DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. sends a biography, and apologizes for the poor quality of the accompanying photo
Autograph Letter Signed: "Doug", 1p, 7¼x10½. New York, New York, no date. In full: "Dear Mel There are many better glossies than these - but they're all I can find! Ask Dawin Naget or call Maurice Truiuing (at 867-0400)- otherwise we'll have to send to London for them. Hope the attached Biog- [not present] is helpful- Yours," Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1909-2000), the son of the dashing actor of the 1920s and Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of an industrialist, was raised by his mother after his parents' divorce in 1918. At the age of 13, he starred in Lasky's Stephen Steps Out, an unsuccessful attempt to exploit the Fairbanks name. Although the younger Fairbanks, a movie producer as well as an actor, appeared in some 75 films, his father took little interest in his son's career, and the two did not become close friends until the early 1930s. His feature films included Stella Dallas (1926), Little Caesar (1930), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939) and Sinbad the Sailor (1947), and Fairbanks also appeared in a number of made-for-TV movies and hosted the anthology series, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents (1952-1955). Fairbanks was highly decorated for his US Navy service in World War II; he organized the Beach Jumpers, an elite unit which staged diversionary amphibious landings to draw enemy forces away from the genuine landing sites. In the 1930s, he was married to actress Joan Crawford. Lightly creased not at signature. Fine condition.