It's one thing to get your name on a theatre marquee; it's another to get a theatre named after you; but you know you've really arrived when you get your name on a postage stamp. Well, the late Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne have arrived. On Mar. 2, the legendary acting twosome officially get their names and portraits on a U.S. Postage stamp. The 33-cent stamp, which has a picture of the youthful-looking pair in sepia tone-like color, was created by Drew Struzan and designed by Carl Herrman. 42.5 million stamps have been printed.
To launch the stamp's release, the Postal Service will hold a special dedication ceremony Mar. 2, at 11 AM, at -- where else? -- the Lunt Fontanne Theatre on West 46th Street. Expected to attend are Uta Hagen (Collected Stories, Mrs. Klein), Judd Hirsch (Art, Conversations With My Father) and producer Alexander H. Cohen (Star Billing). Alma Cuervo, Larry Keith and other cast-members from Titanic -- now playing at the Lunt Fontanne -- are also expected to appear.
An English actress, Fontanne came to America in 1910 and married Lunt, forming an acting duo who appeared in such shows as The Guardsman, Reunion in Vienna, There Shall Be No Night, The Visit and Amphitryon 38. The Lunts' kind of sparring but inseparable relationship was spoofed by Ken Ludwig in Moon Over Buffalo.
The Lunt-Fontanne stamp is not connected to the USPS "Celebrate the Century" series, which has asked people to vote for stamps they wish to represent arts & entertainment accomplishments decade by decade. A "Chorus Line" stamp for the 1970s didn't make the cut; a Cats stamp is currently up for consideration for the 1980s.
-- By David Lefkowitz
