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Philatelic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2002
Stamp Release #02-070
IRVING BERLIN RETURNS TO BROADWAY ON NEW POSTAGE STAMP ISSUED IN NEW YORK
Commemorative Stamp Dedicated at Broadway on Broadway® 2002 Concert
Commemorative Stamp Dedicated at Broadway on Broadway® 2002 Concert
NEW YORK - Irving Berlin, an accomplished songwriter who wrote more than 1,000 songs and helped change the direction of American popular music, was honored today by the U.S. Postal Service with the issuance of the Irving Berlin commemorative stamp.The Irving Berlin stamp was dedicated at a first day of issue ceremony held at Times Square in conjunction with the 11th annual Broadway on Broadway® concert, which is the official kick-off for the Broadway theatre season.
The stamp is now available at New York City post offices. It will be available at post offices across the country starting tomorrow.
The concert showcased musical numbers from long-running shows and recent hits, along with sneak previews of this fall's new plays and musicals. The open-air concert brought together more than 200 performers and a 30-piece orchestra, turning Times Square into the world's biggest concert hall.
"It's wonderful to be here in New York for the Broadway on Broadway® concert, and to help kick off the Broadway Theatre Season," said John F. Walsh, member of the presidentially appointed Postal Service Board of Governors, who dedicated the stamp.
"The stamp we are issuing today honors a talent who changed the direction of American popular music-the incomparable Irving Berlin," he said.
Joining Walsh at the stamp dedication ceremony were Jed Bernstein, President, League of American Theatres and Producers; Tim Tompkins, President, Times Square Business Improvement District; Linda Emmett, Irving Berlin's daughter, and her children.
Berlin was born Israel Beilin on May 11, 1888, in Russia. In 1893 the Beilin family immigrated to the United States where the spelling of their last name was changed to the phonetic "Baline." The family settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. "Izzy" left home in his early teens and moved to the Bowery, where he sang for coins tossed by saloon patrons and eventually became a singing waiter. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics for his first published song, "Marie from Sunny Italy." When the sheet music was released around the time of his 19th birthday, Israel Baline had a new last name: Berlin. A few years later he legally changed his name to Irving Berlin.
Berlin became a staff lyricist at a music publishing firm in 1909 and wrote the lyrics to two songs that were hits that year: "My Wife's Gone to the Country" and "That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune." Around this time he also began to compose music for his lyrics. The success of "Alexander's Ragtime Band," with sales of one million copies of sheet music in 1911, cemented Berlin's fame.
Many of Berlin's most popular songs originated from his work on Broadway. In 1933 Berlin's score for the musical "As Thousands Cheer" featured the song "Easter Parade." "Annie Get Your Gun," first staged in 1946, produced more hits than any previous Broadway show. Included in this production were, "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" and "There's No Business Like Show Business."
Berlin's songs also found their way to the silver screen. Songs from Berlin's first major screen success, "Top Hat," were extremely popular. The film opened at Radio City Music Hall in late August 1935; at the end of September all five songs from the movie were played on the radio program "Your Hit Parade." Another film success, "Holiday Inn" (1942), featured "Happy Holiday" and "White Christmas." The latter song earned Berlin an Academy Award for Original Song.
In 1938 Kate Smith performed Berlin's "God Bless America" on her Armistice Day radio broadcast, and the song became an immediate hit. Ironically, when Berlin wrote it in 1918, shortly after becoming an American citizen, he dismissed the song as too solemn and packed it away.
During his lifetime, Irving Berlin garnered many honors, including the Presidential Medal for Merit, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the congressional Gold Medal.
He died at the age of 101 on Sept. 22, 1989, in New York City. His classic songs continue to be performed on Broadway, in movies and by vocal artists from opera to country, cabaret and jazz. The songs of Irving Berlin will be with us always.
The portrait of Irving Berlin on the stamp was taken from a 1932 black and white photograph by Edward Steichen, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. The photograph, which was colorized for the stamp art, is superimposed over Berlin's handwritten score of "God Bless America." His signature from that score appears at the bottom of the stamp. The stamp was designed by Greg Berger of Bethesda, Md.
To see the Irving Berlin stamp, visit the Postal Service Web site at www.usps.com and locate the online version of this press release by clicking on "Events, then Philatelic News."
Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available toll free by calling 1 800 STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of stamps and other philatelic items are available in the Postal Store at www.usps.com.
For more information on Broadway on Broadway® 2002 concert, visit the Broadway on Broadway® Web site at www.livebroadway.com.
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Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $65 billion, it is the world's leading provider of postal services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 207 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves 7 million customers each day at its 40,000 retail locations nationwide.
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