Jack Kelly's Other Job - Pt. IV :)

Hello Again!

 Photo inscribed by Jack Kelly to Eunice Alter

 ("To Eunice--Because you are my friend I'll always have a good one!!")

Here's the amazing story of how Jack Kelly, mayor of Huntington Beach, came to sign a cache of first-day covers. This wonderful write-up (penned by the covers' artist Eunice Alter) comes from a JONAL Artcovers newsletter dated September 1985. It was kindly provided to me by Eunice's daughter, Amie, and is shared here with her permission:

"[This] cover honors the first civil settlement in California at Alta. Last year [1984] the mayor of Huntington Beach was Jack Kelly. Some of you may remember him as Bart Maverick, from the TV series. Mr. Kelly has retired from acting, and has devoted himself to his home in Huntington Beach and serves on the city council.

"I thought HIS autograph on my Alta, CA, cover would be very meaningful to me, and wrote to him asking if he would autograph one for me, sending one for him in return. I also asked if he might consider autographing 25 of the covers also.

"I received a call from his secretary, who told me he would really be thrilled to receive the cover, and yes, he would be delighted to sign the 25 covers for my friends.

"We made an appointment for last Friday morning, and I went to City Hall to see him. Mr. Kelly was so gracious, and so excited about the covers! We had a wonderful visit--almost an hour--[and] he asked about the cancellations, and about the paintings.

"I brought my album of snapshots of my autographed cover collection, and he looked through the album, reading each signature or asking me to read some of the 'unreadable' ones. He commented on those he had worked with, or met, or admired. He seemed to especially enjoy the connection between each person and the cover signed by him/her.

"And then he asked if I would please personalize his cover with MY autograph? He wanted to have it mounted in Lucite(R), so he could keep it on his desk (beside the photograph of him with James Garner, both portraying Bret and Bart Maverick). So there I sat actually autographing a cover for the person I had asked to autograph mine!

"When it was time for me to leave, he got up and shook my hand. Then, this big teddy bear of a man gave me a special hug, and thanked me once more for including him in my very special hobby. As soon as I came home I framed my autographed cover with the autographed picture of Jack Kelly."

This write-up truly touched my heart. The photo JK autographed for Ms. Alter is shown above and is now in the Kellection, as is a second cover he signed which was also signed somewhere along the way by James Garner! (And the post office delivered both of these items to me on September 16--which would have been JK's 92nd birthday.)

 Double-autographed PNC created by Eunice Alter/JONAL Artcovers

 

I can't thank the Alter family enough for allowing me to obtain these precious items and share them here with you. I love the fact that Eunice took the time to research the story behind each stamp before creating a cover. That's what I tried to do with these Kellectibles. If I hadn't been curious about the original PNC signed by JK, I would have never reached out to the seller. And, I wouldn't have learned how a request for an autograph--and JK's gracious response to the request--led to a meeting which revealed his inquisitive mind and generous nature.    

After serving as mayor, JK continued his civic involvement in Huntington Beach, while also accepting occasional acting and voiceover work. He won his final berth on the Huntington Beach city council in 1990. His term was scheduled to expire in 1994. Sadly, JK's council seat was left open by his passing at age 65 on November 7, 1992.

He definitely made waves in "Surf City", and his candid shoot-from-the-hip political style didn't always endear him to critics. But, no matter how people felt about him, they'll never forget Jack Kelly in HB.

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What's next in TDS? Please stay tuned and find out! :)