ROGER CARAS - AUTOGRAPH NOTE ON PHOTOGRAPH SIGNED - HFSID 212209

ROGER CARAS
Shown face to face with a raccoon, the wildlife expert and president of the ASPCA signs this photo with a note of encouragement.
Autograph note on photograph signed: "For Connie Bradlow/ (I am on the right.)/Life not only can be beautiful,/it is. Different people have to look/in different places to find the joy of it./Good luck/Roger Caras". B/w, 8x10. American wildlife expert Roger Caras (1928-2001) was raised in an animal loving family. His parents allowed him to foster pets at an early age during the Depression, the same time he found his first job at the SPCA shelter. While he pursued a degree in Zoology, his studies were interrupted by the Korean War, after which he switched career goals to cinema. Working as a press secretary for Hollywood moguls like Joan Crawford, and later as vice president of Stanley Kubrick's production company Hawk Films (1965-1969), Caras made his broadcasting debut in 1964 on NBC's The Today Show as a "house naturalist", a reoccurring position which lasted nearly a decade. He also was a featured reporter on ABC News with Peter Jennings, Nightline, 20/20 and Good Morning America. Most famously, he was a long time host of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. A writer of over 70 books on animals (Monarch of Deadman Bay : the life and death of a Kodiak bear, Celebration of dogs), Caras became the 14th President of the ASPCA in 1991, serving, until his retirement in 1999. Lightly bowed. Ink note (unknown hand) on verso. Fine condition.