Antique & Vintage Postcards

Tom — Hollywood's self-styled "Mad Hatter" — grins from multiple angles across this energetic promotional card, his hat-dispensing antics and microphone mugging captured in a lively photomontage that perfectly telegraphs the anarchic warmth of his wildly popular morning radio program. "Breakfast in Hollywood," broadcast Monday through Friday on the fledgling American Broadcasting Company and sponsored by Kellogg's, was one of the great audience-participation hits of 1940s radio: Tom would seat studio guests, put hats on women chosen at random, and conduct interviews of such irresistible folksy charm that the show routinely drew thousands of hopeful visitors to his Hollywood restaurant. This 1945 Kellogg's-copyrighted postcard — a giveaway premium — reproduces the show's sing-along closing song to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," inviting listeners at home to join the party. Tragically, Tom died of a heart attack in April 1948 at just 46, only weeks before a film adaptation of his show was released, making ephemera like this card a poignant memento of a performer beloved by millions who never achieved the lasting fame his talent deserved.