Huh. I would have thought he was already on one.

Koo-koo, baby!!

Nope - you have to be dead ten years to be on a US postage stamp, at least the last I recall. Of course, now that you can buy stamps with just about any image you want on them (within certain restrictions), I don't know what purpose that serves.

They recently changed the rule... now you only have to be dead five years (except for Presidents, for whom a memorial stamp is generally issued on the first birthday after the date of death).

Some would ask, 'what about the Star Wars stamps, with the living actors on them?' The Postal Service says in cases such as this they're honoring the characters, not the actors who played them.

The type of stamps you cite, where you can put almost any image on them, are not official government-issue postage stamps, but they're private issues that are authorized by the USPS. They are "real" stamps in that you can use them on your mail, but they cost more than face value to buy, and you can't get them at your local post office.

Now, they should make the stamps lickable, and flavored with the taste of Chivas Regal!

I think that even "characters" should be "dead" before they can be honored on postage stamps. By that I mean that they should no longer be under the ownership of corporations. (So Santa Claus or Jesus or Ichabod Crane or Hamlet would be okay; Mickey Mouse and Chewbacca not.)

Star Wars (etc) swag is still enriching its creators. Why should the government help advertise it at our expense?

The official answer the USPS will give is that they illuminate and reflect American culture. But it's a bone of contention in some circles... 'how come they can issue TWO stamps featuring Yoda, but they can't issue one stamp honoring ____________?'

The real answer. I'm sure you can gue$$. Although all of the stamps are good for mail, the Post Office issues these with an eye towards people who'll buy them and not use them. Each stamp the Post Office can sell and never have to privide postal service for represents pure profit for them.

A postage stamp is basically nothing more than a receipt showing you've paid in advance for postal services. By issuing pretty stamps with popular topics like Star Wars, comic book characters, and yes, even Elvis Presley, the USPS is hoping you'll "save" them as souvenir mememtos... whether you put 'em in a proper stamp album or just toss 'em away in a drawer.

Just this year, Great Britain has issued stamps saluting The Beatles and the Harry Potter books. So it's not just an American thing... it's worldwide.