RARE vintage 10x8-inch black and white publicity still portrait as serial killer Leo Kroll about to practice on a doll in the 1964 thriller The Strangler, boldly signed and inscribed in red felt-tip pen in the period of the film. In good condition and not one of the many secretarial examples mistaken for authentic which often pop up on the market. Large, deliciously hammy character actor Victor Buono was unforgettable as the third-rate songwriter who leeches off of faded child star Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962), a role which earned him an Oscar nomination.  After being reteamed with Davis for the horror gem Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte in 1964, he went on to play increasingly maniacal, cartoonish villains, most notably Count Manzeppi on "Wild Wild West" (1965-1967) and King Tut on the weekly camp-fest "Batman" (1966-1968). He died of a heart attack at the age of 43 and his autograph is extremely uncommon in any format.

• Tweet