KENT SMITH - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 09/17/1946 - HFSID 288820

KENT SMITH
Consent form authorizing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to reproduce Kent Smith's signature and likeness for a series of stamps raising money for needy film industry veterans. The form is signed twice by Smith, once as an autograph sample and again to grant permission. A remarkable, perfectly verified example!
Document signed twice: "Kent Smith, 1 page, 8½x11. Burbank, California, 1946 September 17. He 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. Kent Smith (1907-1985) debuted on Broadway in 1932, and on film four years later. His stage successes included Dodsworth (1934-1935) and Bus Stop (1955-1956). His first movie role was in The Green Murder Case (1936), the last in Billie Jack Goes to Washington (1977). His early gray hair hastened his transition from B-movie leading man to character actor. His many TV appearances included a recurring role on Peyton Place. 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. Staple holes at top left. Normal mailing folds. Slightly creased. Pencil mark (unknown hand). Otherwise, fine condition.