Van Johnson Stamp from U.S. in 2016?

Posted on by

Van_Johnson_1972Maybe. Elsewhere here in the VSC blogging system, Roberta Shaffner wrote:

A USPO Stamp for the great MGM film star, Van Johnson is a strong
possibility, as his l00th birthday in 2016 is approaching. According to news
from Mr. Johnson’s hometown, The Newport Patch in RI has posted on its
website that a stamp honoring Van Johnson, Newport’s Native Son is
likely. His many fans dearly hope so, and the fact that the Citizens Stamp
Advisory Committee is “considering” him is a positive indication.

Well, maybe yes, but maybe no.

First, the Patch article in November follows articles in August by the Smithville (Missouri) Herald (I’m not sure of the connection there) and the Providence (R.I.) Journal two weeks later. Both were written by the same freelancer. The Patch article has many of the same quotes, although it has a different byline. Ms. Shaffer is credited in all the articles with being one of the driving forces behind the stamp, by the way.

Second, someone connected with the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee leaked a list of upcoming stamp subjects for the next several years to the Washington Post in January 2014, and I don’t see Van Johnson on it. He may be there; the list is in a format that’s hard to search, but Elizabeth Taylor is listed as the Legends of Hollywood stamp for 2016. Johnson also isn’t listed as a beyond-2016 subject. The “Deep CSAC” list has been remarkably accurate, although not perfectly.

None of the articles say the U.S. Postal Service has announced or confirmed a Van Johnson stamp. CSAC receives something like 40,000 suggestions a year, and the USPS has a charming way of not promising anything while appearing to hold out hope for stamp subject proponents. “Serious consideration” is one of its favorite stock phrases. Supporters, however, don’t catch the waffling, the non-committal.

Does that mean there won’t be a Van Johnson stamp in 2016? No. It means most of us don’t one way or the other at this point. Maybe not until 2016.

One thought on “Van Johnson Stamp from U.S. in 2016?”

  1. Hello! Lloyd,

    My husband Henry and I welcome your comments. We are in
    touch with Cary Brick who was a 12 year member of the CSAC, and is
    trying to help us with our Van Johnson Stamp Campaign.
    Cary, whom you may know, is looking for “transparency” from
    the committee, and advises us to contact Janet Klug to move things along.
    Since the committee is so secretive we hesitate to “rock the boat,” but we
    are keeping tabs, as much as we can, on when the committee meets, etc
    Since we have the signature of the current PMG on one of our
    Petitions we believe we are a step ahead. We can only hope he will be the
    one to approve a Van Johnson Stamp.
    Thanks for your posting and good wishes!

    .

Comments are closed.