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Published in Linn's Stamp News, August 1999.  (A nationally published stamp collector's bi-weekly.)

James Cagney Stamp Unveiled

by Colin Kennedy Jr.

Burbank, California - A stamp depicting the image of actor James Cagney was unveiled on July 22 during a private evening ceremony at the Steven J. Ross Theater, located on the Warner Bros. Studios lot here. Being the fifth in the Legends of Hollywood commemorative stamp series, it also coincides with the one-hundredth anniversary of the actor's birth. Former Cagney co-stars and friends attended alongside stamp collectors, movie studio and film industry luminaries, U.S. Postal Service officials and Cagney's daughter Cathleen "Casey" Thomas, her daughter and grandchildren.

Some fifty persons were already in the theater lobby by the designated six P.M. start time. All those entering had their identities verified by Warner Bros. event coordinators carrying hand-held security radios. Other attendants near the lobby's front doors distributed clear plastic lapel pins containing single 33¢ Cagney stamps. People filing in during the course of the next hour were treated to sumptuous catering, beverages and general attention, all befitting a typical Warner Bros. hosting. Additionally, guests had access to the adjoining Warner Bros. Museum where vintage movie memorabilia, wardrobe and corporate correspondence is displayed on two floors.

Reporters from television, radio and print press roamed the lobby floor for interviews with such Cagney film veterans as Virginia Mayo ("White Heat", 1949); Margaret O'Brien ("You, John Jones", 1943); Gloria Stuart ("Here Comes the Navy", 1934, and more recently of "Titanic" fame, 1997); Corinne Calvet ("What Price Glory", 1952); and Harry Morgan (also from "What Price Glory", but better known since as Officer Bill Gannon and Col. Sherman Potter in television's "Dragnet" and "M*A*S*H*"series, respectively). However, despite the appearances of those mentioned, the true star of the evening was arguably Cagney's daughter, Casey Thomas.

Clearly unaccustomed to media focus and scrutiny, Thomas maintained her composure as reporters clamored for time with her; time controlled by yet another Warner Bros. handler. Thomas answered questions and signed first day covers clutched by collectors lucky enough to have been invited to the evening festivities. Although this was a closed gathering, it should be noted that the general public was invited earlier that day between 10 A.M. and 4 P.M. to purchase the stamp and obtain first day of issue cancellations and dedication ceremony programs at the Warner Bros. Studios' Tour Office. During that period, Burbank was the only U.S. city where the stamp could be purchased prior to its national release on July 23rd.

Prompted by Warner personnel, all were ushered inside the theater itself where the ceremony commenced just after seven P.M. By this time the head count had risen to an estimated three hundred. Speakers included Sanford Reisenbach, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Planning, Warner Bros.; Jean Picker Firstenberg, Director and CEO of the American Film Institute (AFI); A.C. Lyles, (Producer and close Cagney friend); Karl Malden, Academy Award-winning actor and member of the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee; Deborah K. Willhite, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, U.S. Postal Service; and Joan Leslie, whom co-starred with Cagney in "Yankee Doodle Dandy".

During his opening remarks, Sanford Reisenbach noted with irony that Warner Bros. originally took a dim view of Cagney's chances on film, citing that his "red hair and light skin" would never "play" onscreen. As if to underscore how wrong that first impression was, Reisenbach then ran a brief video montage of Cagney's signature movie moments displaying the range of his many talents. The next speaker, A. C. Lyles, expressed his gratitude for the influence and kindness he received from Cagney and their mutual pal, a young Ronald Reagan, after he met the two as a youth during mailroom rounds at Paramount Studios. The pair took him into their circle and his life became a textbook Hollywood success story. Lyles also pointed out that Cagney "probably never bought a stamp in his life." Looking out for his friend, Lyles estimated that he must have placed "ten thousand dollars' worth" of postage on Cagney's mail, joking that now may be a good time for the U. S. Postal Service to "reimburse" him.

Next, Jean Firstenberg noted that Cagney was the first recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1974. Firstenberg added that Cagney recently placed within the top ten on the AFI's "Greatest Legends" list of 25 top film actors. Deborah K. Willhite then presided over the official Dedication of the James Cagney Commemorative Stamp, which was created by Thomas Blackshear of Colorado Springs, Colorado and designed by Howard Paine of Delaplane, Virginia. With Reisenbach, Lyles, Firstenberg, Willhite, Casey Thomas and Karl Malden all standing by, a curtain was raised above an easel bearing a poster sized version of the stamp. The audience responded with rousing applause. Now at the podium, Casey Thomas remembered that her father always referred to hands as "mitts" and faces as "mugs". This being said, she speculated that her father would have been "very proud" to have his "mug" on a stamp.

Two other speakers offered their own Cagney memories prior to the screening of a rare print of "Yankee Doodle Dandy". (Cagney won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Broadway showman George M. Cohan in this 1942 Warner Bros. musical.) Karl Malden remembered the actor as a painter, a poet and environmentalist. Joan Leslie (who co-starred in "Yankee Doodle Dandy") reminisced about the making of the film, during which she discovered Cagney's "depth of emotion, his sensitivity" and his "tenderness".

Other notables present were Robert A. Daly and Terry Semel, Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers, Warner Bros. and Warner Music Group; Michael Brock, member of the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee; Azeezaly Jaffer, Executive Director, Stamp Services; Jolene Fischer, Postmaster, Burbank; and Richard Ordonez, District Manager, Van Nuys Customer Service and Sales.

When asked by Linn's who specifically chose James Cagney to appear on this stamp, Karl Malden explained that Cagney "was already up" for consideration by the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee and the centennial of his birth (July 17) "pushed him forward". Malden added that "no single individual" chose Cagney for the honor. Linn's also queried Azeezaly Jaffer as to why the function was not open to the general public. Jaffer replied that of several reasons, chief among them were Cagney family members' concerns about crowd security. Another reason involved the screening of "Yankee Doodle Dandy". The Steven J. Ross Theater, though first rate, has a limited capacity of some five hundred persons. In light of this, Jaffer said that he invited as many stamp collectors as possible.

It would seem that the U.S. Postal Service is sometimes put into a difficult position with circumstances such as these. Controversy arises whenever a stamp is premiered in private. Perhaps the unveiling could have taken place in a more public venue and maybe even without Warner Bros. as host. Then again, who better to help honor such a class act as James Cagney?

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