JACK DURANT - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED - HFSID 19413

JACK DURANT
Durant handwrote and signed this short letter to Shirley Spencer to give her "a sample of my handwriting" and adds "isn't it awful, well, conditions are bad all over". Accompanied by an unsigned  press release about Durant, which was probably written in the early 1940s and addressed to Spencer.
Autograph letter signed "Jack Durant" in blue ink. 1 page, 7¼x8¼. Addressed to "Miss Shirley Spencer". In full: "Miss Shirley Spencer This is a sample of my handwriting isn't it awful, well, conditions are bad all over Sincerely".  Lightly toned and creased. Random ink stains. Rust stains and paper clip impression in upper right corner. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Unsigned typed letter on letterhead of Jay Faggen. Salutation: "Special to Shirley Spencer:". This is a press release about Durant. It mentions his appearance in the Broadway musical My Pal Joey and an engagement at the Roxy Theatre on W. 50th Street in New York City, which suggests that this press release was written in the early 1940s. Lightly toned and creased. Light tears along top, bottom and left edges. Paper clip impression and dent in upper right corner. Small piece missing from lower right corner. Folded twice and unfolded. Worn and torn along edges on left edge. Otherwise in fine condition. Durant (1905-1984) formed a popular acrobatic comedy team with Frank Mitchell that moved from vaudeville to the stages of New York and London. (In a week-long 1929 engagement at the London Palladium, Mitchell & Durant were billed as "the greatest comedy team in the world.") The comic duo did not fare as well in film, despite appearances in several Alice Faye movies of the 1930s. After the act broke up, Durant had successes of his own, featured in the Broadway debut of Pal Joey and paired with Jackie Gleason in an army buddy comedy, Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1948).