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"The
Cary Grant stamp will make even the most ordinary letter
seem not only first class, but also debonair."
Barbara Grant Jaynes
photo courtesy of Helen Fredericks
Stamp Artist Michael Deas
with Barbara Grant Jaynes
While a
very good artist could have presented Cary's likeness well enough, it takes an extra special gift to capture the spirit of the
subject. Celebrated artist and Cary Grant fan, Michael Deas,
has indeed captured Cary's spirit in this stamp. Michael
Deas has other U.S. Postal Stamps to his credit, including Marilyn
Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart and Thomas Wolfe. Mr.
Deas has won four Gold Medals and one Silver Medal from the
Society of Illustrators, and is perhaps best known for painting
the current Columbia Pictures logo (the lady holding the torch).
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September 23, 2002
CARY GRANT
POSTAGE STAMP
TO BE FIRST-CLASS TRIBUTE TO HOLLYWOOD’S LEADING MAN
WASHINGTON – One of film history’s most witty
and debonair leading men will receive one of the nation’s
highest honors when a new commemorative postage stamp is issued by
the U.S. Postal Service on Oct. 15 in Hollywood, Calif.
The 37-cent Cary Grant stamp will be issued at a
10:30 a.m. first day ceremony taking place in the ArcLight Cinema
at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd. The ceremony will be free and open to the
public.
"The Cary Grant stamp is a wonderful addition
to the Legends of Hollywood series," said S. David Fineman,
vice chairman of the presidentially appointed Postal Service Board
of Governors, who will dedicate the stamp. "He will long be
remembered for his charming and sophisticated manner in his many
roles on the silver screen."
Born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England, on Jan.
18, 1904, he joined a troupe of performers as a teenager and came
with them to the United States in 1920. He performed on the
vaudeville circuit during the early 1920s. During the late 1920s
he appeared on the Broadway stage, and in 1931 he was hired for
his first screen performance in Singapore Sue, a one-reel film
released in 1932.
Also in 1932, using the screen name Cary Grant, he
appeared in his first feature film, "This is the Night."
On June 26, 1942, he became a U.S. citizen and legally changed his
name to Cary Grant.
Grant was best known for starring in romantic
comedies such as "An Affair to Remember" (1957). He was
often teamed with some of Hollywood’s most prominent leading
ladies, including Katharine Hepburn in "Bringing Up
Baby" (1938) and "The Philadelphia Story" (1940)
and both Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe in "Monkey
Business" (1952). He also starred with Grace Kelly in
"To Catch a Thief" (1955) and with Audrey Hepburn in
"Charade" (1963).
Grant demonstrated his versatility as an actor
throughout his career. In 1941 he played an enigmatic villain in
the Alfred Hitchcock film "Suspicion." He went on to
star in other Hitchcock films, including "Notorious"
(1946) with Ingrid Bergman and "North by Northwest"
(1959).
Grant received two Academy Award nominations for
best actor: one for "Penny Serenade" (1941) and another
for "None But the Lonely Heart" (1944). On April 7,
1970, at the 42nd Academy Awards, Frank Sinatra presented Grant
with a special Oscar bearing an inscription that read: "for
his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect
and affection of his colleagues." In 1981 he was a recipient
of the Kennedy Center Honors.
Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa, on Nov. 29,
1986, at the age of 82, while on a speaking tour. In 1999, when
the American Film Institute announced its list of the 50 greatest
American screen legends, Grant was ranked second among the top 25
men.
The portrait of Cary Grant in the stamp art, an
oil painting by Michael J. Deas of New Orleans, La., is based on a
black-and-white publicity photograph made in 1951 or 1952 by
Warner Bros. photographer Bert Six.
The self-adhesive stamp will be available in a
pane of 20 stamps. A photograph in the pane’s selvage shows
Grant being chased by a crop duster in a famous scene from the
film "North by Northwest." In that film, Grant played
Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive who is mistaken for a
spy. The photograph was altered for dramatic effect: the crop
duster has been repositioned and clouds have been added to the
background.
Grant joins seven other honorees appearing on
stamps in the Legends of Hollywood series: Marilyn Monroe (1995),
James Dean (1996), Humphrey Bogart (1997), Alfred Hitchcock
(1998), James Cagney (1999), Edward G. Robinson (2000) and Lucille
Ball (2001).
To see the Cary Grant stamp, go to on the Postal
Service’s Web site at www.usps.com and select "News and
Events" then "Philatelic News" and open the online
version of this news release.
Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free
comprehensive catalog, are available toll free by calling 1 800
STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of stamps and other philatelic
items are available in the Postal Store at www.usps.com.
Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has
connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It
is an independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and
businesses every day and is the only service provider to deliver
to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no
taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating
revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services.
With annual revenues of more than $65 billion, it is the world’s
leading provider of mail and delivery services, offering some of
the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service
delivers more than 46 percent of the world’s mail volume—some
207 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a
year—and serves 7 million customers each day at its 40,000
retail locations nationwide.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Issue: Cary Grant
Item Number: 452900
Denomination & Type of Issue: 37-cent Commemorative
Format: Pane of 20 with selvage(1 design)
Series: Legends of Hollywood
Issue Date & City: October 15, 2002,
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Designer: Carl Herrman, Carlsbad, CA
Art Director: Carl Herrman, Carlsbad, CA
Typographer: Carl Herrman, Carlsbad, CA
Illustrator: Michael Deas, New Orleans, LA
Modeler: Donald H. Woo
Manufacturing Process: Gravure
Engraver: Southern Graphics
Printer: Sennett Security Products (SSP)
Printed at: American Packaging Corporation, Columbus, WI
Press Type: Rotomec, 3000
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 80 million stamps
Paper Type: Phosphored, Tagged
Gum Type: Pressure Sensitive
Processed at: Unique Binders, Fredericksburg, VA
Colors: Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, Black, PMS 8421, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.84 x 1.41 in./21.34 x 35.81 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 0.99 x 1.56 in./25.15 x 39.62 mm
Pane Size (w x h): 8.57 x 7.208 in./217.68 x 183.08 mm
Plate Size: 120 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: "S" followed by six (6) single digits
Marginal Markings: "Ó 2002 USPS" · Price ·
Plate numbers in four corners · Plate
position diagram · (2) UPC codes on
reverse side
Catalog Item Number(s): 452920 Block of 4 — $1.48
452930 Block of 10 — $3.70
452940 Full pane of 20 w/plate no. — $7.40
452961 First day cover — $0.75
452962 First day cover – Full Pane — $9.90
452984 Press sheet — $44.40
452993 Full pane w/first day cover — $8.15
452997 Panel — $8.75
Friday, February
8, 2002
At the Philatelic Convention in Riverside,
California, the Postal Service officially announced that it
will be issuing a commemorative postage stamp honoring Cary
Grant later this year.
Monday,
July 15, 2002,
"Access Hollywood"
the Cary Grant
Commemorative Stamp
was unveiled to the public.
Click on image to view
short video
A
Great Big Thanks
Jay Faulkner & Cheryl Trahan
for the Video Clip!!
October 15, 2002
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"It was breathtaking.... Everyone in
the room just gasped." - Debby Schwenson
Click
on banner at left for
Photos and Commentary
of the
First Day Ceremony |
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