I, like almost everyone, have had some very happy holidays. It’s my favorite time of year, but ever since I began to blog about classic film, I haven’t made many traditions that involved my passion. This holiday season, I wanted to change that and find a way to incorporate my love for old Hollywood into my celebrations for years to come. So far I’ve been watching some timeless movies, as most fans do, and I signed up for Journeys In Classic Film’s Secret Santa, but it wasn’t until I saw Silentology’s heartfelt post asking for Christmas cards to be sent to one of the last living silent film stars that I knew what to do to make a difference. I know this announcement is cutting it very close to Christmas Day, but since I thought of this wonderful idea I wanted to attempt to start it this year rather than waiting until next year. I perfectly understand if not everyone is able to set aside their time and money for this event, and that’s why I intend to make it an annual one so I can bring it back next year for everyone to participate in. The idea is for everyone involved to sign up to send holiday cards to their favorite living classic film stars and give them some holiday cheer this season.
HERE is a list on Wikipedia of living silent film stars, and HERE is a lengthy list of living Golden Age film stars for inspiration. Below I will list some living stars (sorted by age) for inspiration as well! Of course you may sign up for a star who is not on any of these lists.
- Mary Carlisle
- Olivia de Havilland
- Kirk Douglas
- Danielle Darrieux
- Diana Serra Cary
- Nehemiah Persoff
- Marge Champion
- Nanette Fabray
- Rhonda Fleming
- Rose Marie
- Glynis Johns
- Dina Merrill
- Doris Day
- Eva Marie Saint
- Honor Blackman
- Maria Riva
- Dorothy Malone
- June Lockhart
- Angela Lansbury
- Peggy Cummins
- Jerry Lewis
- Julie Adams
- Sidney Poitier
- Peggy Dow
- Nancy Olson
- Ann Blyth
- Terry Moore
- Jane Powell
- Arlene Dahl
- Debbie Reynolds
- Mickey Kuhn
- Debra Paget
- George Chakiris
- Russ Tamblyn
- Margaret O’Brien
- Kathryn Beaumont
- Liza Minnelli
- Gina Lollobrigida
- Roger Moore
- May Wynn
- Vic Damone
- Pat Hitchcock
- Don Murray
- Vera Miles
- Tippi Hedren
- Robert Wagner
- Joanne Woodward
- John Astin
- Gena Rowlands
- Mamie Van Doren
- Claire Bloom
- Tab Hunter
- Leslie Caron
- Barbara Eden
- Mitzi Gaynor
- Angie Dickinson
- Barbara Darrow
- Rita Moreno
- Felicia Farr
- Kim Novak
- Julie Newmar
- Kathryn Crosby
- Shirley Jones
- Shirley MacLaine
- Sophia Loren
- Brigitte Bardot
- Ruta Lee
- Diahann Carroll
- Julie Andrews
- Alain Delon
- Keir Dullea
- Ursula Andress
- Robert Redford
- Jane Fonda
- Claudia Cardinale
- Mary Tyler Moore
- George Takei
- Richard Beymer
- Diane Baker
- Paula Prentiss
- Dolores Hart
- Patrick Wayne
- George Hamilton
- Katharine Ross
- Jill St. John
- Raquel Welch
- Ann-Margret
- Yvette Mimieux
- Carol Lynley
- Pamela Tiffin
- Tuesday Weld
- Britt Ekland
- Catherine Deneuve
- Shelley Fabares
- Mia Farrow
- Priscilla Presley
- Lana Wood
- Hayley Mills
- Sue Lyon
If you’re interested, here’s what you should do:
- Leave a comment with your blog’s name, your blog’s link, and the names of the actors you intend to send cards to.
- Once you’re approved, write your card, put it in an envelope, and send it to the star’s fan mail address. To find this address, go to fanmail.biz and type the name of the actor into the search bar. You may have to do some digging to find his or her current address! If you don’t feel comfortable with this or are having some trouble finding your desired star’s address, please ask me by commenting on this post and I will do my best to find the correct address for you and reply in a timely manner.
- Make a blog post about the event! You may include pictures of your card, write down the note that you sent to the star, or if your card is personal, just make a post stating why you chose to send a card to that star. Be creative!
- Finally, once you’re finished, repeat this process with all of the stars as you signed up for, if you signed up for more than one.
- Please help me spread the word! I’m still not the most popular blog and I’ll need all the help I can get! Please take one of my lovely banners from below and put it somewhere on your blog, and make sure to tell your friends. I want as many participants as possible!
- IF you still want to be a part of this event but cannot afford to send a card or cannot find a star to send a card to, you may still join and write a blog post about whom you would send a holiday card to and why. Of course you may write about anyone living or dead, and you may include what the card would say and what the card would look like. Those who enjoy this option may also do this in addition to sending real cards.
RULES
- Because it’s the holiday season and I want to make sure everyone can sign up to send to their favorite stars, I am allowing up to THREE duplicates of each star and you may sign up to send to an UNLIMITED number of stars. If any star exceeds three duplicates, I may possibly allow more on a case by case basis. I also want to make sure that as many stars recieve cards as possible, so let’s please avoid everyone signing up for the same person. You may also choose a television star as long as they appeared on television before 1970, or the family of a deceased star if you can find the address for them.
- I am allowing cards to be sent to approved fan mail addresses only! I would like to avoid anyone sending mail to personal residences, so if you ask me for a star’s address, I will only reply with what fan mail addresses I can find. If you do your own research and find a star’s personal address, you may send a card there on your own free will, but I will not be claiming responsibility for that.
- You may make your own card or buy one from a store and include a handwritten note. You are not required to spend any money. If you don’t wish to do so, please refer to number six of the previous list. I would like these cards to be as personal as possible, but do what you can. If you don’t have time to write a note, you of course may simply sign and send a card, or if you intend to send cards to multiple stars, you may buy a pack of cards and sign each individually (this is my preferred method). Many of these stars also sign autographs or will reply to your card, so please do your research or ask me about this if you’re hoping to receive something in return.
- In general, please be respectful of all of the stars as well as their respective religions. Do your research before sending any religiously inclined cards to make sure that you do not offend anyone. If you aren’t sure about a star’s religious preference, stick to non-denominational “holiday” cards. Refrain from sending any inappropriate or negative cards as well. This is the holiday season, please use common sense as the object of this event is to spread cheer!
- I would like all of the cards to be sent by Christmas Day (December 25th), and I will be making a post in one week (December 17th) to round up all of the blog posts, though you may make your blog posts at any time. I will be adding entries to the post indefintely, so if you don’t send your card out on time, that’s okay! Also, please let me know if a star replies to your card! I would love to see that!
ROSTER
- Musings of a Classic Film Addict — Dina Merrill, Diana Serra Cary, Mary Carlisle, Jane Fonda, Kim Novak, Gina Lollobrigida, Raquel Welch, Vera Miles, Kathryn Crosby, Don Murray, Joanne Woodward, Shelley Fabares
- Sleepwalking in Hollywood — Kathryn Beaumont, Nehemiah Persoff, Russ Tamblyn, Olivia de Havilland, Mamie Van Doren, Tab Hunter, Julie Newmar, Robert Redford, Lana Wood, Mike Farrell, Claire Bloom
- Silentology — Diana Serra Cary
- Champagne for Lunch — Marsha Hunt, Margaret O’Brien
- The Wonderful World of Cinema — Sidney Poitier
- In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood — Sidney Poitier, Debbie Reynolds
Musings of a Classic Film Addict 
Such a lovely idea!! I’ll be sending “Baby Peggy” a Christmas card for sure. I’m glad you’re making this an annual event–as your blog grows so will the giveathon!
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I’ll definitely add you to the list! Thank you for the incredible idea!
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You’re most welcome! 🙂
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Speaking of events, I would like to invite you to join the Third Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon, which I’m hosting February 19-21, 2017 on Silent-ology. 2017 is a very significant year since it will mark 100 years since Buster first entered “moving pictures.” This is a great opportunity for fans to come together and really celebrate his work (even more so than we already do!).
Let me know if you’d like to join in, would love to have you!
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I’m very interested! I think I need a little more time to choose a topic, though. December’s been very busy for me, but I should have a topic for you by the end of the week.
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Sounds good to me! Will be interested in seeing what you decide on. 🙂
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What a lovely idea – you almost forget that stars age too!!! So many actors and actresses I would like to write to, it was a bit of a hobby when I was wee x But please put my name forward for Linda Gray, Joan Collins, Roger Moore, Michael Caine and Patrick Duffy.
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Linda Gray comes in just under the radar, but because it’s the holidays I’ll allow it! Thank you very much for signing up, and I’ll add your choices to the list!
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OOPS My blog is https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/ and I’m Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews x So happy you doing this annually xx
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Can you change my post Patrick Duffy to Sean Connery – just noticed Duffy’s appearnces were from mid 70s!
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Sounds good to me! I’ll update the list. I love your picks!
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Can you please take me off the list for the giveathon, as unable to do this for personal reasons x Thanks
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What a wonderful idea! Thanks for being so helpful with the fanmail address. I saw that you wrote a letter to Sidney Poitier. I’d like his (to confirm if I have the right one) b/c I want to write him a fan letter. For the Christmas cards, put me down for Margaret O’Brien and Marsha Hunt!
champagneforlunch.wordpress.com
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No problem, lovely! A lot of people are unsure about Sidney’s and other OH stars’ addresses because no one will post a success or a failure on the forums for years at a time. I think it’s due to the fact that these stars maybe don’t get a lot of mail or take a while to sign and return the stuff that they get. You have to consider too that it’s rare for an OH star to move very often, as they are older and want to dig in their roots. Here’s the address I have for Sidney:
Sidney Poitier
Verdon-Cedric Productions
P.O. Box 46609
Los Angeles, CA 90046
USA
I’m personally still waiting for a response from him (two months into a supposed six month long wait), but if I get a reply I’ll obviously let you know!
I’ll put you down for both of them, and I’m so glad to have you join us!
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Good idea! I’ve written to four classic stars in my life and so far I’ve received answer from 2 of them which is great: Vera Miles and Earl Holliman. The two others were Doris Day and Olivia de Havilland, but I suspect they are not very active anymore on fanmail. I’ve also wrote to Isabella Rossellini, but I don’t think we really consider her a “classic” movie star!
I’ve wanted to write to Sidney Poitier since a long time so put me down for it. I’m not sure exactly when you want our posts to be submitted (??), but you’ll have mine before December 25 for sure as I won’t really have time to do any blogging during Christmas.
My other concern: does it absolutely have to be a Christmas card? Because since some of these stars might receive a lot of fan mail, they probably don’t read it all at the same time so it would be kind of strange to read a Christmas card in May ahaha. 😉
My blog is The Wonderful World of Cinema: https://thewonderfulworldofcinema.wordpress.com
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Hi! I’m so glad you can join us, and I’ll put you down for Sidney. You may submit your posts at any time, but I’m going to make the post collecting them on the 17th and add to that post indefinitely.
In spirit of the holiday season I think it should be a holiday card, but you don’t have to! I think the person would understand that the card was sent around Christmastime anyway no matter when he or she opens it, but you may send whatever you like.
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Ok thanks for the infos! 🙂
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Virginie, don’t expect to hear back from Doris Day. I wrote to her and sent her a donation to her animal foundation. When I tracked it down later via the animal foundation, they had no record that I had ever sent money. I soon discovered that she had pocketed the money that I sent for her animals, and she knew very well it for her foundation, as it was in an envelope which had written DDAF money. After hearing that, I don’t have any respect for Doris anymore. I use to like her, but now now.
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That’s awful! Doris was pretty much next on my list of stars to write fan letters to. Maybe if you had written a check instead it would have gone to the right place? That’s what I intended to do.
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I would to join in. I’ve written to Angela Lansbury twice before after I met her. This time I would like to send cards to Debbie Reynolds and Sidney Poitier.
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That sounds great! I’m so happy to add you to the list!
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Thanks for that. I’ve also just announced another blogathon and would love to invite you to participate. The link is below with more details.
https://crystalkalyana.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/announcing-the-second-annual-bette-davis-blogathon/
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