Charlton Heston First Day Ceremony In Pictures

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From the USPS:

Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston was honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp series Friday, April 11, 2014.
Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston, honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp series . L to R: -Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Executive Vi(Above, left to right: Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Executive Vice President Gabrielle Carteris; former Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Executive Vice President Ned Vaughn; American Film Institute President Emerita and former U.S. Postal Service Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee Chair Jean Picker-Firstenberg; Charlton Heston’s son Fraser Clarke Heston; and Mickey Barnett, Chairman, Board of Governors, USPS.)

The event took place during a first-day-of-issue stamp dedication ceremony at the The Creative Life Chinese Theatre as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival.

Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston, honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp series Former Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Executive Vice“Acting was not Charlton Heston’s whole life,” said U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Mickey Barnett in dedicating the stamp (shown at right). “He was never afraid to stand up for his beliefs. In the 1960s, he believed so strongly in civil rights that he marched on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he called ‘a 20th century Moses.’ Later, he became a strong supporter of rights for gun owners and served as president of the National Rifle Association. No matter what kind of stand he took, you always knew his beliefs came from a place of true conviction. Beyond winning an Oscar for ‘Ben-Hur,’ he also received the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.”

(Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston, honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp series .Ben Mankiewicz, Host, Turner Classic Movies (Master of Ceremonies)Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies, served as Master of Ceremonies. He’s shown on the right here.)

Throughout his seven decade career of more than 70 films, Heston played larger than life roles from U.S. presidents to Ben Hur and Moses. He worked with the Screen Actors Guild to help others in his profession, serving as a board member and later as president from 1965-71. A civil rights advocate, Heston marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and led the arts contingent to the 1963 March on Washington.

Heston received the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 1971. He helped found the American Film Institute and received the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1978 for his philanthropic efforts. In 1997, Heston was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2003, received Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston, honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp series .Fraser Clarke Heston, Charlton Heston's son and his mother, Lydia Heston with the stamp.the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

“On behalf of my mother, Lydia, my sister, Holly Rochell, and the entire Heston family, I can say enthusiastically how deeply grateful we all are that my father, Charlton, has been honored with a ‘Legends of Hollywood’ postage stamp,” said Fraser Clarke Heston (shown at left with his mother). “In many ways, a nation’s stamps are a cross section of a culture, its ideals and icons, in microcosm.

The Stamp Image
CharlestonHestonDesigned by art director Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, the stamp features a color portrait of the actor by noted movie artist Drew Struzan of Pasadena, CA. The portrait is based on a photograph taken by Heston’s wife, Lydia Clarke Heston. The area outside of the stamps is decorated with an image of the actor from the 1959 movie Ben-Hur. Originally shot in black and white, the photo was later hand-colorized. Heston is shown wearing his costume from the film’s monumental chariot racing scene.

And a few more pictures, most courtesy the USPS and taken by Daniel Afzal of the United States Postal Service:

Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston, honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp seriesThe autograph line after the ceremony.

Legendary Hollywood icon and humanitarian Charlton Heston, honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp seriesMichael Litvak, stamp collector and president of the Claude C. Ries Chapter of the American First Day Cover Society, servicing FDCs at the event.

kathy_and_friendThe postmarking part of the event was put together by Ries Chapter member Kathy Clements and Alvetia Smith of the USPS, who also organized the rest of the ceremony. (That’s them on the left.)

Ten different postmarks were available (and are shown below; photo courtesy Clements). “The two of us work together to make the events a success for everybody, especially the collectors who buy most of the stamps per capita,” Clements told The VSC.

Our main story on the stamp can be found here. You can click on any of these pictures to see a larger version.

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