by Cole Porter
Lots of love,
Cole
In fact, Merman had written to Linda to make sure she would listen to the show on 24 October, and Linda responded with a telegram:
25 October 1949: Linda Porter to Ethel Merman
I WAS A’ LISTENIN’ AND IT THRILLED ME. LOVE TO YOU AND THE BABIES. LINDA
26 October 1949: Cole Porter to Ethel Merman
Dearest Ethel:
You have no idea what a great thing you did for Linda when you dedicated “You’re the Top” to her on your last Monday’s program. She had just come down by ambulance to New York and, for the first time, I felt that she had lost her morale due to exhaustion – but the moment your program was turned on and she heard those wonderful words you said to her it brought back all of her bravery.
You are a darling to have done this and I shall never forget it.
Lots of love,
Cole
Further letters and a telegram from Porter to Stark show the seriousness of Linda’s condition. Stark had suggested certain medications that might help her but Porter explains here why the doctor had other plans for her. He also mentions that the success of Kiss Me, Kate meant that it was easy to find backers for Out of This World and those who had financially supported Kate would be given priority:
10 October 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark51
Dear Sam:
Thank you so much for your letter concerning The Desert Clinic. I shall keep this with care. There is very little chance, however, that Linda will be able to go West as she is becoming daily worse. I have gone into it in detail with Linda’s doctor in New York and the doctors for TWA.* The planes are pressurized between four thousand and eight thousand feet and even four thousand feet is too high for her. When I suggested chartering a plane and having it flown at a low altitude they refused this, maintaining that it would be too dangerous a trip. The train is absolutely out as one cannot use an oxygen tent. Dr. Jones, however, wants me to keep the reservation at La Quinta just on the chance that she might improve during November and December, but I doubt this very much.
I’m so happy that Roger† has deigned to speak to Fannie again.
Tell Allen [Walker] not to depend too much upon that cook book [sic].‡ For instance, there is one recipe recommended by Nalasha Wilson (nee Princess Paley).§ Everyone who stays with Nalasha says that she is the worst cook in history.
We are not interested in any new backers. We feel that the backers of KMK¶ should be given first chance and they are all fighting to get in on the new show. For instance, Howard Cullman who invested $15,000 in Kate wants to put $50,000 in the new show.
Thanks a lot for the wonderful photographs of Roger [Davis]. Thank you also for the picture of Judy* which you took with your new polaroid camera. If Judy were not sitting up it would be a much more remarkable photograph.
Love from us both.
[signed:] Cole
13 October 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark52
Dear Sam:
Dr. Jones got all the data on Ethylenedisulfanate† [sic] and finds that it would not do Linda any good, but he has high hopes that Pyribenzamine‡ may dry out her bronchial tract somewhat. She began using the latter last night so it is too soon to find out whether it will bear results or not.
She was glad to know that you had again taken up crossword puzzles.
I think that as long as we booked the La Quinta, and in all probability Linda will never be able to leave New York, that it is useless to make other reservations.
Thanks for the clipping about Frank Riddiger. I forwarded it to Robert. Thank you for the beautiful picture of Roger and Allen Vincent.
In fact, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks.
Love,
[signed:] Cole
P.S. Please send your moccasins to me here. There is an excellent shop in Williamstown which will repair them beautifully unless they are so old that they are falling apart.
CP
Porter also sent a telegram to Stark when he heard that he was unwell with asthma:
27 October 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark53
WE ARE ALL WORRIED ABOUT REPORTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH[.] PLEASE WIRE OR WRITE ME WILLIAMSTOWN[.] I SHALL BE THERE UNTIL MONDAY 1100 AM[.] LOVE FROM LINDA[,] STURGES AND MYSELF=
COLE=
Porter’s generosity is shown in the following series of letters to and from his cousin Harvey, who wrote to ask for help in obtaining tickets for himself and Porter’s other cousin, Omar, for the Chicago run of Kiss Me, Kate:
27 October 1949: Harvey Cole to Cole Porter54
Dear Cole:
Omar and I and our respective spouses expect to be in Chicago on the evening of Monday, November 28, and would like very much to see your show. Your mother told Omar that if any of us were to be in Chicago you could arrange to get tickets for us. I understand that--praise be to God--the tickets are difficult to obtain. If you can see that we get some reasonably good seats, we will appreciate it and will promptly remit the cost. If by any chance they are not available on the 28th, our desire to see the show is such that we would stay over until the evening of the 29th.
All join in best regards and in the hope that Linda is improving.
Sincerely yours,
[unsigned]
5 November 1949: Harvey Cole to Cole Porter55
Dear Cole:
I received both your wire and your letter advising me that four tickets for Kiss Me, Kate will be waiting at the box office of the Shubert Theatre in Chicago on the evening of November 28. We all appreciate your kindness very much and are looking forward to seeing the show with a great deal of pleasure.
With best wishes for Linda’s continued improvement,
Sincerely yours,
[unsigned]
30 November 1949: Harvey Cole to Cole Porter56
Dear Cole:
Mildred, Josephine, Omar, and I returned last evening from Chicago where we saw “Kiss Me, Kate” on Monday evening from the very best seats in the house. When I called for them, they told me that you had paid for them. I did not want or intend that you should do this and would be embarrassed at having you give us the seats after I had asked that you arrange to get them. I accordingly enclose herewith check for their approximate cost. We all enjoyed the show very much. It was the highlight of our bat.
All join me in best regards,
Sincerely yours,
[unsigned]
5 December 1949: Cole Porter to Harvey Cole57
Dear Harvey: –
I am very sorry but I cannot accept your check. It was a great joy to get those tickets for you, and I felt flattered that you all wanted to go to see my show.
All my best,
Sincerely,
[signed:] Cole
Although Porter did not spend vast amounts of time in Indiana, he seems to have kept regularly in touch with his family at home. The gesture described in these letters seems to be genuinely affectionate rather than a sign of Porter’s indifference to money due to his wealth.
The next two letters to Stark are mainly of importance because they imply that Out of This World would be ready for its world premiere early in 1950. Both letters address casting issues and the first mentions the intention to move Kiss Me, Kate to another theatre so that the new show could take its place. There was also more optimistic news about Linda’s health, suggesting Porter’s earlier fears that she may die would not come true just yet:
1 November 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark58
Dear Sam:
Thank you for your letter of October 26. Bill Haines has already written me about your asthma trouble and we were all very worried, so it was a relief to get your letter.
In answer to the rumors which you have heard about me:
(1) I did not attend the San Francisco opening of Kiss Me, Kate.
(2) Fannie Brice* is not playing Alcmene.
(3) Polly Moran† is not playing Helen.
(4) David Wayne‡ is in the show.
(5) The show does no
t open December 30. It goes into rehearsal on January 2.
(6) The show will open in New York around March 15.
(7) Alfred Drake does not go out of KMK and into Amphitryon.
(8) KMK does not go to the Winter Garden. We shall probably open the new show at the Century and move Kate somewhere else.
[Howard] Sturge[s] and I send our love to all of you.
[signed:] Cole
8 November 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark59
Dear Sam: –
The following letter is supposed to be a telegram:
You ask for news about Linda. A month ago I felt that she couldn’t live for more than a half year more. Today, I believe she may live, and in comfort, for quite a few years. This is all due to my having had her apartment air-conditioned. What I resent is that I thought of this and not her Doctor. He should have thought of it years ago. But she likes him because he has one of the phoniest smiles I have ever seen on any face. What’s more, he’s a fashionable Doctor. You call him in desperation, and he has either gone to play golf or, in the evening is off to some big ball. But she likes him.
Little Bobbie [Raison] sent me one of the funniest letters I have ever read, last week. I am so glad to hear that Bud sued the tavern keeper and won a thousand dollars. He will do so much good with it.
There is a great chance we may have Judy Holliday* in the new show. Don’t miss Adam’s Rib, if you can catch it. Maybe you know somebody at Metro who can show it to you in a projection room. It is one of the funniest pictures in years.
Good-bye, Sam. You have no idea how much we love you. Often during the day Linda and I sit together and simply repeat, over and over, “We love Sam”; and even as I sign my name, tears are dropping because you are so far away.
[signed:] Cole
It is obvious from these letters that Porter expected Out of This World to go into rehearsal soon. But the next letter, undated yet clearly written later in the month, revealed that it was nowhere near ready. The book writer, Dwight Taylor, was to be replaced:
[November] 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark60
Dear Sam:
This is the lowdown on my show situation. Keep it under your biggest hat.
Dwight Taylor handed in a book which I refused. It was so underwritten, lacked love interest and above all two great comedy scenes, that we decided to give the book to Betty Comden and Adolph Green† who wrote On The Town, Billion Dollar Baby,‡ The Barkleys of Broadway, and the book§ version of On The Town. They are as bright as buttons and write very fast and I believe they will deliver the goods in time so that we can start rehearsals during the second week of January.
Dwight Taylor, however, is behaving like his famous little mother. He is being dramatically Irish about my not accepting his book. He is perfectly willing to sacrifice his royalties, but he wants large bills saying Book by Dwight Taylor and then in very small letters Libretto by Comden and Green. Naturally Comden and Green won’t accept such billing nor would anybody else who was good. This has been pointed out to him constantly, but he goes on maintaining that he is outraged and must at least save face. We have suggested to him that the billing read Libretto by Comden and Green and then underneath, Based on Play by Dwight Taylor in the same type as the Comden-Green combination. So far he will not accept this. I am seeing him personally this week and I believe I can talk him off his silly high horse. I can easily point out to him that my score is much more popular* than the Kate score, and that a lot of the material could be used either for several pictures or for another show. I can also tell him that my income is far too big to be comfortable and that if the show falls through I shall save a lot of money. On the other hand he will lose a lot, as according to his contract he should make $1,500 a week from box office royalties. All he has to sacrifice are his subsidiary rights and only a part of these rights. I believe he needs money and will finally come through. In the meantime he is holding us up.
I like Betty Comden and Adolph Green very much. They are young Jews and in thinking over the past, I believe that Jews make the best musical comedy books. I shall keep you posted on this present upheaval which somehow doesn’t upset me very much as the fun always is in writing and not in seeing what you have written produced.
A real miracle has happened to Linda due to her air conditioned apartment. She now has to go into her tent only between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. During the day she can wander about and always breathe dry air. The result is that she is able to take a drive every day in her car and walk a bit in the park, and beginning next week she will start having guests for luncheon in her sitting room. This contact with the outside world will do her a lot of good. The only thing that worried me is that she is scheming very soon to go to Mainbocher’s* to order a lot of new clothes. This will definitely kill her but it is a beautiful way to die I suppose. Old Mrs. Ogden Mills† died fitting a dress at Callot’s in Paris, and Mrs. Hamilton Rice,‡ who was formerly married to George Widener, died fitting a hat at Reboux’s. Perhaps Linda has become socially ambitious.
[Howard] Sturge[s] is here with me over this week-end and Robert§ arrives next Friday morning to stay a week with me. We shall have the week-end in Williamstown. Friday night he will go to Kiss Me, Kate, Monday night to Les Ballets de Paris, Tuesday night to Kit Cornell’s opening (the play is called That Lady and I hear that it is a dud),¶ Wednesday night he goes to South Pacific, and Thursday night I am asking a few attractive people to Thanksgiving dinner at the Pavillon, after which he will fly West again. I think he needs this stimulus as he has had too many months of trying and trying to get work without success. I don’t want him to give up until he is convinced that it is hopeless.
If Linda continues to recover she will, after all, be able to go to La Quinta. I still have the rooms.
My Ma arrives for her winter rest at the Waldorf with our cousin Lu Bearss on December 1. She will be in New York for at least three months as it will take her at least three months to see all the shows, concerts, operas, lectures, dressmakers and milliners which she plans to see. She is totally well again and I squirm when she picks up the New York telephone book and can read the numbers.
Goodbye Sammy. Lots of love to Allen [Walker] and yourself.
[signed:] Cole
Porter continued to work hard on Out of This World, corresponding with the actor David Wayne about his songs. Wayne was to have played Mercury but was ultimately replaced by William Redfield:
1 November 1949: Cole Porter to David Wayne61
Dear David:
Please find enclosed the music and lyrics of Use Your Imagination, and corrected lyrics of They Couldn’t Compare To You, and the lyrics of Midsummer Night.
Will you rehearse this number Use Your Imagination on a stage with someone and let me know what key is the best for you to sing it in. You must be sure of this because I have to make a transmission into another key for the soprano who will play the part of Helen and sing it after you.
In regard to Midsummer Night, this is sung to the tempo of a rather slow polonaise and at the finish of the vocal number the tempo will quicken and a real polonaise will take place on stage.
Dwight Taylor just handed me a completely revised First Act, and although it still lacks a great belly laugh comedy scene and a slight love scene between the bride and the bridegroom, I think this new script has great distinction and a lot of charm. It also makes your part much more attractive, and I believe you will be crazy about it.
All my best,
[signed:] Cole
Also involving Wayne (singing ‘Farewell, Amanda’), the next two letters concern Adam’s Rib, which was released on 18 November to acclaim. The note to Katharine Hepburn is amusing (it is accompanied by a drawing) – an interesting sign of Porter’s new friendship with perhaps the greatest actress of Hollywood’s golden age:
14 November 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark62
Dear Sam: –
Thanks a lot for the publicity sheet on “Adam’s Rib”.
Love,
&
nbsp; [signed:] Cole
c.1949: Cole Porter to Katharine Hepburn63
Dear Kate –
This is your tie (over)
It should be
Tied this way
It looks
Indecent
Love
Cole
A letter from Linda to Sam Stark in November confirmed that she was feeling much better with her new breathing apparatus.64 The following two letters to Stark from Cole similarly confirm her improved well-being as the year came to a close – and that Comden and Green were announced as the new book writers on 19 December in the New York Times* shows that work on Out of This World continued through December:†
2 December 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark65
Dear Sam: –
Thank you very much for the flag directory. These flags interest me very much and I shall order them when I arrive in the West.
Linda is so much better that she goes out nearly every day – and preferably to the dentist. She looks like a million bucks and she has become, once more, most amusing.
My mother and my cousin arrived yesterday. My mother looks a bit older. She has a right to look a bit older, as she is 89 this year, instead of 88 last year . . .
Love,
[signed:] Cole
28 December 1949: Cole Porter to Sam Stark66
Dear Sammie: –
The package with all of those wonderful cocktail appetizers, etc. etc. arrived, and we both thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Linda, however, will not be able to enjoy them as I have stolen them immediately to take to the country.
I hope you had a grand Christmas.
Lots of love from us both,
[signed:] Cole
In the new year, Porter’s correspondence with Stark was typically wide-ranging, including discussion of Christmas presents, movie scores and Linda’s health:
7 January 1950: Cole Porter to Sam Stark67
Dear Li’l Sammie –
I brought up your Xmas present to Linda + me. Paul* + I undid it. Therefore I want to thank you for the mousse au foie d’oie truffe, the rolled fillets of anchovies, the sliced smoked salmon, the deviled tuna, the smoked shad, the paté of smoked Rainbow trout, the bloater paste, the Beluga caviar, the “Au Gourmet” frankfurters, the Spanish olives stuffed with fillets of anchovies, the boned goose + the charming serving tray on which it was placed. I can’t wait to tackle especially the boned goose.