eMoviePoster.com

What are the objects in the corners of some images? Learn More

Louise Brooks was born Mary Louise Brooks in 1906, and she was always unconventional. She was the daughter of a Kansas lawyer, but she left at the age of 16 to go to New York and join Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn with their Denishawn dancers. Two years later she had a falling out with Shawn and was fired. She then worked in the George White's Scandals, the Ziegfeld Follies (where she was a semi-nude dancer, and was noticed, and signed to a Hollywood contract by Paramount Pictures, where she had several minor movies as a sexy flapper girl in comedies). She finally got her big break in a starring role in Beggars Of Life, and predictably she left Hollywood to go to Europe. But she had had the title role in The Canary Murder Case in 1929, which had been filmed as a silent, and Paramount asked her to return to dub the movie, and she refused, which effectively blacklisted her in Hollywood. She made two incredible movies with legendary German director G.W. Pabst, Pandora's Box, and Diary Of A Lost Girl and I highly recommend both. She made Prix de Beaute in France, and in the early 1930s she returned to Hollywood (minus her trademark flapper hairdo) where she could only get minor roles, and she returned to Kansas, and later New York. She lived an alcoholic life in obscurity (supported by former admirers including William S. Paley, founder of CBS). In the 1950s and 1960s she was "rediscovered" by film critics, and she wrote many articles and books about her life, which I also highly recommend. She is likely best remembered for her distinctive hair style! She passed away in 1985 at the age of 78.

Important Added Info: Note that this signed letter has been personally autographed (signed) by Louise Brooks! We have previously auctioned several of these Louise Brooks letters from her to Jan Wahl (see below). In the letter, she primarily writes about her turning to the church after many years of not participating (this occurred after her breakup with James Card). She writes a lot about her religious feelings and about the writings of Janet Stuart, who was the Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart from 1911 to 1914. She closes the letter with bitterness toward Card, saying "I knew Card to be a phoney", and she closes telling Mr. Wahl, "Now, don't sulk -- write me everything you feel. Go to the church and see what God says." Above that final sentence, she typed "Love" and hand wrote "Louise" (and several of her other letters are signed with a nickname instead, which makes this letter signed "Louise" that much nicer).

As is true of all the signed items we are currently auctioning, we give every buyer 30 days in which to review what they purchased and they can return any item as long as it is within 30 days of the end of the auction.

Our address for UPS or FedEx only is:
Bruce Hershenson,
306 Washington Avenue, West Plains, MO 65775