Rare and spectacular group of 54 volunteer service cards for celebrities who staffed the Hollywood Canteen during World War II, each 6 x 4, filled out in type with personal addresses and phone numbers, physical descriptions, and dates of their service, all bearing small affixed portraits with facsimile signatures. Major stars include: Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Hedy Lamarr, William Bendix, Janet Blair, Jules Stein, Victor Borge, Dane Clark, Barbara Hale, Fred MacMurray, Shelley Winters, Alan Hale, Sr., Loretta Young, and more. In overall fine condition, with light scattered toning. During WWII, the Hollywood Canteen was known worldwide as the celebrity entertainment center for US servicemen. It was staffed primarily by volunteers from the Hollywood celebrity set—from starlets to major stars, writers to directors, and their families. All non-servicemen workers there had to be fingerprinted and approved by the FBI. It is our understanding that a worker had to have a card on file to get into the club, and these fantastic cards served to identify the person coming in to volunteer was indeed who they claimed to be, and that they had been cleared by the FBI to have access to American servicemen during wartime. These cards record personal details of these celebrity volunteers, and many are annotated on the reverse with the dates that they worked. The excitement of the Hollywood Canteen was glamorized in movies, newsreels, newspapers and radio broadcasts worldwide. A decidedly unique and glamorous grouping connecting the heroes and heroines of Hollywood with those in the American military during the Second World War.
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