EUGENIE LEONTOVICH - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 10/25/1947 - HFSID 201650

EUGENIE LEONTOVICH
The prolific Broadway actor and writer sends letter inquiring after the health of a friend, signs name in blue ink
Autograph letter signed: "Eugenie" in blue ink. 1 page front and verso, 7¼x10½. Addressed to producer"Robert Reud" of New York City. Original mailing envelope included. October 25, 1947. In full: "Dear Robert: Hello again - In other lovely morning - in other pleasant walk - walking thinking of you. Last night have tried to reach you by the phone in your Hotel. I were not there. How are you? I hope nothing bad. Some how I was hoping to hear from you - I know so well what you went through but my dear friend -j there is so much good, interesting things ahead of you -forget the little troubles and go on - you can not [illegible] but get what you want - in life. Please be gay - and bold and happy. Let me hear from you. Yours very friendly". Broadway producer and press agent Robert Reud, whom these letters are addressed to, was involved with New York theatre for over twenty years, including productions of Hello, Daddy (1929), Our Town (1938), The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1943), Ramshackle Inn (1944), The Odds on Mrs. Oakley (1944), and Duet for Two Hands (1947); he was friends with many actresses including Elisabeth Bergner and Greta Garbo. EUGENIE LEONTOVICH (1900-1993) was a Russian-born American stage actress who also appeared on film and television, described as "one of the most colorful figures of the 20th-century theatre, a successful actress, producer, playwright and teacher". Born in Moscow, after studying at the city's Imperial School of Dramatic Art and the Moscow Art Theatre, Leontovich suffered tragedy when her father and brothers, officers in the Russian Imperial Army, were murdered by the Bolsheviks during the Revolution; she eventually found her way to New York and mastered English, leading her to Broadway stardom. She was first noticed as the dancer Grusinkaya in Grand Hotel (1930), and went on to appear as Lilly Garland in Twentieth Century (1932), and on the West End as Archduchess in Tovarich (1935). Leontovich originated the role of the Dowager Empress in the Broadway production of Anastasia (1954), the Queen in Cave Dwellers (1957) for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in 1958, and Mademoiselle Kuprin in A Call on Kuprin (1961), and in 1972 wrote her own adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, going on to star and direct the production. She often appeared on film in productions of The Rains of Ranchipur (1955) and The Rains Came (1939). She spent the rest of her life as a teacher, referred to as "Madame" at her schools in New York and Chicago. Normal mailing folds. Lightly toned. Light surface creases. Corners rounded. Otherwise, fine condition.