ROBERT J. WAGNER - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED - HFSID 270326

ROBERT WAGNER
A short note to comedienne Phyllis Diller, giving her a series of numbers to contact him at
Autograph note signed: "'R.J.'", 2 pages, 6x4¼, front and verso. No place, no date. On card imprinted "Robert Wagner" to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Phyllis". In full: "you darling lady . We love you. Are (sic, Our) numbers are [Wagner lists two telephone numbers] over Aspen [telephone number] Cell [telephone number] Jill [telephone number] - xxxx, See you soon". Jill was Wagner's fourth wife, JILL ST. JOHN, whom he married in 1990. His previous wives included actress Natalie Wood, to whom he was wed twice (1957-1962; 1972-1981). Born Robert John Wagner in 1930, Wagner played romantic leads with ease, but it wasn't until he essayed the two-scene role of a shell-shocked war veteran in With a Song in My Heart (1952) that studio executives recognized his potential as a dramatic actor. He went on to play the title roles in Prince Valiant (1954) and The True Story of Jesse James (1956), and shocked his bobby-soxer fan following by effectively portraying a cold-blooded murderer in A Kiss Before Dying (1955). After a two-year hiatus, Wagner made a comeback as star of the lighthearted TV espionage series It Takes a Thief (1968-1970). For the rest of his career, Wagner would enjoy his greatest success on TV, first in the mid-1970s series Switch, then opposite Stefanie Powers in the internationally popular Hart to Hart, which ran from 1979 through 1983. Wagner would reprise his role as Jonathan Hart in several made-for-TV movies from 1993-1996. His other well known film roles include portraying "Number Two" in the Austin Powers films (1997, 1999, 2002), and Wagner was also later seen in the TV miniseries, Category 7: The End of the World (2005). Comedienne PHYLLIS DILLER (1917-2012), known for her outrageous appearance, zany outfits, distinctive laugh and a stand-up act that featured frequent references to her fictional husband, "Fang", and zingers about her sex appeal and numerous plastic surgeries, got her big break in March 1955 (at age 37), when she debuted at San Francisco's Purple Onion club. A subsequent appearance on The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar launched her national career, which got a big boost after Bob Hope saw Diller in a Washington, D.C. club. A favorite of the comedian, Diller would appear in three of Hope's films and 23 of his TV specials. Diller, who recorded her first comedy record album in 1959, took her groundbreaking "funny hausfrau" act to nightclubs and television variety shows and specials and she also appeared on the big screen. Her feature film credits include Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Fat Spy (1966), Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), The Sunshine Boys (1975) and The Silence of the Hams (1994), and she provided the voice of the Queen in A Bug's Life (1998). By 2000, the comedienne, who had trained as a concert pianist before her marriage (1939-1965) to Sherwood Anderson Diller, had appeared as a piano soloist with 100 symphony orchestras across the U.S. Despite retiring from nightclub/stage tours in May 2002 at the age of 84, Diller continued to make films (Motorcross Kids, 2004; Forget About It, 2005) and occasionally appear on TV programs, including two episodes of 7th Heaven (2002, 2003) and a guest shot on The Wayne Brady Show (2004). Very slightly creased at corners. Fine condition.