DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/07/1991 - HFSID 155573

DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. sends a typed letter of thanks for the suggestion on the next volume of his book.
Typed Letter Signed: "Doug F.", 1p, 7¼x10½. New York, New York, 1991 February 7. To Mr. Mel May, Mel May Productions, Sherman Oaks, California. In full: "It was good to hear from you again. Your letter was a cheery 'welcome back' to my office after a few weeks in the hospital with bronchial pneumonia. Actually, I'm not surprised at the negative reactions you received for your proposals to have my life story put on T.V. The best time for the producers and the public for this sort of this is usually after the subject has died as that is when they can say what they like about the subject without fear of lawsuit for slander or lies or whatever. I'm sure P.B.S. will give you a similar answer. Thank you for your suggestion for a title for the next volume of my autobiography. Actually, it is the publisher who finally decides on the titles. I had nothing to do with mine, except to 'approve' the publishers' choice. Nevertheless, I'll pass on your suggestion in the event I ever get the damned second volume finished! All good wishes to you, as usual, and with repeated thank, I am Sincerely," Typewritten postscript: "P.S. Several really important people in the California film world (A.K.A.. 'Hollywood') have tried for some time to have the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences present me with the prestigious Jean Hersholt Award. But all in vain - for one reason or another. My father, the Academy's first president, received an 'Oscar' 20 years after his death ! Chaplin also had trouble being recognized apropros." 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). In the 1930s, he was married to actress Joan Crawford. Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Fine condition.