PAUL "POPS" WHITEMAN - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 08/06/1946 - HFSID 289209

PAUL WHITEMAN
Consent form authorizing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to reproduce Paul Whiteman's signature and likeness for a series of stamps raising money for needy film industry veterans. The form is signed twice by Whiteman, once as an autograph sample and again to grant permission. A remarkable, perfectly verified example!
Document signed twice: "Paul Whiteman", 1 page, 8½x11. Los Angeles, California, 1946 August 6. Paul Whiteman 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. Bandleader Paul Whiteman (1890-1967) led a U.S. Navy band before forming his own group in San Francisco. In 1920, a year after he began recording, Whiteman had his first hit with "Whispering". In 1924, he introduced George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", which was specially arranged for Whiteman's 35-piece orchestra. Known as "The King of Jazz", Whiteman starred in a film of the same name in 1930. The film featured one of his newest discoveries, singer Bing Crosby, one of the many crooners who got their start with Whiteman's orchestra. Whiteman and his orchestra also appeared in Strike Up The Band (1940), Rhapsody in Blue (1945) and The Fabulous Dorseys (1947). From 1949-1952, he hosted The Paul Whiteman Goodyear Revue. 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. Pencil note (unknown hand) not affecting signatures. Slightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.