ALS signed “Grace,” three pages, 8 x 10, personal letterhead, no date. Kelly writes to her friend and MGM press agent Morgan Hudgins. In part: “We arrived back on Thursday after a very wonderful honeymoon – Spain was so nice and we thoroughly enjoyed it – Saw Betsy & Cary Grant and Ava in Madrid – Ran into Frank briefly in a restaurant and don’t think he likes Spain very much – But the others all seem well and happy – Your records arrived yesterday and we are thrilled to have them as it is impossible to get them here – many thanks – What a pity to hear of all the bad luck on those two big pictures – and I am very sorry to learn of Louis Calhern’s death – And Monty Cliff [sic] who hasn’t worked in such a long time the moment he starts something happens.…Morgan I can’t thank you enough for all you did for me through a very trying period – You were just wonderful – Please send me any reviews of The Swan & High Society as I would love to see them – am delighted that the previews went so well – I still don’t know how the press was reacting during the week of the wedding – Do you think it was alright – and was anyone in particular offended? I learned on our return that Nadia intended to write a book – Which came as a great shock to me since she never mentioned a thing to me – I am not surprised really as she was such a disappointment to me when I really needed her – She was too busy minding other people’s business & having a good time to do anything I asked her – I guess she felt as she was leaving me anyway so why bother – But I was very hurt & disturbed by her attitude in N.Y. & on the boat.” Beautifully double suede matted and framed with a portrait of Kelly, to an impressive overall size of 46.75 x 21. Rusty paperclip mark to top left corner, as well as some creases, and mild toning, otherwise fine condition.
This utterly fantastic correspondence reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Hollywood elite in 1956. Penned just a few weeks after her April wedding to Prince Ranier of Monaco—for which Hudgins handled publicity—Kelly had just finished her seven-week Mediterranean honeymoon as she touched base. In this beautifully written letter, Kelly touches on all of the Hollywood gossip of the time. That included Montgomery Clift, “who hasn’t worked in such a long time the moment he starts something happens”—a reference to the May 12, 1956 accident while filming Raintree County, in which he smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a party. That same day, actor Louis Calhern—who had a role in her final film, High Society—died, another bit of surprising news to the new princess.
While in Spain she encountered another co-star of that picture—Frank Sinatra—who at the last minute declined an invitation to the royal wedding for fear of upstaging the bride, and his then-wife Ava Gardner, who was escorted to the nuptials by Hudgins. In fact, still making the transition from actress to princess, Kelly here seems equally interested in seeing “any reviews of The Swan & High Society,” as well as any fallout from the wedding—an event watched worldwide by some 30 million people on television. “Do you think it was alright – and was anyone in particular offended?,” she nervously inquires. Majestically presented, this correspondence also beautifully displays the elegance that made Grace Kelly a star and a princess in so many different ways. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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