ROBERT DRIVAS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 09/23/1970 - HFSID 316155

ROBERT DRIVAS
The actor and director writes a letter to John Willis, Editor of Theatre World, requesting two things from him: a photograph of himself and actress Brenda Vaccaro from Where It's At and to correct the birthday in his publication
Autograph letter signed: "Robert Drivas", in black felt tip, 8x4¾ open flat, 4x4¾ closed. September 23, 1970. In part: "Dear Mr. Willis, -Thank you for the Screen World Award - Do you have a [illegible] - and would love to put it with my Theatre World Award. There are two requests I would love to make - one of them being how I could obtain a photo of Brenda Vaccaro and myself from "Where It's At" which appears in your book and the second being my date of birth which appears in both books - My actual birth took place on Nov 19 1943 - How the other date appeared is one of the funnier mysteries". Robert Drivas (1938-1986) was an American actor and director, best known for his theatre directing. He began his career in 1958, as an actor, when he was cast as Rameses in the original play The Firstborn. That same year, Drivas made his onscreen debut in an episode of Young Dr. Malone. Over the next decade, he continued to act both on the stage and on the screen, appearing in such titles as The Wall (1960-1961), And Things Go Bump in the Night (1965), the television series The Wild Wild West (1966), and the popular television series Bonanaza (1968). Eventually, in 1974, Drivas made his directing debut, when he directed the original one-act comedy Bad Habits. Throughout the next nine years, Drivas directed eight more productions, and starred in a single production entitled The Man Who Had Three Arms (1983). His last professional role before his death was as the director of the 1983 original production of Peg. 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. Some ink smeared, but legible. Ink note (unknown hand) on verso. Fold on left margin and right margin. Slightly soiled. Otherwise, fine condition.