Highly rare vintage 7-3/4 x 9.5-inch sepia-tone portrait by Frank Powolny for 20th Century-Fox, boldly signed and inscribed to radio star and autograph collector Mary Jessma Wilson in the 1940s. Trimming away of the borders for framing purposes has grazed the first letter of initial word in the inscription; otherwise, in fine condition for its age and just the second signed portrait of the star we have ever encountered. Dashing Indian-born supporting actor John Hutton led an adventurous pre-Hollywood life, working as a hunter, plantation owner and rancher in the British colonies. He came to Tinseltown in 1936 to work as a technical consultant on films, but was ultimately offered an acting contract, finding his niche in playing dastardly villains with dialogue like "After them, you fools!" and "Now I shall deal with this so-called Masked Avenger!" He was memorable in films like Hudson Bay (1940) and Jane Eyre (1943), as well as in a number of horror, sci-fi and fantasy films, including Tower of London (1939), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Bagdad (1949), Thief of Damascus (1952), The Return of the Fly (1959), and The Bat (1959). He died tragically of a heart attack at the age of 54.

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