Collection of 14 TLSs from Laurence Olivier, each signed “L. Olivier” or “Sincerely, L. Olivier,” typed on his personal letterhead or stationery cards, 5.5 x 7 and 5.5 x 3.5, each addressed to admirer Camille Hayes, a teacher in Altadena, California. The letters, two of which bear salutations in Olivier’s own hand and several addressed from London’s Old Vic Theatre, are dated between 1949 and 1975, an impressive 26-year correspondence that finds Olivier sending thanks for birthday and Christmas cards, small presents, and newspaper clippings, while occasionally offering updates on his latest acting endeavor. All of the letters are accompanied by their original mailing envelopes.
Highlights include:
March 10, 1949: “Thank you very much indeed for your extremely nice letter. It is a great happiness to know that one’s work is so much appreciated and I am most touched that you should write and express your thoughts with such charming eloquence.”
January 16, 1965: “I am so glad that you are pleased with the ‘Uncle Vanya’ and ‘Othello’ recordings and it was most kind of you to send me the review from ‘High Fidelity.’ I cannot tell you how touched I am by all the generous thoughts you express about my work and how greatly I appreciate your kindness and interest. The question of filming ‘Othello’ is still very much in the melting pot and the idea has by no means been finally rejected. There are however, many problems concerned with such an undertaking and naturally these have to be resolved before a final decision can be made.”
May 27, 1965: “I am delighted to hear of the success of the ‘Homage of Churchill’ recording and hope you will be pleased with it when you eventually receive it.”
May 23, 1968: “I am delighted to know that you are enjoying the two books and hope you will be equally pleased with the ‘Love for Love’ recording.”
January 9, 1970: “I hope you will manage to see both the plays being presented by the National Theatre company in Los Angeles and that you will be pleased with the performances.”
December 29, 1970: “I am glad to say that I am feeling very much better now and in fact I leave this week for a film engagement in Spain.”
May 24, 1971: “I have just done a short tour with ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and am now in rehearsal for a new production which opens next month.”
January 5, 1972: “I was most interested to see the review on the reissue of ‘Wuthering Heights.’ It is very gratifying to think that audiences still enjoy this film made so many years ago. I am still playing Shylock and opened last month in ‘Long Day's Journey Into Night’ which rejoins the National Theatre repertory next week.”
May 24, 1974: “Thank you too for the cutting about THE MERCHANT from TV Guide.” In overall fine condition. Accompanied by two letters from Olivier's secretary, Dorothy Welford.
