ANN RICHARDS - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 02/09/1947 - HFSID 289190

ANN RICHARDS
Consent form authorizing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to reproduce Ann Richards's signature and likeness for a series of stamps raising money for needy film industry veterans. The form is signed twice by Richards, once as an autograph sample and again to grant permission. A remarkable, perfectly verified example!
Document signed twice: "Ann Richards", 1 page, 8½x11. Los Angeles, California, 1947 February 9. Ann Richards grants to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, Inc., its successors and assigns, the exclusive right, until December 31, 1947 to use her name, autograph, photographic likeness, or artist's sketch of the likeness, for reproduction on engraved, embossed or printed stamps, and in stamp albums, and in connection with the advertising and exploitation of these stamps and stamp albums for sale throughout the world. Born in Australia, Ann Richards (1917-2006) starred in films of the 1940s but was choosy about her roles and retired young. Her most notable films include Sorry Wrong Number (1948), Love Letters (1945) and Random Harvest (1942). Her last film was Breakdown (1952). She later published volumes of poetry. The Motion Picture Relief Fund was founded in 1921 to assist ill and needy film industry veterans, as expressed in its motto: "We take care of our own." The fund raised money through voluntary payroll deductions and celebrity events. As President of the Fund from 1939 until his death in 1956, film and radio star Jean Hersholt conceived Hollywood Star Stamps as a fundraising method. These stamps, 468 in all, were sold at dime stores after World War II in sheets of 6-12, at 10 cents per sheet, and were an immediate hit with collectors. Now called the Motion Picture and Television Fund, the non-profit organization funds its own hospital and retirement home. It confers the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award annually at the Academy Awards ceremony to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry." Three filing holes at left (worn). Normal mailing folds. Lightly creased. Lightly soiled. Otherwise, fine condition.