D.W. (DAVID LEWELYN WARK) GRIFFITH - DOCUMENT SIGNED 03/02/1936 CO-SIGNED BY: EVEYLN BALDWIN - HFSID 298724
Price: $3,850.00
D. W. GRIFFITH
Chastened by a messy divorce from his first wife, the famed director
signs a prenuptial agreement with his bride to be, Evelyn Baldwin, who has also
signed here.
Document signed: "David Wark Griffith", "Evelyn Baldwin", 2
pages, 8½x13. No place, 1936 March 2. In anticipation of his pending
marriage to Evelyn Baldwin, Griffith irrevocably transfers to her all rights to
an annuity contract with the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford,
Connecticut, yielding annual income of $5,632.80 for the rest of her life. In
exchange, Baldwin releases Griffith, along with his heirs and assigns, from any
additional claims except for assets freely given to Baldwin by Griffith. The
agreement is to become effective only on the consummation of the
Griffith-Baldwin marriage. David Llewelyn Wark GRIFFITH (1875-1948)
directed his first film in 1908, and in 1910 became the first to shoot a
film in Hollywood. His Judith of Bethulia (1914) was among the first
feature films, and the controversial Birth of a Nation (1915), became
the first blockbuster movie hit, inspiring the movie industry that we have known
since. Griffith co-founded United Artists studio with Charlie
Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Five of his movies are deemed
important enough for preservation in the US Film Registry. Since 1953, the
Directors Guild of America has bestowed the D. W. Griffith Award, its
highest honor. Orson Welles once said "No town, no industry, no profession,
no art form owes so much to a single man". Griffith had married young
actress Linda Arvidson in 1906, but she left him in 1911 on grounds of
infidelity. After years of wrangling and monetary claims by Arvidson, the
marriage was finally dissolved on March 2, 1936. Chastened by that experience,
Griffith signed this prenuptial with longtime romantic partner Baldwin that very
day, and married her in April. A week after this agreement, Griffith received
the first honorary Oscar, but his film successes were behind him. Griffith
Corporation filed for bankruptcy later that year; Griffith succumbed to
depression and alcoholism. By the time Baldwin filed for divorce in 1947,
Griffith had few assets left to protect. Evelyn BALDWIN (1910-2004)
appeared in the last film Griffith directed, The Struggle (1931) -
cast as the young wife of a man descending into alcoholism! It was her only
feature film credit. Baldwin appeared as herself in a 1993 documentary film,
D. W. Griffith: Father of Film. Two horizontal folds. Staple holes at top
left and right corner. Lightly creased. Slightly worn at edges. 1-inch vertical
tear at top left corner of page 2. Otherwise, fine condition.
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