Jay Burstein's Page

What kind of member are you? Industry professionals must use their real names and identify themselves as such. (You don't have to pick just one!)

Collector

What do you collect, or want to start collecting?

History/Politics, Modern Hollywood and Stage, Classic Hollywood and Stage, Music

Tell us more about your collection, specific areas of interest, etc.:

I began collecting about fifteen years ago joining a friend in Los Angeles for a Hollywood Collectors' Show there, where I met Don Knotts, Steve Reeves, John Agar, and Steve Allen, and then slowly built up a nice collection that includes John Wayne (in a classic b/w photo from HONDO) public figures like President Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Simon Wiesenthal, Walter Cronkite, Gerald Ford, and governor George Wallace; acting legends Victor Mature (great b/w scene from "My Darling Clementine"), Woody Allen, John Cassavetes, Sophia Loren, and the entire cast of the classic TV show, "Combat," including Vic Morrow. My greatest treasure, though, is my collection of autographs from the film, "The Wild Bunch," including William Holden, Robert Ryan, writer/director Sam Peckinpah (and Walon Green), Warren Oates, Bo Hopkins, and Ben Johnson, though a few of the actors, notably the Mexicans, elude me still. I have recenly begun giving autographs as gifts and all recipients have commented how wonderful a gift an autograph is because it gives you a touch of personal contact otherwise unavailable, especially on a star no longer with us. I have found some reputable and some unreputable dealers along the way and would love to hear abvout other people's experiences with fraudulent signatures and the like.

What is your level of expertise?

Intermediate Collector

What is your favorite autograph in your collection?

My "Wild Bunch" collection.

Why do you collect?

I have always loved TV and film. It was and is a great escape, ansd am thankful to the actors who made it happen. I look at the "Wall of Fame" in my office and I am instantly transported to the film or show that features the signer, and not just to that show or film, but to "a better time" or just "another time" in my life.

You can ask anyone living or dead for their autograph. Who would it be?

(Stan) Laurel and (Oliver) Hardy