COUNT BASIE - AUTOGRAPH SENTIMENT SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: DICK HAYNES, MARILYN HARE, CHILI WILLIAMS - HFSID 27140

COUNT BASIE, CO-SIGNED BY: DICK HAYNES, MARILYN HARE, CHILI WILLIAMS
Guestbook page signed by band leader Count Basie, radio host Dick Haynes, actress Marilyn Hare and pin-up girl Chili Williams, better known as "the Polka Dot Girl". With small b/w photos in unknown hand.
Autograph sentiments signed "Good to be with/you again/Count Basie" in black ink and, on verso, "Chili Williams", "Marilyn Hare" and "By George you're great/Seriously - here's a/sincere good wish/for you and yours/-Dick/Haynes" all in green ink. With red pencil marks and blue ink notations in unknown hand. 2 pages, 7¾x10, 1 sheet, front and verso. With b/w glossy and magazine photos of all signers affixed. BASIE (1904-1984, born William Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey) was one of the best-loved of all bandleaders. His unique piano style led him to be called one of the leaders of swing music, and he is credited with introducing blues to mainstream audiences through his polished versions of blues rhythms. The great interpreter of swing formed his own band in 1935, which placed over 30 recordings in the Top 40 from 1937 to 1968 and showcased such legendary performers as Billie Holiday and saxophonist Lester Young. He also wrote One O'Clock Jump, now a jazz standard. Basie appeared in films from 1938 to 1964. His last was a memorable scene with his orchestra in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974). The Count Basie Orchestra still tours today, playing the famous arrangements that Basie pioneered. HAYNES (1911-80, born in Beaumont, Texas) was a movie and TV actor and radio personality. He had a total of 23 movies and TV shows to his credit between 1948 and 1980. He was also host of the morning country show Haynes at the Raynes at KLAC in Los Angeles, California, which earned him a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame and a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fans may recognize him as Colonel Lansfield, the commander of the moon base in The Phantom Planet (1961). HARE (1923-81, born in Flushing, New York) was a pert but plain-looking singer before Republic signed her on as an actress for two years in 1940. In all, she had 10 movie appearances between 1941 and 1944 before reappearing in guest star roles on TV from 1956 to 1969. Her movies roles include Ellen Drew's sidekick Bubbles in Ice Capades-Revue (1942), as innocent Susanna Weaver in Shepherd of the Ozarks (1942) and as the love interest in West of Texas (1943). WILLIAMS (1921-2003, born Marian Sorenson Uhlman in Minneapolis, Minnesota) was a World War II pinup girl better known as "the Polka Dot Girl". She was featured in a photo series in the Sept. 27 1943 issue of Life frolicking in the Atlantic Ocean in a black-and-white polka dot bikini. The photos were so popular that the magazine reportedly received letters from 100,000 people asking for copies. She also appeared in 20 movies between 1944 and 1952.Lightly toned and creased. Show-through from both sides touches signatures. Pencil marks touch Williams and Hare's signatures, which are still legible. Light discolorations. Neatly torn from guestbook at left edge. Otherwise in fine condition.