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Marlon Brando Autograph

I'm not an autograph collector really but I have a Marlon Brando autograph that I personally obtained in August 1989. He was on a red-eye flight that I was on from Los Angeles to Toronto. He was going to Toronto to film The Freshman with Matthew Broderick after almost a decade of seclusion.

Upon landing in Toronto at about 5 or 6 in the morning, I went outside to have a cigarette. He was sitting on this concrete median that was pushed up against the building with his feet dangling. He kinda looked like a bum! If I hadn't known that he was on my flight, I would probably never have recognized him.

I approached him and apologized for bothering him and asked if I could get his autograph. All I had was my boarding pass. He turned toward me and looked me up and down, took the boarding pass and signed it and handed it back to me. I thanked him and he gave a slight nod.

I've kept it all this time. Only recently have I bothered to do any research and have found out that he wasn't a big autographer and my autograph may have quite a bit of value.

Attached is a scan of the autograph.

Any thought on what the value might be? Do I need to get it authenitcated if I want to sell it? I appreciate any advise people can give me.

Tags: authenticated, autograph, brando, celebrity, classic, hollywood, marlon, value

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on May 27, 2011 at 12:27pm

Welcome to the site!

VERY nice story. He is rare indeed. He is one of the celebs who's autograph was always valued VERY high even when he was alive.

I've always wanted a Brando signature and I love to hear the stories of people's personal encounterss with him.

You will probably get enough comments on your item here. People are very helpful and willing to help. If after that you feel you need to have it authenticated, you will get help in that area too.

Consider yourself lucky. Not many people ( when you consider the mass of collectors ) had such a decent and productive encounter like you did.

GOOD LUCK!

Brandon Mysinger

Official NASCAR Autograph Authenticator

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Permalink Reply by Vince Charles on June 1, 2011 at 6:45am

Thanks Brandon for your kind comments and good direction.

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on May 27, 2011 at 12:52pm

love the story. Brando's sig is pretty scarce as well. the fact that the its on an flight card depreciates its value slightly but not by much. great sig though, dont see you having a problem fetching anywhere from 150-325 on this piece

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Permalink Reply by Vince Charles on June 1, 2011 at 6:45am

Thanks Mike.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on May 27, 2011 at 1:06pm

I agree with Tony P. Nice signature and if you take your time you could get $300+.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on May 29, 2011 at 4:22pm

You have to decide if selling it is even worth it.

Perhaps the greatest actor of all time. One of the most desirable autographs of all time. Not a big signer.

And all that being said -- you might still get a mere $200 for it. Is that worth it? I'd much rather (even if you're not a collector, as you stated) have it framed nicely, with a photo from The Freshman (an underrated comedy, if you ask me). Kind of like how Greg Kinnear framed this bullfighting poster, from when he was in Mexico and Pierce Brosnan got him involved in all kinds of craziness.

It's a cool memory and story for you to tell your kids, grandkids, etc. I've met thousands of famous people, but what has always surprised me is -- most people have only met one or two famous people (not counting local athletes on the sports teams of the cities they live). And when you hear those one or two people they've met -- it's people like the Gopher from Love Boat. People like that (my grandmother met him, and Tim Conway on planes -- I think those are the only two for her).

If you want to sell it -- don't even worry about spending $75 to have it authenticated, when it's only going to net you $200 or so. Hell -- I can't speak for Brandon, but I'm guessing he or I would give you $200 without you needing the authentication ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on June 1, 2011 at 6:01am

Yes Sir, you are correct!

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Permalink Reply by Vince Charles on June 1, 2011 at 6:46am

Thanks Josh. You're right. It is a good story. Thanks for your comments.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Duncan on May 31, 2011 at 7:51pm

I got shot down TWICE by Brando when asking him for his autograph, once in a small crowd (understandably) and once just one on one (&^%!*^!!!)

Oh well, still love the mans films..........

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Permalink Reply by Vince Charles on June 1, 2011 at 6:47am

That sucks. I guess I was lucky. He was pretty reluctant but I probably caught him at a weak moment!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on June 1, 2011 at 9:47am

You could take the worst signers in the world -- and I'm guessing they've still signed hundreds of autographs.

Perfect example is David Crosby. We all know how bad he is. We've all experienced it first-hand. Yet -- I have a friend that called me telling me to get down to a venue -- as he just signed for 5 people (and one guy, multiple items). He was p****** and moaning about it the whole time, but he did it.

I'm guessing there are other times, too. So yeah -- Brando autographs are out there. Problem is -- guys relectant to sign -- means that nobody rolled up on him with a cool Godfather movie poster or anything like that.