WILLIAM S. HART - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 01/20/1934 - HFSID 525

WILLIAM S. HART
William S. Hart sends an autograph letter about how he got his start writing.
Autograph Letter Signed: "Bill Hart", 2p, 8½x11. Newhall, California, 1934 January 20. To Kay Hall, Chicago Daily Times. In part: "I am mailing you a copy of Pinto Ben - It is a little volume that started me trying to write. It sold well & is long out of print. I first wrote the verse Pinto Ben & the little 'Savage' yarn in 1905 and sold 'em for 40.00 each to The N.Y. Morning Telegraph- and was I glad to get it! I was!...I'm still fairly swamped with letters regarding the Vallee talks. Gosh! It did go over great. I'm so glad to know you liked it. As you are one 'gal' that knows hoss's (sic) 'n cows...." Paper clip impression at upper blank corners. Pencil notes summarizing letter at upper left (unknown hand). Usual folds, else fine. With original envelope addressed by Hart. Lightly creased and soiled. Torn open at right edge, nicked at lower left blank corner. William S. Hart (1870-1946) began acting onstage in New York, going on to make his name as a Shakespearean actor on Broadway. By his 30s, he was a highly popular stage performer, particularly in western plays. He had spent his youth traveling around the country with his father, an itinerant laborer. Hart was 44 when he starred in his first film in 1914. Basing his westerns on his own memories of the West, he insisted on stark realism, using bare, unglamorous storylines that emphasized plot and character over action. In the early 20s, other western stars emerged who emphasized spectacular action and larger-than-life heroics, and Hart's popularity faded. In 1925 he made his final film, Tumbleweeds. Hart was a friend of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp and was a pallbearer at Earp's 1929 funeral. Two items.