Description

Description: In this two-page, typed letter signed, the playwright Ian Hay Beith kindly informs O. P. Heggie about the cancellation of “The Sport of Kings,” his play about horseracing. He conveys his “kindest regards and best thanks” to the Company for all their work: “. . .   was pretty clear that the New York press has entirely failed to get the hang of the play. I am more than sorry that your faith in its possibilities should have been rewarded in such a  poor fashion  . . . .” He also wants to know if Heggie would let him know “the actual story of what happened and whether there was any special reason for the failure of the play not apparent on the surface.” (The play which premiered in Chicago was closed after 23 performances at the Lyceum Theatre, New York.). He also asks Heggie if he would be interested in playing the role of Adam Baxter in “False Pretences,” “an entirely different proposition. . . but a very sympathetic part indeed.”  Signed, “With all good wishes. / Yours ever, / Ian Hay Beith.”

Typed on 8 ¾” x 7” stationery bearing the address: “21, Bruton Street, Berkeley Square, W. Mayfair 2912”, and dated May 20th, 1926. Item #A01976

Major John Hay Beith (1876-1952), who wrote under the pen name Ian Hay, was a prolific and well-liked British novelist and playwright. He also served in the army during WWI. The success of his first novel, Pip (1907), enabled his writing career. His wry account of army life in The First Five Hundred Thousand was well-received in Europe as well as the U.S. He began writing plays after WWI, often co-authoring with writers such as Edgar Wallace and P. G. Wodehouse. He was also engaged in cinema, in advisory capacities, as well as, in writing screenplays.

O. P. Heggie (1877-1936), an Australian theater and film actor, began in amateur theater productions in Sydney and London. He gained prominence on Broadway (NYC), playing the lead in Androcles and The Lion, Old Man Minick in Minick, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Diggory in She Stoops to Conquer and others. He moved to Hollywood in 1928 and appeared in 27 films, including: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu, etc.

Condition: A few errant spots, generally in very good condition.