JOHN CARRADINE - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 08/23/1946 - HFSID 289216

JOHN CARRADINE
Consent form authorizing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to reproduce John Carradine's signature and likeness for a series of stamps raising money for needy film industry veterans. The form is signed twice by Carradine, once as an autograph sample and again to grant permission. A remarkable, perfectly verified example!
Document signed twice: "John Carradine", 1 page, 8½x11. Los Angeles, California, 1946 August 23. John Carradine 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. John Carradine (1906-1988) was happiest performing on stage, yet he made dozens of movies and many TV appearances. He had prominent roles, though not the lead, in such successful films as Captains Courageous (1937), Stagecoach (1939) and The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Though often cast as a villain, Carradine was versatile enough to play a kindly Abe Lincoln (Of Human Hearts, 1938). Many of his performances late in his career were in low budget horror flicks. Carradine is the father of actors David, Keith, Robert and Bruce Carradine. 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. Otherwise, fine condition.