Lot 240
Rare Lana Turner 9 Page Typed Letter (Carbon Copy) For "Modern Screen" About Her Plans On Raising Daughter Cheryl Crane. Lana Turner (1921-1995) enjoyed a 50 year career in the public eye as a model, an actress and having one of the most publicized personal life Hollywood has ever seen. Quick history: Turner was a huge star but not the best at picking partners. She married seven times (dated countless) and had a daughter, Cheryl Crane while married to B actor Steven Crane. Jump to husband four and she married Lex Barker (Tarzan and Westerns) who is frequently mentioned in these 9 pages. In this "original" onion skin carbon copy, envelope post marked November 27, 1956, Turner tells about the difficulty of raising a young teenager and cites several challenges of normal adolescent behavior. Turner pours her heart out in these pages, but understand, the content was being used for an article in Modern Screen so naturally it's as much about Turner as it is her daughter.
This is a find because of what happened less than a year later. Turner, ordered Barker out of her house when Crane revealed she had been (allegedly in her autobiography) sexually assaulted by Barker. Turner then started dating handsome gangster, Johnny Stompanato, when one evening during a violent argument with Turner, Crane came running into the bedroom and stabbed Stompanato dead. This led to one of the most publicized trials of the 1950s where Turner in defense of her daughter "gave the performance of her career" while on the stand. As for Cheryl Crane, after some difficult times, found love, business success as well a a best selling author.
This carbon of the original letter was sent to Glenn Rose, Lana Turner's and many other notables, publicity agent- actually quite the legend himself. Was this a mutually composed piece by Modern Screen with direct input by Lana Turner, the copy then sent to Rose for approval………….probably. That's just how fan magazines worked back then. (9 pages, somewhat fragile, with rough edges to right side) Hollywood history at its best. Estimated Value $300 - UP
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