Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Postage Stamp

A few years back, Mac/Eddy Club members began a campaign to convince the United States Postal Stamp Committee to issue a postage stamp honoring 1930s movie stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Pre-printed petition forms were sent to members and fans all over the United States. In a short time, over 20,000 names, addresses and signatures were gathered from friends, families and strangers, with booths set up in in malls and on the street in large cities. Signatures were obtained either on petition forms or in letters sent directly to the Stamp Committee. Our signatures included the Governor of New Mexico and actress Rosie O'Donnell.

The Committee receives 40,000 requests a year for various stamp subjects. We presented all the letters and signatures to the Committee in Washington, D.C. during a peaceful demonstration which was covered on television by NBC News. We thought 20,000 names would do the trick. It didn't. Some months later we were told that we had survived a "weeding out" of hundreds of possible subjects, down to the last 15 that were being considered. That seemed hopeful, but a year later we were given a vague answer: "a MacDonald/Eddy stamp is still under consideration." Since then--nothing.

Now we are turning to an online petition. Previously we had been gathering email letters to forward to you, the Stamp Committee. Unless the Committee rules have recently changed, we were advised that you still must include your full name, address, city, state and zip in your online petition for it to count.

There have been many stamps for great movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Years. There have been stamps for movie singers, and there have also been stamps issued for opera singers. Yet, MacDonald and Eddy--the favorites of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and millions of fans worldwide, have been somehow overlooked.

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were not only great singers and movie stars, they were patriotic Americans as well. Nelson risked his life doing government work overseas during WWII. Jeanette received a medal from FDR for raising $100,000 for the war effort by auctioning off her concert encores. They were known for their charitable works and they encouraged and sponsored young singers. Plus they put MGM musicals on the map. Their first film together, "Naughty Marietta," was selected to the National Film Registry in 2003. Their other classics include "Rose Marie," "Maytime," "Sweethearts" and "New Moon." Without the worldwide box office success of MacDonald and Eddy, there would have been no Judy Garland or Gene Kelly musicals in the 1940s and '50s. MacDonald and Eddy were the greatest singing team of their era, inspiring generations of opera singers and entertainers that followed, including Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Mario Lanza, Carol Burnett and countless others. They are still inspiring young people today who choose a singing or show business career.

MacDonald and Eddy were the most successful singing team in all of Hollywood history, and are still beloved and popular today. Please issue a stamp honoring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy!

(Note: All signatories on this petition are welcome to read more at the Stamp Committee's website: http://www.govspot.com/ask/suggestastamp.htm, and are urged to follow up their signature here with an old-fashioned letter sent to: Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, U.S. Postal Service,475 L'Enfant Plaza,SW,Room 4474EB, Washington, DC 20260-2437)