OTIS SKINNER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 10/28 - HFSID 101826

OTIS SKINNER
Actor Otis Skinner wrote this letter on his personalized embossed stationery asking a friend to make room in the cast of his play for an actress.
Autograph letter signed "Otis Skinner". With lead pencil notations and underlinings in unknown hand and red typewritten transcript of letter. 1 page, 7¼x10¼, on Skinner's personalized embossed stationery. Dated "October 28". In full:"Dear Gilbert: Miss Kempner, who presents this note, is seeking an opening in the theatre. I shall appreciate your giving her a moment or two of your time. Cordially yours". We're not sure who "Miss Kempner" is. However, "Gilbert" is possibly GILBERT M. ANDERSON (1880-1971, born Max H. Aronson in Little Rock, Arkansas). Anderson appeared in over 350 silent movies, including three uncredited roles in the landmark western The Great Train Robbery (1903), and his alter ego Bronco Billy made him the first Western star. He also had directing credits in over 380 movies. But Anderson was also a Broadway actor and producer and a contemporary of Skinner, producing a total of eight plays and revues on the Great White Way between 1902 and 1920. OTIS SKINNER (1858-1942, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American stage actor and producer. Skinner had originally trained for a career in commerce, but a visit to the theatre reportedly left him stage-struck. He earned his chops playing bit roles in stock companies in New York and Boston. He toured with the likes of Augustin Daly, Edwin Booth and Helena Modjeska in the 1880s and, by the 1890s, was a legitimate star. Skinner specialized in Shakespearean roles; his performances were praised as natural and unaffected, and he made Shylock from The Merchant of Venice a character with whom the audience could sympathize . However, his signature role was as Hajj in Kismet, which he performed on Broadway from 1911 to 1912 for 184 performances and on the silver screen in 1920 and 1930. In all, Skinner had 25 Broadway appearances between 1900 and 1933. Lightly toned soiled and creased. Pencil underline touches handwriting but not signature. Light tear at right edge. Light dent in upper left corner. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.