SPIKE LEE - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED - HFSID 155943

SPIKE LEE
The Oscar nominated director signs a First Day Cover honoring Jerome Kern, composer of the 1927 musical Show Boat, which brought issues of racial prejudice to the attention of white audiences decades before Lee would.
First Day Cover signed: "Spike Lee", 6½x3½. FDC honoring Jerome Kern, 22-cent stamp affixed, postmarked New York, N.Y., January 23, 1985, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. ArtCraft cachet is captioned: "Show Boat, Jerome Kern, Composer, Centennial of his Birth, 1885-1985". A cover honoring Kern and Show Boat was an appropriate one for Spike Lee's signature, since this influential musical play (1927) brought issues of racial prejudice to the attention of white audiences and portrayed African-American characters in a positive way. Spike Lee (b. 1957) has produced and directed dozens of films during the course of his decades-long career. He began his career as a director who made his debut with the short film Last Hustle in Brooklyn in 1979. It wasn't until the late 1980s that he scored two huge successes: She's Gotta Have It (1986) and Do the Right Thing (1989). Both films were critically praised and were box office successes, especially compared to their production budget. Do the Right Thing received two Oscar nominations and four Golden Globe nominations. A few years later, Lee was chosen to direct the film Malcolm X after protests (partially led by Lee) concerning Warner Brothers' first choice, white director Norman Jewison. Released in 1992, it is considered one of the best films of the year. Lee continues to direct, produce, and write film, mostly under his own production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Other notable Spike Lee films include Bamboozled (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Miracle at St. Anna (2008), Chi-Raq (2015). Lee's films usually deal with themes such as race relations, urban poverty, and media's role in reporting and shaping everyday life. His films are famously referred to as “Spike Lee Joints”. Lee himself has been nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, and two Primetime Emmy Awards (winning one). Two of his films - Jungle Fever (1991) and Do the Right Thing (1989) - have been nominated for the Cannes Film Festival top prize the Palme d'Or. Fine condition.