JAMES L. "RIP" BROWN - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 06/12/1946 - HFSID 289286

JAMES "RIP" BROWN
Consent form authorizing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to reproduce Brown's signature and likeness for a series of stamps raising money for needy film industry veterans. A perfectly verified example!
Document signed twice: "James Brown", 1 page, 8½x11. Hollywood, California, 1946 June 12. Brown grants to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, Inc., its successors and assigns, the exclusive right to use his 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. A former tennis pro, James L. Brown (1920-1992) had starring roles in several films in the 1940s (Going My Way, 1944; Objective Burma, 1945) before securing his best remembered role as Lieutenant "Rip" Masters in the TV series, RinTin Tin (1954-1959). The series, which aired on ABC, was set at Fort Apache in 19th-century Arizona. Brown, who also appeared in made-for-TV movies and made guest starring appearances on a number of TV shows, had a recurring role as Detective Harry McSween on Dallas (1978-1989), and he made his last TV appearance on an episode of Murder, She Wrote in 1988. In addition to his acting career, Brown successfully marketed body-building equipment and headed customer relations for Faberge cosmetics.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." Filing holes at left edge. Top edge creased. Multiple mailing folds. Otherwise, fine condition.