The Letters of Cole Porter

by Cole Porter

  21 January 1948: Cole Porter to Sam Stark3

  Samb, the Lamb –

  How could you contract Virus X?‡ You, playing in the purity of your garden! I thought only Jewish agents had it. I hope that by now you are back in your pristine form. It is difficult to think of you riddled with disease.

  Michael P.§ went to W’mst’n¶ with me for the last weekend. He was charming in spite of the fact that he insisted upon playing all my bad recordings instead of all my good ones. But there is really a delightful gent. A weekend in that minute cottage is a sure test.

  Telephone to Stannie** + tell him – shush – that Sylvia†† dined with us tonight. She said that she had practically never seen Gable‡‡ because as a result of his having neuritis, his dentist had removed all of his teeth + that he was hiding in the valley until the new sets arrived. I hesitated to wire this news.

  I am going through treatments of my right leg, 3 times a week, Tuesday, Wednesday + Thursday mornings. They are so painful that they often make me pass out. But the blessing of them is that they may make an operation at least temporarily unnecessary.

  It suddenly looks as if I might have a Broadway show.* I shall know more shortly + will send on the news. If it happens, this will be wonderful indeed for I long for work . . .

  I air mailed The City + The Pillar.† Then I picked up an old letter from Bobby Raison recommending it to me so it must be old West Coast news by now. I think this book is extraordinary. Certainly the author knows his subject + he writes well.

  Goodnight, dear Sammy. I am awfully sorry that you have been ill. Buck up quick quick + write me that you are blooming again.

  Goodnight. My love to Allen [Walker].

  Your

  Cole.

  Aside from the reference to his sex life, Porter also alludes for the first time to the musical that would prove to be his biggest success on Broadway: Kiss Me, Kate.‡

  Business also continued to be on Porter’s mind. His financial status was as precarious as ever, and he never seemed to catch up on his expenditures, not least because of his multiple extravagant residences. The following letter to his cousin Harvey, who was still running his affairs in Indiana, shows how he was now relying on his mother – always referred to as Katy – to maintain his lifestyle. He asks Harvey to organize the payment for James Omar Cole, Porter’s cousin, who was running the farm for her:

  17 February 1948: Cole Porter to Harvey Cole4

  Dear Harvey: –

  Did you and Omar ever come to an agreement as to the amount Omar should be paid per year by Katy for running her farm? As I told you when I was in Indiana, he should be paid from June 1947, when he took over.

  All my best to you and Mildred.

  Sincerely,

  [signed:] Cole

  His next letter to Harvey (not reproduced here) reaffirms the sense of Porter’s need for money, as he asks how much he could expect to receive every month from his mother’s trust.5 Then in the following letter, Porter is more explicit as to the reasons for his financial anxiety. The tax* he owed as a result of the film Night and Day was considerable – $100,000 – and he only had about a third of that amount in hand to deal with it. The letter also highlights his mother’s active role in keeping Porter afloat, to her own financial detriment. Porter seems to be acutely aware of this:

  2 March 1948: Cole Porter to Harvey Cole6

  Dear Harvey: –

  I wrote to Katy, telling her that Omar would accept nothing for his services. I also wrote to Omar, telling him that although we would rather have it otherwise, as long as he insisted on accepting nothing, I could at least tell him how very grateful both Katy and I were.

  Katy doesn’t like this arrangement at all. She insists that he be paid. So, perhaps the following would be the only solution: Could you find out in some way what the usual amount would be for what Omar is doing for us? If so, then perhaps she could give him that amount as a Christmas present each year, which he cannot very well refuse. Will you please look into this matter?

  I received your information regarding the money that Katy gave me in 1947 being considered as a gift and not as a loan. My tax man, Pinto, thought it would save her money if it were considered a loan, in which case if it were not repaid, it would be an asset to her estate upon her death. But if you prefer it the other way, that is perfectly O.K. with me. The only thing that worries me, really, is about 1948, as she is continueing [sic] to help me until I recover.

  You remember that, on top of the loan which you made for me, I shall have to pay the Government an extra $100,000 in taxes, when the Bank of America loan is paid, on the Night and Day film. So far, the payment of this loan has been put off until May of this year. Arthur Lyons, my agent on the Coast, hopes to continue to put off the payment of this loan until I have sufficient funds to pay the tax on it. So far, I have only $35,000 toward this amount. So you can see how much further help I shall need. And if Katy continues to give me this help, as she insists upon doing, it will make her gift tax a considerable sum from now on, unless the whole amount is treated as a loan.

  Please give me your judgement [sic] on all this.

  Sincerely,

  [signed:] Cole

  In reply to the last letter, Harvey Cole not only reaffirms Kate Porter’s insistence that the money she sent Porter be regarded as a gift that need not be repaid, he also outlines a plan to reduce the amount of taxes Porter owed. The singer Al Jolson* had been the subject of an enormously successful biopic, The Jolson Story, in 1946. Cole reveals that Jolson was trying to avoid paying income tax on the film and suggests that Porter might do the same with Night and Day if Jolson were successful:

  4 March 1948: Harvey Cole to Cole Porter7

  Dear Cole:

  I have your letter dated March 2, 1948. Regardless of what Mr. Pinto said, there is not the slightest question but that the amounts given by Katy to you in 1947 should be treated as a gift and a gift tax return filed. The gift tax will amount to $952.34. Of course, if he is considering only the taxes which she will have to pay in her lifetime, he is probably right in that treating the transaction as a loan this amount would be saved. However, if it is treated as a loan and repaid to her or her estate after her death, the assets of her estate will be increased by $50,000.00, all of which would be subject to the estate tax at the highest rates which will be applicable to her estate. If it should be so treated, the increased federal estate taxes would amount to $17,500.00 without taking into consideration increased state inheritance taxes.

  Moreover, she insists that it was a gift and she does not expect it to be repaid.

  I have prepared a gift tax return for her which she is signing and mailing to the Collector, together with her check for the amount of the tax. I enclose herewith two copies of a donee’s return, which please sign and mail to the Collector of Internal Revenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. This should be done prior to March 15. Other gifts which your mother may make to you during the year year 1948 will require the payment of a substantially greater gift tax than that which is imposed upon the 1947 gifts. This is true both because she has used her entire exemption of $30,000.00 for 1947 and also because the additional gifts will be taxed at a higher rate. This, however, cannot be avoided, and the tax will still be substantially below that which is applicable to the estate tax after her death. You understand that if these transactions are treated as loans, the amount of the loans must be considered as a part of her estate for the purpose of determining the estate tax.

  I talked to M. S. Cassen, the tax man who looks after the J. C. Cole estate returns, today. He told me that he was informed that Al Jolson was taking the position that the proceeds of the moving picture about his life, I believe “The Al Jolson Story,” constituted a capital gain, taxable only at the rate of 25% instead of ordinary income taxable at the income tax rates. His theory is that he has sold a capital asset which he can never dispose of again, namely, the storey [sic] of his life. It might pay for you to look into this and see whethe
r or not he gets by with it, and whether you could use a similar plan on “Night and Day.”

  I will make some investigation and advise you as to the charge customarily made for looking after farms such as your mother’s.

  Yours very truly,

  [unsigned]

  Much as his financial situation was vexing, Porter could take comfort in a new project on the horizon. Although he did not know it at the time, Kiss Me, Kate would become the most successful and enduring musical of his career. An article in the New York Times broke the news: ‘Last night John C. Wilson signed contracts under which he will stage and supervise a new musical, which Cole Porter and Bella Spewack are writing. As yet untitled, the production is based on an idea supplied by Lemuel Ayers* and Arnold Saint Subber,† who will serve as sponsors of the venture. Reticent about the details of the forthcoming show, which is slated for next fall, Miss Spewack conceded, however, that Mr. Porter’s material – i.e. the music and lyrics – is excellent. Miss Spewack, of course, will provide the book.’8 Kiss Me, Kate would mark a change of direction for Porter, largely because it was not written around the talents of a specific star, unlike (for example) the Ethel Merman shows.‡ Nevertheless, it also highlighted a familiar form: the backstage musical. The show depicts the on- and offstage exploits between a divorced couple, the actors Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, as they appear in a musical version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. It was the first of a series of book musicals in which Porter’s name would be far bigger than that of the performers, to be followed in the 1950s by Out of This World (1950), Can-Can (1953) and Silk Stockings (1955). As Porter remarked in the next letter to Sam Stark, the new project had great potential:

  9 March 1948: Cole Porter to Sam Stark9

  Dear Sammy: –

  I am sending you, under separate cover, photographs taken by the great Michael Pearman, of my cottage and the main house – taken last month.

  You can see from these how hard it has been surviving this terrible winter!!!

  What does Klinsor’s [sic] Magic Garden* mean?

  It looks as if I should come West some time in April, to stay the summer and work on my new show. I have persuaded Bella Spewack to come out there too, so that we can finish the Opus in the balm of California. It looks like a very good show indeed.

  We both send love to our Sammy,

  [signed:] Cole.

  P.S. – I am also sending you a menu, from the Pavillon,† of a little dinner that [Howard] Sturg[es] gave the other night; to show how meagre our rations are here in New York.

  The New York Times revealed more information about Kiss Me, Kate within days of the announcement:

  Although nothing is signed, Jarmila Novotna‡ of the Metropolitan Opera and José Ferrer§ are being spoken of as the leads in that untitled Cole Porter-Bella Spewack musical. The grapevine reports that Miss Novotna (she’s no stranger to the Broadway stage having appeared four years ago in “Helen Goes to Troy”)¶ recently heard the music and is said to have expressed her whole-hearted approval over Mr. Porter’s collection of sharps and flats . . . Supposedly a secret, the plot is based on “The Taming of the Shrew” and stems from an idea of Lemuel Ayers and Arnold Saint Subber, who will produce it next season under John C. Wilson’s supervision. It isn’t a feat of the imagination to deduce that Miss Novotna would be the Katherine and Mr. Ferrer the Petruchio.10

  As well as starting to work on Kiss Me, Kate, Porter continued to keep up to date with his friends. In the following two letters to Stark, he discusses Robert Bray, the possibility of renting a new house, the purchase of a new car (because his valet-chauffeur was angry with him for cancelling a trip to Europe), and a planned visit to his mother’s house in Indiana. Mention is also made of Bella Spewack’s intended visit to Los Angeles to work on the new show. Although she is credited as co-author of the book with her husband Sam, Bella seems to have been the main author:

  11 March 1948: Cole Porter to Sam Stark11

  Dear Sammy: –

  A letter from Robert [Bray]12 arrived yesterday, telling me that his option at RKA* hadbeen [sic] taken up for another year, with a raise. If you see him, please tell him how delighted I am that he has persisted so hard in his work, and that his efforts have been rewarded.

  Love,

  [signed:] Cole

  16 March 1948: Cole Porter to Sam Stark13

  Dear Sam: –

  I have your letters of March 0, March 1, March 11 and March 12. This is the first time I have ever received a letter postmarked “March 0”, and I thank you very much.

  In reply to your letter of March 0, I was delighted to get the story of the Bluie [sic, Robert] Raisin.

  As for the epistle of March 1st, I am most embarrassed not to have known about Klingsor’s Magic Garden.†

  Now we go on to the letter of March 11: Dick Cromwell‡ wrote me and offered me his house, unfurnished, for $40,000, which of course I refused. I hope Sam Shedinger14 stays long enough in New York so that I can see him but, as usual, I leave for Williamstown on Friday the 19th and shan’t be back until the evening of Monday, the 22nd.

  If you are irritated by mislaying your glasses, take my advice and buy a pair for every spot where you usually sit. This will solve all your troubles.

  In this letter you enclose a note from Robert [Bray]. As I told you, I am delighted that his option was taken up and I hope you have delivered him this message . . .

  Finally, we come to the letter of March 12th, and this is the reply: I was shocked by the champagne that Allan [sic, Allen Walker] served with the dinner he gave. Very few bottles of 1928 champagne are good any more; and as for 1921, it is so old and flat that people with country places only give it to the pigs.

  These are my plans: My apartment here is being sublet for at least six weeks from April 1st on, which means that I move to [Howard] Sturges’ apartment, as Sturges sails next Tuesday for Paris. I believe I can settle everything here within the first two weeks of April. Then I shall go to Indiana to stay with my Ma, after which I shall fly to Los Angeles. We begin work on my show; Bella Spewack is coming out there also to work with me; and it looks as if I should remain there for at least four months.

  During the summer, I want to look for a new house which I can rent, beginning either the summer of 1949 or of 1950. This depends on the outcome of the Haines battle.* I am broken-hearted that I couldn’t buy the Haines house, but after conferring with infinite lawyers and tax experts, I hadto [sic] give the whole thing up.

  I bought a new 1948 convertible Cadillac today, and Paul† will motor out in it. It isn’t nearly as pretty as the 1947 model, but I had to get it to please Paul, as he was so unhappy that I gave up plans for our going to Europe for the summer.

  That’s about all my news, Mr. Stark. Lots of love from us,

  Your devoted

  [signed:] Cole.

  P.S. – Please write me many, many more letters. They are the only stars in my sky.

  The main contracts for Kiss Me, Kate were signed on 29 March. Porter’s agreement with producers Saint Subber and Lemuel Ayers required that he deliver the score by 18 October for a 15 December premiere. His royalty was 5% of the gross; for the sale of the motion picture rights, 30% would go to Porter, 30% to Bella Spewack and 40% to the management.15 A rider of 17 June stipulated that the selection of the orchestra, choral conductor and dance editor must have the written approval of the composer; that the orchestra must be at least twenty-eight (except with permission); that the choice of scenic designer and costume designer would be only with approval of the author; that Lemuel Ayers is approved as scenic and costume director; and that John C. Wilson is to be engaged as manager ‘to direct and stage the play’ and ‘to completely and solely supervise, both financially and artistically, the production and operation of the play’.16 These contractual obligations demonstrate Porter’s right to be involved with all aspects of his musicals, at least at this point in his career: along with Bella Spewack, he had creative oversight of th
e original production.*

  Writing to Sam Stark on 30 March, Porter revealed that Linda had been ill (with the flu)† but that he still intended to fly to Los Angeles to work on Kiss Me, Kate:

  30 March 1948: Cole Porter to Sam Stark17

  Dear Thin Sam: –

  I saw John Smithson last night, and he told me that you were as slender as a pine. I have still to see this. I put John in the hands of Harry Krebs, as I was leaving for Williamstown. Harry took him to several cocktail parties and he made a great success. He definitely belongs now to the Tauch set. In fact, he has moved in and has a room in Ed Tauch’s* apartment house. The reason I saw him was because I went to a dinner given in honour of Ollie Jennings, who has not died at all. He sails on Friday to scatter his great-aunt’s ashes over Lyons, France.

  I received such a nice letter from Robert.† He says that everything is going fine, that he is with the children all the time and with his mother and father. Does this mean that things are not going well with his wife and that he was not able, after all, to get his house back?

  My present plans are to leave New York toward the end of April, staying a week with my mother on the farm, and then fly to the Coast. I may, however, be delayed on account of my show.

  Linda has been seriously ill, but at last is recovering beautifully. We both send you lots of love,

  [signed:] Cole

  In the event, his own health caused a delay. Ongoing treatments to his right leg left him in enormous pain and his trip west was postponed until May:

  13 April 1948: Cole Porter to Sam Stark18

  Dear Sam: –

  It looks as if I should hit the coast on May 6th or 7th, and I shouldn’t be angry at being met at all. I shall let you know definitely as soon as I get my plane reservations . . .

  Linda is very much better; and my right leg is slightly better, but it has been a horror for the last two weeks.

  Love from Park Avenue & 60th Street.

  Your old friend