By Doriano Carta 
Happy birthday to Frank Capra (5/18/1897)! Here’s one of my prized possessions which was one of the last photos he ever signed before he passed away in 1991 when he was 94.
As a very young man I was so inspired by his movies, especially It’s a Wonderful Life, that I felt compelled to write him a letter telling him how much his movies meant to me (letters were physical emails or texts for the youngsters out there)
Much to my shock and pleasure surprise, he wrote me back! He was genuinely touched that young people were still such fans of his work. We became pen pals and ultimately he couldn’t reply anymore as he became too sick but before he said farewell for the last time, Mr. Capra sent me this photo that he signed.
Many years later. I lost this photo after getting married and having three kids… and then I lost my beloved bride, who was so much like Mary Bailey, and the kids and I decided to move far away to live closer to my mom and my brother and his family. In the midst of moving, there it was, on the floor under the spot where my giant wooden desk sat for 20 years. I was so happy to find it again.
I just wanted to celebrate the master’s birthday today. I highly recommend reading his autobiography called “The Name Above the Title” which is a big book but so much fun to read because he shares all of the secrets behind his career and every film he made.
Amazon has the book in paperback and hardcover editions.
The official autobiography by Frank Capra about his life and times including behind the scene stories for all of his best movies including, “It’s a Wonderful Life”