The Letters of Cole Porter

by Cole Porter

  46. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1946 (telegram).

  47. Ibid. The date suggested by Stanford may be incorrect. Porter writes as if he had seen the finished film, which was not released until 11 June 1948.

  48. Indiana, The Lilly Library.

  49. Variety, 10 July 1946, 8.

  50. New York Herald Tribune, 4 August 1946, C1.

  51. New Yorker, 27 July 1946, 48–9.

  52. CPT, Correspondence 1946.

  53. CPT, Correspondence 1946.

  54. http://www.historyforsale.com/html/prodetails.asp?documentid=278890&start=1

  55. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  56. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (ALS on Waldorf notepaper).

  57. Ibid.

  58. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  59. NYPL, Harburg Collection.

  60. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (ALS on Waldorf notepaper).

  61. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (ALS on ‘No Trespassing’ stationery).

  62. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (ALS on Waldorf notepaper).

  63. Ibid.

  64. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (ALS on ‘NO TRESPASSING’ stationery).

  65. USC, Freed Collection, Box 56, folder “The Pirate”.

  66. Ibid.

  67. McBrien, Cole Porter, 302.

  68. Irving Berlin Collection, LC (postcard). Dated ‘1 April’ at LC, the postmark is difficult to read and may be ‘19 April’.

  69. Yale University, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Cole Porter Collection MSS 82, Box 87. The letter itself is not dated; the envelope in which it was sent is postmarked 29 May 1947.

  70. http://weissauctions.hibid.com/lot/6312148/cole-porter-letter-signed-to-monty-woolley.

  71. USC, Freed Collection, Box 38, folder 6 (TL).

  72. See ‘How to Beget a Musical Comedy by Cole Porter as told to Richard G. Hubler’, Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, 2-9, Manuscripts, 5.

  73. Stanford University (Sam Stark Collection; written from Williamstown).

  74. The Montreal Gazette, 24 September 1947, 9.

  75. Boston University, Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Center, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Papers, shelfmark B. 157, Scrapbook II (TLS).

  76. Boston University, Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Center, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Papers, shelfmark B. 157, Scrapbook II (ALS).

  77. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1947 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  78. Ibid.

  6 KISS ME, KATE, 1948

  1. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–6.

  2. Letter is annotated with a handwritten note at the bottom, possibly not Porter: ‘I am ill with the’.

  3. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–6.

  4. Scan from historyforsale.com.

  5. Letter of 25 February 1948 from Cole Porter to Harvey Cole. Yale University, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Cole Porter Collection MSS 82, Box 49, folder 299. The letter is on Waldorf stationery.

  6. Yale University, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Cole Porter Collection, Box 49, folder 299.

  7. Ibid.

  8. Louis Calta, ‘Coward’s Revival Leaves Saturday’, New York Times, 9 March 1948, 27.

  9. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–6.

  10. New York Times, 14 March 1948, p. 31. A further Times article of 21 March 1948 (X1) also mentions the casting of Novotna and Ferrer.

  11. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  12. ‘Bray’ has been added by Stark above the word ‘Robert’.

  13. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  14. Note by Stark in margin: ‘my nephew S.S’.

  15. A copy of Porter’s contract is in the Bella Spewack Papers at Columbia University. Curiously, three other documents are also signed by Sam Spewack, who is not named as a co-author of the script on the drafts of the book until October 1948.

  16. A copy of the rider is at the Cole Porter Trust, New York.

  17. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  18. Ibid.

  19. Ibid.

  20. Marginal annotation by Stark: ‘I kept it S.S.’

  21. New York Times, 2 May 1948, 81.

  22. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  23. Anon. ‘Of Local Origin,’ New York Times, 20 May 1948, 35.

  24. Thomas M. Pryor, ‘Marxism Can Be Fun Too’, New York Times, 23 May 1948, X1.

  25. Ibid.

  26. New York Times, 31 May 1948, p. 13.

  27. CPT, Correspondence 1948.

  28. Spewack Papers, Columbia University.

  29. Cole Porter Trust.

  30. Columbia, Spewack Collection, Catalogued Correspondence: Cole Porter. Transcription.

  31. Columbia, Spewack Collection, Catalogued Correspondence: Cole Porter.

  32. Of tangential interest: on 22 June, the New York Times reported that Porter (‘of musical comedy fame’) was represented in an exhibition of publications of former students of John M. Berdan, Professor Emeritus of Literature at Yale University.

  33. Columbia, Spewack Collection, Catalogued Correspondence: Cole Porter.

  34. New York Times, 29 June 1948, p. 20.

  35. New York Times, 17 July 1948, p. 7.

  36. New York Times, 25 July 1948, p. X3.

  37. 30 August 1948: Telegram from Arnold St Subber to Hanya Holm: he is interested in engaging her for KMK (Hanya Holm Papers, NYPL, *MGZMD, Box 136, folder 497). Contract: dated 30 September, Holm Papers, NYPL, Box 136, folder 498.

  38. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery). Marginal note by Sam Stark refers to ‘The whole trip: Motor trip with Bob Bray from Los Angeles to North Dakota + Chicago’.

  39. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  40. Ibid.

  41. Sam Zolotow, ‘News of the Rialto’, New York Times, 2 October 1948, 11.

  42. Hanya Holm Papers, NYPL, *MGZMD, Box 136, folder 498.

  43. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery).

  44. Announcement of audition on 7 October 1948 for backers is found in the Holm Papers, NYPL, *MGZMD, Box 136, folder 498.

  45. 8 October 1948: telegram from Arnold St Subber to Hanya Holm, ‘first call for singers and dancers will be this Thursday [=?] at the Majestic Theater, Equity only’ (NYPL, *MGZMD, Box 136, folder 497). 11 October 1948: telegram from Arnold St Subber to Hanya Holm, auditions for ‘special singers and dancers – the ones I have a list for, set for Friday [=?] at Majestic Theater’.

  46. New York Times, 16 October 1948, p. 9: ‘No contracts have been signed yet, but according to certain parties Patricia Morison is set for one of the leading stints in “Kiss Me, Kate”, the Cole Porter-Sam and Bella Spewack musical, which is due here on Dec. 29 under the banner of Lemuel Ayers and Arnold Saint Subber. Miss Morison, say the scouts, will sign the necessary papers over the week-end.’

  47. Yale University, Irving S. Gil
more Music Library, Robert Shaw Papers, Box 285, folder 55 (on Waldorf stationery).

  48. New York Times, 28 October 1948, p. 36.

  49. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (on Waldorf note card).

  50. Ibid (on Waldorf stationery).

  51. New York Times, 23 November 1948, p. 36.

  52. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–6.

  53. Ibid.

  54. Ibid.

  55. Ibid.

  56. American Heritage Center, Jean Howard Papers, Box 6.

  57. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1948 (telegram), 1–7.

  58. Letter of 30 December 1948 from Alfred Drake to Cole Porter (CPT).

  7 FROM KISS ME, KATE TO OUT OF THIS WORLD, 1949–1950

  1. Telegram from Irving Berlin to Cole Porter, 4 January 1949. Cole Porter Collection, Library of Congress.

  2. Howard Taubman, ‘Cole Porter is “The Top” Again’, New York Times, 16 January 1949, SM20.

  3. Columbia University, Spewack Collection, E Catalogued Correspondence: Cole Porter.

  4. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  5. Ibid.

  6. Ibid.

  7. ‘The Professional Amateur’, profile, Time magazine, 31 January 1949, 44.

  8. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  9. Yale University, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, William McBrien Papers, Series IV, Box 5, folder 158.

  10. Quoted in Eells, The Life that Late He Led, 256 (the original copy of the letter is lost). It is possible, of course, that Eells’s transcription is altered or censored in some way, but other letters that he quotes for which the original has been obtainable suggest he is generally reliable in representing sources.

  11. NYPL, William Skipper Papers, (S)*MGZMD 185, Box 3.

  12. See New Yorker, 29 January 1949, 18.

  13. See New Yorker, 12 February 1949, 83.

  14. Cole Porter Papers, Indiana Historical Society (on Waldorf stationery).

  15. Ibid.

  16. The identity of Kenneth M. Browne is unknown: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/446104_cole-porter

  17. American Heritage Center, Jean Howard Papers, Box 6.

  18. Goddard Lieberson Papers, Correspondence, Yale University.

  19. Louis Calta, ‘600 Stage Artists Set for ANTA Show’, New York Times, 5 March 1949, 10.

  20. Copy sold on eBay.

  21. NYPL, William Skipper Papers, (S)*MGZMD 185, Box 3.

  22. CPT, Correspondence 1949 (written on Chappell Music stationery).

  23. Louis Calta, ‘Webster to Tour Straw-Hat Circuit’, New York Times, 22 March 1949, 31.

  24. See McBrien, Cole Porter, 303.

  25. Anon, ‘ “Salesman”, “Kate” Win Perry Awards’, New York Times, 24 April 1949, 19.

  26. Lewis Funke, ‘Gossip of the Rialto’, New York Times, 8 May 1949, X1.

  27. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  28. Ibid.

  29. Ibid, 1–8 (handwritten and undated).

  30. Irving Berlin Collection, Library of Congress.

  31. Ibid.

  32. Ibid.

  33. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  34. A. H. Weiler, ‘By Way Of Report’, New York Times, 8 May 1949, X5.

  35. Louis Calta, ‘Abbott’s Musical Will Bow Tonight’, New York Times, 13 October 1949, 33.

  36. Cole Porter Papers, Indiana Historical Society (on Waldorf stationery).

  37. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  38. Ibid. Handwritten on ‘NO TRESPASSING’ notepaper. The recipient’s surname is not given but Porter salutes ‘Mr. Davis’ at the end of his letter. Davis is depicted in a photograph of a group of friends in McBrien, Cole Porter, 268.

  39. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7. Letter written from Williamstown.

  40. Copy sold on eBay.

  41. Quoted in Howard, Travels with Cole Porter, 22.

  42. Howard Papers, AHC, Box 6 (handwritten on ‘No Trespassing’ stationery).

  43. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  44. Howard Papers, AHC, Box 6.

  45. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949, 1–7 (handwritten on ‘No Trespassing’ stationery).

  46. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7. Addressed from Williamstown.

  47. Ibid.

  48. Ibid.

  49. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  50. The source for this and the next two letters: Ethel Merman and George Eells, Merman: An Autobiography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), 153–4.

  51. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  52. Ibid.

  53. Ibid.

  54. Sold at historyforsale.com

  55. Ibid.

  56. Ibid.

  57. Ibid.

  58. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  59. Ibid.

  60. Ibid. Undated.

  61. Kent State University archive, David Wayne Papers.

  62. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  63. Handwritten card, Margaret Herrick Library, Katharine Hepburn Collection, Folder 1140 ‘P-Miscellaneous’.

  64. Undated letter from 11/1949: Linda Porter to Sam Stark. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–8.

  65. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1949 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–7.

  66. Ibid, 1–8.

  67. Ibid, 1–9 (handwritten on ‘No Trespassing’ stationery).

  68. Ibid.

  69. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  70. Ibid. Letter from Linda Porter to Sam Stark, 7 February 1950.

  71. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  72. Ibid.

  73. Ibid (handwritten on ‘No Trespassing’ stationery).

  74. Ibid.

  75. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  76. CPT, Correspondence 1950.

  77. Ibid.

  78. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  79. Swann Galleries, sale 2351, lot 175.

  80. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  81. Florence, Villa I Tatti.

  82. CPT, Correspondence 1950.

  83. Ibid.

  84. Ibid.

  85. Ibid.

  86. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  87. CPT, Correspondence 1950.

  88. See John Crosby, ‘Exuberant, Funny and Tuneful’, New York Herald Tribune, 6 October 1950, 25.


  89. See Jack Gould, ‘ “Anything Goes” Revived on Video’, New York Times, 3 October 1950, 44.

  90. Irving Berlin Collection, Library of Congress.

  91. Ibid.

  92. Cole Porter Collection, Library of Congress.

  93. Jean Howard, Travels with Cole Porter, 22.

  94. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  95. Irving Berlin Collection, Library of Congress.

  96. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  97. Sam Zolotow, ‘Crabtree’s Play in Debut Tonight’, 17 November 1950, New York Times, 43.

  98. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  99. Ibid; letter of 16 November 1950 from Smith to Stark.

  100. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9; undated handwritten letter from Linda Porter to Stark.

  101. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–9.

  102. Ibid.

  103. Howard Papers, AHC, Box 6.

  104. CPT, Correspondence 1950.

  105. Anon, ‘Boston Censors Musical’, New York Times, 1 December 1950, 38.

  106. Worcester Academy (on Waldorf stationery).

  107. Cole Porter Collection, Library of Congress.

  108. Memo of plans for Stark from 16 December 1950, including a postscript about coffee at the Colony. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1946 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–10.

  109. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1950 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–10.

  110. Brooks Atkinson, ‘At the Theatre’, New York Times, 22 December 1950, 17.

  8 FROM LIMBO TO THE WRITING OF CAN-CAN, 1951–1952

  1. Stanford University, Cole Porter Collection, shelfmark FE209, Correspondence: 1951 (TLS on Waldorf stationery), 1–12.

  2. Ibid.

  3. NYPL *T-Mss 1971-002, Series III, Subseries 1, Box 199.

  4. Columbia University, Spewack Collection, Catalogued Correspondence: Cole Porter.

  5. CPT, Correspondence 1951.

  6. Ibid.

  7. Photocopy; CPT, Correspondence 1951.