Della Cole
starring as
Katharine Hartgrove
(1991 Original Production, 1992, 1994 & 1996 Stateside Tours, 1997 World Tour, 1999 Overseas Tour, and 2001 Fall Tour)
Director
(2001 Spring & Fall Tours)

Della Cole originated -- and more importantly, defined -- the role of Katharine Hartgrove when Letters from the Front first opened in Atlanta in the spring of 1991.  Since then she has endeared herself to military personnel all across America and Europe -- celebrating her 150th performance on Veterans' Day 1997 at Soldiers' Theatre in Vicenza, Italy.  Della  starred in the play from 1991 through 1997, then returned to christen the WWII edition for the 1999 Pacific Rim Tour.  For the 2001 10th anniversary tour, Della served as director on the Spring leg, then pulled double duty as both star and director for the Fall leg.

Those who have worked with Della know her to be a consummate professional dedicated to her craft.  Off stage she is known for her cackling laughter, her wacky, sometimes bawdy, sense of humor, and her ready hugs.  On stage she is sheer magic.

Coming from a solid background of theatrical films, network TV shows, and years on the boards in a diversity of productions from Streetcar Named Desire to Pirates of Penzance, Della brings a level of skill to her acting that moves drill sergeants to tears.  During her six tours of Letters from the Front Della played at more than 100 military installations around the world.

"Including an airplane hanger at Ft. Greely, Alaska," she recalls. "They didn't have a base theatre so they just hauled the aircraft out of the hanger, pulled in a couple of flatbed trailers, built a stage on top of them, and rounded up some portable bleachers from the baseball field.  I loved it!  They made us feel so welcome.  And it was so typical of the way we're treated by the military wherever we go."

Not content to confine her appearances to the stage, Della has flown in the cockpit of a C-141 enroute to Alaska, shared MREs with medics training in the field at Ft. Lewis, sorted mail at the Camp Pendleton post office, and helmed a tugboat at Naval Station San Diego.  Her favorite shows were the ones she put on at training bases.

"The young troops they marched in loved the show and they were so responsive.  When Johnny and I kissed, they'd hoot and holler.  And when we did the jitterbug number, we almost always got cheers and applause.  They really appreciated the humor too.  Big laughs.  Made us feel great."

The Desert Storm version of Letters from the Front began with Katharine writing to her son, who is serving in the Persian Gulf. "I'd look out at the audience and see all those young men and women watching me so intently and I'd realize that, for a moment anyway, I had become their surrogate mother.  It really got to me.  I just wanted to jump out there and hug them all!"

According to playwright/director Robert Rector, "That's what audiences pick up on -- her big heart, her tremendous inner strength, and her honesty.   Della understands what people in the military go through -- the uncertainty of where they might be tomorrow, the separation from family and friends, the fears, the loss, the feeling of being misunderstood by the society they've pledged to protect.  Della steps out on stage and for two hours carries these emotions for them, even gets down on her knees and prays for them.  It's an act of love and they love her for it."

How did Della feel about slipping back into Katharine's skin for the WWII edition of Letters from the Front?  "I feel like I'm coming home again.   Lets face it, Katharine is my alter-ego. I was the one who first breathed life into her and I have missed her greatly, although she's always stayed there inside my heart.  I've done a lot of growing these past two years -- heartbreak and happiness and everything in between -- and I'll be able to use those experiences to bring added depth to my portrayal of Katharine."    

For the Fall leg of the 2001 Tour Della once again slipped into Katharine's trademark sequined jacket (see photo above, taken during a performance of the Desert Storm edition of the play) to the delight of military audiences all across the country.  As one long time fan of Letters from the Front put it, "Seeing Letters is always a treat.  Seeing it with Della Cole playing Katharine is a very special treat."  According to Della, playing Katharine was a treat for her too.  "I'd be happy playing Katharine for the rest of my life.  She's my alter-ego.  We've been through a lot together."      

During the '92, '94 and '96 tours of Letters from the Front, Della's leading man on stage was Bob Harter.  Now Bob is her leading man in life.  The two exchanged vows in May of '99 and set up house in a suburb of Atlanta, along with her son Mike and their Jack Russell terrier, Wally.  Mike, having accompanied his mom on an international tour of bases, learned an appreciation for the military and is now a cadet in NJROTC. 

Della and Bob have also become business partners.  Their acting school "yourACT" presents a full range of classes from beginning to advanced for adults, kids and teens.  Classes offered include The Basics, Auditions, and Scene Study.  Best of all, students have access to the vast experience and expertise of two working actors whose extraordinary talent and professionalism have kept them in demand during their long careers in show business.  As Bob Curren, Della's costar in the 2001 Tour says, "That lady is such a wealth of information that anyone would be fortunate to study under her." 

We at Rector-Roberts Productions congratulate Della Cole and Bob Harter on the success of their school, even though the venture's demands on their time prevent them from actively participating in Letters from the Front.  Della and Bob will always be a very big part of the Letters from the Front legacy.  And they will always be family.  To learn more about Della and Bob's acting school visit their website: www.youract.tv.  

David Regelmann     Bob Curren     Bob Harter    Neal Matthews     John Squire
Patrick Dizney     Melanie Collup     Della Cole    Dannette Bock     Michelle Rosen 
Kathy Tyrell     Bobbi Kravis

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