RITA JOHNSON; GRACYN WHEELER, GENE MAKO and CHARLES HARE
Rare signature of actress Johnson on one side of an album leaf, with signatures of 3 tennis stars of the 1930s on verso. All four signatures are in pencil.
Autograph Sentiment signed in pencil: "Rita Johnson" and signatures on verso "Gracyn Wheeler", "Gene Mako", "Charles Hare", 6x4½ album leaf. Pencil and ink notes (unknown hand) by each name. RITA JOHNSON (1913-1965) made her Broadway debut in 1935, her screen premier two years later. She could play standard heroines, as in My Friend Flicka (1943), or more complex roles, such as the haughty murderess in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1944). Hal Erickson at All-Movie Guide deems it "positively criminal" that she didn't receive an Oscar nomination as the doomed wife in They Won't Believe Me (1947). Her career was seriously curtailed after a freak 1948 accident in which a hair dryer fell on her head. GRACYN WHEELER (KELLEHER), 1914-1980, was a top-rated amateur tennis player of the 1930s and 1940s, and competed for the US team in the Wightman Cup. She married for Davis Cup team captain and federal judge Robert Kelleher. Hungarian-born US tennis player GENE MAKO (b. 1916-2013) won Grand Slam doubles events between 1936 and 1938, paired each time with Don Budge. Budge, a close friend, defeated Mako in the final round of the 1938 US National Singles Tournament. Mako served in the US Navy during World War II, and opened a well-known art gallery in Los Angeles. CHARLES HARE a British Davis Cup team member and later tennis referee, was serving in the US Army when he married British Wightman Cup team member Mary Hardwick in 1943. 2 binding holes at left edge. Toned and soiled. Lightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.