CHARLES LAUGHTON - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/01/1961 - HFSID 291420

CHARLES LAUGHTON
The British actor writes a letter to a friend one year prior to his own death, he discusses the release of his final film Advise and Consent, directed by Otto Preminger, whom he mentions in the letter.
Typed Letter signed: "Charles/You bum!", 1 page, 7½x10½, No place, 1961 December 1. On personal letterhead to My dear Ed. In full: "Excuse me for not having replied to your nice letter before this, but I have had a perfectly stinking cold. The movie came out quite well, but I'm afraid Otto lost his case with the theatre company of the play, and it won't be released for another six months which is quite a blow to all of us. Well, well, it can't be helped. You know those few weeks in Washington were I think a highlight of everybody's life concerned, everything just seemed to be right and we were happy as a unit at the respect we got from you people as I hope you were happy with the respect and affection you got from us. I certainly hope to be in Washington some time soon and will of course look you up. It won't be as soon as I expected to be for I would have been in Washington for the premier of the movie. Give my affectionate regards to everybody. Warmest wishes," Laughton worked on his final film Advise and Consent (1962) with famed director Otto Preminger. He refers to the director simply as "Otto" in this letter. In the film Laughton received favorable comments for his performance as a southern US Senator. He was dying from metastatic renal cell carcinoma (cancer of the kidney) while he worked on the film. British stage and screen actor Charles Laughton (1899-1962) won the 1932-1933 Best Actor Academy Award for The Private Life of Henry VIII, which he had reprised from his stage role, and he was nominated for Best Actor Oscars for Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Laughton, who made his film debut in 1928, starred in a long list of feature films, including Island of Lost Souls (1933), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), Les Misérables (1935), The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jamaica Inn (both in 1939), It Started With Eve (1941), The Canterville Ghost (1944), Captain Kidd (1945), Young Bess (1953, in which he played King Henry VIII), Spartacus (1960) and Advise and Consent (1962, his last film). The multitalented performer, who became an American citizen in 1950, was also a prolific stage director (he only directed one major film, 1955's Night of the Hunter), producer and drama teacher. Laughton also made several appearances on television from 1949, including roles in several early anthology series, and gave popular one-man tours, reading the works of authors including George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare. Laughton, who was a veteran of WWI, was married to actress Elsa Lanchester from February 9, 1929 until his death on December 15, 1962. According to Lanchester, Laughton would never have made a film if it had been left up to him. Nervous about his performances, Laughton was always threatening to quit early in a production. The actor fixed multiple typos in the letter with blue ink. 7¼x10½. Paper clip imprint at top edge. Lightly creased. Edges lightly toned. Unknown stains on verso (light show through). Otherwise, fine condition.