For all you television fans (and I suspect at least one or two read this site) who are also stamp collectors, there is good news. The United States Postal Service is releasing a set of stamps in 2009 commemorating classic American television shows.I do like the retro design of the stamps and how each looks like an old picture tube. I see a lot of familiar faces in there, including Phil Silvers, Howdy Doody, Rod Serling, Alfred Hitchcock, The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy and many others. Did they miss anybody?
I think the Postal Service isn't going far enough with this. They should release stamps commemorating television shows for each year, or perhaps more appropriately each television era. For the 70's they could include M*A*S*H and All In The Family. For the 80's they could include Knight Rider and The A Team. At least, they would be included if I designed the stamps.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-30-2008 @ 10:22AM
Joel Keller said...
Maybe the newer shows can't be made into stamps because everyone on them is still alive. You can't be on a US stamp until you've been dead five years, right?
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12-30-2008 @ 1:35PM
Brad Trechak said...
Joel, that's for sainthood. To be on a U.S. stamp, you have to be dead for 10 years (except for U.S. presidents, where it's only a year). Kind of ironic when you think about it. Would careers count as being dead for 10 years? In that case, the 70's and 80's could easily be covered.
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12-30-2008 @ 2:46PM
Bob Sassone said...
No Dick Van Dyke or Mary Tyler Moore? Lame.
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12-30-2008 @ 5:25PM
Galley said...
Both are still alive and kicking.
12-30-2008 @ 3:30PM
joeedwards said...
Awesome! I always get a kick of Ricky screaming Lucy! I can't wait to find these!
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12-30-2008 @ 4:10PM
Donna said...
Hmmm, I believe the 10 year rule is correct. Which brings up another interesting point. On the picture shown here (and also on the USPS website) I distinctly see Art Carney in a stamp, and he's only been dead 5 years. So if that image is indeed what the Honeymooners stamp will be (a picture of Gleason and Carney), then the rules are being bent a bit.
On the other hand, since the stamp isn't specifically honoring Art Carney himself, but the TV show, maybe that's how they're getting by with it.
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12-30-2008 @ 4:41PM
Doctor Philately said...
Although the 10 year rule was correct, it was changed this year by the United States Postal Service (their motto: the old rule was getting in the way) to a five year rule. Consistent with that, you will also see the Postal Service issue a Bob Hope commemorative in 2009 (Mr. Hope died in 2003).
12-30-2008 @ 4:16PM
Toby O'B3 said...
The stamp honoring 'I Love Lucy' should have included Ricky and Fred. The picture of them all in the car together would have worked.
And 'The Honeymooners' - where's Alice and Trixie?
I can understand why you don't see Burr Tillstrom in the one for 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie', but at least we know he's the genius behind the curtain.
It looks like the cut-off for being considered a classic was 1959, which is why 'The Twilight Zone' is honored, but not 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'. But I would have included 'The Captain Kangaroo Show'!
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12-30-2008 @ 4:36PM
bcarter3 said...
I don't see the Jack Benny Show, "Your Hit Parade", Sid Ceasar, "American Bandstand", "Superman", or Ernie Kovacs. And for some reason, they seem not to have included any game shows....
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