolores Del Rio", "Johnny Mack Brown", "Jackie Coogan", "Billy Haines", "Eileen Percy", "Claire Windsor", "Tom O'Brien", "Tim McCoy", "Louise Lorraine", "George K. Archer", "E.M. Saunders", "Dorothy Sebastian", "Roy D'Arcy", "Harry Carey", "Sally O'Neil", "Helene Chadwick", "Bert Woodruff", "Karl Dane", "Gwen Lee", "Tom Connors" and "Frank Currier". Sepia, 10x8½. Lightly soiled at blank margins. Mounting remnants on verso (no show-through). Fine condition. Accompanied by a 6x8original printed menu, unsigned. Fine condition.

11x14 sepia photo of Fields in the stage version of his skit, "The Caledonian Express," signed and inscribed to author and publisher Arthur Samuels. Field's inscription includes one of his famous lines from the stage and screen skit: "You'll ha to git oot/o' the compartment." Oversized Photograph inscribed and signed: "To My friend/Arthur -you'll ha to git oot/o' the compartment,/from his friend/Bill Fields/Oct 11 - 1928." Sepia, 11x14. Remarkable studio portrait inscribed to Arthur Samuels, who was involved with the publishing of "Ladies Home Journal" and authored Poppy. Half-view left profile by Hal Phype. Fields has quoted one of his lines from the Earl Carroll's Vanities sketch "The Caledonian Express" (1928), in which the legendary comedian played four Scottish characters trying to remove an uninvited guest from a train compartment. Fields repeated the skit in the film Follow the Boys (1945), but that time played the intruder. Samuels' Poppy made Fields a Broadway star in 1923, and he reprised the role in two film versions. Surface creases at upper right corner with fraying at that corner, else fine, handsome and rare.

Four legendary actors draw caricatures of themselves and sign them in ink, completing this incredible framed collection Comprises: 1) Self-caricature signed: "Ernest Borgnine" 7½x6½ visible. Lightly toned. Otherwise, fine condition. 2) Self-caricature signed: "John Gielgud/ 1985". 2¾x4½. Fine condition. 3) Self-caricature signed: "Good Wishes/ Alec Guinness/ 1981". 5½x8. Fine condition. 4) Self-caricature signed: "Ch". 5¼x8. Fine condition. These four actors - two Brits, two Americans - dominated the screen and stage on both sides of the Atlantic for decades. JOHN GIELGUD (1904-2000) was born a generation before the other three. He performed on Broadway and London stages for many years, eventually becoming an accomplished theatre director as well. He was the fourth person to win at least one individual Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award. ALEC GUINNESS (1914-2000), much like Gielgud, earned acclaim on the stage and transitioned to film and television right after WWII. One of his most famous screen roles is that of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first trilogy of Star Wars films.

George Burns' smoking jacket, size Medium, style 0783. Red and black silk with black pinstriped belt. Label, 2¾ inches by ¾ inches, of fashion designer Fernando Sanchez sewn in. George Burns  was a well-known cigar smoker. In 1994, Arthur Marx, son of Groucho, interviewed Burns for "Cigar Aficionado Magazine" and asked him why he started smoking cigars. Burns' answer: "I smoked them because I wanted people to think I was doing well. When they saw me walking down the street smoking a cigar, they'd say, 'hey, that 14-year-old kid must be going places.' Of course, it's also a good prop on the stage. That's why so many performers, including your father, use them. When you can't think of what you are supposed to say next, you take a puff on your cigar until you do think of your next line…If I'd taken my doctor's advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn't have lived to go to his funeral." Burns died in 1996 at age 100. Fine condition.

Signed move still from the move Bullitt. Photograph inscribed and signed: "To/Kevin/Best Wishes/Steve McQueen". B/w, 8x10. Still from the 1968 film, Bullitt. Steve McQueen (1930-1980) played a police detective in the film, portraying him in the stunt-driving role typical of his anti-hero image. McQueen had his first starring film role in The Blob (1958), the same year he began a three-year run as a moody bounty hunter in TV's Wanted: Dead or Alive. McQueen was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for The Sand Pebbles (1966). Among his many other movie hits were The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and Papillon (1973). He was married to actress Ali MacGraw from 1973-1977. Writing light but legible. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 15½ x 23¼. Frame exhibits wearing at corners.