Hanff and Doel never met face-to-face he died in 1968 before she had a chance to visit. (Charing Cross Road, in fact, is known for its many booksellers.)ĭoel's correspondence with Hanff was at first formal and related strictly to literature and the book business, but there soon developed a warm friendship, and their frequent letters took on subjects as diverse as cooking, sports, and their own personal lives, and occasionally included an exchange of gifts. Hanff, in search of long out-of-print classics and obscure British titles unavailable in the States, contacted the company at the titular London address in 1949 after seeing an ad for it in the Saturday Review of Literature. The book detailed the 20-year correspondence between her and Frank Doel, staff member of the antiquarian bookshop Marks & Co. The story is based on the 1970 autobiographical book of the same name by New Yorker Helene Hanff, a playwright, magazine author, and scripter of many early television dramas. Hopkins "adored" the 84 Charing Cross Road screenplay by Hugh Whitemore and was eager to make the movie.
They had also acted together, again briefly, in Young Winston (1972), in which she played the title character's famous mother, Lady Jennie Churchill, and he appeared as British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Cast opposite her was Anthony Hopkins, who had already played opposite Bancroft in her cameo in The Elephant Man (1980), which was produced by Brooks. Brooks had bought the rights to the story for her as a birthday present.
84 Charing Cross Road (1987), which he produced for his wife Anne Bancroft, was one such project. Although better known for his comedies, many of them parodies of movie genres, Mel Brooks has also been executive producer of a number of acclaimed dramas.
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