DAVID ROUNDS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 03/19/1977 - HFSID 300990

DAVID ROUNDS
Handwritten letter to Theatre World editor John Willis, confessing to being 8 years older than his previous biography had claimed.
Autograph Letter signed: "David", 2 pages (front and verso), 6x7. No place, 1977 March 19. To "Dear John" [Willis], in full: "Thank you for your note! I've been meaning to write you on an incidental matter: my age. When first I was included in your admirable Theatre World I omitted my birth year on the application but then you or some other kind sole made up 1938, as good a year as any. I was flattered and willingly kept up the minor deception. The distorted truth has now found its way into the Library of Congress* [footnote: "New edition of the soap book now called 'From Mary Noble to Mary Hartman', Stein & Day"] and will probably always cause confusion. For the sake of accuracy and truthfulness (over) let us call it Oct. 9 1930 and to Hell with it. Yours [signature] See you in May." David Rounds (1930-1983) won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for Morning's at Seven(1980), his sixth and final Broadway play in a sequence begun with Foxy (1964). (In the intervening years, he appeared in Child's Play (also the 1972 film version), The Rothschilds, The Last of Mrs. Lincoln and Romeo and Juliet. His full-length films included King of the Gypsies (1978) and The Elephant Man (televised from a stage rendition, 1982). His listings in the "soap book" would derive from The Edge of Night (1963-1965) and Ryan's Hope (1977). He also appeared in three episodes of the TV mini-series The Blue and the Gray (1982). . Theatre World, founded in 1945 by Daniel Blum, is America's oldest annual record of Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatre, referenced by industry professionals, historians, students and theatre fans worldwide. Until 1998, when a separate nonprofit corporation was established, Theatre World's editorial staff bestowed the prestigious Theatre World Awards for outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debuts. Screen World (from 1950) and Dance World (from 1966), administered from the same office, furnished comprehensive information on those entertainment genres. John A. Willis (1916-2010), active in Theatre World from the beginning, became its chief editor in 1965, holding that position until 2008. Willis is regarded as one of the foremost theatre and film historians of the 20th century. While producing (and presenting) the annual Theatre World Awards, Willis also served on the nominating committee for the Tony Awards. Theatre World, which received its own Tony for Excellence in Theatre in 2001, continues under chief editor Ben Hodges. Fine condition.