Nov 5, 2025 10:00 EST
Stage & Screen featuring The Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
39
An original poster for Happy Days, directed by Alan Schneider
Collection of American Theater Director Alan Schneider (1917-1984)
SAMUEL BECKETT
Original poster for Happy Days performed at the Cherry Lane Theater. New York, [1961]. Color printed poster, 13 x 21½ inches. Slightly faded, with a few small stains.
Provenance: Collection of Alan Schneider (1917-1984); Following the death of Alan Schneider in 1984, these materials were retained by Schneider’s widow, Eugenie Schneider, who died in the summer of 2025 at 101 years old.
Happy Days, written and produced in 1961, was Samuel Beckett's third stage play written originally in English, following Krapp's Last Tape. The American premiere was at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village, which had also premiered Endgame in 1958, both directed by Alan Schneider ("the primary American director of Samuel Beckett's plays.") Happy Days, similar to previous Beckett productions, features the character Winnie who is buried to her waist in Act I and up to her neck in Act II but continues to reminisce about happier times.
As Beckett's works were continuously growing in esteem in the eyes of reviewers and theatergoers, Howard Taubman wrote in the New York Times: "At the Cherry Lane Theatre, where 'Happy Days' opened last night, William Ritman has designed a mound as barren as a dune and has set it against a glaringly yellow cyclorama. Alan Schneider has directed the play with a memorable combination of delicacy and strength. John C. Becher does the whimpering, senile Willie effectively. But the dominating impression is made by Ruth White, who plays Winnie with heartrending pathos" (New York Times, Beckett's Happy Days, 18 September 1961).
Collection of American Theater Director Alan Schneider (1917-1984)
SAMUEL BECKETT
Original poster for Happy Days performed at the Cherry Lane Theater. New York, [1961]. Color printed poster, 13 x 21½ inches. Slightly faded, with a few small stains.
Provenance: Collection of Alan Schneider (1917-1984); Following the death of Alan Schneider in 1984, these materials were retained by Schneider’s widow, Eugenie Schneider, who died in the summer of 2025 at 101 years old.
Happy Days, written and produced in 1961, was Samuel Beckett's third stage play written originally in English, following Krapp's Last Tape. The American premiere was at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village, which had also premiered Endgame in 1958, both directed by Alan Schneider ("the primary American director of Samuel Beckett's plays.") Happy Days, similar to previous Beckett productions, features the character Winnie who is buried to her waist in Act I and up to her neck in Act II but continues to reminisce about happier times.
As Beckett's works were continuously growing in esteem in the eyes of reviewers and theatergoers, Howard Taubman wrote in the New York Times: "At the Cherry Lane Theatre, where 'Happy Days' opened last night, William Ritman has designed a mound as barren as a dune and has set it against a glaringly yellow cyclorama. Alan Schneider has directed the play with a memorable combination of delicacy and strength. John C. Becher does the whimpering, senile Willie effectively. But the dominating impression is made by Ruth White, who plays Winnie with heartrending pathos" (New York Times, Beckett's Happy Days, 18 September 1961).
Auction: Stage & Screen featuring The Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Nov 5, 2025
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Popular Stage & Screen Auction on November 5, 2025 Attracted Global Audience
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Memorabilia, Autographs, Artwork & Photographs Celebrating Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance
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Archive of Samuel Beckett Material from the Estate of His American Director Alan Schneider Topped $75,000
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Sale Featured a Special Section Devoted to the Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle's popular Stage & Screen auction on November 5, 2025 attracted fans and collectors around the world vying for an exciting range of offerings celebrating the performing arts of Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance.
The Estate of Alan Schneider
Featured in the sale was fascinating collection of early Waiting for Godot material from the Estate of Alan Schneider that topped $75,000 amid trans-Atlantic competition. “The primary American director of Samuel Beckett plays” and a close friend of the playwright, Alan Schneider died in 1984, and his widow died at 101 this past summer. This remarkable archive offered an extraordinary glimpse into the creative partnership between Schneider and Beckett, spanning decades of groundbreaking theatrical work. Highlights included Schneider’s annotated working copy of Waiting for Godot used in the landmark American production, an inscribed typescript of Eh Joe, and first editions and presentation copies of Endgame and Happy Days, many personally inscribed to Schneider by Beckett. Other treasures included manuscripts, letters, awards, recordings and posters that document a pivotal collaboration in modern theater history. Read more
The Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Doyle was honored to offer a sequel to the successful 2011 auction of property from the estate of the legendary actor. Featured in the sale were artwork, furniture, photographs and memorabilia. Read More.
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