Reagan, Garbo, On 2005 Stamps
It isn't easy being green. It isn't easy getting on a U.S. postage stamp either, but Kermit the Frog will manage it next year, along with his Muppet friends.
New stamps also will recall the late President Ronald Reagan, singer Marian Anderson, actor Henry Fonda and songwriter Yip Harburg, notable scientists, famous Marines and sports cars, the U.S. Postal Service said Thursday.
It's a wide variety, says Dave Failor, who is in charge of stamps for the Postal Service
"I think there's just going to be a lot of really fun stamps, and a lot of really good educational stamps in 2005," Failor told CBS News.com's Lloyd de Vries.
"U.S. commemorative stamps portray individuals, subjects and events that are instrumental to the American experience," said Failor, executive director of stamp services for the Postal Service.
Thousands of suggestions are culled for a few dozen stamps to be issued each year.
If he had to pull strings to get on a stamp, Kermit did it effectively, with no less than 11 stamps honoring the Muppets and their creator, Jim Henson, scheduled for debut in March.
Among those appearing in the set are, of course, Miss Piggy, as well as Statler and Waldorf, the Swedish Chef and Dr. Bunson Honeydew and his assistant Beaker.
Beloved as they are, Kermit and friends aren't the first puppets to make it on stamps, Charlie McCarthy managed the feat in 1991, along with his assistant Edgar Bergen.
On the more serious side, the stamp program will be recalling the Civil Rights Movement
A 10-stamp set honors the courage and efforts of those who took part in that effort with stamps recalling President Truman's order integrating the military, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, sit-ins at "white only" lunch counters and the first black students to attend Central High School in Little Rock.
In addition to that set, singer Marian Anderson will be honored in the Black Heritage stamp series and tennis star and humanitarian Arthur Ashe will be recalled.
One of the great classic singers of the 20th century, Anderson was also active in the struggle for racial equality. When the Daughters of the American Revolution declined to allow her to perform at their Constitution Hall in 1939, Anderson gave an outdoor performance to 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial.
Other stamps planned for release in 2005 include:
January:
Lunar New Year, a 12-stamp set showing all the animals associated with the Chinese new year cycle will go on sale in January.
February:
Marian Anderson, the 28th stamp in the Black Heritage series.
Love, showing a bouquet of colorful flowers.
Ronald Reagan, honoring the nation's 40th president.
March:
Spring flowers, a four-stamp set featuring watercolor paintings.
Jim Henson and the Muppets.
April:
Northeast deciduous forest, a 10-stamp pane featuring trees of the Northeast and the plant and animals that live around them.
American scientists, a set of four stamps honoring geneticist Barbara McClintock, mathematician John von Neumann, physicist Richard Feynman and thermodynamicist Josiah Willard Gibbs.
Robert Penn Warren, a poet, novelist and educator who is depicted on the 21st stamp in the literary arts series.
Yip Harburg, who wrote the lyrics for more than 600 popular songs including "Over the Rainbow."
May:
Henry Fonda is recalled on the 11th stamp in the legends of Hollywood series.
Distinguished Marines, a four-stamp set commemorating John Basilone, who died in the battle of Iwo Jima; Daniel J. Daly, who served in World War I; John A. Lejeune, a World War I commander, and Lewis B. Puller, a commander in World War II and Korea.
June:
Masterworks of modern architecture, a 12-stamp set featuring such famous buildings as the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Yale Art and Architecture Building, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Vanna Venturi house in Philadelphia.
American advances in aviation are recalled in a 10-stamp set featuring such well-known aircraft as Boeing's 247 airliner and B-29 Superfortress, Consolidated's PBY Catalina and B-24 Liberator, Lockheed's P-80 Shooting Star, Grumman's F6F Hellcat, Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt and Northrop's YB-49 Flying Wing.
July:
The art of Disney, four stamps looking at celebrations as portrayed by Disney illustrators. For example, Mickey Mouse holds a birthday cake, Alice has a tea party in Wonderland and Snow White and Dopey do a lighthearted dance.
Lets Dance, a four stamp set featuring Latino pop and tropical salsa traditions.
August:
Tennis star Arthur Ashe.
New Mexico and Rio Grande blankets are displayed in a four-stamp set.
To Form a More Perfect Union, the 10-stamp set recalling the civil rights movement.
Late summer or early fall:
Five-stamp set recalling sporty cars including 1952 Nash Healey, 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, 1953 Studebaker Starliner, 1954 Kaiser Darrin and 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
September:
Film star Greta Garbo.
October:
Constellations visible in the night sky, set of four stamps.
Child health.
Holiday cookies featured on a four-stamp set.