Margaret O’Brien Signed Photo w/ Helen Hayes & Patty Duke – COA JSA

Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age four, Margaret O’Brien became one of the most popular child stars in cinema history and was honored with a Juvenile Academy Award as the outstanding child actress of 1944. In her later career, she appeared on television, on stage, and in supporting film roles.

Helen Hayes eventually received the nickname “First Lady of American Theatre” and was the second person and first woman to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (an EGOT). She was also the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting; to date, the only other people to have accomplished both are Rita Moreno and Viola Davis.

Presented is an autographed photo of which is dual-signed on the front and back. The photo was clipped delicately from the 1959 book, “Pictorial History of Television.”  Margaret O’Brien signed the photo (3.25″ x 3.75″) in black felt tip (“9”) on one side and Helen Hayes signed the opposite in black ink (“9”). Also signing the O’Brien side was Patty Duke from “Innocent Witness.”

The autographs were part of a larger compilation within the book. Note, there were two books in this collection from which these autographs were obtained. Wildly obsessive by a Hollywood insider no doubt it featured the duteous task of 400 signatures of television actors and actresses, nearly all signing by their respective images, with a few adding brief inscriptions in the books. Now, the signatures have been wonderfully conserved from the books and preserved singly for appreciation.

Television’s intention was to revolutionize America’s desire for more entertainment. Previously for enjoyment, Americans were flocking to the theater or stationed next to their radio for their daily broadcasts. Before the end of 1931 as the industry gained a full steam ahead approach, CBS President William Paley, announced they were, “on the air seven hours daily, seven days a week.”

In 1959, Daniel Blum caught up with history of the television industry by providing a first look at the medium in the form of a photography book. Titled, “Pictorial History of Television” the publication peeked into the earliest conception in the 1930’s toward it’s humble beginnings in the late 1940’s into the late 1950’s. The hardcover is a heavily photo-illustrated survey of the major programs and personalities of that time period (1930’s-50’s). Notably, that era of television like silent film is rapidly vanishing from first hand accounts and memories as generations get older. So, there is an importance behind this work.

Blum continued his cavalcade of media books later in his career with “A Pictorial History of the Talkies”, “The Silent Screen”, “The American Theatre” and “Television” and of course volumes and volumes of the “Theatre World” and “Screen World” Annuals.

Overall, the autographed photo presents as a reward from the tremendous complication of both television history and the latter arduous task of signature collecting.

Authentication: JSA Basic Cert & Sticker

Margaret O’Brien Signed Photo