'Simpsons' to be featured on U.S. stamps

WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Postal Service and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising have announced the Simpsons will soon be featured on 44-cent stamps.

Family members Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie from the long-running, animated Fox television series "The Simpsons" are to appear on stamps designed by the characters' creator and the show's executive producer, Matt Groening.

Winner of 24 Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a multitude of other accolades, the series is currently the longest-running primetime comedy in television history and is celebrating its 20th anniversary throughout 2009.

A sneak peek of "The Simpsons" stamps will be made available April 9 at 8 a.m. ET on www.usps.com

At that time, the Postal Service will announce the date the stamps will go on sale and how people can pre-order them.

The Postal Service said it receives about 50,000 stamp suggestions per year, yet only about 20 topics make the cut for circulation.

"This has been a dream for Fox and 'The Simpsons' creative teams for some time and we are very proud to have been granted this honor. The timing couldn't be better as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show," Elie Dekel, executive vice president of Fox Licensing and Merchandising, said in a statement Wednesday.