TYPED LETTER SIGNED (TLS) with a Received TELEGRAM by CUKOR, George - 12 May 1965

n.p., 12 May 1965. Letter. Paperclip stain and small tear at top blank margin of letter. Near Fine. A fine TYPED LETTER SIGNED (TLS) on thin onionskin paper from Cukor to Northern Ireland film director Brian Desmond Hurst SIGNED as "George." Cukor writes a few short months after winning the Academy Award for Best Director for MY FAIR LADY starring Audrey Hepburn. The original Broadway production of MY FAIR LADY in 1956 starred Julie Andrews, but when Warner Brothers purchased the film rights they wanted someone better known to American audiences in the role of Eliza, and Hepburn, whose voice was dubbed in the songs, was chosen over Andrews who had not been in the movies before. Although MY FAIR LADY won 8 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Rex Harrison, reprising his Broadway role), Andrews, who starred in THE SOUND OF MUSIC that same year, took home an Oscar for Best Actress, beating out Hepburn. Cukor refers to this controversy immediately in his letter: "The smoke of the battle has cleared; the melodrama of JULIE AGAINST AUDREY has simmered down; the Oscar, properly engraved, is placed on a bookshelf, ever so discretely. (Try and miss it!) Now, I'm able to make some sense. I was as pleased as Punch to catch up wid dat ole Debbil, Oscar -- at long last." Cukor goes on to apologize for not responding to Hurst sooner and says the he will be in London in the near future and they can talk about various projects Hurst has proposed. Includes a telegram sent by Hurst to Cukor upon his winning the Oscar.

In addition to MY FAIR LADY, Cukor also directed THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, part of GONE WITH THE WIND, the 1954 A STAR IS BORN, and many other films. Brian Desmond Hurst directed over 30 films and is perhaps best known for the 1951 A CHRISTMAS CAROL adaptation SCROOGE.