OTIS GUERNSEY - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 05/04/1979 - HFSID 315848

OTIS GUERNSEY
One influential chronicler of the American theatre writes to another, Theatre World editor John Willis.
Typed Letter signed: "Otis", 1 page, 8½x11. Included is the original mailing envelope. North Pomfret, Vermont, 1979 May 4. To "Dear John", in full: "Thanks for inviting me to your annual party. I have to be in New York the week before for a Dramatists Guild symposium and consequently have to get back on the job up here the following week and can't be in the city on the 24th; otherwise I'd be very happy to attend. Be sure to let me know who you've chosen this year as your outstanding new performers. Your 1978 volume is a dandy. Regards". Otis L. Guernsey (1918-2001), Jr. edited, or co-edited (with Burns Mantle) 36 annual editions of Best Plays, beginning in the late 1960s. This labor earned him a Drama Desk Honorary Award in 1996. Guernsey also edited a Directory of the American Theatre, and wrote at least one screenplay (13 Frightened Girls, 1963). John A. Willis (1916-2010), active in Theatre World from the beginning, became its chief editor in 1965, holding that position until 2008. Willis is regarded as one of the foremost theatre and film historians of the 20th century. While producing (and presenting) the annual Theatre World Awards, Willis also served on the nominating committee for the Tony Awards. Theatre World, which received its own Tony for Excellence in Theatre in 2001, continues under chief editor Ben Hodges. Multiple folds. Light surface creases. Otherwise, fine condition.