Two items signed by Francis Ford Coppola: a TLS, one page, 8.5 x 11, The Coppola Company letterhead, enclosing a "check for 5,102 66/xx payment on my holding in Dementia," to be distributed to shareholders including Chuck Hanawalt, John Vicario, Joe Gross, Mort Truber, Eleanor Neil, and Donald Chu, as well as "some fees from lecturing for Total Media, one to George Lucas. This is money we wanted to apply to new Steenbeck"; and a personal check, 6 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Coppola, made payable to American Express for $500, July 25, 1966, also endorsed on the reverse by Coppola. In very good to fine condition, with a couple small stains to the letter, and intersecting folds to the check.
At age 24 in 1963, Francis Ford Coppola made the independent film Dementia 13, a horror-thriller that was his first mainstream 'legitimate' directorial effort. Charles Hannawalt did the cinematography, and Morton Tubor was one of the editors. Coppola had befriended George Lucas during the latter's time at USC, and they would co-found the studio American Zoetrope in 1969. The "Steenbeck" that Coppola mentions was a type of flatbed film editing suite.
This item is Pre-Certified by Beckett
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$20.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.