February..no, no
dammit.. March 4^th, 1955

Post #60

Hello,
you handsome young witch, Como if you’ll pardon the expression esta usted? 

I
just returned from recording a new picture:  BARBARY COAST BUNNY. 
I used a new actor, name of Daws Butler, in the role of the heavy.  He’s a very clever guy, hard working,
intelligent and refreshing.  He’s
the one who worked with Stan Freberg on all those records, they wrote and acted
in them together.

I
must say that I learned a great deal from him.  He gave a splendid and new angle to this character, a sort
of Marlon Brandoish mushy-mouthed delivery that seemed very funny to me.  In Streetcar Named Desire Brando was a
troglodyte but with his speech dotted with completely incongruous
delicacies.  This effort to attain
elegance was what gave the character its odd twist, like an orangutan in an
evening gown.  So we rewrote the
dialogue a little to fit this new conception and, as I say, it came off
beautifully.

Another
thing I noticed is that Mel Blanc, who was there to record the rabbit, was well
aware that he has some competition from Daws.  He really worked today.  I have never seen him evidence more interest in his work.  I think I shall hire a sort of stand-by
talent on recording days if this is what the goad of rivalry does for Mel.  Like others, I suppose, he is likely to
get a trifle smug occasionally. 
All in all, a good day.

I
am on the backstretch of another story I think you will like.  The one about the year when Mars
approached so close to the earth that it affected a cosmic mix-up and a Martian
baby was diverted to the earth while the Earth baby went by mistake to
Mars.  At any rate a pleasant
average young married couple find themselves with an odd lightish green highly
intellectual baby with a disconcerting knack of talking to bees.  Before the babies are traded back we
have quite a time for ourselves.  I’m
using a wholly new drawing technique for me, like the enclosed drawings, they’re
rough but I think you can get the idea.

Today
is another of those resurgent days when everything seems completely
worthwhile.  What is it about
certain days that you feel as though you had had a Benzedrine salad for
lunch?  I guess it is too much to
ask but wouldn’t it be nice if there were more of them?  I have been walking about four feet off
the ground today and I don’t know why or feel like asking why.  Just fortunate I think.

Report
on Dottie:  Spirits high.  Health seemingly excellent.  Wrestling match with cigarettes, not
too successful but I think she quit again yesterday.  Someday, if she really wants to quit she will realize that
there is no such thing as partly smoking for an addict.  It’s all or it’s nothing.  Physically she looks better than she
has in years, color lovely, weight superb, just nicely filled out at about 127.  Her hair is at its best, too.  Her cooking has never been better and
her reading, both in quality and volume astonishes me.  General report:  excellent.  I think she is getting enough to eat. 

Russell
just in to collect discarded papers. 
He sends you his affectionate regards.  As do I.