Dark to Shepard. ALS, 1 p. Envelope included. Photograph enclosed, March 19, 1998

Series I: Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection (boxes 1-4) and is arranged chronologically. The first letters are from the early 1970s when the Shepards lived briefly in England and the Darks remained in California. Because the two families lived together for many years, there are few letters until 1980 when Shepard began filming on location. The letters pick up in earnest in 1983 after Shepard left his wife and son and began a long-term relationship with actress Jessica Lange. For the next three decades, the two men kept up a fairly regular correspondence.