BRADY, WILLIAM A. HAND WRITTEN & SIGNED LETTER

William Aloysius Brady, Sr. (June 19, 1863 – January 6, 1950) was an American theatre actor, producer, and sports promoter.Brady was born to a newspaperman in 1863. His father kidnapped him from San Francisco and brought him to New York City, where his father worked as a writer while William was forced to sell newspapers on street corners. Upon his father's death when William was 15, he hitchhiked his way back to San Francisco.He made his start on the stage in San Francisco, California shortly after his return. As a callboy in The White Slave, he filled in a role for an ill actor, and started his career. After a failed attempt to produce a version of She by H. Rider Haggard, he was able to secure the rights to After Dark, successfully bringing the play to New York. While Brady was sued for his efforts, as Augustin Daly claimed plagiarism, Brady was able to make enough money to continue with his theater ventures.Brady inadvertently became a boxing promoter during this time. He cast James J. Jeffries in After Dark, and later introduced the man into the boxing circuit, where Jeffries would eventually become the undisputed heavyweight champion. Brady would be the only person to manage two undisputed heavyweight champions, in Jeffries and James J. Corbett. Brady produced The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight in 1897. Although Corbett ultimately lost, the match ran for over an hour and a half, and the documentary lasted that long, the longest film ever released at the time. Brady ran a successful theatre operation for thirty years, having met actresses like Grace George (whom he later married) and having, at one point, hired famous humorist Robert Benchley to complete ad copy for him. Brady's success continued until the Stock Market Crash of 1929, which wiped out his entire savings. He was able to secure the funds to produce Street Scene, which was written by Elmer Rice, won the Pulitzer Prize, and netted Brady a half a million dollars. His total theatrical output included over 260 plays, including a version of Uncle Tom's Cabin that was later used as images for a book in 1904, and a number of movies before his death. He died on January 6, 1950 of an heart ailment. William Brady is interred at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Offered here is a rare one page hand written letter penned and signed by William A. Brady in which he discusses a theatrical proposition.
This is a one page, hand written letter on hotel stationary. Bold ink signature and text. Has been folded. Clipped at top left. Clean front and back. Quite scarce signature. 8 1/2" x 11."