STAMPING THROUGH HOLLYWOOD
 
This week I got to participate in the unveiling of a new series of United States postage stamps bearing the overall title American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes.  I was honored when the U.S. Postal Service approached me, almost two years ago, to write the copy that would accompany these stamps, and Tuesday morning I helped to unveil them on their first day of issue.

The ceremony took place, appropriately enough, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where a temporary post office was set up in the lobby.  Joining me and the Postmaster General in the official unveiling were two actors who have long been active on the postal service’s Citizens Advisory Board, Ernest Borgnine and Karl Malden.

The stamps, which come on a presentation sheet, honor the arts and crafts of Directing, Screenwriting, Costume Design, Music, Makeup, Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Special Effects, and Sound.  As the directing stamp pictures John Cassavetes, his widow Gena Rowlands was on hand, as was Sara Karloff, whose father Boris is on the Makeup stamp, and special effects artist Mark Siegel, whose hands are shown sculpting the figure of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial on the Special Effects stamp.  (Normally, one has to be dead ten years to appear on a stamp, but since he is not the subject of the stamp, the rule does not apply. Nevertheless, Mark was the subject of some friendly teasing.)

There’s a great deal of protocol involved in the selection and creation of postage stamps, as I learned.  For one thing, I wasn’t allowed to discuss the project with anyone until it was officially announced by the Postal Service.  (I’ve never been involved with a Top Secret project before!)  It was also explained to me that, following long-established rules, I would not receive any credit for my work on the sheet of stamps, although my authorship would be acknowledged elsewhere.  I certainly can’t complain, since the same “official” anonymity was extended to the series’ talented designers, Kyle Cooper and his team at Imaginary Forces, the folks responsible for so many movies’ great opening-title sequences.
    But the Postal Service proved to have more than a touch of showmanship on Tuesday morning:  until the moment of unveiling, each stamp was covered by a number resembling the countdown numerals on “Academy leader” film.

Best of all, the new stamps were used to send the final ballots for this year’s Oscars to the 5,800 voting members of the Academy, with the blessing of President Frank Pierson. Even better, it was arranged that the director members would receive their ballots with the director’s stamp, the cinematographers with their stamp, and so on.  Pretty neat.

I don’t know how many people still send letters in this age of e-mail, but even if you don’t, this handsome sheet is worth owning.  You can purchase these stamps online at www.usps.com.

My family lost a good friend this week, a remarkable woman who lived—and lived well—to the age of 103.  Her name was Freda Sandrich, and she was the widow of director Mark Sandrich, whose credits include the classic Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals.

Freda moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles with her young husband in the late 1920s, and while she enjoyed California life, she never became part of the Hollywood scene.  She told me that any time she happened to visit a set, her husband was instantly aware of her presence, so rather than distract him, she willingly stayed home.  It is interesting, however, which of the many stars he directed became personal friends:  Bobby Clark (of the comedy team of Clark and McCullough) and Jack Benny.

Freda also presided over a Hollywood family dynasty.  Her sons, Mark Jr. (who died several years ago) and Jay

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carved out successful careers of their own.  Jay has been one of the leading sitcom directors for thirty years, with credits ranging from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Cosby to Friends.  Mark Jr. wrote the Broadway musical Ben Franklin in Paris, and married actress Vanessa Brown.  Their daughter Cathy Sandrich Gelfond has become one of the most successful casting directors in the movie business.  She was also devoted to her grandmother.

My favorite Freda story involves her husband AND her son.  It was Mark Sr. who gave Lucille Ball one of her first breaks, with screen time in The Gay Divorcee and Follow the Fleet.  Twenty years later, his son Jay was working as Assistant Director on I Love Lucy.  One day, the star was late coming back from lunch.  When she appeared on the set, she walked over to Jay and said, “Your father would be very proud of me today.  We just bought RKO.”  Indeed, the studio where he had reigned supreme, and had given her a boost, was to become the home of Desilu Productions. 

I’m so glad to have known Freda Sandrich.  She lived in three different centuries, born at the end of the 19th, living through the entirety of the 20th, and remaining active and involved in life through the first years of the 21st.