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Katharine Cornell Autographed Photos

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Autographs - Original Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 200.00 USD
Katharine Cornell Autographed Photos
Katharine Cornell is regarded as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century. She was nicknamed "First Lady of the Theatre," a title that has stayed with her to this day. She acted on stages around the world but is best known for her Broadway roles often directed by her husband, Guthrie McClintic. Their famous stage company started the careers of some of the most famous stars of the 20th Century. Katharine Cornell is best known in her role as poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Rudolph Besier's play "The Barretts of Wimpole Street". It was a sensation on Broadway and around the world, but she is perhaps best known for being asked by General George C. Marshall to take the play to Europe to entertain the troops during WWII. She was advised against it by everyone around her, since the play was considered too "high brow" for the hardened battle-weary troops. At her first performance she endured horrific cat-calls and actual injuries (from objects being thrown at her). However, she continued to perform, and slowly won over the troops, so much so, that by the end of the play, she had these men in tears. They gave her a thirty minute ovation. So popular was the production that General Dwight D. Eisenhower asked her to continue performing in France. Cornell said she would go, only if she was sent to the "front", where the war was at its hottest, since she felt these were the men who needed this kind of catharsis that the play seemed to give them. Word got out, and men would form lines 24 hours before each performance to see her. She garnered enormous respect from the troops for her performances and bravery. For the rest of her life she continued to receive letters from troops who expressed their thanks, and told her how her performance gave them the courage and sense of hope to continue the fight. Cornell was an extremely private person, and refused to enter the Hollywood scene (only making an appearance in the all-star "Hollywood Canteen" which was made for the troops), so any autographed photos of her are extremely rare. These are two personally autographed photos of Cornell. The first is from her performance in Maxwell Anderson's groundbreaking "Wingless Victory" in 1936. The second is from her performance in "Candida" in 1946, co-starring a young up and coming stage actor who she personally had selected named Marlon Brando. Both are personally signed to Evelyn, who was her close friend Evie Johnson, Van Johnson's wife. Katharine was the only one who called her "Evelyn". A treasured set of memorabilia from one of the legends of the 20th Century. The autographed photos 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. Both photos are sepia and are 8"x10".