A 1p autograph letter signed by legendary actress Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), as "Kate" in the lower right corner. N.d, n.p. Written on pre-printed Christmas stationery depicting a corpulent, bell-ringing Santa Claus at top. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and a few margin scuffs, else near fine. 6.875" x 9.75."

Katharine Hepburn wrote this note to Laura Fratti née Dubman (ca. 1925-1993), the classically trained concert pianist who had given Hepburn expert musical instruction during the production of the MGM romantic drama "Song of Love" (1947).

Hepburn wrote in full:

"Dear Laura

Please buy your own present as all I can find here are dates - Rocks + chocolates - More in my line than yours - We'll be here until Jan 28th same Kirk Douglas house as last year - 515 Via Lia - tel 714 - 325 - 5407 -

Very much love - Merry merry to you + to Mario -

Kate."

Hepburn announced that she would be a holiday house guest of fellow Golden Age Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas (1916-2020). Douglas and second wife Anne Buydens lived at 515 Via Lola, Palm Springs, California from ca. 1959-1999, primarily using the home as a vacation property. An outstanding example of Desert Modern architecture, and today a Class 1 Historic Site, the house was designed by professional architects Wexler & Harrison and completed by master builder Bob Higgins in 1954. The property later boasted a K-shaped swimming pool and a tennis pavilion plastered with Kirk Douglas movie posters. The 4,000 square-foot mansion included five bedrooms, one of which became known as the "Katharine Hepburn Guest Bedroom" because that is where the actress exclusively stayed during visits.

The Douglas home was located in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood--one of two prestigious Movie Colony neighborhoods--of Palm Springs, just .4 miles away from 776 Mission Road, where Hepburn and her longtime partner Spencer Tracy had once owned a bungalow together. Greater Palm Springs had become a Hollywood commuter suburb by the 1930s, attracting such celebrities as Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Debbie Reynolds, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Sammie Davis, Jr., Marilyn Monroe and dozens of others.

Hepburn had met Fratti years earlier during the making of "Song of Love." A child prodigy who made her concert debut at age 5, Fratti had been a pupil of Arthur Rubenstein when she had helped Hepburn portray Clara Schumann in the movie costarring Paul Henreid as Robert Schumann and Robert Walker as Johannes Brahms. Fratti had worked closely with Hepburn, showing her how to position her hands so that it looked like she was actually playing the piano, and Hepburn completed the illusion by memorizing the fingering. Fratti's mentor Rubenstein played the actual notes. The pianist later married Italian playwright Mario Fratti in 1964 ("Mario" is mentioned near the end of the letter), and their only daughter Valentina became Hepburn's goddaughter.

Over Katharine Hepburn's 66-year-long acting career, she would star in dozens of films, television movies, and stage productions. Named the leading female actress of Hollywood Classic Cinema by the American Film Institute, Hepburn also won four Academy Awards (1934's "Morning Glory," 1968's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," 1969's "The Lion in Winter," and 1982's "On Golden Pond") and racked up eight further Oscar nominations. Hepburn was as comfortable in serious theatrical dramas as she was in screwball comedies or period pieces.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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