Al Pacino Signed Photo 8×10 “Cruising” – COA JSA

Cruising is a 1980 crime film written and directed by William Friedkin, and starring Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, and Karen Allen. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker about a serial killer targeting gay men, particularly those men associated with the leather scene in the late 1970s. The title is a play on words with a dual meaning because “cruising” can describe police officers on patrol and gay men who are cruising for sex.

Presented is a black and white 8×10 photo of Al Pacino promoting “Cruising” vintage full signature in a blue felt tip (“9”). It was personalized and he added, “To Paula”.

Authentication: JSA Basic COA.

These photos originated from immense archives. They were part of an acquisition of millions of original photographs as their assets were liquidated. The photographic items in this collection are now available for the first time publicly.

The companies that were liquidated and possible origins (of this lot)  include:

Movie Star News: MSN was founded in 1938 in New York City by Irving Klaw and run with his sister Paula until 1999. The business continued to stay in the family via Ira Kramer (Paula’s son). They had a rich archive of over 100,000 original vintage camera negatives from the 1920s through 1940s as well as autographs from many of their clients including Michael Jackson.  They also had thousands of vintage Hollywood photographs.

Globe Photos:  Globe Photos was the Nation’s first pop-culture image licensing agency founded in New York City in 1939.  Globe’s archive consists of over 10 million pop culture images as well as millions of photo’s, negatives, slides, and transparencies

UK Rock Archive:  This archive consists of over 250,000 vintage original rock and roll photographs from many of London’s photo agencies from the 1960’s through 1990s.  Every major band is featured and many images have never been published previously.

Authentication: JSA Basic Cert & Sticker