Large archive from the personal collection of actor, author, and historian Charles Stumpf, a lifelong resident of Pennsylvania and a former bookkeeper, actor and writer. He penned books on Zasu Pitts, Fibber McGee and Molly, Walter Tetley, and old time radio. He acted in many regional productions during his life, and was a member of several fan clubs and appreciation societies. Collection consists of some signatures and signed photos, scrapbooks, programs, hundreds of unsigned photos and stills, correspondence, candid photos, and other items from his collection. Included in the archive are signed photos and signatures of Maria Ouspenskaya, Alicia Rhett, Billie Burke, Vampira, Edgar Bergen, Elvia Allman, Allison Skipworth, Gale Sondergaard, Ted Shaw, Freeman Gosden, Louise Beavers, Butterfly McQueen, Fred Rogers, Carmen Miranda, Paulette Goddard, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Zasu Pitts, Joe Penner, Arnold Stang, Lowell Thomas, Kate Smith, and many, many more, with a majority of the photos inscribed to Stumpf.
Collection also contains five scrapbooks put together by Stumpf including books devoted to Imogene Coca, oversized photos and lobby cards, and Walter Tetley; correspondence from Butterfly McQueen, Fred Rogers (including a letter from Rogers’s manager for Stumpf to work on a “new project” in 1967), with additional secretarially-signed correspondence; an “Advanced Production Notes & Synopsis” for the 1968 film, The Molly Maguires, starring Richard Harris and Sean Connery; and hundreds of unsigned photos, including many vintage and studio promotional photos. In overall very good condition. An eclectic collection from a well-respected author and insider. RR Auction COA.
