GEORGE BAKER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 286813

GEORGE BAKER
ALS to his longtime companion Suzanne LaFrance, speculating that he might have to sue Paramount to get his "Sad Sack" on TV.
Autograph Letter signed: "G. B.", 1 page, 8½x11. No place, no date. To "Dear Pangolin" [his longtime companion, Suzanne LaFrance". In full: "Have the letters started to arrive? You should bet a big batch of them because I write most every day. I've been having tough luck with the mails - I found out that 75 shares of stock I own was lost in the mail and I'm having a problem getting them replaced. Don't know if my office fouled up or what. It's another annoyance that plagues me these days. But to continue my chronicle of Cheer - the TV deal is off! Sam Goldwyn Jr. still wants to do it but Paramount insists it has the TV rights and to clarify this point legally I'll just about have to sue them! I can't see myself bucking Paramount in the courts so unless William Morris stands the price of the suit I'll have to forget about TV unless Paramount decides to do it themselves. It still hasn't resolved itself but that's about the way things stack up. I hope things are a little brighter for you now. You sounded so sad in your last few letters. Try and have a little fun - after all you are in the gayest city in the world - love from". Cartoonist George Baker (1915-1975), originally a Walt Disney animator who worked on the classic films Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi, was drafted in 1941 and was soon producing a popular comic, Sad Sack, for The Army Weekly. Sad Sack, portraying the foibles of an army private, was the periodical's most popular feature, and was used by the US Army in a 1946 re-enlistment campaign. After his discharge, Baker began drawing Sad Sack as a comic book and syndicated comic strip. Sad Sack was featured on a radio show in 1946, and Paramount Pictures used the character for a 1957 film, with Jerry Lewis in the title role. Obviously, Baker was unable to overcome Paramount's claim to the TV rights. Sad Sack never became a series. Baker also produced sketches and other art, his longtime companion Suzanne LaFrance being a frequent subject of his drawings. Three holes from hole-punch at left edge. Two horizontal fold creases. Written in pencil. Otherwise fine condition.