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Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Tyron Power, Ronald Reagan Personal Stork Club Photos & Postcard

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Movie - Memorabilia Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Tyron Power, Ronald Reagan Personal Stork Club Photos & Postcard
Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Tyron Power, Ronald Reagan Personal Stork Club Photos & Postcard - From 1934 to 1965 there was no greater VIP club in the world than New York City's "The Stork Club". Started as a speakeasy at another location in 1929, then closed down by the feds, and relocated to its famous location in 1934, this was the top club for the most powerful, the richest and the most glamorous in the country, if not the world. It was one of the first clubs to have a "rope up" policy, in which only the most famous and influential were allowed in. Among its regulars were Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Earnest Hemingway, J. Edgar Hoover, J.D. Salinger, Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Tallulah Bankhead. It was also the reining club for the most powerful columnist in the country, who, with the stroke of a pen could make or break a career (and shown to great effect in the 1957 hard-edge classic feature "The Sweet Smell Of Success" with Burt Lancaster playing a slightly designed Walter Winchell, holding court and "chopping off heads" at the club). In fact this was the private club where JFK used to entertain Marilyn Monroe. It was also the home away from home of mega-star Van Johnson and his wife, Evie. This is a set of fascinating "Stork Club" memorabilia. The first is an extremely rare original Harry H. Baumann designed official Stork Club postcard from 1951. it has a handwritten address by Van Johnson to his wife Evie. He has also handwritten on it: "Well, here we are at a Party! Michael, Liz, Me." Michael is Michael Wilding, the British actor who became Elisabeth Taylor's second husband (from February 1952 to January 1957), the Liz, is of course Elizabeth Taylor, and the "Me", Van Johnson. The postcard is postmarked November 20th, 1951 from New York City. Also included is a personal photo of Liz, Michael and Van sitting at their table at the Stork Club on that wonderful night, taken by the club photographer. The photo has special significance since Liz is seen here with Michael, while she was still married to her first husband, Conrad Hilton, Jr. They were divorced the next year, and she married Michael. The set also includes another photo from the Stork Club, at Van's table, this one taken five years later and includes actor Tyron Power and a young actor named Ronald Reagan, as well as Van Johnson and his wife Evie. Tyron's favorite champagne, Dom Perignon, can be seen chilling in the foreground. The postcards and personal photos all come from Van Johnson’s personal collection, and includes a Letter of Provenience from the Johnson’s daughter, Schuyler Johnson along with a copy of her famous controversial cover story article “My Life As A Hollywood Princess”, about her trials and tribulations growing up in Beverly Hills with a superstar father and extended “family” with some of the most famous celebrities in the world. Liz, Michael and Van photo is B&W and approx 9"x7", the Tyron, Van, Ronald, Van and Evie B&W photo is 8"x10".