PADDY CHAYEFSKY - CONTRACT SIGNED 01/08/1952 - HFSID 177490

PADDY CHAYEFSKY
Contract with the Theatre Guild for the production of The Meanest Man in the World
Contract signed: "Paddy Chayefsky", 3p, 8½x11, separate sheets. New York, 1952 January 8. Also signed by "Armina Marshall", Executive Director of The Theatre Guild. Agreement between the Radio Division of The Theatre Guild Inc. and Chayefsky to write "the adaptation of a stage play, entitled THE MEANEST MAN IN THE WORLD written by Augustin MacHugh". This play was to be used for radio broadcast purposes for which Chayefsky would receive $750 in two installments - within ten days after delivery of the first draft and within ten days after the broadcast. Filled in by typewriter (carbon). The Meanest Man in the World was broadcast on NBC radio on Theatre Guild on the Air/United States Steel Hour on February 17, 1952. It starred James Stewart, Josephine Hull and Coleen Gray. Sidney "Paddy" Chayefsky (1923-1981) adapted plays for Theatre Guild on the Air from 1951-1952, when he began writing original mystery dramas for television. His first full-length screenplay was Holiday Song (1952), followed by the acclaimed Marty in 1953. Marty, made into a motion picture in 1955, won four Academy Awards, including an Oscar for Original Screenplay for Chayefsky. Chayefsky would also win Academy Awards for The Hospital (1971) and Network (1976). Nicked at right blank edge, staple holes and paper clip impression at upper left blank corner. Overall, fine condition.