CLAUDE RAINS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 9/2 - HFSID 280904

CLAUDE RAINS
Oscar-nominated actor Claude Rains wrote this letter to his daughter Jennifer Rains in 1964 on his personalized stationery about his wife, who was dying of pancreatic cancer. Accompanied by original mailing envelope.
Autograph letter signed: "The Dean", 4p, 5½x7½, on Rains' personalized stationery. Dated "Sept 2". In full: "I know of no kin in this country. There is a guy in Rhode Island, who rides around with 'RAINS' on his license plate. Probably a [illegible] of water! You have a fault - no date on your letter, also no address. Envelope get thrown away. Sally B & Jean called me - reported on performance & told me Ed. was in the audience. You could come here but it wouldn't make you happy. I have got a little cottage - isolated on the water with its own beach. If I can get her with the water - waist high - it may be good for her We move tomorrow - for a couple of months - I'll be running to & fro for flowers in the garden & the Post Office. You seem to be very happy - too bad you have not been able to get into New York. I turn down many offers - abroad [superscript: That [illegible]] & in California. Calls me [illegible] he too far away. Sky comes back from a vacation tomorrow - I didnt [sic] want him to see her slow, day by day falling to pieces. She is a very brave soul; makes me feel like a pigmy. Sally sent handkerchiefs Keep your chin up - I was told to give a good performance for her. So I do Love". Lightly toned, soiled, stained and creased. Show-through touches handwriting but not signature. Random ink stains. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Original mailing envelope from Rain's personalized stationery and addressed in his hand. Postmarked Sandwich, New Hampshire, date illegible. Addressed to Jessica Rains, The Rothesay Play House, Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada. Four 5¢ blue-and-white George Washington stamps affixed. Lightly toned, stained and creased. Address is lightly smeared in places but is legible. Rounded corners. Torn open at top edge. Otherwise in fine condition. This letter was probably written in 1964, when Rain's sixth wife Rosemary McGroarty was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died on Jan. 31, 1964. Rains' only child was his daughter Jennifer Rains by his fourth wife Frances Propper. She changed her name to Jessica Rains when she became an actor. Rains (1889-1967), who played the title role in The Invisible Man (1933), was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 1939 (as the "bought" Senator Paine in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), 1943 (Inspector Louis Renault in Casablanca), 1944 (title role in Mr. Skeffington) and 1946 (Ingrid Bergman's Nazi husband in Notorious). Two irems.