Elvis--Lean or Large? Fans Can Pick Stamp Portrait

The lean and sultry Elvis Presley, with high cheekbones and a towering, greased pompadour. Or the later, living-legend-of-show-business Elvis, his double chin hidden in shadow, in a glittering jumpsuit bedecked with stars.

Americans will choose which portrait of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll they want to see on a U.S. postage stamp, to be issued in 1993 as part of a Legends of American Music series. The Postal Service unveiled the two Elvis designs Monday.

On the stage at the Las Vegas Hilton, where Elvis performed in 839 sold-out shows, Postmaster General Anthony M. Frank displayed the portraits and declared: “There’s been a lot of good-natured speculation about whether the stamp should depict a young or an old Elvis, a thin or a heavy-set Elvis. I wanted Elvis’ fans to play an active role in the stamp selection process.”

Post offices will have 5 million pre-addressed cards that can be used as mail-in ballots between April 6 and April 24. A fan may check the preferred design, put a stamp on the card and drop it into any mailbox.

After the votes are tallied, the winning Elvis design will be announced in May.

Later, the Postal Service will disclose the names of several other rock stars to be immortalized in a booklet of stamps. Buddy Holly has been mentioned, but postal officials would not confirm or deny whether the composer of “Peggy Sue” and “That’ll Be The Day” will also be honored on a stamp.

Elvis will appear in both the booklet and on sheet stamps.

“The American people can warm up for the general election in November with this election in April,” said Frank, who first proposed an Elvis stamp when he became postmaster general in 1987.

“Wherever I go, people say: ‘When will you issue an Elvis stamp?’ I couldn’t leave office with this hanging over my head,” said Frank, who will leave the job Friday.

The April balloting will be the first time the post office has allowed the public a voice in stamp design. A citizens advisory committee proposes stamps to the postmaster general, who usually has the final word on both the subject and the design.

Some members of the committee argued that Elvis, who died in 1977 of a heart ailment, was a bad role model for impressionable youths.