Former Stage And Film Actress Claire Luce's "Book of Confessions" To Be Auctioned April 30, 2013

PLYMOUTH, Mass. - March 27, 2013 - PRLog -- PLYMOUTH, MA - J. James Auctioneers & Appraisers is pleased to announce that they will be auctioning off several lots from the personal collection of actress  Claire Luce ( 1903-1989) in their April 30, 2013 sale to be held at Plymouth Memorial Hall, 83 Court St. at 6:00 PM.

Among items included in this collection are autographed notes and ephemera, studio and personal photos of Ms. Luce during her London stage performance with Fred Astaire in “The Gay Divorce” (which all but ended her dancing career when she fell during a production), a rare photo of American Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld posing in a bathing suit along with Claire and several other Follies stars and a leather bound handwritten diary stamped “LUCE” in gilt on the spine (or as Ms. Luce calls it, her “Book of Confessions”). Entries span from 1937-1945 where she notes her daily activities, her “crushes” and intimately describes her romance with former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s son, Randolph Churchill.

On January 24, 1937 Claire writes – “I was rather sad when R. left this morning-am amazed at my feeling for this pompous young man-continually spouting about his ‘Papa’ Winston and his ancestors, the Duke of Marlborough, etc.-nevertheless shall allow myself this frivolous feeling…”  

Additionally, Ms. Luce mentions conversations with former co-stars Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart and reminisces of her role in the film Up The River (1930), directed by John Ford. She gives us her dramatic account of countless dinner dates, plays, reviews, etc. with stage and film stars, artists, political and social figures during her time in London, Paris and New York, ending frequent passages with, “And Luce had ___ lovers…”

For more information, please contact:

J. James Auctioneers & Appraisers  (508) 746-8608 or consign@jjamesauctions.com