Stephen Sondheim (1930- )- One of the most important figures in 20th century musical theater, Sondheim has been praised for having reinvented The American musical with shows that tackle unexpected themes that range far beyond the traditional subjects. His best known works as composer and lyricist include” A funny thing happened on the way to the forum “ , Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. He is also known for writing lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy .He has received an Academy Award  8 Tony Awards more than any other composer, 8 Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Olivier award and a 2015 Presidential Medal of freedom
 
Letter and photo to Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne was an actor, film historian, author and wrote an official biography of the Oscars. He had a five times weekly column in Hollywood Reporter and was host of TCM. He had a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame. Died in March 2017. 
 
Stephen Sondheim and Robert Osborne belonged to a mutual admiration society: Osborne admired Sondheim's talent as a composer and lyricist and Sondheim admired Osborne's encyclopedic knowledge of film history. Both were avid film buffs who fed each other's obsession with recommendations, behind-the-scenes stories, and many, many exchanges of DVDs. Sondheim was a loyal fan of Turner Classic Movies, often complimenting Osborne on the "intros" and "outros" that he presented before and after each film, as well as on his appearance, calling him "a latter day Benjamin Button." Sondheim was not, however, above correcting Osborne when he mispronounced someone's name or was inaccurate in his facts. Sondheim's letters are peppered with questions about various films and movie references, and he expresses appreciation for the many films Osborne sent him.
 
This letter is dated October 17th 1995, in this letter Sondheim talks about challenging each other on movie trivia when they next meet. Sondheim refers to the large signed photo that he sent with this letter to Osborne commenting “I can hardly believe you would like it !”. Together with postmarked envelope .