DAVID ROUNDS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 06/03/1983 - HFSID 318421

DAVID ROUNDS
Handwritten letter to editor John Willis, regretting he can't attend the annual Theatre World Awards.
Autograph Letter signed: "David", 1 page, 5¾x4. No place, postmarked June 3, 1983.Accompanied by unsigned, hand addressed envelope. To "Dear Jack", in full: "Once again I must regret my favorite cultural and entertainment even of the year. As you know (thanks for the card!) I'm still regaining my health, coming into town seldom." This letter was written just 6 months before his death in December, 1983. 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.