I've been reading this new "Letters of Cole Porter," but last night I put it down in disgust at the number of errors in identifying some of the folk mentioned.
For instance: Billy Powell, who went on the Franconia world cruise in 1934 with Moss Hart, the Porters, and Monty Woolley, was not the actor William Powell, but William B. Powell, who wrote for the New Yorker.
Porter mentions the comedy "Once In A Lifetime," and the editors provide a synopsis of the Hollywood film version, but they miss the fact it was a play first by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman.
When Porter in a letter to Clifton Webb sends regard to Mabel, he's referring to Webb's mother, not Mabel Mercer.
When Porter tells Monty Woolley in a letter about his success in On Your Toes to not vomit on Luella, he's referring to comediennce Luella Gear, not Luella Parsons. Gear had appeared in Porter's The Gay Divorce.