Monthly recap (august vs july)

There was a time this month when I was into this hobby more than I think I ever had been. Then there was another time this month when I got pretty far away from it. I was happy though with the end result of the month although it didn't hit the usual goal (of 10 successes a month via mail).

August 2005 autographs

Autographs received (real or believed to be): 8
Out of that number, the amount that were purchased: 0
Pre prints: 1
RTS: 0
Other: 2 In-persons (that I got for myself), 1 E-bay win
Total sent out in August: 20


July 2005 autographs

Autographs received (real or believed to be real): 5
Out of that number, the amount that were purchased: 0
pre prints: 0
RTS: 1
Other: 2 in-persons (from a friend), 1 returned unsigned (return from deceased celeb. family), 3 in-persons (that I got myself)
Total sent out in July: 18

'Lost' - found in my mailbox

My friend Regina got me hooked on the TV show "Lost". I hear most of their cast is very good about responding to fan mail and today I received my first two replies.

Evangeline Lilly - Sent: 8/8/05 Received: 8/30/05. Evangeline plays "Kate" on the TV show "Lost" and is very receptive to fan mail. The inscription on the photo tells me she read the letter I wrote to her. I think she has the potential to be a big actress in the future.


"Lost" star Evangeline Lilly ("Kate")


Josh Holloway - Sent: 7/29/05 Received: 8/30/05. Josh plays "Sawyer" on the TV show "Lost". From what I hear, his fan mail is picking up a lot which probably explains why he sent out a pre-printed signature photo. (Meaning this is a copy of the original photo he signed). I did hear people having better luck getting him to sign when they send a photo to him rather than requesting a photo from him, so I may go that route next time. I do hope I snag a success next time because I enjoy his character on the show. It is a cool photo despite the fact that it's not a real signature on it.

Josh Holloway pre-printed autographed photo

Something 'finney' about this success

2 Saturday's in a row with a success? I'm not familiar with this concept. (but I like it!)

Albert Finney - Sent: 6/21/05 Received: 8/27/05. Albert Finney is a British actor who has been working very steady since 1957. Some of the US roles you may be familiar with him from include "Annie" (Daddy Warbucks), "Erin Brockovich" (Ed Masry) and "Big Fish" (Ed Bloom). He signed my "Erin Brockovich" photo which (according to the post date) took 8 days to get from London to my door step. Albert will provide a voice in Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" movie opening soon.


Albert Finney (click to enlarge)

County fair fun ....

The mailman didn't bring me any autographs yesterday so I went to my county fair and got two for myself in person.

Signed cd insert from Jimmy Wayne

Jimmy Wayne - In Person: 8/25/05. Country music singer best known for his top 10 hits "Stay Gone" and "I Love You This Much" was the headliner for the concert I went to last night at my county fair. I had never seen him perform live before (for a full show) and I was very impressed at not only his talent but his humor. Earlier that afternoon I did an interview with him (which he mentions on the inscription of the cd insert he signed for me).

Malibu Storm - In Person: 8/25/05. The show opened with Malibu Storm, a new county act (with a twinge of bluegrass). Like Jimmy Wayne, I had never seen Malibu Storm perform before but I had heard nothing but great things about them. They lived up to everything I heard (and then some). Not only incredible musicians but very warm and friendly people. I can't wait to see them again. "Photograph" and "Long Way To Fall" were two singles off of their most recent cd. They signed that cd insert and a 8X10 photograph for me. I highly recommend you check out their music and web site. Click here.

Malibu Storm (Michael, Lauren & Dana)

3 in a row makes me 'misti'

3 in a row. This feels like the old days.

Misti Traya - Sent: 5/9/2005 Received: 8/22/05. Misti is a newer actress who had recurring roles on the TV shows "Joan Of Arcadia" and "Huff" before becoming a full time cast member of Fran Dresher's new TV show "Living With Fran". (She plays Fran's daughter on the show "Allison Reeves"). Misti is also working on the upcoming theatrical movies "Dying For Dolly" and "Material Girls". Not only did she send me a nice photo, I noticed writing on the back of the photo. She answered some questions that I wrote to her in my letter. I love it when I can tell they actually read my letter. (I've enclosed scans of both sides below). I'll continue working on trying to get the entire "Living With Fran" cast but I appreciate Misti for getting me started.


Misti Traya from "Living With Fran" (front & back of photo)

I 'garnered' another success today

Getting multiple signatures on one photo has become a side hobby for me within this hobby. Today I completed a 2 person photo from the movie "Victor Victoria".

James Garner - Sent: 8/1/05 Received: 8/22/05. 4 weeks ago today I received a success from Lesley Ann Warren. One of the two photos she signed for me was a picture of her with James Garner from "Victor Victoria". 3 weeks ago today I mailed it out to Mr. Garner (who is great at responding to fan mail). He signed and personalized the photo for me plus signed the index card I sent.


James Garner & Lesley Ann Warren from "Victor Victoria"

Pretty-scary

For me to get a success on Saturday is odd in itself (it rarely happens on Saturday), but then I've gone over 2 weeks since my last success which was odd anyway. Hopefully I'm back in the game for good for a while now.

Robert Englund - Sent: 8/3/05 Received: 8/20/05. Robert is best known for scaring the **** out of us when he played "Freddy Kruger" in the "Nightmare On Elm Street" movies. He also has done the voice for another villain, "Felix Faust", on some episodes of "Justice League" that I enjoyed. Besides signing my photo he send me two postcards that promoted his web site. Nice quick turn around on this too.


Did Robert "Freddy Kruger" Englund scare you too?



Michelle Pfeiffer - Sent: N/A Received: 8/20/05. This is the "pretty" part of "Pretty-scary". Ok before we get too excited about this, let me tell you I purchased this on E-bay. Finding signed photos of Michelle is no problem, however finding signed photos of her from "Grease 2" isn't as easy. I found this as a one day auction on E-bay, the price was good, her signature matched so it became mine. I still won't give up my quest to get Michelle to personalize a photo or two ("Grease 2" and "Catwoman") but in the mean time until that happens, this will hold me over. (Michelle usually responds to her fan mail by sending pre printed signature photos).

Michelle Pfeiffer as "Stephanie Zinone" from "Grease 2"

Just some good ol' autographs

FLASHBACK - "The Dukes Of Hazzard"

When I first started my blog I mentioned that during dry spells or slower times I would go back and reminisce about successes I had before I started my blog. Remember my blog so far has only covered the successes I've received from April, 2005 to present. I've received many successes before then. One of those was a "Dukes Of Hazzard" cast photo. When I first saw this photo I really liked it and thought it would be cool to get it signed by everyone. As a kid "Dukes" was one of my favorite shows growing up. Re-watching it as an adult makes me wonder "What I was thinking"? Incidentally I really did enjoy the new "Dukes" movie. It was a lot better than what I thought it would be going into it. I might even get it on DVD when it's released. As for now I present the details of my first "flashback":

John Schneider - Sent: 6/8/2004 Received: 6/28/2004. John has become a very good signer in the last few years. He treats his fans very well.

Tom Wopat - Sent: 12/21/04 Received: 1/21/05. I was in touch with Tom's manager for a charity project at work. They helped me out with it as well as getting Tom to sign this photo for me (and another photo for a friend). I was very grateful as Tom doesn't seem to reply to his fan mail.

Catherine Bach - In-Person: 2/18/2005 at the Hollywood Collectors Show in CA. Another collector attended the show and helped me out by getting my photo completed.

I'd say 9 months to complete the photo isn't bad at all. I hope you enjoyed my first "pre-blog flashback". Look for more "flashbacks" in the future.

Soapy success

At first I didn't realize I had a success today because they used their own envelope instead of the SASE I sent with my letter.

Linda Dano - Sent: 5/3/05 Received: 8/3/05. Besides being a great actress (who you see primarily on soap operas) Linda Dano is a great public speaker and one of the classiest women I can think of. I know she speaks on behalf of Depression and Alzheimers. Besides sending me this very nice headshot she included a copy of her current newsletter, a promo advertisement for "Mame" that she appeared in and a photocopy of an article she wrote that was published in "Soap Opera Digest". The back of the photo has a small sticker that reads "This autographed photo from Linda Dano is provided for your personal use only! Any attempt to auction, sell or profit from this photo may result in legal action." Good for her. Dealers kill this hobby anyway. 3 for 4 this month so far this month.


Linda Dano (click to enlarge)

My girl .. wednesday

Today was the first time the post office put my "do not bend" envelope in my mail box. Grrrr. I'm just hoping this was a substitute delivery person. Luckily it did not bend or ruin todays success.

Angela Bassett - Sent: 7/25/05 Received: 8/3/05. Angela was doing a play ("My Girl Friday") in Minneapolis. When I found out about it the play only had a week left in it's run. I didn't have a photo to send (nor the time to get one) but I read that she was sending out her own photos, so I wrote. Today I received a playbill (large magazine sized though) that talked about the play & the theatre venue. She signed & personalized the cover for me. (She must have run out of photos). No problem. That puts me 2/3 for the month.


Angela Bassett signed playbill

A new month, a new autograph

This is just what I like. Starting a new month with a new autograph. I'm 1 for 1.

Khary Payton - Sent: 3/25/2005 Received: 8/1/2005. My goal is to get this "Teen Titans" photo signed by each voice actor in the photo. I came a step closer today when Khary Payton (the voice of "Cyborg") returned my photo signed. That leaves just the two girls now. Plus in addition to being kind enough to sign this for me, he sent me a separate "Titans" cast photo that was signed by all 5 main characters. The note on the back of that read "Thought you might like this card from Comic-Con '05. Sorry, Ron didn't make it for the signing". Ron refers to Ron Perlman (the voice of "Slade" the "Titans" enemy). How very nice of him to include this bonus treat. Everyone I've dealt with so far in getting this photo signed has been great and very nice. I send it off to "Raven" (Tara Strong) later this week. I took an online personality poll "Which Titan are you"? I ended up being "Cyborg" (Khary Payton). What a great way to start out the month! Booyah!

Khary Payton signed my "Titans" photo

A gift from Khary Payton, a "Teen Titans" card signed by the entire cast. Khary Payton (Cyborg), Scott Menville (Robin), Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Tara Strong (Raven) & Hynden Walch (Starfire)