1945 Tom Breneman Mischa Auer Vintage Postcard for March of Dimes
About This Vintage Postcard
This lively black and white postcard captures character actor Mischa Auer expressing comedic shock as host Tom Breneman displays a massive collection of 523,000 dimes. The image commemorates a major charitable milestone for the Breakfast in Hollywood program, which mobilized its massive radio audience to support the March of Dimes campaign. Tom Breneman was renowned for using his platform for philanthropy, and having a high-profile comedic star like Auer participate helped draw national attention to the cause. This scene serves as a wonderful example of how Golden Age radio stars collaborated with Hollywood celebrities to support the war-era fight against polio.
Details
Era: Linen Era (1940s, no linen texture, but of the era)
City: Hollywood
State: California
Country: USA
Topic: Entertainment / Radio History
Condition: Uncirculated
Postage: Unposted
Address Side: Divided
Orientation: Horizontal (Landscape)
Artist / Photographer: Uncredited (Publicity Photographer)
Publisher: Kellogg Co.
Printer: Unknown
Print Type: Halftone Lithograph (Grayscale)
Additional Information
This card is part of the fifteen-card promotional souvenir set copyrighted in 1945 by Kellogg Co. Mischa Auer was a Russian-born actor famous for his "madcap" persona and bulging eyes, often playing eccentric royalty or high-society types in films like My Man Godfrey. The March of Dimes was particularly significant in 1945, as it was the year President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the organization's founder, passed away. The mention of 523,000 contributions highlights the staggering reach of Breneman's "Good Neighbor" philosophy during the mid-1940s.
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