‘Skittles and Beer’
Typed letter signed "Louis Mann" (to Seymour Halpern) in response to Halpern's inquiry regarding the key to success in life.
New York: October 29, 1930.
Price: $75.00
About the item
1 p. on Louis Mann's letterhead. 7-1/4 x 10-3/4 inches. ‘Skittles and Beer’. Minor stain on small area, old folds, else very good.
Item #310487
A sincere letter a man considered one of the most versatile actors of his day that opens with the mention of a recent illness (Mann died less than a year later from cancer) and touches on his early days acting alongside actors such as Edwin Booth, traveling across the country on buckboards with a repertory company, putting ice on his eyes to stay awake and study his lines, and being in the first play ever written by Oscar Wilde, reading in part: “To write of my success would be the covering of many volumes, but in the vernacular of the Cockney, it has not been all ‘skittles and beer.’”
Actor and playwright, Louis Mann (1865-1931), married playwright Clara Lipman and appeared in all of her productions. He later appeared in motion pictures, his most notable role being in the The Sins of the Children (1930).
As a high school student, Seymour Halpern (1913-1997), wrote letters to many notables of the day including politicians, military officers, entertainers, diplomats, artists, activists, writers, and businessmen, inquiring about their ideas to the keys to success in life. Halpern would later go on to serve as Republican from New York to the 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 91st and 92nd United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1973.
