Denzel! What a surprise — welcome to Owl Chatter — we are big fans (who isn’t?)! Didn’t think we’d see you in the puzzle, with that Z and all. And clued so simply – “Oscar winning Washington.” What did they expect us to put down: George? Loved you in Philadelphia — “Innocuous.” Ha!
So, let’s see — you’re 68 now — ouch! Born in Mt. Vernon, NY, married to actress Pauletta Pearson for 40 years this June — yikes! Renewed your vows in 1995 in South Africa, with Desmond Tutu officiating. Classy.
Four kids, including pro footballer and actor John David, Yale grad Katia, and the twins Olivia and Malcolm. Malcolm a U. Penn grad — the Red and Blue! Excellent!
Presidential Medal of Freedom last July — that must’ve been a kick. Listen, settle in — get comfortable. Can we get you a beer? You’re always welcome here at Owl Chatter.
Well, we made it back from DC. It was a very nice visit. Tipped off by Bob to a baseball-themed exhibit at the National Postal Museum, we checked it out and it was pretty neat. Lots of non-baseball stuff too — the place is enormous. Did you know they only started using stamps in 1847? And they only became mandatory in 1855. Before that a fee was collected from the person to whom an item was delivered. And there was no glue to lick on the back — you had to use a little gum to affix it to the envelope. Here’s the first stamp ever (it’s from 1840 in England). The Penny Black.
Do you guys know about the “inverted Jenny?” It may be the most famous error stamp. It was issued in May, 1918 to celebrate the start of air mail, but the plane was printed upside down on the stamp. It was a Curtiss JN-4, known as the “Jenny,” so the error was called the “inverted Jenny.”
William T. Robey, a collector, went to his local Post Office early to buy a sheet, hoping for an error, since the earlier printings were most likely to have flaws. He got lucky when he noticed the error, but when he tried to buy more, he was turned down and the Post Office immediately stopped all sales. Robey’s sheet was the only one that reached the public. The Post Office sent inspectors out to try to convince him to give it back but he refused. He came under intense pressure, but held fast, eventually selling the sheet to a dealer for $15,000, which was a whopping sum back then. It enabled him to buy a house for his family in an upscale neighborhood and, years later, he still had enough left to pay for his daughter’s wedding. Needless to say, the value has skyrocketed since then. A single stamp goes for roughly $1.5 million at auction these days. There were 100 on the sheet. The whereabouts of four of them are currently unknown. Hey, Denzel — you got one?
Denzel wasn’t the only actor in the puzzle today — Lon Cheney of the old horror films came by as well. He was a master of disguise as evidenced in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. The studios didn’t know from makeup back then. He did all of his own makeup. His son was a horror movie actor too, Lon Cheney, Jr. He was the Wolfman. They were both honored with postage stamps, in a set with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
Gotta get some sleep. See you tomorrow.
The Wellington Files 