Another sartorial star, also associated with shirts, here is Frederick John Perry, or Fred Perry, who was born on May 18, 1909 in Stockport, England.
He was a triple champion, and founded his fashion empire in 1952 on a tennis shirt he designed himself. He chose for his emblem a laurel wreath, as sported in Ancient Greek mythology by the god Apollo. Later on, laurel wreaths were also given out to the victorious competitors at the Olympic Games.
After being a very eligible bachelor for many years, with some high profile companions, including Marlene Dietrich, he became engaged in 1934 to an actress called Mary Lawson, but this did not survive his relocation to the USA.
A year later he met the American film star Helen Vinson, on the S S Berengaria. You can see them together, with rather fixed smiles, on card 39/50 of Stephen Mitchell`s "A Gallery of 1935" . The text there tells us that they were married in September1935 in New York. It does not tell that this was her second marriage. Again it did not last, and they divorced in 1940.
He married again, twice, in fairly quick succession, then after a bit of a break to lick his wounds he found happiness with a lady who was actually the sister of Patricia Roc. They were married in 1952 and remained so right until his death in 1995, in Australia.
This picture was taken at the Davis Cup in 1933 which is how I have dated the set. In fact there are two cards alike.
- A44 - Tennis - Perry & Cochet
- A45 - Tennis - Merlin & Perry