ROBERT MULLIGAN - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 287520

ROBERT MULLIGAN
4-page ALS to screenwriter Rex McGee, praising screenwriter Horton Foote (his colleague on To Kill a Mockingbird). Letter is from McGee's personal collection
Autograph Letter signed: "Bob M.", 4 pages, 8½x11. Lyme, Connecticut, no date. On personal letterhead to Rex McGee. In full: "Been a long time between letters. So it was a pleasant surprice [sic] to recognize your fine hand on an envelope in the usual boring collection of junk mail and other assorted nonsense yesterday. Horton sent me a copy of his book a few weeks ago and I had a good time with it. It was much like sitting and listening to Horton. He does write exactly as he speaks - and his gift of memory and gentle story telling are compelling. When I first met Horton (over 40 years ago), I remember being amazed by his recollections of family and friends and his hometown of Wharton, Texas. It was all so vivid. And his ability to trace his family roots through such a long line of generations really astounded me. My own family history barely made it through one generation on my mother's side. That was it. I had never met anyone whose life story encompassed so many people with their own stories to tell and there was young Horton sitting on the porch listening to them unfold their lives and spin their stories so many years ago. And today Horton continues to hear those voices and goes on writing about that world, about what he heard and filling in the silences, those unspoken moments, the old mysteries. It is an endless process. He is a wonder. Sandy and I continue to enjoy our life here and we're in reasonably good health. I'll be 74 next week and I've come to a full understanding of that old line - 'Growing old ain't for sissies.' The passing of years, genetics, and an assortment of bad habits acquired and enjoyed in my youth have taken a certain toll - but I have no real complaints. I exercise and behave myself these days. The wild Irish days are done. Sad but true. But life is good. Peace and quiet is fine. And there is an abundance of serenity here. And time for good books. And travel to L.A. (once a year for four days), for family, theatre, museums and Italian food, to Europe - London, Paris, the Amalfi coast - and Ireland (often). We are blessed in many ways and grateful for the life we have. Sandy and I touch wood every day. I'm glad you found a way to make 'Hometown Angels' work - and I hope you stay with it and can put it on the screen. There's no way I can be of any help by reading the script. Once I hung up the viewfinder 9 years ago I stopped reading screenplays. That kind of reading is connected with the 'work'. I enjoyed the process of trying to get something down on paper that caught life and people in some honest and exciting way. But I never did reach out to read a movie script for pure pleasure. These days my reading is for pleasure - and a continuing education - and nothing that even remotely reminds me of making movies. As the current phrase says, 'Been there. Done that.' Your description of Cleburne sounds like some place to put in your rear view mirror, but it's obvious that something or someone in that town has a hold on you and won't let go. It seems to me there's a script of a book in there ... somewhere? 'Eyes Wide Shut' doesn't have much appeal for me. Don't know why exactly. It hasn't shown around here. Lyme (2000 people) doesn't have a movie theatre and never will. Nearest theatre is a half hour away and Kubrick isn't on their favorites list, I guess. We usually wait until we hit Manhattan to catch up on films we want to see. Spending all that time with Cruise and Kidman seems like a nightmare to me. Tom and Nicole are not my favorite actors. They're ok in pop melodramas but that's about it. As I've said I'm out of the biz - so what the hell do I know! Good luck in Cleburne and L.A. All the best". Accompanied by original envelope addressed in Mulligan's hand. Postmarked in the 1990s (last digit unreadable). ROBERT MULLIGAN (1925-2008) was a director with credits on almost 30 movies and TV shows, though he'll probably be best remembered for directing To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), an effort that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Mulligan got his start as a copywriter with The New York Times before moving to television in 1951, with directing credits on Suspense (1952-1954), The Philco Television Playhouse (1955) and The DuPont Show of the Month (1958-59), among others. Mulligan moved to the silver screen in 1957 with Fear Strikes Out, his first movie with future partner Alan J. Pakula, who produced To Kill a Mockingbird. Mulligan was known for getting Oscar-caliber performances out of his actors. Gregory Peck, the lead in To Kill a Mockingbird, won an Oscar for his performance in that movie. He also got Oscar-nominated performances out of Mary Badham (To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962), Natalie Wood (Love with the Proper Stranger, 1963), Ruth Gordon (Inside Daisy Clover, 1965) and Ellen Burstyn (Same Time, Next Year, 1978). The Man in the Moon (1991) was his last film. Time magazine's obituary observed tha Mulligan's aura dimmed as "Hollywood jettisoned sentiment and subtlety for sharks and light sabers." Screenwriter ALBERT HORTON FOOTE (1916-2009) worked with Mulligan on To Kill a Mockingbird, winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He won another for Tender Mercies (1983). He won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Young Man from Atlanta (1995), and was the voice of Jefferson Davis in Ken Burns' documentary film The Civil War. REX McGEE (b. 1936) assisted famed director Billy Wilder on his later films and wrote freelance articles, and screenplays which were optioned but not produced. McGee found greater success after moving back to his native Texas beginning with the screenplay for Pure Country, starring George Strait (1992), now being made into a stage musical. He scripted a documentary film about Texas, and also the TV movie Where There's a Will (2006). He co-wrote Brokeback Mountain (2005). This letter is from McGee's personal collection. Normal mailing folds. Otherwise, fine condition.