Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston and Billy Wilder, four of the greatest directors in the history of movies, are being immortalized by the United States Postal Service. Portraits of the four will be released on Forever Stamps this week, with the First Day of Issue dedication service to be held in Washington, DC, tomorrow.
Details – and a look at the text on the back of the stamp sheet – follow the jump.
Great Film Directors to be Immortalized on Forever Stamps
Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston and Billy Wilder Return to Stamping Ovation
What:
First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony of the Great Film Directors Forever stamps. The event is free and open to the public.
When:
10 a.m., Wed. May 23, 2012
Where:
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Rd.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Who:
Jean Picker Firstenberg, American Film Institute president emerita
Dr. Bernie Cook, associate dean and director of media studies, Georgetown University;
Ray Barry, director, AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
Sam Pulcrano, vice president Corporate Communications, U.S. Postal Service
Background:
The U.S. Postal Service honors four great filmmakers who captured the many varieties of the American experience. These extraordinary directors — Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, and Billy Wilder — created some of the most iconic scenes in American cinema. They gave audiences an unforgettable, and in some cases, deeply personal vision of life.
The stamp art combines a portrait of each man with a scene from one of his most iconic works.
Art Director Derry Noyes of Washington, DC, designed these stamps using art by award-winning illustrator Gary Kelley of Cedar Falls, IA, who created the images using pastels on paper.