Dear David and Glenn, Hello from Joe Bonelli in New Orleans. I'm grateful to you both for letting us know. Dr. Louis Leithold was indeed a kind and gracious gentleman and I'm very sad to hear of his passing. A few years back I obtained a one-sheet from "The Brave One" from Louis on his website. Later he bought a one-sheet from "Broken Lance" from me on Ebay. This poster was rather dry and as I was packing it, the poster tore cleanly right down a fold. I emailed Louis with a photo and he put me at ease. It wa off to the linen backer anyway, he said. Poster Mountain, he said. He was very nice about the whole thing. I visited in the L.A. area over New Year's 2000/01. I had contacted Louis and he invited me for an afternoon visit. Reading Glenn's post I was taken back to my own day-- described so accurately by Glenn. My experience was essentially the same. I hadn't been able to reach Louis for a good while when I happened upon an auction several weeks ago. I emailed him through the auction and said Hello and received a nice reply. It was our last communication. I am most grateful I met this kind and interesting man. He gave me great insight into the wolrld of posters in the best way-- by sharing them with me. I will often think of him.
Thanks again. Joe B. > > From: David Kusumoto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 2005/05/08 Sun PM 03:59:19 EDT > To: [email protected] > Subject: [MOPO] Dr. Louis Leithold - A Great Man > > Thank you, Glenn, for letting us all know. > > This is crushing news. I had been corresponding with Louis via e-mail as > recently as a couple of weeks ago over a Ninotchka insert he offered at eBay > (his eBay handle was "cinemapg"). He was very active at eBay, selling more > than 1,300 items over the past seven years and never had a strike against > him. He was a proud man and I never knew he was chronically ill. Unlike > the late Bill Rea, a fine dealer who knew he was ill, I think Louis always > planned to keep going. The idea of retiring was an anathema to him. > > Louis lived "up the coast," but I never met him in person. His calls and > e-mails had a stately, gentlemanly, almost regal quality to 'em. You'd > never know he was 80, he was always sharp as a tack. He invited me (and > many others, he was that gracious) to visit his collection at his home in > upscale Pacific Palisades and like an idiot, I never took him up on it. I > envy those who did. His material was first rate, I purchased Audrey Hepburn > material from him and he had much of his collection backed by John Davis' > crew at Poster Mountain here in Southern CA. > > The irony is Dr. Leithold was best known for his contributions to > mathematics. Yet to collectors -- this was a "back story," a footnote that > many in our hobby were unaware. His students obviously loved him. But his > passion for movie paper was undeniable. I feel on the verge of tears while > writing this about a man I knew but never met face-to-face. > > Does collecting still matter? Yes. Anything we do during our short time on > earth, whether it's traveling the world -- or surrounding ourselves with > just plain old "stuff" that makes us smile -- is a life without regret. > Those he leaves behind feel sadness, but Louis is obviously well beyond that > today. His legacy is such that he will never be forgotten. > > P.S. -- My pals know I'm a born news documentor. A formatted version of the > Los Angeles Times obituary Glenn sent (which includes a wonderful color > picture of Louis) -- as well as a shorter story crossing the Associated > Press wires today -- can be found by clicking the link below... > > http://members.cox.net/davidkusumoto/louis-leithold-la-times-05-08-05.doc > > -koose. > > ----Original Message Follows---- > > From: Glenn Taranto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: Glenn Taranto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: Long Time Collector - Louis Leithold > Date: Sun, 8 May 2005 06:26:09 -0700 > > I haven't seen any posts on MOPO about long time collector Louis Leithold's > passing. > > I just wanted to say that he was a real nice guy who really, really loved > posters. > > He had quite a collection and was kind enough to show me his walls. Of which > there were plenty with a plethora of posters. It was an amazing site to > behold. > > All genres and sizes. He was especially proud of the beauty they offered. > > He was a true gent as far as I could tell and will be sorely missed. > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
