Eating 'crow' (0/2 today)

Two envelopes today and I struck out with both of them.

Sheryl Crow - Sent: 1/31/05 Received: 5/26/06. I thought I might have had a winner with this one, but instead I received a form letter with an unsigned picture saying she was too busy to sign. I guess the good news with this is first of all my letter was acknowledged and secondly they didn't have someone sign for her. I guess when she does sign it is authentic. I will wait awhile and try again later when hopefully she isn't as busy.





I like the photo but would have liked it better signed.


Ed Harris - Sent: 5/16/06 Received: 5/26/06. I stumbled across an address that I thought could have worked for Ed Harris but unfortunately I got a RTS on it.

Four fantastic envelopes

Well the last half of this month is going a lot better for me than the first half. Today I had 4 envelopes waiting for me (with a total of 5 autographs). I present them to you in the order I opened them.

John Glover - Sent: 5/11/06 Received: 5/22/06. I tried John Glover last year at a theatre in Philadelphia and never received a response, so when I saw he was coming back this year I was hesitant to try again. But I did and I'm glad I did because it paid off this time. Not only did he sign my photo and index card that I sent, he wrote me a very nice note answering some of my questions to him on the back of the index card. He seems like a very nice man, much unlike the evil "Lionel Luthor" who he plays on "Smallville".



John Glover as "Lionel Luthor"


Leslie Jordan - Sent: 5/9/06 Received: 5/22/06. Leslie Jordan is a great character actor who you might have seen on "Boston Legal", "Sordid Lives" or "Reba". I really liked him from "Will & Grace" where he played Karen's arch nemesis "Beverly Leslie". I thought he was very funny in the series finale too. I tried him at a play he was doing in Atlanta but didn't have a photo to send. He must not have had photos either but he did send me 2 promo posters for the play, both signed and personalized. My scanner was not big enough to scan them so (sorry) no photo to go with this entry.


Susan Harris - Sent: 5/5/06 Received: 5/22/06. Susan Harris has created some great TV shows including "Soap", "The Golden Girls" & "Empty Nest". All three of those shows are classics, so she was a must have for my collection.



Susan Harris, writer/creator (click to enlarge)


Mark Millar & Greg Land - Sent: N/A Received: 5/22/06. Last summer (late June or early July) I entered a contest on "TV Guide Online". They were giving away "Fantastic Four" TV Guide covers signed by the movie cast. On August 1st I was notified that I was a winner, not of the grand prize, but a runner up prize. I had won The Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 comic book signed by writer Mark Millard and artist Greg Land. It wasn't until today that I actually received the prize in the mail along with a note of apology for the delay in receiving it.



My "TV Guide" prize - a signed Fantastic Four comic book

An autograph to 'saber'

"X-men 3" is the movie I'm most looking forward to seeing this entire year and it's almost here. In less than a week from now I will have seen it. Today's success goes back to the very first "X-men" film and reminds me why I like the series of movies so much.

Tyler Mane - Sent: 3/15/05 Received: 5/19/06. Tyler is professional wrestler turned actor who played "Sabertooth" in the first "X-men" movie. I sent him the color photo below which he signed and returned with the (bonus) b&w photo. After this long I wasn't expecting this but I was very happy to "X" another cast member from my list.


"To Ryan Scream for me!" is inscribed on this photo from Tyler Mane



"To Ryan Best Wishes" is inscribed from Tyler Mane on this photo he sent me


Josh Gracin - In Person: 5/18/06. Josh was a contestant on the second season of "American Idol" where he placed fourth. The exposure of that show led him to a recording contract with Lyric Street Records where he has had the hits "I Wanna Live", "Stay With Me (Brass Bed)", "Favorite State Of Mind" and my favorite "Nothin' To Lose". Josh was in my area last night but I was at another concert. A co-worker that went to his show was nice enough to get my cd insert signed for me.



Josh Gracin's self titled first cd, now signed to me!

What's this? What's happening? What's going on?

FLASHBACK -
MEGAN MULLALLY

I promised to get back into my "Flashback" feature (remembering autographs that I received before I started the blog) this month and with tonight's series finale of "Will & Grace", I thought I would feature my favorite from the show, Megan Mullally (aka "Karen Walker").

Megan Mullally - Sent: 12/20/04 Received: 2/1/05. I actually remember sending this request out and thinking "This will never come back as a success". How wrong I was. But when it did come back my SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) was not used, instead it was returned in a cardboard photo mailer (that still had the price tag on) with a Mailboxes & More return address from Sherman Oakes, CA stamped on it. The address was hand written and looked a lot like Megan's writing. I was shocked. The address I used was previously untested and I haven't heard of a success coming from it since. I was real lucky. I hear Megan is starting her own talk show this fall which I bet will be very funny. I can always count on her to make me laugh.

I hope you enjoyed the return of the 'flashback' feature. I'm going to try to do one a month from now on out.

Survey says......

A "blast from the past" arrived with today's mail.

Richard Dawson - Sent: 7/1/05 Received: 5/16/06. Probably best known from "Hogan's Heroes" or "Family Feud", today I received Richard Dawson's autograph. One of my favorite "Mama's Family" episodes was when he played himself and "Mama" and family competed on the the "Feud".



Richard Dawson (click to enlarge)

From Wonder Woman to Lois Lane

Half way through the month and I'm only at success #3 for the month. Here's hoping the second half of the month kicks in like I need it to.

Kate Bosworth - Sent: 2/3/06 Received: 5/15/06. Entertainment Weekly has predicted "Superman Returns" to be the #1 movie of the entire year. From that movie comes today's autograph success, Kate Bosworth who plays "Lois Lane" in the film. She signed the photo and index card I sent her. You might also be familiar with Kate from her work in films such as "The Horse Whisperer" and "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton". A long term goal of mine is to get signed photos of all the actresses who have played Lois. Today Kate joins Margot Kidder, Noel Neill and Erica Durance in my "Lois Lane" collection.


Kate Bosworth (looking a lot like Natalie Portman) in this "Lois Lane" photo

Get us out from under...

I've always had an interest for autographs. Long before I ever started "officially" collecting I would send a few random ones out, maybe one or two every year and a half. Of course this was pre-Internet access and trying to find addresses wasn't that easy. Today's success comes from that time.

Lynda Carter - Sent: N/A Received: 5/9/06. The return envelope had 3 32 cent stamps on it and was addressed to the first address I ever lived at when I moved from home (I have moved twice since then) and it still made its way to me. They sold 32 cent stamps between 1995-1998 so that would place this request somewhere in there (I wish I had the exact date) but from what I can remember and gather I think this would have been more around 1997 or so when I mailed it out. I've wanted a signed picture of Lynda Carter as "Wonder Woman" since I was a kid watching her on that show. I accomplished this goal in 2004 (twice that year no less) but here today the first original request, long thought lost, came back signed, personalized and dated 2006. Special thanks to the post office for making sure this got to me after all the address changes and postage increases.



Lynda Carter is "Wonder Woman"! (click to enlarge)

Look for my prior successes from Lynda in a future "Flashback" blog posting.


Famke Janssen: Sent: 4/21/06 Received: 5/9/06. RTS. Famke is on my most wanted list and some day I hope to find a working address for her. I tried one in New York recently that came back today return to sender. Famke plays "Jean Grey" in the "X-men" movies.

One 'mother' of an autograph

The mailman was later than normal today, but it's ok. I forgave him when he brought me this autograph.

Estelle Parsons - Sent: 4/13/06 Received: 5/1/06. You know by now how much I loved the TV show "Roseanne". Estelle Parsons was a recurring character on the show playing "Bev", the mother of "Roseanne" and "Jackie". One of my favorite episodes was about her character thinking she was an alcoholic and abusing that situation for attention. "Bev" always had some classic lines on that show. I've had this photo for a long time hoping to find an address that might work. I saw she was directing a play in LA so I took a chance and sent it there. She signed my photo and index card, and even returned the sharpie I sent her to sign them with.


"Is that Jackson 5 boy going to be singing during the intermission? He's so good with the children" .... Beverly Harris (played by Estelle Parsons) during a "Roseanne" episode about the Superbowl.