IAN HOLM - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/08/1984 - HFSID 36874

IAN HOLM
The actor reflects on his early stage productions and his transition to film.
Autograph Letter signed: "Ian Holm". 1 page, 8¼x7. Towbridge [England], 1984 August 2. To Mr. Todd M. Axelrod, in part: "I go back a long way! I joined my chosen profession in 1954: my first role being a 'spear-carrier' in a production of 'Othello' at Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of our greatest 'living' dramatist. I remained there (with a show break) for some 13 years…After leaving Stratford in 1967, I was fortunate enough to find employment in the other two media and often think of myself as one of the lucky few who have in fact made the transition from stage to movie work a relatively painless one. I am now 'hooked' on film and the desire to work towards the 'moment' supercedes the rather monotonous repetition of theatre work. I shall of course return to the latter when I feel ready. May I wish you success in rejuvenating Las Vegas! Yours sincerely". English actor Ian Holm (1931-2020) joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1950, and has appeared in many Shakespearean stage and film productions since. (He still bears a finger scar from a 1959 sword duel with Laurence Olivier in a production of Coriolanus.) He was nominated for a BAFTA for The Bofors Gun (1968), and for an Oscar as Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1971). He won a Tony for The Homecoming (1967), reprising his role in the 1973 film. Holm has played a variety of historical figures in films, including Napoleon (3 times), Hitler cronies Himmler and Goebbels, and Lech Walesa. He is best known to more recent filmgoers as Bilbo Baggins in the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit. (He had appeared in major roles in several earlier Tolkien productions.) Normal mailing folds. Lightly frayed at top edge. Otherwise, fine condition.