I had seen and enjoyed It Happened One Night, the only film to ever sweep the Academy Awards with Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress, but I really got the idea to write a letter to Claudette Colbert because our tent Grand Sheik Carl had had success with her. She, of course, was the Best Actress winner for the aforementioned film – and later garnered an additional two nominations.
I distinctly remember that I took my autograph album with me (why?) when we went to Florida in the Summer of 1985 and this was one of the most recent additions to the album. I had written Ms. Colbert on June 11, 1985 and got an exceptionally speedy response on June 18. She signed both the photo below from Cleopatra and one notecard. Since I had the album with me, I naturally showed it off to Bill and Dottie and their family, who were on the trip with us. I remember Bill remarking how unusual it was for someone my age to have even thought to write a letter to Claudette Colbert. Of course, what young boy wouldn’t be captivated by this photo…?
More autographs from 1985 at a later date…
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