The 33-cent James Cagney commemorative stamp was issued on July 22, 1999, in Burbank, California. The stamp was designed by Howard Paine of Delaplane, Virginia, and illustrated by Thomas Blackshear of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
James Francis Cagney, Jr., was born in New York City on July 17, 1899. He began in show business in 1919, and throughout the 1920s Cagney moved between stage and vaudeville. In 1930, he went to Hollywood and landed a contract with Warner Bros. On the 100th anniversary of the year of his birth, the US Postal Service honored James Cagney with the issuance of the fifth stamp in the Legends of Hollywood Series.
75.5 million stamps were printed by Sennett Security Products in the gravure process.
