COLE PORTER (1936-56) Photo archive

New York, Los Angeles: Various, 1936-1956. Set of 12 vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) and 7 x 9″ (17 x 22 cm) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photos. Most have various ink date stamps and original paper blurbs attached to verso. Overall near fine.

Cole Porter (1891–1964) was a legendary American composer and lyricist known for his sophisticated, witty and sensual songs. Renowned as one of the few songwriters to create both the words and music for his hits. From Paris at the end of World War II to hits on Broadway and the movies, his shows and song list is incomparable. (Wikipedia)

• Earliest photo date stamped Jan. 18, 1936 on verso, along with its newspaper publishing blurb, of Porter dining with actress Ruth Chatterton in Hollywood. This is before his 1937 riding accident which left him crippled. At the time he was in Hollywood working on MGM films Born to Dance and Rosalie.
• May 4, 1939 date stamped photo from Newark Airport TWA terminal shows him coming off a plane. During this time, he was in New York City working on the Broadway show Du Barry Was a Lady.
• Porter meeting Ed Sullivan for the CBS television show Toast of the Town in 1952.
• Two photos of Porter visiting the MGM film set for Kiss Me, Kate in 1953, appearing with director George Sidney, producer Jack Cummings and actor Ron Randall.
• Stage actress Louise Carlyle sings with Porter at the piano in a 1954 photo by G. D. Hacket.
• Porter observes Sally Forrest’s dance moves and chats with Sally and Dolores Gray during an Aug. 1954 rehearsal for a Ford Star Jubilee tribute to Porter’s music.
• Porter escorts Myrna Hansen to the 1956 premiere of High Society.
• Two portraits dated for the 1957 promotion of Silk Stockings (one is an MGM portrait ca. 1957).
• Porter with Dinah Shore, which is unusual as there is not an archived meeting between the two, but looking at Shore’s styling it seems to be ca. 1957 when she released her album Dinah Shore Sings Porter and Rodgers on Harmony Records.