Special to PN
By Rich Bysina
It seemed simple enough back in 1993.
Just three years earlier the United States Postal Service (USPS) honored four Hollywood movies made in 1939 with 50th anniversary commemorative stamps: “The Wizard of Oz,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Stagecoach” and “Beau Geste.”
And in another three years, 1996, “It’s a Wonderful Life” (“IAWL”) would be celebrating its 50th anniversary.
My letter to the USPS proposing the “IAWL” commemorative was accompanied by a few petitions signed by lots of friends, family members; plus petitions signed by listeners of WGN Radio’s Wally Phillips, who had given me some air time on his show.
This was the gist of the letter the USPS later sent me:
Dear Mr. Bysina:
Thank you for your letter to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee…This topic was recently reviewed… and after careful consideration was not recommended at this time.
As the years passed, I began to wonder, “Could it be that the ‘IAWL’ stamp was rejected because Stewart was still alive at the time in 1993?”
Then I later discovered, the classic film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” also released in 1939, could not be among the movies honored because its star, Jimmy Stewart, was still living. The USPS will honor a person only ten years after death.
So when the 75th anniversary of “IAWL” came up in 2021, I submitted another petition.
The letter the USPS sent me was virtually identical to the rejection I got 25 years earlier.
Which brings us to 2024.
If the USPS can issue an 80th anniversary commemorative stamp sheet for Bugs Bunny’s 80th birthday, which it did in 2020, why not the same for the 80th anniversary of “It’s a Wonderful Life” in 2026?
The American Film Institute has ranked “IAWL” the #8 Greatest Love Story … #3 Fantasy Film … and #1 Most Inspiring American Film of All Time.
What a wonderful way to end America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026.
Let’s consider the motivational words of the 1988-1992 USPS Postmaster General, Anthony M. Frank (1931-2022), who said the following about the four 1939 films honored with 50th anniversary stamps:
“We felt we had not done enough to honor the film industry. …If there’s the emotional feeling that I think there will be for these stamps, we’ll do more.”
The simple fact is the USPS has not done any more in 35 years.
So Clarence… have you heard anything?
One more suggestion from Rich Bysina
Readers can help by sending a postcard or letter of support for commemorative “It’s a Wonderful World” stamp to:
Dr. Joseph L. Kelley, Chair
Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300
Washington, DC 20260
Or contact Rich Bysina at sezwhorich@gmail.com for more information, or to get some promotional material that includes a self-addressed stamped postcard to Dr. Kelley.
