SIR ALEC GUINNESS - SHOW BILL SIGNED - HFSID 77053

THE BRITISH ACTOR, ON LEAVE FROM THE ROYAL NAVY DURING WWII, APPEARS IN A PROPAGANDA PLAY ON BROADWAY
 
ALEC GUINNESS. Playbill Cover signed: "Alec Guinness.", 1p, 6¾x9¼. New York City, circa December 1942-January 1943. Cover for "The Playbill for Henry Miller's Theatre" promoting Flare Path, a propaganda play starring Guinness. At the time of this appearance, Guinness was serving in the Royal Navy during WWII. He was granted leave to perform in the play, which ran on Broadway from December 23, 1942-January 2, 1943 (a total of 14 performances). Guinness, who would not make another film until 1946's Great Expectations, would later win the 1964 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Dylan. Cast in Shakespearean roles in Sir John Gielgud's company (from 1934), British actor Alec Guinness (1914-2000) appeared in the stage and screen versions of Dickens' Great Expectations (1939, 1946). He also portrayed eight members of one family in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949). Winner of the Best Actor Academy Award for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), the versatile Sir Alec later portrayed such figures as Arabian Prince Faisal, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, English King Charles I, Adolph Hitler and Sigmund Freud, not to mention Marley's Ghost. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Guinness found renewed popularity with his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first Star Wars film trilogy (1977, nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar; 1980 and 1983). Name of play written in unknown hand at lower margin. Lightly creased. Soiled. Irregular left edge from removal from bound book. Slightly chipped at lower left blank edge. Overall, fine condition.