Joan Fontaine’s career would have been less distinguished – at least in my eyes – had it not been for her back-to-back starring roles in two of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films: the Academy Award winning Rebecca, for which Fontaine was nominated for an Oscar herself, and Suspicion, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress. Back in 1988 when I was on my Hitchcock autograph collecting kick, I tried to send her two Hitchcock photos to sign, but I had the wrong address.
When I began collecting again in 1997, I was able to get a good address and sent them off to her again in mid-July…this time with obvious success. She returned the quickly on July 29. Turns out she is actually a great signer through the mail – and with that lovely fancy signature, who can blame her for wanting to show it off?
Knowing her willingness to sign, the next year I sent her another portrait to autograph. She didn’t care for the photo and wrote “horrible photo” on the back of it – and didn’t sign it. I won’t share the photo, though, because she was kind enough to enclose an even-better signed photo, as seen at the top of the posting.
Autographs of 1997 will continue…
I think our pal Bill Cassara has had lunch with her in Northern California; I’m glad to know that she responds to fans. I saw her sister, Olivia DeHavilland, at a Q&A event with Robert Osborne sponsored by the Academy (those Oscar people) about a year ago, and she looked wonderful–a few days before her 90th birthday.
Randy Skretvedt
March 7th, 2008