The U.S. Postal Service honored actor James Cagney with the 5th collectible postage stamp in its Legends of Hollywood commemorative stamps series.

On 22 July 1999, the U.S. Postal Service added another collectible postage stamp to its Legends of Hollywood commemorative stamps series with their dedication of the first class 33-cent James Cagney stamp. Cagney appears on the 5th stamp in the popular Legends of Hollywood stamp series.

The Career of James Cagney

According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), James Cagney was born on 17 July, 1899, in New York City.

One of the highest profile leading men in all of Hollywood history, James Cagney is best known for his gangster roles, but with over 60 films to his credit, Cagney actually played a diverse set of characters. In fact, his only Oscar victory came in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), when he played composer/dancer George M. Cohan.

Cagney's first appearance in film, as reported by the IMDB, was in Sinners' Holiday (1930). From that start, he quickly acquired roles in many films, eventually becoming one of the pre-eminent leading men in the industry. Some of Cagney's more famouse films include Taxi! (1932), Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), and The Fighting 69th (1940). But perhaps his most famous role, as Cody Jarrett in White Heat (1949), is remembered for his classic line "Made it Ma! Top of the World!".

James Cagney died on 30 March, 1986, in Stanfordville, New York.

USPS James Cagney Stamp Design

As told in the USA Philatelic: Beyond the Perf, Issue 008, art director Howard Paine used both painted and photographic artwork for the Cagney stamp. Thomas Blackshear based his the stamp portrait on a black-and-white publicity shot from Warner Bros. and Vitaphone Pictures.

The selvage art (or the art in the surplus margin around the sheet of stamps), is a photograph of Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). The photograph was printed in black and brown ink as a complement to the stamp.

Stamps in the Legends of Hollywood Series

The USPS Legends of Hollywood series of United States stamps began in 1995 with the release of the Marilyn Monroe stamp and continues to be one of the longest-running and most popular stamp series in USPS history. As of 12 May, 2010, there are 16 stamps in the Legends of Hollywood series, with no end in sight. The current list of Legends of Hollywood stamp subjects can be found below. For those interested in postage stamp collecting, the Scott catalog number is listed beside each stamp.

         1. Marilyn Monroe (1995) (Scott #2967)
         2. James Dean (1996) (Scott #3082)
         3. Humphrey Bogart (1997) (Scott #3152)
         4. Alfred Hitchcock (1998) (Scott #3226)
         5. James Cagney (1999) (Scott #3329)
         6. Edward G. Robinson (2000) (Scott #3446)
         7. Lucille Ball (2001) (Scott #3523)
         8. Cary Grant (2002) (Scott #3692)
         9. Audrey Hepburn (2003) (Scott #3786)
        10. John Wayne (2004) (Scott #3876)
        11. Henry Fonda (2005) (Scott #3911)
        12. Judy Garland (2006) (Scott #4077)
        13. James Stewart (2007) (Scott #4197)
        14. Bette Davis (2008) (Scott #4350)
        15. Gary Cooper (2009) (Scott #4421)
        16. Katharine Hepburn (2010) (Scott # 4461)