The MOTION PICTURE & TELEVISION FUND (MPTF) today announced that Twentieth Century Fox has culled its archives and donated more than 200 rare documents including signed contracts and internal memos to be sold at auction to benefit the Fund.
Items in the auction represent dealings with over 50 Hollywood legends including: Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and Elvis Presley, and involve some of the greatest films of all time including: Seven Year Itch, Miracle on 34th Street, The King and I, All About Eve, and Love Me Tender.
The auction, entitled From the Twentieth Century Fox Archives: Documents from the Golden Age of Hollywood, will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue available at www.swanngalleries.com.
The auction, scheduled for January 25, 2007, will be conducted by Swann Auction Galleries in New York City. Proceeds from the sale will directly benefit the MPTF insurance fund that provides health insurance for actors.
"These documents carry the gold standard of provenance," said Nicholas Lowry, President and Principal Auctioneer at Swann Galleries. "That, combined with the importance of the documents to the careers of some of Hollywood's most beloved actors, should lead to an exciting, if not explosive, auction."
"Fox's heritage reflects Hollywood itself and our well maintained document archives are a Tut's Tomb of movie history," added Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman. "These papers are so cool that, as a fan of that history, I will have to restrain myself from bidding on each item. This donation is intended to get the past out of file cabinets into the hands of film lovers and let it serve the present through the MPTF. We also hope this auction might inspire other studios to follow suit."
Sale highlights include:
- MARILYN MONROE "" Memo advising that Norma Jean Dougherty's professional name be designated as Marilyn Monroe (1946)
- HUMPHREY BOGART "" Bogart's first studio contract (1930)
- JUDY GARLAND "" signed contract "" and signed termination "" for Valley of the Dolls (1967)
- ELVIS PRESLEY "" collection of ten documents signed by Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker, including assignment agreements for the song Love Me Tender. (1960)
- MARLON BRANDO "" contract for Viva Zapata, signed by Brando (1951)
- RITA HAYWORTH "" signed letter changing her professional name (1935)
- CARY GRANT "" contract for I Was a Male War Bride, signed by Grant (1948)
- AUDREY HEPBURN "" agreement for Two For The Road, signed by Hepburn (1965)
- CLARK GABLE "" three-film studio contract, signed by Gable (1954)
- KATHARINE HEPBURN - contract for The Desk Set, signed by Hepburn (1957)
- LANA TURNER - contract for Peyton Place, signed by Turner (1957)
"MPTF was created by the legends of Hollywood over 85 years ago with the simple mission of taking care of our own," said Ken Scherer, CEO of the MPTF. "It is appropriate now that some of the same legends who made some of the classic Twentieth Century Fox pictures, via this auction, will support the current generation who turn to MPTF in need," he added.
Motion Picture & Television Fund:
For 85 years, the Motion Picture & Television Fund has been a major service organization, promoting the well-being of California's entertainment community. Healthcare and childcare, retirement care and charitable social services are provided with compassion and respect for the dignity of the whole person. Charity is at the heart of what MPTF does at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's Country House and hospital, five health centers, Samuel Goldwyn Foundation Children's Center, and through financial assistance and community outreach programs. For more information about MPTF visit www.mptvfund.org.
Swann Galleries:
Swann Auction Galleries was founded in 1941 as an auction house specializing in Rare and Antiquarian Books, and today is the largest specialist auctioneers of Works on Paper in the world. Swann conducts an average of 40 sales a year, encompassing Books, Autographs, Maps, Photographs & Photographic Literature, Prints & Drawings, and Vintage Posters. There are annual special-subject sales devoted to African-Americana, Magic and Space Exploration. Visit www.swanngalleries.com for more information.
Fox Filmed Entertainment:
One of the world's largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Atomic, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.
