EDDIE BRACKEN - CONTRACT MULTI-SIGNED 07/02/1953 - HFSID 178214

EDDIE BRACKEN, CO-SIGNED BY: ELLIOT NUGENT AND COURTNEY BURR
Eddie Bracken signed and initialled this contract in 1954 to appear in the male lead role as Richard Sherman in The Seven Year Itch. He received a weekly salary of $1,000 and part of the play's gross receipts as compensation. Also signed by Elliot Nugent and Courtney Burr, who produced the Broadway version of this play.
Carbon copy contract signed "Courtney Burr" and "Elliot Nugent" as Managers and "Eddie Bracken" as Actor, all in blue ink. Also initialed on rider "EB" and "C. B." twice, both in blue ink. 2 pages, 8½x21¾, 1 sheet front and verso, with one-page 8½x5 rider on thin paper.  June 2, 1953. Titled: "Actor's Equity Association/Standard Run-of-the-Play Contract". Bracken signed this contract to appear in the national company of The Seven Year Itch in the role of "Richard", probably the male lead role of Richard Sherman, beginning on Sept. 7, 1953. He received a weekly salary of $1,000 plus a percentage of the play's gross receipts according to a schedule detailed in the rider, as well as star billing and four weeks vacation during the term of the contract. ELLIOT NUGENT (1899-1980, born in Dover, Ohio) and COURTNEY BURR (1891-1961, born Howard Courtney Burr in St. Johns, Kansas) were both producers of the Broadway production of The Seven Year Itch, which opened at the Fulton Theatre on Nov. 20, 1952 and closed on Aug. 13, 1955 after 1,141 performances. Bracken appeared as one of two replacements for Tom Ewell, whose performance as Richard Sherman won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. A child performer in vaudeville, EDDIE BRACKEN (1915-2002, born in Astoria, Queens) moved on to Broadway and then movies, typecast in comic roles as a bewildered bungler. His film career spanned more than half a century (1938-1994). His peak year was 1944, when he starred in Hail the Conquering Hero and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Contractis lightlytoned and creased. Carbon copy marks. Two file holes at top edge. Staple holes along left edge. Folded five times and unfolded. Rider is lightly toned and creased. Carbon copy marks. Staple holes along left edge. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.