JERRY COLONNA - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 09/17/1946 - HFSID 289169

JERRY COLONNA
Consent form authorizing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to reproduce Jerry Colonna's signature and likeness for a series of stamps raising money for needy film industry veterans. The form is signed twice by Colonna, once as an autograph sample and again to grant permission. A remarkable, perfectly verified example!
Document signed twice: "Jerry Colonna", 1 page, 8½x11. Los Angeles, California, 1946 September 17. Jerry Colonna grants to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, Inc., its successors and assigns, the exclusive right, until December 31, 1947 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. Jerry Colonna (1904-1986) was a talented trombonist and comedian who sported a large handlebar mustache. He made several films, beginning with 52nd St (1937), joined Bob Hope on many USO tours, and was a frequent TV guest star in the 1950s and 1960s. When violinist Hehudi Menuhin performed on Bob Hope's radio show, fellow guest Colonna quipped, "Who's Yehudi?" Although the musician was already well known, Colonna liked the phrase, repeating it often on later broadcasts. For a time, "Who's Yehudi" (which also means "Who's Jewish" in Hebrew, became a popular catch phrase and the inspiration for popular novelty songs. One of Colonna's most popular characters was a dimwitted professor. He published a novel, The Loves of Tullio (1970). 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. 1x1 inch piece missing from right edge. ¼x¼ inch piece missing from bottom right corner. Slightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.