N1902

Comedians

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy

Collins Cover Announcement 

FAMOUS COMEDIANS 

Bergen and McCarthy

This is the fifth and final COLLINS football cover for this Famous Comedian set. I remember as a youth how puppet Charlie McCarthy would constantly give ventriloquist Edgar Bergen a hard time. In this hand-painted cachet, a uniformed Bergen may be seeking a little retribution as he has been practicing his gridiron skills using McCarthy as a tackling dummy. Other team members practice on the field while Charlie in no uncertain terms informs Edgar that he is tired of being used as a dummy. It's a very cute sports cachet.

The inspiration for this set was the magnificent Mickey Mouse pictorial cancel that was available on Issue Date in Anaheim. I'm always on the look-out for special First Day postmarks that will give my collectors really interesting covers with philatelic prominence. A Disney flair will always add appeal to a collectible and, since Mickey was in uniform and kicking a football, I decided to follow that theme with my cachets. Laughter and humor were the connecting themes because all of the famous comedians honored on the stamps brought mirth and merriment into countless lives as does the great Mick.

Join Fanny Brice as she shows up for cheerleading try-outs. Watch the team practice as Charlie McCarthy tells Edgar Bergen that he is tired of being a tackling dummy. See Jack Benny show up on game day and hold up a long line at the ticket booth as he tries to get a cheap seat. As a large teammate is carried out of the big game on a stretcher, listen to Coach Oliver Hardy (a lovable bully) send in a slight replacement--Stan Laurel. And, as the game progresses, chuckle as the play-by-play announcers Bud Abbott and Lou Costello do a take-off on their famous "Who's on First?" routine adapted for football. And, on each cover, enjoy the presence of the star player in a beautiful, large pictorial First day cancel obtained only by COLLINS -the great Mickey Mouse.

Yes, I'm truly proud of this set because I've taken the five stamps honoring comedy giants in the entertainment field and have created five distinctive and different FDCs with a common thread of design and theme. It is my hope that in all the years that lie ahead, cover lovers will enjoy collecting them as much as I have enjoyed producing them for the hobby.

Bergen and McCarthy. The fifth and final offering of the Famous Comedian set. Item #N1902. $9.75.