Josh Board's Posts - Autograph Live2024-03-19T12:03:20ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/14442369?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2v7qqc80c0tfm&xn_auth=noWhen You Should NOT Ask for Autographs -- M. Night Editiontag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-08-28:3524372:BlogPost:17705882022-08-28T05:51:52.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>As a movie critic, I often have the opportunity to interview actors and directors. And sometimes, after the interview, I'll ask them to sign a DVD of a favorite film of mine.</p>
<p>I've gone to other events, where it's not appropriate to ask for autographs, so I don't. The one time this really hurt was when I was doing sports for a radio station, and had a press pass to the first "dream team" when NBA players were first allowed into the Olympics. I interviewed most of them. The players had…</p>
<p>As a movie critic, I often have the opportunity to interview actors and directors. And sometimes, after the interview, I'll ask them to sign a DVD of a favorite film of mine.</p>
<p>I've gone to other events, where it's not appropriate to ask for autographs, so I don't. The one time this really hurt was when I was doing sports for a radio station, and had a press pass to the first "dream team" when NBA players were first allowed into the Olympics. I interviewed most of them. The players had Magic, Barkley, Bird, John Stockton (who yelled at me for taking a picture of him dribbling, for some reason), and many more Hall of Famers. We were told NOT to ask for autographs, and I would have loved to.</p>
<p>Well, M. Night Shyamalan posted this on Twitter, and it made me wonder -- how in the world is this appropriate for our court system to do? You be the judge (pun intended). This was his tweet on Twitter: </p>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-zl2h9q"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-k4xj1c r-18u37iz r-1wtj0ep"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1d09ksm r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs r-1ny4l3l"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs r-1ny4l3l" id="id__tuhqvta9zco"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs"><div dir="auto" class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-xoduu5 r-18u37iz r-1q142lx r-37j5jr r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Went for jury duty. Wasn’t selected for, as it turns out, a very serious trial. But was very touched by all involved and the responsibility they and all of us hold. As I left, staff printed out posters of their favorite films of mine to sign. Lovely people. Wish everyone peace.</div>
<div dir="auto" class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-xoduu5 r-18u37iz r-1q142lx r-37j5jr r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10794620497?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10794620497?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Meeting Olvia Newton-Johntag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-08-13:3524372:BlogPost:17674192022-08-13T01:18:16.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>I wrote a story about meeting Olivia Newton-John for one of my local newspapers. But, I left out the part about me getting her to sign my Xanadu album (which she signed upside down, and apologized for). I didn't want it to come across like I was a big autograph hound or something.</p>
<p>And when I talked to the cast of Grease, I had them all sign a "Grease" soundtrack album that I had bought already signed by Olivia and Travolta.</p>
<p>So, here's the story (and I'm sticking to…</p>
<p>I wrote a story about meeting Olivia Newton-John for one of my local newspapers. But, I left out the part about me getting her to sign my Xanadu album (which she signed upside down, and apologized for). I didn't want it to come across like I was a big autograph hound or something.</p>
<p>And when I talked to the cast of Grease, I had them all sign a "Grease" soundtrack album that I had bought already signed by Olivia and Travolta.</p>
<p>So, here's the story (and I'm sticking to it!)</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://www.times-advocate.com/articles/the-day-i-met-olivia-newton-john-and-the-day-i-didnt/">https://www.times-advocate.com/articles/the-day-i-met-olivia-newton-john-and-the-day-i-didnt/</a></p>Tom Brady and Autographtag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-07-20:3524372:BlogPost:17630842022-07-20T15:45:40.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>I was surprised to see in one of my movie magazines, an interview with Tom Brady. Apparently he has a few movie projects and was talking about them. I was surprised when I read this. He is starting a company called "Autograph" and he hired more than 100 employees for that company. I have to admit, reading that made me think -- what will this company Autograph do? Is he going to sign footballs, 8x10s, ticket stubs, or items fans send in? The possibilities were endless. I figured with that…</p>
<p>I was surprised to see in one of my movie magazines, an interview with Tom Brady. Apparently he has a few movie projects and was talking about them. I was surprised when I read this. He is starting a company called "Autograph" and he hired more than 100 employees for that company. I have to admit, reading that made me think -- what will this company Autograph do? Is he going to sign footballs, 8x10s, ticket stubs, or items fans send in? The possibilities were endless. I figured with that many employees, how many things does he expect to sign.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10659077656?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10659077656?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Nope. What it is, is an NFT platform for pop culture and sports memorabilia. So I'm sure there will be signed things offered, but he went on to explain that NFTs are "here to stay. I think the thing for me is my kids interact with their digital devices every day. I was in an era where if I wanted to commemorate an event, I kept the ticket, the jersey, the trading card. I think it's going to be different going forward. People are going to find ways to collect and create value through digital collectibles. And I see how my 12-year-old interacts with his Oculus and his iPads."</p>
<p>Brady admitted to owning a few NFTs, one being "Bored Ape."</p>
<p>You can read the whole interview in the latest issue of Variety. </p>
<p>Perhaps I'm just old, but...I don't see how NFTs are going to become as big a thing as people thing. I remember when I did a story about a baseball card company that did online cards, and I said they wouldn't be as big as ones people can hold in their hand, and have a tangible item, or kids trading for their favorite players or trying to complete the roster of their favorite team.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10659077682?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10659077682?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>I did another story for this website on a company that would send you personalized photos, autographed by your favorite athletes -- but it was merely an online image. I predicted that wouldn't be something people would want to do (the way they like personalized messages from Cameo). That company even contacted me after the story, asking for advice. I gave them many, many ideas, and they always promised I could have any "signed" photo I wanted, for all their help. When I finally called them to collect, they had gone out of business.</p>
<p>If Brady reads this...he can send me an autographed football or photo. Otherwise, I'll just be sitting here at my computer looking like a "bored ape" (or Board Ape). </p>Beatles Autographs -- The Best and The Worsttag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-03-24:3524372:BlogPost:17336142022-03-24T04:57:43.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I am going to give you the best Beatles autograph story ever, and one of the worst. First, I’ll start with the best. Years ago, I met a guy at a party at a fancy mansion in L.A. He was one of those old dudes, that had all white hair, in a long ponytail. You know the type. But he was really interesting, and a great storyteller. And he was the kind of storyteller where you believed what he was saying, because the stories weren’t over-the-top. We talked for a…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I am going to give you the best Beatles autograph story ever, and one of the worst. First, I’ll start with the best. Years ago, I met a guy at a party at a fancy mansion in L.A. He was one of those old dudes, that had all white hair, in a long ponytail. You know the type. But he was really interesting, and a great storyteller. And he was the kind of storyteller where you believed what he was saying, because the stories weren’t over-the-top. We talked for a long time, and when the subject of jobs came up, he told me about something he did in Hollywood. I forget now, but I think it was a cameraman. I asked him the various films he did, and a few I had heard of. Many I had not. Somehow the topic of me having a lot of pieces of movie memorabilia came up. He mentioned having a storage unit with a lot of memorabilia as well. When I asked him what the coolest items were that he had, he said something about one of the heads from a terminator from the movie Terminator. He didn’t work on the movie, but a good friend of his did, and he was always on the set, and somehow acquired it. The other item he mentioned were guitars. He said he was working on a Beatles movie, and during one of the breaks in filming, he came up with an idea. Since he always had an acoustic guitar in his trunk, he got it out, and had the Beatles all sign it. A few days later he thought about it. He had owned that guitar for years, and it was scuffed up and not in the best condition. So he went to a music store and bought a brand new acoustic guitar, and again had the Beatles sign it. So this cat had TWO guitars signed by the Beatles. Just amazing. Obviously, I tried talking him into selling one (even though I wouldn’t have had nearly enough for even buying one of the guitar strings off it). He’s someone that doesn’t care about money, but even at that, I told him they could be getting damaged in the storage units, they could be stolen; the possibilities of all the bad things that could happen were endless.<a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10233729284?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10233729284?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, on the subject of Beatles movies, comes the worst of autograph stories. In my latest issue of “Variety” I was reading a story about a guy that has a book out. HIs last name is Birkin, and he talked about how he got started in movies, with his first big film being “2001: A Space Odyssey.” His sister was a famous model, and he started out as a gofer, before moving on to much bigger things in film. He was an assistant director on “Magical Mystery Tour,” and had to go get John Lennon to the set. He was smoking pot in his psychedelic painted Rolls Royce. The guy handed a script he wrote called “Jude the Obscure” to give to his girlfriend Jane Asher, since he wanted her to play the lead. Paul asked what Jude was, and he said a name (which I’m guessing Paul kept for a future song!). Anyway, there was a scene in a ballroom with 100 dancers. The generator broke and they all had to wait around an extra two hours. They weren’t happy about that. He said when he talked to the dancers, he found out they were huge Beatles fans. So he found out they would stay if they could get Paul and John’s autographs. Paul was fine with that, but John said, “I’m not going to sign a hundred bits of paper.” This guy said, “You don’t have to. I’m a good forger.” He went on to explain how he forged their autographs when he was in America and needed quick cash. So, this guy forged 100 autographs of the Beatles and gave them to the dancers, who were thrilled. He said they headed home “nursing their precious autographs.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10233729881?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10233729881?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said karma got him back when the movie came out, and the credits had his name spelled wrong.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anyway, it made me think how we all hear those stories about “My grandfather died and left behind this Beatles album that was signed” and we all inform the bloke it’s fake. Imagine these dancers, who were actually in a Beatles movie, and passed these fake autographs down in their family, and how they won’t believe us when they come on the website to ask what we think and we all say “fake.”</span></p>Jeopardy! question about an Autographtag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-02-03:3524372:BlogPost:17189402022-02-03T04:08:12.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>There's nothing worse then coming home from having a cigar with my buddies, and listening to my wife complain that I smell like smoke. I'm told to take my clothes off and...throw them in the backyard and light them on fire because they stink. I feel like Sissy Spacek in Silkwood, being checked for radiation poisoning and being banished to the shower.</p>
<p>What makes it worse is when she has the show Jeopardy! on. That's because she knows about 80% of the answers. I know about 10%. Even…</p>
<p>There's nothing worse then coming home from having a cigar with my buddies, and listening to my wife complain that I smell like smoke. I'm told to take my clothes off and...throw them in the backyard and light them on fire because they stink. I feel like Sissy Spacek in Silkwood, being checked for radiation poisoning and being banished to the shower.</p>
<p>What makes it worse is when she has the show Jeopardy! on. That's because she knows about 80% of the answers. I know about 10%. Even more frustrating when it was an autograph collection. Here it was:</p>
<p><strong>Not realizing he was fleeing from the KGB autograph hounds chased this dancer as he ran out a Toronto stage door in 1974....</strong></p>
<p><strong>Answer: Mikhail Baryshnikov.</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10066746055?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10066746055?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></strong></p>Kanye West -- Things go South with Autograph Collectortag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-01-14:3524372:BlogPost:17125542022-01-14T06:06:05.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>TMZ reported tonight that an autograph seeker kept asking Kanye (or "Ye" as his friends call him) for his autograph. West punch the man twice, and he hit the ground. Cameras were only turned on once the guy was on the ground, so no word on if he was flopping, or he really got knocked down. Either way, cops were called.</p>
<p>And, this guy (who was probably an autograph dealer, not a fan), is probably now looking at a big payday.</p>
<p>TMZ reported tonight that an autograph seeker kept asking Kanye (or "Ye" as his friends call him) for his autograph. West punch the man twice, and he hit the ground. Cameras were only turned on once the guy was on the ground, so no word on if he was flopping, or he really got knocked down. Either way, cops were called.</p>
<p>And, this guy (who was probably an autograph dealer, not a fan), is probably now looking at a big payday.</p>Keanu Reeves tells Stephen Colbert He Asked Celebs For Autographstag:live.autographmagazine.com,2022-01-14:3524372:BlogPost:17125512022-01-14T03:54:31.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>This was taken from People.com.</p>
<p>It's a great read.</p>
<p></p>
<div class="paragraph"><p>You're never too famous to fanboy out over your idols — just ask<span> </span><a href="https://people.com/tag/keanu-reeves/">Keanu Reeves</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><em><a href="https://people.com/movies/keanu-reeves-on-starring-in-more-potential-matrix-movies-if-she-invites-me-again-im-in/">The Matrix Resurrections</a></em><span> </span>star participated in a fun round of "The…</p>
</div>
<p>This was taken from People.com.</p>
<p>It's a great read.</p>
<p></p>
<div class="paragraph"><p>You're never too famous to fanboy out over your idols — just ask<span> </span><a href="https://people.com/tag/keanu-reeves/">Keanu Reeves</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><em><a href="https://people.com/movies/keanu-reeves-on-starring-in-more-potential-matrix-movies-if-she-invites-me-again-im-in/">The Matrix Resurrections</a></em><span> </span>star participated in a fun round of "The Colbert Questionert" during his Wednesday appearance on<span> </span><em><a href="https://people.com/tag/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/">The Late Show with Stephen Colbert</a></em>, during which he revealed which two celebrities<span> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl0x9Swgfgw" class="external-link" target="_blank" title="(opens new window)" rel="noopener">he has asked for their autographs</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The first?<span> </span><a href="https://people.com/music/velvet-underground-nico-john-cale-track-commentary-50-anniversary/">The Velvet Underground</a>'s<span> </span><a href="https://people.com/celebrity/lou-reed-legendary-rocker-dies-at-71/">Lou Reed</a>, said Reeves, 57.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>"But it wasn't for me — it was for a friend, and [Lou] was cool about it," he recalled of the late rocker. "It was [on] a little piece of paper, and it was [in] blue ink. … Yeah, it was good. It just said, 'Lou Reed.' "</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>"It would have been really disappointing if it didn't say 'Lou Reed,' " joked<span> </span><a href="https://people.com/tag/stephen-colbert/">Stephen Colbert</a>, to which his guest replied, "I know, but it could have said, 'All my best' or ... "</p>
</div>
<div class="div-sm-highImpact"><div class="placement-1380"><div class="tlod"><div class="tl_ut People_article_incontent"><div class="People_article_incontent_container"><div class="People_article_incontent_media_container"><div class="tl-csr"><div class="tl-transparent"><div class="tl-adchoices"><img class="tl-edaa-icon" src="https://ib.3lift.com/static/buttons/edaa/OBA_TRANS.png"/></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="People_article_incontent_textcontent"><div class="People_article_incontent_textcontent_creative_copy"><div class="People_article_incontent_sponsor_tag">PAID CONTENT</div>
<div class="People_article_incontent_heading"><a class="People_article_incontent_heading_link tl-clickthrough-url tl-heading external-link" href="https://eb2.3lift.com/pass?tl_clickthrough=true&redir=https%3A%2F%2Frtb-us-east.linkedin.com%2Flax%2Fclk%3Ftrk%3DCwEAAAF-VrajUQJBXL2MRObtNhS5AXHIUUN4cqfR8dLRTnj3-roRYmOVXxm_rKvOfM2nE4WuKsDUXMM1Ts-phKb0bTR4DnKqndT-tj2nISAsXZ_82reIh6Gq3zvfOaMYzzEQESK04djfeN5Ngr2izJ82tsP-1unynhY_yK3KYmIukisGuxrkRuJBjSwsp665sk_EjNjCkYHXJ1c_Zmt8ygIergItv61iHQrWPONcicRCbnGmgWb-6lSvyqZqgio6uxZuKJyiEcUO1F3ZRFwG1RI0yYo28Ds0BdSfBdw1ijt_4hDnliIO-5M-E29oMqRl2_4iFSZh5PeChhjt2YQuBSa_tR6iKp93eG_HAtjZxN0SV4AYQhKfYOl0Yr05ugkXTXiKSKSs3ZU5HMWuoAGHV09c4kXAwrX8B03C6EIyW7K3CRNEWXqYhbtd9QnjRg9ER_rPdnmOIOlWuKeNz7aOTIGAFSCFD139jcxQpLqNYd8_Uod1eR6m1qGbD3XaUc9tiUbP-sPe1cvgnSo8d07re2QJ5r-cWorFzWafciXmVDMit4EokRUY85UAoSAzXA59b2CLkcSOame7Hrd9akQ-VzuK8EQW3-tRJgdS35sN4cYUgiGLe8n68XG8XQ-RPBfxPis19cqqFBrgKSxM3qRYGXiIFYrNiyg4LiCZDre2PqNqr0x5Vtvziu1R24j1yzTPjbUNDIm1Ve0Y0CVPsOP-NVpaOmiIbmsy0OmyKf87_qG_uPPw292aoWv-RP-dxc6w41xbFl9d0AEg0ynekz5EK8MQMNitet6u7dkxKO0KmMHww0R_brtodxtNb9MjI9j-HVHNvFYlrd0wIEFqi-jqGbm_EGLrw97BpAHUnBlYIwHsHBZSC5nTgGYJN8ener8oC5Eqi4qUpmsGo3dZNy_ykpOHyBV3_ZqGEzY2WDbjWYlvbfO8GV6djPM-9Uv19cesw7nXLzg5VRhqMJiR0RXAltHXWaScGf5LP-4OX-Gt7FHKEZTwW73OXZ3UOoxphfOZirMAxJrby6F97mmakgX1p8_pxafIoGT6F6eyUiIKXlhpf3WXYX87FIFv-D3a0lr9-ZHtRTrPX-X6A74n4qcQU6BWIhh4XZtv3GYdPnNKw9A_gA2aaf0Bkm3HnYJG-aY4efsxaYQ3oRJrzx_6OPvN7H6Tvx6C_dK9_-cR8u-w4LfqaWfuXyVU4iFmDs_9dVs5diqmeTKI3Af-EVeqQgkT-WmiW-n-l5iK3CLTrhvXZn9A1AcIGB-TrLtV_eUdsWh0kBPmUc1Z_c9OU_z1iyEaSQLqtYte_OlAGblve1x92HQVJFBBi-BV1CCYCK33ywtwtei7zRaDM9_j2cUUZ4_vP_lyziVbVkpR93kVagvoVBXgiucyk_10yaeujZ8MU0sXBn0Vmi1flLnYWoTmk-iH_KQHSOEWw4rCS046Tnzw3P-F93sE9Dh5MmDnZnLIVnLFzMAVM30JVJCJa2gqnDoRC0dv-qEMiTHZFhk25A%26action%3Dclick%26laxrid%3D48dcde2c-7aaf-4e6a-aee6-75d99f2e9356%26laxbid%3D2%26eid%3D3%26crtype%3Dsu%26laxerid%3D116175647511226593620%26adfmt%3D1%26urle%3DCwEAAAF-VrajXkH22Qb23Aa7E-HHZ0UF6XZEeGKBUF7SGrU_j6_awPyjU1tWQeBsytKUK8Yh-5FbXdtjxf9AWeoA2duEUTiACo9oeFXi9rvlHHxEtakEgnwuX8YMfUs6k5HxjM096N_IncVvq-NoWiZ8LvryzRvAXl8yaKLTzw8%26urlhash%3D-4F-&ss=0&bc=1.28&pr=%24%7BAUCTION_PRICE%7D&brid=556676&bmid=6250&biid=7191&aid=116175647511226593620&bcud=1280&sid=66552&ts=1642132316&cb=62256" target="_blank" title="(opens new window)" rel="noopener">Work with the longest-tenured reconstruction specialist in Southern California</a></div>
<div class="People_article_incontent_caption"><a class="People_article_incontent_caption_link tl-clickthrough-url tl-caption external-link" href="https://eb2.3lift.com/pass?tl_clickthrough=true&redir=https%3A%2F%2Frtb-us-east.linkedin.com%2Flax%2Fclk%3Ftrk%3DCwEAAAF-VrajUQJBXL2MRObtNhS5AXHIUUN4cqfR8dLRTnj3-roRYmOVXxm_rKvOfM2nE4WuKsDUXMM1Ts-phKb0bTR4DnKqndT-tj2nISAsXZ_82reIh6Gq3zvfOaMYzzEQESK04djfeN5Ngr2izJ82tsP-1unynhY_yK3KYmIukisGuxrkRuJBjSwsp665sk_EjNjCkYHXJ1c_Zmt8ygIergItv61iHQrWPONcicRCbnGmgWb-6lSvyqZqgio6uxZuKJyiEcUO1F3ZRFwG1RI0yYo28Ds0BdSfBdw1ijt_4hDnliIO-5M-E29oMqRl2_4iFSZh5PeChhjt2YQuBSa_tR6iKp93eG_HAtjZxN0SV4AYQhKfYOl0Yr05ugkXTXiKSKSs3ZU5HMWuoAGHV09c4kXAwrX8B03C6EIyW7K3CRNEWXqYhbtd9QnjRg9ER_rPdnmOIOlWuKeNz7aOTIGAFSCFD139jcxQpLqNYd8_Uod1eR6m1qGbD3XaUc9tiUbP-sPe1cvgnSo8d07re2QJ5r-cWorFzWafciXmVDMit4EokRUY85UAoSAzXA59b2CLkcSOame7Hrd9akQ-VzuK8EQW3-tRJgdS35sN4cYUgiGLe8n68XG8XQ-RPBfxPis19cqqFBrgKSxM3qRYGXiIFYrNiyg4LiCZDre2PqNqr0x5Vtvziu1R24j1yzTPjbUNDIm1Ve0Y0CVPsOP-NVpaOmiIbmsy0OmyKf87_qG_uPPw292aoWv-RP-dxc6w41xbFl9d0AEg0ynekz5EK8MQMNitet6u7dkxKO0KmMHww0R_brtodxtNb9MjI9j-HVHNvFYlrd0wIEFqi-jqGbm_EGLrw97BpAHUnBlYIwHsHBZSC5nTgGYJN8ener8oC5Eqi4qUpmsGo3dZNy_ykpOHyBV3_ZqGEzY2WDbjWYlvbfO8GV6djPM-9Uv19cesw7nXLzg5VRhqMJiR0RXAltHXWaScGf5LP-4OX-Gt7FHKEZTwW73OXZ3UOoxphfOZirMAxJrby6F97mmakgX1p8_pxafIoGT6F6eyUiIKXlhpf3WXYX87FIFv-D3a0lr9-ZHtRTrPX-X6A74n4qcQU6BWIhh4XZtv3GYdPnNKw9A_gA2aaf0Bkm3HnYJG-aY4efsxaYQ3oRJrzx_6OPvN7H6Tvx6C_dK9_-cR8u-w4LfqaWfuXyVU4iFmDs_9dVs5diqmeTKI3Af-EVeqQgkT-WmiW-n-l5iK3CLTrhvXZn9A1AcIGB-TrLtV_eUdsWh0kBPmUc1Z_c9OU_z1iyEaSQLqtYte_OlAGblve1x92HQVJFBBi-BV1CCYCK33ywtwtei7zRaDM9_j2cUUZ4_vP_lyziVbVkpR93kVagvoVBXgiucyk_10yaeujZ8MU0sXBn0Vmi1flLnYWoTmk-iH_KQHSOEWw4rCS046Tnzw3P-F93sE9Dh5MmDnZnLIVnLFzMAVM30JVJCJa2gqnDoRC0dv-qEMiTHZFhk25A%26action%3Dclick%26laxrid%3D48dcde2c-7aaf-4e6a-aee6-75d99f2e9356%26laxbid%3D2%26eid%3D3%26crtype%3Dsu%26laxerid%3D116175647511226593620%26adfmt%3D1%26urle%3DCwEAAAF-VrajXkH22Qb23Aa7E-HHZ0UF6XZEeGKBUF7SGrU_j6_awPyjU1tWQeBsytKUK8Yh-5FbXdtjxf9AWeoA2duEUTiACo9oeFXi9rvlHHxEtakEgnwuX8YMfUs6k5HxjM096N_IncVvq-NoWiZ8LvryzRvAXl8yaKLTzw8%26urlhash%3D-4F-&ss=0&bc=1.28&pr=%24%7BAUCTION_PRICE%7D&brid=556676&bmid=6250&biid=7191&aid=116175647511226593620&bcud=1280&sid=66552&ts=1642132316&cb=62256" target="_blank" title="(opens new window)" rel="noopener">40 years doing the same thing with the same results. In reconstruction, that's the sanity you look for. Let's build something great together!</a></div>
<div class="People_article_incontent_sponsor"><a class="People_article_incontent_sponsor_link tl-clickthrough-url external-link" href="https://eb2.3lift.com/pass?tl_clickthrough=true&redir=https%3A%2F%2Frtb-us-east.linkedin.com%2Flax%2Fclk%3Ftrk%3DCwEAAAF-VrajUQJBXL2MRObtNhS5AXHIUUN4cqfR8dLRTnj3-roRYmOVXxm_rKvOfM2nE4WuKsDUXMM1Ts-phKb0bTR4DnKqndT-tj2nISAsXZ_82reIh6Gq3zvfOaMYzzEQESK04djfeN5Ngr2izJ82tsP-1unynhY_yK3KYmIukisGuxrkRuJBjSwsp665sk_EjNjCkYHXJ1c_Zmt8ygIergItv61iHQrWPONcicRCbnGmgWb-6lSvyqZqgio6uxZuKJyiEcUO1F3ZRFwG1RI0yYo28Ds0BdSfBdw1ijt_4hDnliIO-5M-E29oMqRl2_4iFSZh5PeChhjt2YQuBSa_tR6iKp93eG_HAtjZxN0SV4AYQhKfYOl0Yr05ugkXTXiKSKSs3ZU5HMWuoAGHV09c4kXAwrX8B03C6EIyW7K3CRNEWXqYhbtd9QnjRg9ER_rPdnmOIOlWuKeNz7aOTIGAFSCFD139jcxQpLqNYd8_Uod1eR6m1qGbD3XaUc9tiUbP-sPe1cvgnSo8d07re2QJ5r-cWorFzWafciXmVDMit4EokRUY85UAoSAzXA59b2CLkcSOame7Hrd9akQ-VzuK8EQW3-tRJgdS35sN4cYUgiGLe8n68XG8XQ-RPBfxPis19cqqFBrgKSxM3qRYGXiIFYrNiyg4LiCZDre2PqNqr0x5Vtvziu1R24j1yzTPjbUNDIm1Ve0Y0CVPsOP-NVpaOmiIbmsy0OmyKf87_qG_uPPw292aoWv-RP-dxc6w41xbFl9d0AEg0ynekz5EK8MQMNitet6u7dkxKO0KmMHww0R_brtodxtNb9MjI9j-HVHNvFYlrd0wIEFqi-jqGbm_EGLrw97BpAHUnBlYIwHsHBZSC5nTgGYJN8ener8oC5Eqi4qUpmsGo3dZNy_ykpOHyBV3_ZqGEzY2WDbjWYlvbfO8GV6djPM-9Uv19cesw7nXLzg5VRhqMJiR0RXAltHXWaScGf5LP-4OX-Gt7FHKEZTwW73OXZ3UOoxphfOZirMAxJrby6F97mmakgX1p8_pxafIoGT6F6eyUiIKXlhpf3WXYX87FIFv-D3a0lr9-ZHtRTrPX-X6A74n4qcQU6BWIhh4XZtv3GYdPnNKw9A_gA2aaf0Bkm3HnYJG-aY4efsxaYQ3oRJrzx_6OPvN7H6Tvx6C_dK9_-cR8u-w4LfqaWfuXyVU4iFmDs_9dVs5diqmeTKI3Af-EVeqQgkT-WmiW-n-l5iK3CLTrhvXZn9A1AcIGB-TrLtV_eUdsWh0kBPmUc1Z_c9OU_z1iyEaSQLqtYte_OlAGblve1x92HQVJFBBi-BV1CCYCK33ywtwtei7zRaDM9_j2cUUZ4_vP_lyziVbVkpR93kVagvoVBXgiucyk_10yaeujZ8MU0sXBn0Vmi1flLnYWoTmk-iH_KQHSOEWw4rCS046Tnzw3P-F93sE9Dh5MmDnZnLIVnLFzMAVM30JVJCJa2gqnDoRC0dv-qEMiTHZFhk25A%26action%3Dclick%26laxrid%3D48dcde2c-7aaf-4e6a-aee6-75d99f2e9356%26laxbid%3D2%26eid%3D3%26crtype%3Dsu%26laxerid%3D116175647511226593620%26adfmt%3D1%26urle%3DCwEAAAF-VrajXkH22Qb23Aa7E-HHZ0UF6XZEeGKBUF7SGrU_j6_awPyjU1tWQeBsytKUK8Yh-5FbXdtjxf9AWeoA2duEUTiACo9oeFXi9rvlHHxEtakEgnwuX8YMfUs6k5HxjM096N_IncVvq-NoWiZ8LvryzRvAXl8yaKLTzw8%26urlhash%3D-4F-&ss=0&bc=1.28&pr=%24%7BAUCTION_PRICE%7D&brid=556676&bmid=6250&biid=7191&aid=116175647511226593620&bcud=1280&sid=66552&ts=1642132316&cb=62256" target="_blank" title="(opens new window)" rel="noopener">From<span> </span><span class="People_article_incontent_sponsor_name">Av Builder Corp</span></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="clearfix"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><strong><em>Never miss a story — sign up for<span> </span><a href="https://x.specialoffers.meredith.com/ats/show.aspx?cr=588&fm=241" class="external-link" target="_blank" title="(opens new window)" rel="noopener">PEOPLE's free daily newsletter</a><span> </span>to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.</em></strong></p>
</div>
<div class="component inline image margin-32-tb align-img align-default"><div class="component lazy-image lazy-image-udf image-wrapper aspect_3x2 cache-only align-default rendered image-loaded"><div class="inner-container js-inner-container image-overlay"><img src="https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimagesvc.meredithcorp.io%2Fv3%2Fmm%2Fimage%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fstatic.onecms.io%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252Fsites%252F20%252F2022%252F01%252F13%252Fkeanu-reeves-and-george-carlin-bill-and-ted-adventurtes-2000.jpg&q=85" alt="bill and ted excellent adventure" title="Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - 1989" width=""/><span class="icon icon-pinterest-circle-solid social-icon pinterest-transparent"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fmovies%2Fkeanu-reeves-asked-for-autographs-george-carlin-lou-reed-responses-colbert%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpinterest.com%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dsocial-share-article%26utm_content%3D20220114%26utm_term%3Dundefined&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimagesvc.meredithcorp.io%2Fv3%2Fmm%2Fimage%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fstatic.onecms.io%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252Fsites%252F20%252F2022%252F01%252F13%252Fkeanu-reeves-and-george-carlin-bill-and-ted-adventurtes-2000.jpg&description=Keanu%20Reeves%20Reveals%20the%20Only%20Celebrities%20He%27s%20Asked%20for%20Autographs%20%E2%80%94%20and%20Their%20Epic%20Responses" class="display-block allowPopup popup external-link" title="(opens new window)" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a></span></div>
<div class="image-wrap-container clearfix"><div class="credit body-caption padding-8-top elementFont__fine--caption">George Carlin, Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves in<span> </span><em>Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure</em><span> </span>(1989)</div>
<span> </span><br />
<div class="credit body-credit padding-8-top padding-8-bottom elementFont__fine--credit">| CREDIT: ORION/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="https://people.com/celebrity/the-strangest-things-celebrities-have-autographed/"><strong>RELATED GALLERY:</strong><span> </span>9 of the Weirdest Things Celebrities Have Ever Autographed</a></p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The second celebrity Reeves approached for their John Hancock was none other than legendary comedian<span> </span><a href="https://people.com/celebrity/legendary-comedian-george-carlin-dies-at-71/">George Carlin</a>, whom he appeared with in 1989's<span> </span><em><a href="https://people.com/movies/keanu-reeves-alex-winter-dealing-with-fame-after-bill-teds-excellent-adventure/">Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure</a></em>.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>"I'm so jealous. I'm such a fan," said Colbert, 57. "And that was for you?"</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>"Yeah," said Reeves. "He wrote … I think it was, 'Dear Keanu, F--- you!' "</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>While the actor "always thought he just wrote that for me," he admitted, "then I met someone else who said that he wrote the same thing to them! Anyway, beautiful."</p>
</div>Home Alone Autograph -- leads to strangulation !tag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-12-23:3524372:BlogPost:17055092021-12-23T23:19:31.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>It was all over the news that an actor in the movie Home Alone (I believe he played the brother), was arrested for strangling and hitting his girlfriend. Of course, alcohol was involved (he had consumed a bottle of wine and 10 shots). But what most people don't know was involved was -- an autograph!</p>
<p>Two women had approached him at the bar asking for his autograph. The girlfriend had the signatures in her purse (I think on 8x10 photos, but I'm not positive). She gave one away, and that…</p>
<p>It was all over the news that an actor in the movie Home Alone (I believe he played the brother), was arrested for strangling and hitting his girlfriend. Of course, alcohol was involved (he had consumed a bottle of wine and 10 shots). But what most people don't know was involved was -- an autograph!</p>
<p>Two women had approached him at the bar asking for his autograph. The girlfriend had the signatures in her purse (I think on 8x10 photos, but I'm not positive). She gave one away, and that made him furious (which leads me to believe, that's how he makes money -- selling his autograph).</p>
<p>Now, he won't be Home Alone, but in jail, with many!</p>Paul McCartney will NO LONGER sign autographstag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-10-26:3524372:BlogPost:16824962021-10-26T13:49:33.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>Someone sent me a story on it. He went on and on about how he looks miserable in selfies people take, and doesn't understand why his name on a piece of paper is important, as "you know who I am, I know who I am." (Kenny Rodgers used to say the same thing).</p>
<p>I remember about 15 years ago, Paul refusing to take photos with people, so...he's had that stance for awhile.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Someone sent me a story on it. He went on and on about how he looks miserable in selfies people take, and doesn't understand why his name on a piece of paper is important, as "you know who I am, I know who I am." (Kenny Rodgers used to say the same thing).</p>
<p>I remember about 15 years ago, Paul refusing to take photos with people, so...he's had that stance for awhile.</p>
<p></p>The Greatest Autograph Collection Evertag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-09-09:3524372:BlogPost:16645672021-09-09T04:48:22.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a popular story where music journalist Jon Landau saw Bruce Springsteen perform before his first album was released and wrote, “I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve seen the most impressive autograph collector in the world, and...his name is Steven. …</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a popular story where music journalist Jon Landau saw Bruce Springsteen perform before his first album was released and wrote, “I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve seen the most impressive autograph collector in the world, and...his name is Steven. </span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548017668?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548017668?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And it’s weird that I even met Steven, because I’m going to make a confession about being an autograph collector. I don’t tell people that. Now, I have a few old radios and jukeboxes. Nothing wrong with telling people I like collecting those. But if you tell someone you collect autographs, you’re not sure how they’ll take it. They might think I’m like those little kids at the railing of Padres games, holding a baseball in one hand and a Sharpie in the other. They might think I’m one of those guys that sent a fan letter to Mick Jagger. Whatever they may think about the hobby, I assume their thoughts can’t be positive. So I don’t tell anyone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet I met these neighbors a few years back. These were the two coolest cats ever. Jonathan Rosenberg and I started talking about our favorite bands. And we both loved a lot of the same artists. I then found out he was writing this musical,</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">33 ½ -- House of Dreams</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Now as a writer, the amount of times I’ve met somebody who’s writing a memoir, or some screenplay they think is going to be brilliant -- is too often to count. So I took Rosenberg’s story about his play with a grain of salt. Then it opened at a big theatre in San Diego and it had a lot of sold-out shows. I brought my wife and parents, and we all loved it. And now there are talks of it going to Broadway, while his second play (</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Americano</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">) did well in Arizona and is being shopped around the Great White Way. When I finally met his wife Idonna, I thought she was even cooler. She used to write and perform comedy, and is not only adorable in every imaginable way, but she still has her quick wit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One day Jonathan said to me, “Don’t you collect autographs?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My mind started racing. How could he know this? It’s something I keep secret. I then remembered, when he was going to the House of Blues to interview Little Steven, I had been outside the venue trying to get his autograph (my wife is from New Jersey, and a huge Springsteen fan, so...it was more for her to get to meet him). Another time Jonathan and I were talking about some of the concerts we had attended, and I talked about getting albums signed by those artists. So the cat (stevens) was out of the bag.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I sheepishly admitted that I did collect autographs. Then he started talking about the most impressive collection he saw recently. I figured he’d tell me he met someone that had a handful of baseballs signed by players. Who doesn’t have a Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn ball on their shelf? Yet what he told me I couldn’t believe. I said, “I have to meet this man.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Arrangements were made, and I spent two different days up there seeing Steven’s beautiful house, wonderful wife, and what is quite simply -- the best autograph collection I think may exist in all of California. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the best collection in the world. And that’s not hyperbole. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548018094?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548018094?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>We exchanged pleasantries, and talked for a bit. When it came time to check out his collection, we walked into another room. On the wall behind his desk, were some of the big ones. John F. Kennedy, JFK, Jr., and other Kennedy’s, in framed photos. There was an Albert Einstein letter framed. Something signed by Sigmund Freud. There were a lot of world leaders, and dignitaries from Israel and other parts of the world. That was impressive enough, but we then walked down a hallway. I saw a jukebox, which had two framed photos over it. One of them was a signed Beatles picture. Steve told me, “I have a lot of the Beatles autographs on other things, too.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I would later see a book signed by John Lennon on the front page, a few George Harrison signed books, and something signed by McCartney. He even had the original Beatles drummer Pete Best -- but poor Ringo. When people name their favorite Beatle, nobody ever says Ringo Starr. And he’s the one that Steve has the least amount of signatures from.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The early black-and-white Beatles photo was slightly faded and he admitted, “This photo and the one below it, I had on a wall where the sun got to them.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You could still see the Fab Four autographs fine, but the photo below was painful to look at. It was a picture of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, with their signatures underneath. The sun really faded those out, but I loved the way he had them framed. There’s nothing worse than when someone frames an autograph poorly. This was brilliantly done, with the mat in the Yankee pinstripes. It was beautiful. I told him about a Fats Domino photo I have signed, where I glued dominoes all around it to frame it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From those photos, we walked another 100 feet over to his bookshelves. Now, we’ve all been in a nice house that has shelves and shelves of books, making it look like a library. The difference here was...every book here was autographed. The first few books I saw, I remember also getting when these actors came to San Diego for book signings -- Tony Curtis, Karl Malden, etc. Yet then I started seeing books by every actor that’s ever written a book, or had one written about them. Some of these are people that didn’t even do book signings.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548018685?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548018685?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Steve then told me about the different sections. One whole set of bookshelves was dedicated to Hollywood. The next bookshelf over, was all political figures. I asked how many Presidents he had signatures from and he smiled and said, “A lot.” He started rattling off the Presidents, and I think he named every President I’ve ever heard of. He had signatures from them all. Wait...I don’t think he mentioned Rutherford B. Hayes, but who knows? Maybe he did and I just forgot.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And when he’d pull something out to show me, I got scared. I didn’t want his Abraham Lincoln autograph getting ruined. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When looking at the actors, I shared stories with Steve on when I met those people. A few times, we were at book signings at the same time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the athletes’ books, I was in awe. A few Wilt Chamberlain books, and literally, any athlete that’s ever had a book out. Every baseball player, football, basketball. My favorite is a book I offered to buy from him. It was the 50 best players of the last 50 years. And almost every page was signed by the player in the photo. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and the list goes on.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I got Magic Johnson to sign my book, I had to drive to L.A. He wouldn’t sign my Sports Illustrated or basketball card, only the children’s book he wrote. And my car got towed while I was inside (after already driving two hours to get there!). One of my worst autograph experiences. But this isn’t about me and my nightmare experiences, but my dream come true -- seeing the best autograph collection in the world.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just after I resigned myself to not boring him with my autograph stories, I saw the page signed by Wilt Chamberlain, and had to tell him about when I sent him a letter as a kid, and he sent me back a signed index card. I told him in my letter how I was moved by the section where he said they didn’t have a lot of money when he grew up and his socks didn’t fit right, so he had to use rubber bands to hold them up. I spent a year doing that as a tribute to him (until I realized my floppy socks looked like Pete Maravich). </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I saw a book signed by Bill Russell (the Celtic great, not the Dodger), I told him how I met him and Rick Barry when they were broadcasting a basketball game. Barry signed for me. Russell, who is known for not signing autographs, did not. Steve said, “I know. He’s a jerk. I saw a kid go up to him and ask for an autograph. He didn’t say anything, he just turned his chair around so he wouldn’t be facing the kid.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I told him about a documentary I saw where a Celtics player had their team photo signed by the entire team, except for him. He refused to give an autograph -- even to his own teammate!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I saw the Bill Walton signatures, I talked about being in a basketball tournament playing against his son. There were a handful of times I met Walton (I even interviewed him for a cover story I did in the San Diego Reader, another time behind him at a Keith Richards concert), but I never got his autograph at those times, but instead when he was at a book signing. He was the same way, and added, “I was once on an airplane, and he sat down right next to me. He said hi, then put on his headphones. I didn’t talk to him that entire flight, or ask for his autograph.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was when I was looking at his baseball autographs, I found out Steve, an OBGYN, delivered the babies of Hall of Fame pitchers Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers. I asked if he said, “Congratulations, it’s a baby boy! Oh, and can you sign this baseball I have in my coat pocket?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548022873?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548022873?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He smiled and said he didn’t do that, but got their autographs at other times. Steve then said, “I had a neighbor call me once. He had Ted Williams over for dinner and asked me if I wanted to come over and meet him. I was over there before he even hung up the phone!”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He then showed me his photo with the Splendid Splinter and the many signed things he had from him.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Steve’s wife has the most beautiful smile, and as we were there, I asked them if she was into autographs. She wasn’t, but shared this story. I think they were in New York and someone invited them to a dinner Cher was going to be at. Steve got to meet her and get an autograph, but his wife was more interested in another singer there who was the opening act -- Cyndi Lauper. Girls do wanna have fun, too.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548021301?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548021301?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few people he got autographs from, led to correspondences. One was with John Wooden, whom he was a big fan of. I told him about the only Wooden signature I had -- a UCLA memento signed by him and Walton I bought at an auction. He pulled out a handful of letters, and I realized -- there probably isn’t an autograph I have that he doesn’t. And then some. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I brought up my hundreds of signed albums, I asked if there were any singers he was a fan of that he might want to trade for one of my records. I was hoping I could get his signed copy of</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Catch-22</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">by Joseph Heller, the funniest American novel ever written. He said, “I was a big fan of Olivia Newton-John, but I got her autograph. She wasn’t very nice.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was at a meet-and-greet and Steve said, “I heard her say to someone, maybe her manager, ‘Let’s hurry up and keep these people moving.’ She was in a hurry to leave.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After we moved by the bookshelf of actors, and then the athletes, it was on to the politicians. The shelves went up to the ceiling, and it was just amazing to think that every book in here was signed. He also had a book signed by many of the First Ladies.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I saw the Donald Trump book, I pulled it out and said, “I kind of like his signature. I’m guessing this was signed well before he was President.” (It was.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We started talking a bit about Trump, but then I thought -- maybe we shouldn’t start talking about politics.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the politicians, it was on to the classic books. I saw a Mark Twain and said, “I always thought it would be cool to have a signature of his that said Samuel Clemens.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He pulled it down, opened it up, and showed me. It was signed “Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A double-shot!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I hinted again about wanting his</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Catch-22</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">novel. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was blown away when I saw a Jane Austen novel signed. I’ve been collecting autographs, reading about them, and writing stories on the subject -- for over 35 years. I’ve never seen or heard of anybody having an Austen signature. And as he opened the book, I was afraid the pages were so fragile that the thing would fall apart. I’m guessing that’s easily worth something in the six figures. Now, when I’ve looked at autographs, even on the walls of the</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hard Rock</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cafe</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the idea of how much they may be worth never enters my mind. But upon seeing the Austen book, and other books signed by authors like Hemingway, Dickens, Steinbeck, and others...I figured this collection is worth millions. Easy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I asked if there were any autographs he wanted that he never got for his collection. He said no. I asked if he had an Elvis or Marilyn Monroe signature. He said, “No, but...I never wanted one.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So after looking at all his autographed books, I figured that was it. Nope. He mentioned his sports collection that filled up an entire room downstairs. So, down a spiral staircase, where a box is kept at the top of the stairs to keep the dogs from going down there. There’d be nothing worse than having one of his two dogs play fetch with a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548019081?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548019081?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Walking into this room was more fascinating than walking into a sports museum. For all intents and purposes, it was a sports museum. From his great collection of baseball and basketball cards on the table, to the shelves filled with baseball bats, baseballs, footballs, basketballs, and jerseys. The signatures were...beautiful. Some of them would be signed by teams. I’d notice Walt Frazier, and a few other players from those early ‘70s Knicks teams. I don’t think there was an athlete he didn’t have a signature from. There must have been over a thousand sports things signed. I laughed when I saw a basketball signed “Rudy T.” I said, “Did Tomjanovich think his whole last name wouldn’t fit on it? It’s a basketball, not a golf ball?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Steve smiled and said, “It is a long name.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548019671?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548019671?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>The next time I came back for a visit, and to take photos of his collection for this story -- I brought him some Autograph Magazines I had written stories for (remember when this fine publication wasn’t just online?). I inscribed one to say “To Steve, save this autograph. In 20 years, it’ll be worth 85 cents more than it is now.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, “I used to get this magazine.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It made me happy to think that...this guy who has the best autograph collection I’ve ever seen (and probably the best anyone has), may have read things I’ve written before.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548020056?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548020056?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>When he told me he planned to leave his collection to his kids but that they didn’t seem all that interested in it, I tried again to buy his signed basketball book, and</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Catch-22</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But just as Yossarian didn’t get what he wanted in</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Catch-22</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, I left empty handed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548020262?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548020262?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>But this man who delivered thousands of babies into the world, delivered me into nirvana by spending hours showing me his wonderful collection.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548020296?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9548020296?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/></p>Elvis Guitar For Saletag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-03-15:3524372:BlogPost:16128312021-03-15T04:41:35.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Remember in the end of “The Sting” how Robert Redford is going to be paid for the big sting they just did, and with a sly smile on his face he refuses the money saying, “Nah, I’ll just blow it anyway.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’d be the same way if I won a million dollars, because...I’d immediately bid on this item for Kruse GWS Auctions. It’s a flaming red Hagstrom Viking II guitar. It’s the same axe that Elvis Presley played during his…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Remember in the end of “The Sting” how Robert Redford is going to be paid for the big sting they just did, and with a sly smile on his face he refuses the money saying, “Nah, I’ll just blow it anyway.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’d be the same way if I won a million dollars, because...I’d immediately bid on this item for Kruse GWS Auctions. It’s a flaming red Hagstrom Viking II guitar. It’s the same axe that Elvis Presley played during his famous 1968 Comeback Special. It was a nationally televised event, that almost made us forget about the years of lame movies he did.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The hollow body guitar was also used the following year on the cover of the album “From Elvis in Memphis.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8666905087?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8666905087?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>American guitarist Al Casey had the guitar, and producers asked if they could borrow it, thinking it would look flashier on screen. It eventually sold at auction, and now it’s up again. The starting bid is $250,000, and I see this thing getting a million. The white piano John Lennon played “Imagine” on, sold for a million (to the late George Michael). </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If that’s out of your price range, you can bid on something from the guy that married Elvis’ daughter. A crystal-studded glove worn by Michael Jackson will be in the auction. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8666907858?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8666907858?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>If you’re more of a film lover than music, there are items for you. Jackson’s buddy Elizabeth Taylor’s blue rhinestone drop earrings will be available. Perfect for the wife on your next anniversary.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And we all know the legendary stories about Elvis giving people Cadillacs. Well, this auction doesn’t have one of his gifted rides, but a 1950 Cadillac Fleetwood that was used in “The Godfather.” It was also previously owned by Mae West.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s hope they cleaned the back seats, and fixed the bullet holes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bidding starts on March 27th.</span></p>The Legalities of Certain Autographs -- MLK Jr Editiontag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-02-19:3524372:BlogPost:15979652021-02-19T17:45:23.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s something I’ve often wondered about when it comes to buying autographs. The idea that they may have come in a way that is illegal. Let me explain. When I was around 20, I was looking at buying a contract that a famous actor had signed. It ended up being a bit out of my price range, but...I noticed it had their address, social security number, and other info that I’m sure the star wouldn’t want out there.…</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s something I’ve often wondered about when it comes to buying autographs. The idea that they may have come in a way that is illegal. Let me explain. When I was around 20, I was looking at buying a contract that a famous actor had signed. It ended up being a bit out of my price range, but...I noticed it had their address, social security number, and other info that I’m sure the star wouldn’t want out there.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a company that was selling checks (a popular item among autograph collectors), signed by The Doors keyboardist, Ray Manzarek. Now, I had interviewed him a few times and wrote a radio show he narrated (Legends A to Z). I brought this to his attention, and he acted all weird about it. That’s when I realized...he probably sold his old cancelled checks to this company. I do know there was some musical equipment he made money off of from a company that sold it for thousands (somebody on this website has it). It included a letter from Manzarek saying that Jim Morrison sat on that amplifier, as if Morrison’s butt made it more of a collectors item.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I thought about this all again because something came up for auction recently. It’s the Birmingham jailhouse logbook, that has 12 different pages signed by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The dates on the pages are all between March 4, 1963 and November 27th. That’s around the time he wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” which is a big part of history.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So here’s what I can’t figure out. These pages were saved by a jail employee who was told to destroy the ledger. He kept it. This is what Hakes Auctions says. Well, wouldn’t that be “stealing”? Sure, it might not be the same as stealing $1,000 from your work, but if you’re taking something that doesn’t belong to you, even if it’s something that was supposed to be destroyed, well...I’d think that the jail could sue this guy and get the item back; or they could let it sell for the thousands and thousands it will surely bring in, and then claim that money.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aside from all the King signatures, another famous activist jailed at that time, Ralph D. Abernathy, has signed the book three different times.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8575686077?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8575686077?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The logbook was passed down through the family of the original jail employee.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In case you’re wondering what King was jailed for, it was after his group was denied a parade permit and they marched despite that. This resulted in him spending eight days in jail.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The auction is going until February 24th so if you’re interested, you better hurry. It’s currently over $20,000.</span></p>
<p></p>Wacky Autograph Inscriptions (or Ted Cruz Part II)tag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-02-10:3524372:BlogPost:15882992021-02-10T06:46:59.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a longtime autograph collector, and someone who has written for</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Autograph Magazine</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">for years, I was fascinated by the story by the HuffPost regarding the fight between</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Princess Bride</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">actor Cary Elwes and Senator Ted Cruz. In short, after…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a longtime autograph collector, and someone who has written for</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Autograph Magazine</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">for years, I was fascinated by the story by the HuffPost regarding the fight between</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Princess Bride</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">actor Cary Elwes and Senator Ted Cruz. In short, after Elwes bad-mouthed Cruz on Twitter, and Cruz had talked about how much he loved</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Princess Bride</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">-- Cruz asked if he had to give his picture back. He showed a photo supposedly signed by Elwes, personalized to “Senator Cruz.” Elwes immediately said it was fake and forged.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537341882?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537341882?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Aside from this being a funny fight, both parties played it perfectly. Cruz is showing a picture, as if to say -- if this guy hates me so much, why did he sign a photo for me? Well, that can be explained in many ways. For example, Elwes has appeared at many events signing autographs over the years. People know these things happen at various Comic Con’s around the country, but there are some events that are merely “autograph shows” (a popular one used to be held at the Marriott by LAX). They had them once a month. You’d pay $25 to get in, and various “celebrities” had booths set up, where they’d charge $25 per autograph. Cruz could have gotten the picture signed at one of those events, or one of his co-workers or family members might have. One of them may have even added the “To Senator Cruz.” Also, fans stick so many pictures in front of the celebs so quickly, they could have said “Make it out to ‘Senator Cruz’” and Elwes wouldn’t even question who that is, or have time to think about who that is. And if he had, he probably wouldn’t have cared, since the person paid their $25 for the photo.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elwes has also signed items that fans have shipped to him to be autographed. I saw a website offer where he would sign a photograph with Chris Sarandon (who was also in</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Princess</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bride</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">) for $150. What is currently a lot more popular than sending in money for stars to sign photos, are websites like Cameo, where the celebs will record a personalized video. Fans can find actors, musicians, and lots of other famous people. Some charge as little as $25 for a message. Caitlyn Jenner charges $1,500. Two members of Cheap Trick charge $100. The prices range, usually depending on how famous they are. And it can be good money for them. Do you know the name Brian Baumgartner? Probably not, but you’d recognize his face. He’s one of the cast members of</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Office</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and he made a million dollars doing Cameo videos for fans.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elwes also wrote a book (</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">As You Wish</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">), and did lots of book signings. It would have been easy to have a photo signed there, although many bookstores now will only let you get the book signed, as autograph dealers (yes, there is such a thing) will often have 8x10s or movie posters signed, and sell them on eBay.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s the thing, though. Once Cruz showed that photo, Elwes couldn’t say, “He probably got that at one of the autograph signings I did.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The problem with saying that is...when people find out you charge fans for autographs, the optics are bad. Usually. Now, when Ed Beagley Jr. was at an autograph show in L.A. that I was covering, he had the cheapest signature at $10 and he donated it all to one of his green charities. I promptly coughed up the money to have him sign my</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Spinal Tap</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">CD (he played one of their early drummers).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537342871?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537342871?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>When I was a kid I read a story about Mickey Mantle in</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sports Illustrated</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Mantle said he made more money doing autograph signings than he did as a player. Yet for some reason, people don’t mind athletes charging for autographs. When it’s a B-list movie actor, or someone from a ‘70s TV show that nobody has thought about in years -- it rubs people the wrong way. So Elwes simply shot back “That picture is forged.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cruz also can’t respond, “No it isn’t, I paid for it at one of your signings” because that, too...sounds foolish. A senator standing in line to get an autograph from a guy who was in movies like</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Saw</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Robin Hood: Men in Tights</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">? A senator should have more important pursuits.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, it might have been a bit more interesting if the autographed photo said, “To Senator Cruz, one of the best politicians ever.” Yet even that wouldn’t be a diss to Elwes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I was at a book signing for Al Franken, a woman working the event walked up the line giving us each a post-it note, telling us, “Write exactly what you want Franken to write in your book.” So I wrote, “To Josh, who’s also a big fat idiot.” When the woman saw what I wrote she freaked out, saying “No, no, no! He will not write that in your book!” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537345082?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537345082?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>I laughed, saying it was a joke and he wouldn’t mind. She said she didn’t get it, so I explained, “Franken wrote a book called ‘Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot’ and I was referencing that. She got more agitated. Franken heard the commotion and asked, “What is going on? Why is that guy bothering you?” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She explained what I wanted written and he smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll write that.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thank god I didn’t ask for a picture. The dude’s a groper. That’s another story for another time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I met Karl Malden at a book signing, we were also given post-it notes. To impress the group I played poker with, I had him write “You’re a better poker player than the Cincinnati Kid.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I made two much stranger requests over the years. When Elmore Leonard was doing a book signing, I got the book, but had another motive. I had been having a debate with a friend about a scene in</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jackie Brown</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(adapted from his book</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rum Punch</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">). I had typed out a letter, stating that I, Josh Board, was correct in the debate, and how as the author of the book, he understood everything about the Max Cherry character. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537346452?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537346452?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>It was a full page long, and written and dated, by Elmore Leonard. All I needed was him to sign it. I gave him a quick explanation of the story and he laughed and said that specific scene was written by Tarantino and wasn’t in his book (perhaps it would have behoved me to have read the novel before embarking on this). He said, “But I think you’re right in this argument and I’ll gladly sign this letter and help you win the $25 bet.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As he read the letter, the woman who worked at Barnes & Noble said, “Just sign the letter. We don’t have time for you to read the whole thing. It’s a rather long line.” He looked at her, put his reading glasses down on his nose a bit, smiled and explained, “I have to read the letter. What if he wrote that I leave my entire estate to him when I die.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He read the letter and signed it. My friend didn’t pay off the bet, as he said we’d now have to ask Tarantino about that scene, but hey...it made for a nice letter for my collection.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When Jane Lynch did a book signing, I actually couldn’t make it. I had my friend go and buy us both a book. I asked for this personalization, “To Josh, My Fu** buddy, Jane Lynch.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537346895?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537346895?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>My friend was worried about asking her to write it, and she asked me why I wanted it. I explained that in</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">40-Year-Old Virgin</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, she’s Steve Carell’s boss. When she finds out he’s a virgin, she volunteers to help him with his situation and utters the line. My friend didn’t feel much better about asking this well-known actress to write that. I said, “Look, if she refuses, that’s fine. Don’t push the issue. But she’s a comedic actress, I think she’ll laugh.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My friend told me when she asked her to write it, she threw her head back and laughed, gladly writing it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, if I were to show people that book, I doubt anybody would believe we actually had an affair (not just because she’s a lesbian).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So all of this is a long way of saying -- lots of people have autographs of other people. It doesn’t mean they’re friends. It doesn’t mean they’re fans. It doesn’t mean they agree or disagree with their policies as a politician. In fact, in a lot of cases, it doesn’t even mean they met the person.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ll end with one of the best stories of people who aren’t fans of one another, and the most incredible autograph that came about.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537348679?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8537348679?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>When Hillary Clinton was a Senator, one of the readers of Autograph magazine decided he wanted to get her autograph. Yet he liked unusual things signed, not just an 8x10. He got her book that had come out a few years before --</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Living History</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">-- and figured if he just showed up at her office he could probably talk his way into getting it signed. I’d think that would be tough, as she’s also a former First Lady. But his deviousness went a step further. What he instead did was also buy Monica Lewinsky’s book</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monica: Her Story</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. He then took the book cover off of Hillary’s book, and slipped it over Lewinsky’s, with it opened to a blank page for her to sign. The guy was able to tell the person at the front desk he wanted the autograph. He waited a few minutes, and she came out and smiled, signing the book for him. I never heard if he was able to get close enough to have Bill also put his John Hancock on it. </span></p>Ted Cruz vs Cary Elwes -- an INCONCEIVABLE FIGHTtag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-02-05:3524372:BlogPost:15830682021-02-05T05:30:00.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>The Huffpost did a great story, involving one of the best movies ever made (The Princess Bride) and a Senator that...isn't as loved. Read it here: <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-cary-elwes-princess-bride_n_601c1dbcc5b67cdd1a762360?fbclid=IwAR0GZBSJomaHBWloGpLQJDK36FysZyWNEZFStFr4XzLU0vLGP124pChFk7M">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-cary-elwes-princess-bride_n_601c1dbcc5b67cdd1a762360?fbclid=IwAR0GZBSJomaHBWloGpLQJDK36FysZyWNEZFStFr4XzLU0vLGP124pChFk7M</a></p>
<p>The Huffpost did a great story, involving one of the best movies ever made (The Princess Bride) and a Senator that...isn't as loved. Read it here: <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-cary-elwes-princess-bride_n_601c1dbcc5b67cdd1a762360?fbclid=IwAR0GZBSJomaHBWloGpLQJDK36FysZyWNEZFStFr4XzLU0vLGP124pChFk7M">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-cary-elwes-princess-bride_n_601c1dbcc5b67cdd1a762360?fbclid=IwAR0GZBSJomaHBWloGpLQJDK36FysZyWNEZFStFr4XzLU0vLGP124pChFk7M</a></p>Meeting Elliott Gould and Hal Holbrook (RIP)tag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-02-03:3524372:BlogPost:15809422021-02-03T03:24:28.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<div dir="auto">When I heard the news that actor Hal Holbrook died at 95, I mentioned it to my wife in the kitchen. She had her usual line when someone old dies, "I thought he had already died." Perhaps she was thinking of his wife of 25 years, actress Dixie Carter, who died 10 years ago.</div>
<div dir="auto"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8508334675?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8508334675?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a> The first time I saw him was in CAPRICORN ONE. I was…</div>
<div dir="auto">When I heard the news that actor Hal Holbrook died at 95, I mentioned it to my wife in the kitchen. She had her usual line when someone old dies, "I thought he had already died." Perhaps she was thinking of his wife of 25 years, actress Dixie Carter, who died 10 years ago.</div>
<div dir="auto"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8508334675?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8508334675?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>The first time I saw him was in CAPRICORN ONE. I was a kid, and was in New Jersey. My mom was marrying my stepdad there and it was on TV. It's a shame it's not his co-star OJ Simpson that died (but that's another rant for another time). When I met Elliot Gould at a Lakers game, I said to him, "I just loved Capricorn One. I don't know why the critics didn't like it." He snapped at me, "Critics liked it! It got some good reviews." Not sure why I told him that. But, I did end up making Gould laugh before he signed my ticket stub. He was doing these weight loss commercials, I think for Slim Fast. I said, "Your performance is amazing...in...those Slim Fast commercials." His manager (I think it was his manager), standing there with a cigar in his mouth, threw his head back laughing. Gould called me a smart ass, as he smiled and signed for me.</div>
<div dir="auto"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8508335077?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8508335077?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Anyway, of all the great performances I've seen Holbrook in over the years, the one that really got me was around 2007 when he did "Into the Wild." An okay movie, not great. But him playing a lonely widower, that really enjoys the company of that young man, and asks him, while looking down, "Maybe I can adopt you." Oh my god. Just typing it has me in tears!</div>
<div dir="auto">I bought that soundtrack, and loved the Eddie Vedder song on it. When he came for a concert in San Diego, his hometown, I brought it for him to autograph. There were about 15 fans and his manager said, "He's only signing one autograph a person." I was first, and as he signed, I brought up a mutual friend of ours. He smiled and said, "Oh, I hope he's going to be at the show tonight." And as Vedder signed for others, I kind of made my way to the back of this line. The manager dude yelled at someone else that tried to stick a second item out for him to sign, so I figured I'd get the same tongue lashing. I didn't, and he signed my Pearl Jam "Ten" CD. Well, when Holbrook came to town to play Mark Twain (a one-man show he's been doing since the '50s), I talked my way backstage and had him autograph it. After he signed it, he accidentally smudged his thumb on the signature while holding it, and said, "Oh no! I'm so sorry about that."</div>
<div dir="auto">I laughed and thanked him. I heard Al Roker on the morning show talk about how Holbrook first played Twain in the '50s, and played him up until he turned '90, saying "I don't need to put on as much make-up anymore to make myself look old."</div>
<div dir="auto">Now he's up there talking to the real Mark Twain (and hopefully Larry King isn't bugging him for an interview).</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>Mr. Rogers Autographstag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-02-02:3524372:BlogPost:15807172021-02-02T17:19:46.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>I got a few nice messages from a few people here, saying they missed my blogs. So, I'll try to occasionally throw some more on here.</p>
<p>I was never a fan of the Mr. Rogers show. I was a little kid when it first aired, and...I guess I was more of a Sesame Street and Electric Company kid. I didn't like his voice, or his puppets. That doesn't mean, as an adult, I didn't like what he did for all the other kids that watched his show.</p>
<p>I have to admit, my favorite thing were -- the…</p>
<p>I got a few nice messages from a few people here, saying they missed my blogs. So, I'll try to occasionally throw some more on here.</p>
<p>I was never a fan of the Mr. Rogers show. I was a little kid when it first aired, and...I guess I was more of a Sesame Street and Electric Company kid. I didn't like his voice, or his puppets. That doesn't mean, as an adult, I didn't like what he did for all the other kids that watched his show.</p>
<p>I have to admit, my favorite thing were -- the parodies. Eddie Murphy doing his Mr. Robinson on Saturday Night Live, as a criminal. And Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, who would become Spinal Tap, did a great bit about Mr. Rogers interviewing a bass player on a National Lampoon album.</p>
<p>Since I do movie reviews now, I was sent a lovely note from his wife (who recently passed away), along with a shirt that looked like a red sweater. I think they sent them out to a lot of the critics that are part of the Critics' Choice Assocation (make sure you watch the Critics Choice Awards in March!).</p>
<p>Here's a story I just came across and it brought me to tears. A woman called into PBS requesting an autographed photo for her daughter, who was suffering seizers and set for brain surgery. Mr. Rogers didn't send the autographed photo. Instead, he jumped on a plane and flew a few thousand miles to see the girl in the hospital. He even brought his puppets along.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8507057855?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8507057855?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>Mr. Rogers Autographstag:live.autographmagazine.com,2021-02-02:3524372:BlogPost:15808652021-02-02T17:19:42.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>I got a few nice messages from a few people here, saying they missed my blogs. So, I'll try to occasionally throw some more on here.</p>
<p>I was never a fan of the Mr. Rogers show. I was a little kid when it first aired, and...I guess I was more of a Sesame Street and Electric Company kid. I didn't like his voice, or his puppets. That doesn't mean, as an adult, I didn't like what he did for all the other kids that watched his show.</p>
<p>I have to admit, my favorite thing were -- the…</p>
<p>I got a few nice messages from a few people here, saying they missed my blogs. So, I'll try to occasionally throw some more on here.</p>
<p>I was never a fan of the Mr. Rogers show. I was a little kid when it first aired, and...I guess I was more of a Sesame Street and Electric Company kid. I didn't like his voice, or his puppets. That doesn't mean, as an adult, I didn't like what he did for all the other kids that watched his show.</p>
<p>I have to admit, my favorite thing were -- the parodies. Eddie Murphy doing his Mr. Robinson on Saturday Night Live, as a criminal. And Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, who would become Spinal Tap, did a great bit about Mr. Rogers interviewing a bass player on a National Lampoon album.</p>
<p>Since I do movie reviews now, I was sent a lovely note from his wife (who recently passed away), along with a shirt that looked like a red sweater. I think they sent them out to a lot of the critics that are part of the Critics' Choice Assocation (make sure you watch the Critics Choice Awards in March!).</p>
<p>Here's a story I just came across and it brought me to tears. A woman called into PBS requesting an autographed photo for her daughter, who was suffering seizers and set for brain surgery. Mr. Rogers didn't send the autographed photo. Instead, he jumped on a plane and flew a few thousand miles to see the girl in the hospital. He even brought his puppets along.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8507057855?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8507057855?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>Sean Connery -- RIPtag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-10-31:3524372:BlogPost:15410732020-10-31T17:44:24.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>Here's a link to my story on Sean Connery.</p>
<p>I do mention autographs, but...only briefly (as I never met him).</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://fox5sandiego.com/news/sean-connery-an-extraordinary-gentleman-and-actor/">https://fox5sandiego.com/news/sean-connery-an-extraordinary-gentleman-and-actor/</a></p>
<p>Here's a link to my story on Sean Connery.</p>
<p>I do mention autographs, but...only briefly (as I never met him).</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://fox5sandiego.com/news/sean-connery-an-extraordinary-gentleman-and-actor/">https://fox5sandiego.com/news/sean-connery-an-extraordinary-gentleman-and-actor/</a></p>Macabre Michael Jackson Item For Saletag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-10-01:3524372:BlogPost:15143932020-10-01T16:38:52.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Usually when there’s controversial stuff sold at auction, it involves Nazi memorabilia. Well, this one kind of went under the radar without much backlash. Michael Jackson’s cousin is auctioning off something rather odd. She has the last IV drip Jackson used, and the one that supposedly delivered the fatal dose of Propofol. This will include the bag and tubing used to administer the fatal dose, and here’s the “good” news -- it even has bloodstains from the…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Usually when there’s controversial stuff sold at auction, it involves Nazi memorabilia. Well, this one kind of went under the radar without much backlash. Michael Jackson’s cousin is auctioning off something rather odd. She has the last IV drip Jackson used, and the one that supposedly delivered the fatal dose of Propofol. This will include the bag and tubing used to administer the fatal dose, and here’s the “good” news -- it even has bloodstains from the moonwalker. Marsha Stewart said she took it from his bedroom after his death, and that leaves a whole host of other questions I have. For one, isn’t that messing with a crime scene? Two, how did this cousin just happen to be over there so soon after the death? Anyway, she claims the bag had a “white milk fluid” inside, but that’s dissolved. Experts say that’s what Propofol would look like in the bag, before it dissolves.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7990410893?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7990410893?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Las Vegas auction house selling it is Memorabilia Expert Auctions, and they want at least $2,500 for it. Some people are trying to get to the bottom of if this item is even real. In the style of Billie Jean, I sing: This IV, was not my drip/She’s just a girl, that wants to profit...even though she is my cuz...</span></p>What Do Michael Jordan and Michael Schenker Have in Common?tag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-09-20:3524372:BlogPost:15074942020-09-20T01:42:31.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stuntmen have all the luck. Okay, wait. Scratch that. I just remember a book about Hollywood I read once (You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again), the first female film producer in Hollywood talked about a stuntman on the set of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, driving 50 feet off a cliff and having his leg snap. He insisted they not call an ambulance, because stuntmen that “complained” didn’t get work. So, aside from the injuries and death involved,…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stuntmen have all the luck. Okay, wait. Scratch that. I just remember a book about Hollywood I read once (You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again), the first female film producer in Hollywood talked about a stuntman on the set of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, driving 50 feet off a cliff and having his leg snap. He insisted they not call an ambulance, because stuntmen that “complained” didn’t get work. So, aside from the injuries and death involved, they have all the luck. That is, when it comes to getting memorabilia.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was at a party once and met an older stuntman. When he found out I collected memorabilia and autographs, he told me he has 10 things in a storage unit I would find interesting. One of them was one of the aliens from the movie “Alien.” The most exciting thing was two acoustic guitars signed by The Beatles. He was working on one of their films, and decided to have them sign his guitar. A few days later, he thought it might be better to have them sign a new guitar that wasn’t as scuffed up, so I bought a new one they signed it. I told him that he could get so much money for those, instead of having them languish in a storage unit (or possibly stolen or damaged). He didn’t seem to care, and believe me, I tried.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I thought about that stuntman when I heard about Tony Todd, a stuntman who like everyone else, was watching the documentary “The Last Dance.” As they talked about Michael Jordan it hit him -- he had a baseball bat autographed by Jordan. Well, it was a phone call with a guy reminding him about it, and then it hit him. It was sitting in the trunk of his 1966 Pontiac LeMans, where it had been for 13 years. It was used in the 1994 Arizona Fall League game when Jordan was stinging pitchers as a hitter for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Okay, perhaps that was hyperbole. He didn’t have the best batting average.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7946752455?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7946752455?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He had forgotten about the bat until the phone call, and he ran to the car trunk to see if it was there, wondering if the autograph would still be on it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Todd had been at a charity event where he got to meet Jordan after the Scorpions game. He signed the bat and they took a photo together.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Todd also mentioned that he has bats from Pete Rose, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr., but he was smart enough to keep those in a safer place.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The bat was auctioned tonight. Hopefully somebody will update and we can find out what it sold for. I’m guessing $20,000.</span></p>President Trump Autographstag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-08-30:3524372:BlogPost:15027882020-08-30T05:59:46.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The only thing I ever knew about Lake Charles, Louisiana...were the lyrics from the great song by The Band, “Up On Cripple Creek.” Now the other thing I know about it, is that the town was ravaged recently by Hurricane Laura. It left 16 dead and many with destroyed homes. …</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7707547073?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7707547073?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The only thing I ever knew about Lake Charles, Louisiana...were the lyrics from the great song by The Band, “Up On Cripple Creek.” Now the other thing I know about it, is that the town was ravaged recently by Hurricane Laura. It left 16 dead and many with destroyed homes. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7707547073?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7707547073?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President Trump made a visit there, as Presidents always seem to do when a town deals with a devastating event. As he signed autographs for city officials, he was overheard telling some of them they should sell them on ebay, because they could be worth $10,000 a pop.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The only other time I’ve ever heard someone suggest a person sell their autograph, is artist Peter Max. I went to a book signing he was doing in Mission Valley and my friend had this rare book he had done in the ‘60s. She wanted him to autograph it, but he instead wanted to keep it. He begged her to stay until after everyone had left, which we did. I paid $50 for the coffee table book he had just released. She wasn’t about to shell out that kind of cash, thinking she’d just get her book from the ‘60s signed. He pleaded with her, saying “Look, I’m going to draw you a picture and sign that, and you can turn around and sell it on ebay for $10,000.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The funny thing is...he was completely wrong about that. Had he done a painting for her, perhaps. But not a quick picture of a boat on the ocean with a sun and birds, which took him about 1 minute to draw. But she gave him the book. I told her she should have negotiated, and said “I also want you to throw in a signed coffee table book.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But from Peter to the President...</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7707553473?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7707553473?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trump is right, that presidential autographs are worth money, but..when a Lincoln autograph on a scrap of paper sells for $5,000...his signature is probably closer to $50 in value. Especially when you factor in his “popularity” as well as how many signatures of his are out there (since he’s done many reality shows and has been in the public eye since the ‘80s).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trump didn’t just sign for city officials. He also signed for others that were able to get close to him.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No matter how you feel about President Trump, I always sort of think back to the scene Tom Berenger did in “The Big Chill.” He was playing a famous actor attending a funeral. A boy approached him and asked for his autograph. He said he didn’t think it was appropriate at the time. The kid, seeming undeterred, stood his ground. Berenger smiled and said “Okay. For five bucks.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anyway, if a President shows up where people died or lost their houses, it’s best to keep the photo ops and signatures, a bit more on the downlow.</span></p>Gandhi's Glassestag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-08-10:3524372:BlogPost:14970482020-08-10T04:25:34.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7382316465?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7382316465?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a> We’ve all gotten cool stuff in our mail box. But four weeks ago, auctioneer Andy Stowe saw something sticking out of his mailbox at his office in Bristol, England. It was a large envelope with a pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous, gold-rimmed, round glasses. There was a note saying they were Gandhi’s, and a gift from the guy’s…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7382316465?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7382316465?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>We’ve all gotten cool stuff in our mail box. But four weeks ago, auctioneer Andy Stowe saw something sticking out of his mailbox at his office in Bristol, England. It was a large envelope with a pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous, gold-rimmed, round glasses. There was a note saying they were Gandhi’s, and a gift from the guy’s uncle. He said if they aren’t worth anything, they could just toss them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stowe called the guy, who was 80, and was told the story about how they were acquired. His uncle was working in South Africa for British Petroleum and was stationed in South Africa, and Gandhi was employed there.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A bit of research was done and the story checked out. And, the glasses being worth money seemed to check out as well. They’re expected to fetch over $20,000. Now, I’d personally prefer the round John Lennon glasses, but I’d take these.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The man couldn’t believe how much his glasses might get at an auction, but then...he remembers a time when everything was a nickel. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, if you have a million nickels and want to buy these specs...they’ll be auctioned on August 21st.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7382327498?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7382327498?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>Wilfred Brimley Died -- And I Gave Away His Autographed Phototag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-08-02:3524372:BlogPost:14952552020-08-02T04:50:48.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>If you want to read my story on him...here it is:</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://fox5sandiego.com/entertainment/at-the-movies-blog/wilfred-brimley-dies-my-favorite-films/">https://fox5sandiego.com/entertainment/at-the-movies-blog/wilfred-brimley-dies-my-favorite-films/</a></p>
<p>If you want to read my story on him...here it is:</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://fox5sandiego.com/entertainment/at-the-movies-blog/wilfred-brimley-dies-my-favorite-films/">https://fox5sandiego.com/entertainment/at-the-movies-blog/wilfred-brimley-dies-my-favorite-films/</a></p>Handwritten Lyrics for a Million Buckstag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-07-15:3524372:BlogPost:14884872020-07-15T22:25:25.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I always crack up when something sells for way more than it should, or if someone asks for more money than something is worth. The current example of this are the lyrics for the Don McLean song “Vincent.” The company Moments in Time is asking $1.5 million for them. Here’s the problem with that asking price. McLean is a one-hit wonder, and these aren’t even the lyrics of that one hit (which would be “American Pie”). The lyrics for The Beatles “Hey Jude” sold…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I always crack up when something sells for way more than it should, or if someone asks for more money than something is worth. The current example of this are the lyrics for the Don McLean song “Vincent.” The company Moments in Time is asking $1.5 million for them. Here’s the problem with that asking price. McLean is a one-hit wonder, and these aren’t even the lyrics of that one hit (which would be “American Pie”). The lyrics for The Beatles “Hey Jude” sold for $900,000 a few years ago. If a Beatles handwritten lyric page doesn’t get a million bucks, McLean isn’t for his second biggest song. And remember, he made the news for a domestic dispute, which quickly led to UCLA not honoring him with an award they had already planned.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6911340685?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6911340685?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If these were lyrics from Don Henley, to “Hotel California” -- maybe that would be something. Hell, the song is about Vincent Van Gogh, and earlier this year, there were four pieces of art by Van Gogh (3 drawings and one oil painting), and they were expected to fetch just under a million a piece. If a friggin’ actual Van Gogh art is selling for less than the lyrics to a song about him, people are sadly mistaken on who is going to buy this thing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I recently bid on handwritten lyrics to “Taxi” by Harry Chapin (which is a much better song). That quickly went out of my price range, though. And that would be more valuable because Chapin died young. McLean is still around signing autographs. And he’s playing (well, before Covid hit), to 500 seat venues. That’s hardly an artist that could command that much for handwritten lyrics.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The lyrics are written in pencil, and 15 pages, with the usual deletions and additions you see when someone is editing what they’ve written.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just like with the lyrics I was bidding on for “Taxi” some of the lyrics here aren’t in the final version of the song.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As much as I like the song, one thing that bugs me about it is it cost me a game of Trivial Pursuit with friends in college. It was an entertainment category and the question was: “Which Don McLean song is played every day?” Of course I thought it was “American Pie.” It was actually Vincent, which starts with the lyrics “Starry, starry night.” You see, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam plays it everyday; although I contend “American Pie” is played everyday, too. There are enough classic rock radio stations that I’m sure that’s the case. But I digress (I was always a sore loser). </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6911349280?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6911349280?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Okay, this just in. While doing research for this story, I saw that McLean himself sold the lyrics to “American Pie” five years ago for just over a million bucks. It must be nice to be alive, and sell off your own memorabilia.But imagine how ticked off the person is that bought that. If they realize this is just something McLean does every few years with his handwritten lyrics, it decreases the value of his item.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Think about all the possibilities for singers that had a few hits in the ‘70s, like Peter Frampton. And he probably doesn’t still have his handwritten lyrics, but he could go get some old paper, pencils, and start writing “Baby I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like I Do” and others. He can make scribbles and put out a cigarette in one, or the ring of a coffee mug, and...he’s looking at millions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">(side note: if any of you classic rock artists do this, I deserve a cut)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6911374676?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6911374676?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>Prince and Kurt Cobain Guitars Soldtag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-06-25:3524372:BlogPost:14818672020-06-25T05:17:29.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6297988659?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6297988659?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a> I’m a big Nirvana fan and I love collectables, so I was very interested to see that the 1959 Martin D-18E guitar he played on the MTV Unplugged show, went up for auction. This Unplugged concert was about half a year before Kurt Cobain killed himself. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a rather lengthy…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6297988659?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6297988659?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>I’m a big Nirvana fan and I love collectables, so I was very interested to see that the 1959 Martin D-18E guitar he played on the MTV Unplugged show, went up for auction. This Unplugged concert was about half a year before Kurt Cobain killed himself. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a rather lengthy court battle over who owned it (you know Courtney Love; there’s never been a lawsuit she isn’t involved in). The guy that won that court battle, was married to Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain, and claims it was a wedding gift from her. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">About five years ago the guitar was stolen in an extortion plot involving Courtney Love’s manager, and involving a break in. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He won the court case, then won big at auction. It sold for over $6 million auctioning it with Julien’s.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6298000298?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6298000298?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>A businessman from Australia bought it, and it’s the most expensive guitar that’s ever sold at auction. He said he wants to display the guitar in a tour of exhibitions at various galleries and art spaces, and he’ll donate the proceeds to the performing arts. He even said at some point, he’s going to donate the guitar as well. Wow. If ever you can be happy about losing out on an item in an auction, this is the time. I was out of the auction after the price went up over $700 bucks. But I mean...hey...it was an acoustic guitar, not an electric, so...I wasn’t going to go that high.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6298022888?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6298022888?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Now, another famous person’s guitar. And I’m writing this story with the recent news that the Blue Angels won’t do their annual air show in San Diego at Miramar Base. This “Blue Angel” is the guitar Prince owned, a Cloud 2 electric, 1984 custom-made axe. So this is one I’d go over $700 for. But, it ended up going for over $550,000. That was $448,100 over my price range.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This guitar was used in Prince tours for Purple Rain and Sign O’ the Times, as well as Lovesexy. He played it on a handful of TV shows around that time, too.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This guitar was thought to be lost, but now, it’s found (hey...that sounds like a song). The Julien’s guitar didn’t sell for as much a green model Cloud design that got $700,000 last year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It wasn’t just guitars that sold at the last Julien’s Auctions’ Music Icons. Elvis Presley’s stage worn belt, with lots of shiny stones, went for almost $300,000. They thought that would bring in $10,000. Johnny Cash’s Valencia acoustic guitar, which was autographed by Cash and his Highwaymen (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson), brought in $57,600. The white satin gown Madonna wore in her “Vogue” days, got $179,200. I would wash that after purchasing it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, I’d rather have a guitar that sold fairly recently. It’s a Jason Becker signature model, Kiesel JB24 “numbers” model, with numbers on the frets and rainbow pickups and natural wood finish. It’s not just because of the colors and wood, but the signatures on it. And it only sold for $26,000.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6298091683?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6298091683?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Becker signed it, as well as 16 others, including Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci, Uli Jon Roth, Richie Kotzen, Greg Howe, John 5, Chris Broderick, Nita Strauss, Ben Woods, Dave Amato, and Joe Bonamassa. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beck was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis almost 20 years ago, and the signers were well aware of this.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aside from all the various gear you get with this guitar (and there’s a lot), one thing Kiesel did I’m sure all of us autograph collectors will cringe over. He had a clear coat put over the body to protect the signatures from wear. A guitar magazine called this a “wise move” but...this would be like getting a signed 8x10, and then laminating it. You just don’t do that to signatures!!!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another cool thing that came with the guitar, were picks from most of the guitar slingers that signed it, and photos at the time of their signing (always great for proof of authenticity). </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All the proceeds of the sale went directly to the Jason Becker Special Needs Trust. I think the JB writing this...is in need of that damn JB guitar!</span></p>Autographed Card Sells For A Million Dollars!tag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-05-21:3524372:BlogPost:14702962020-05-21T17:03:47.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Okay, so...maybe that headline of that was a little fib. The card actually sold for $922,500. And of course, we now know that it won’t be long until a card sells for more than the famous Honus Wagner card. It’s amazing to think a card from 2009, which isn’t that long ago, could warrant such a price.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s a Mike Trout Red Refractor Autograph, that was graded 9.5 out of 10. The price realized for this rookie card was…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Okay, so...maybe that headline of that was a little fib. The card actually sold for $922,500. And of course, we now know that it won’t be long until a card sells for more than the famous Honus Wagner card. It’s amazing to think a card from 2009, which isn’t that long ago, could warrant such a price.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s a Mike Trout Red Refractor Autograph, that was graded 9.5 out of 10. The price realized for this rookie card was certainly helped by the fact that it was autographed. And, nobody held it against the owner of the Honus Wagner card that sold for just over $3 million, when it was only graded a 5. A card that old isn’t going to be in mint condition.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2018, a Mickey Mantle, 1952 Topps card (graded 9), sold for almost $3 million. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are only five of these Red Refractor Autograph made cards of Mike Trout. As of now, none of the other four have popped up. Perhaps one or two are in an unopened pack. If you’re interested in seeking out some unopened packs in search of one -- they are a few for about four thousand on Ebay right now (2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks and Prospects). There is a signed Trout card listed at $299,999, if you have the means.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/5225323481?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/5225323481?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Trout has won the MVP three times, and he has finished first or second seven times in his eight seasons playing. So nobody is doubting this is a future Hall of Famer that will be in conversations about the GOAT if he keeps up his impressive numbers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve said this before, but I love speculating. When kids play Little League, and they do team photos, some companies will make fake baseball cards with your kid. They’re adorable. They put some stats on the back, and the photo in the front. Well, if one of these kids becomes a huge baseball star, imagine a person in the family having one of those cards, when there are only a handful ever made, and they’re all owned by family. It’s a card that’s nine years before their “rookie card”. Imagine a Mike Trout baseball card from when he was 10-years-old, with an autograph from a kid who could barely write his name. Of course, it would probably be hard to prove authenticity on the autograph, but...if the seller is someone related, I’m sure they’d still make half a mil from it.</span></p>The Day I Interviewed Fred Willard -- R.I.P.tag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-05-17:3524372:BlogPost:14689802020-05-17T01:11:49.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I got a phone call from a friend I’ve been going to movies with for 25 years. I met him when he managed a movie theatre and I was a teenager who had a buddy working for him. We started playing racquetball together and, upon realizing I loved movies, our conversations after games usually revolved around actors and films we liked. I hadn’t heard from him in a month, but he called and said, “An actor we both love died.”…</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I got a phone call from a friend I’ve been going to movies with for 25 years. I met him when he managed a movie theatre and I was a teenager who had a buddy working for him. We started playing racquetball together and, upon realizing I loved movies, our conversations after games usually revolved around actors and films we liked. I hadn’t heard from him in a month, but he called and said, “An actor we both love died.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When he told me it was Fred Willard, I was shocked. Even more so when he said, “Did you realize he was 86?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I would’ve guessed 68. The guy has looked to be in his 50s forever. It’s kind of how Wilfred Brimley has looked like he was 86 his whole life.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I first saw Willard on the TV show “Fernwood 2 Night” in the ‘70s. At that time, it was Martin Mull who struck me as the funniest. Yet over the years, I just started to appreciate the way Willard would play the straight guy so well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I won’t list all the great comedies he was in, but my favorite were the Christopher Guest “mockumentary” flicks. A playwright named Jonathan Rosenberg and I get together once a week and talk movies and plays. Just last month we talked about how Willard was the best part of</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">A</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mighty Wind</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(the Guest movie about a folk rock festival). He plays a former child actor who was on a show called “Wha’ Happened?” and he’d look at the camera and say that line when hijinx ensued. There was just something so hysterical about an adult, wanting to relive his glory days in the business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And that wasn’t even his funniest performance in a Guest film. That would easily be</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Best in</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Show</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, where he plays an ex-athlete, that is clueless doing the color commentary for a big dog show. He says so many hysterical things, that it would be impossible to quote the funniest of the bunch.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Around 11 years ago, he came to the</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fallbrook Film Festival</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(don’t look for it, it’s not there anymore). I did a brief interview with him. He couldn’t have been nicer. Not just to me, but the Fallbrook residents that all wanted photos or autographs from him. His wife (who passed away a few years ago), who he had been married to since 1968, kept trying to get him to leave near the end of the evening. Yet he stayed and kept answering questions from fans.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had a movie poster from</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is Spinal Tap</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which I asked him to sign. That was the first movie he did with Guest, and his part is rather small. He’s a military officer, and he’s walking the band to the stage, and asking them to make their performance brief. He’s obviously not a fan of their heavy metal tunes, but does mention a band he loved that played a Holiday Inn in Kansas City called “Four Jacks and a Jill.” This after telling the band their long hair wouldn’t cut muster there.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I already had the poster signed by the band, and when he also saw my Spinal Tap shirt, we had a great conversation about the movie.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/5087937500?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/5087937500?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>I had since gotten Ed Beagley, Jr. to sign the poster as well. He probably has the smallest part in the movie. He plays a nerdy drummer (one of the 28 drummers Spinal Tap had that died). There’s merely a clip of him playing. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My goal is to have the entire cast eventually sign that, but it will be tough, when Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal played mimes (and Crystal is really tough to get a signature from these days).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few years after meeting Willard, he would make the news for being caught in an adult movie theatre doing lewd acts. Not sure why a 78-year-old married man would risk his career pulling a Pee Wee Herman. That stunt immediately got him fired from a PBS gig, but he kept his humor about it. He released a statement that “It was a lousy film, and the theatre would make a terrific racquetball court.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He still continued to appear on all the late night shows doing bits. He often played a hapless character on</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Tonight Show</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or Jimmy Kimmel. Most recently, he played a father on</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Modern</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Family</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. I didn’t see the episode where they had a funeral for his character.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I always hate when famous people die and everyone says “It happens in 3’s.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I instead like to think, with comedy legend Jerry Stiller passing recently, he’s going to be up in heaven reunited with his wife, and with his co-stars Stiller and Abe Vigoda from their movie</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chump Change</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and saying to them, with hands raised -- “Hey, wha’ happened?!”</span></p>Rod Stewart -- An Autograph and a Checktag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-05-16:3524372:BlogPost:14686282020-05-16T17:25:51.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Who’s that knockin’ on my door?!!!!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve always been a fan of Rod Stewart. Even when he dipped his toe into disco sounding songs in the late ‘70s. He’s also been a good autograph signer, if there aren’t a billion people around.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s a classy move he pulled off recently. A nursing student named Natasha Jenkins was in a coma for 22 days from Covid-19. She did a video on…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Who’s that knockin’ on my door?!!!!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve always been a fan of Rod Stewart. Even when he dipped his toe into disco sounding songs in the late ‘70s. He’s also been a good autograph signer, if there aren’t a billion people around.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s a classy move he pulled off recently. A nursing student named Natasha Jenkins was in a coma for 22 days from Covid-19. She did a video on Facebook showing a meet up with her three children following five weeks of treatment at a hospital in Wales. Many people in the UK viewed that video, including Stewart.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jenkins got a call from a lady saying she was calling on behalf of Rod Stewart, and he wanted to send her something.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She assumed it would be a card, but it was a nice autographed photo she got two days later after a delivery person was knocking on her door. And, he also had a “get well” check for $6,000 from Sir Rod (that so sounds like a porn name).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many people in her town have been giving her cards, food, and gifts on her doorstep. Unfortunately, she’s in no shape to go back to the nursing courses, that were at the same hospital she was treated at. She said the money is going to help her not have to rush back to her regular grind.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She sent Stewart a thank you card and flowers.</span><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/5078151256?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/5078151256?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>The Day I Met LITTLE RICHARDtag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-05-09:3524372:BlogPost:14664632020-05-09T19:05:48.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880585295?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880585295?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a> Back in the day when you could go into a diner and put a quarter in the jukebox and hear your favorite ‘50s or ‘60s song, and Autograph Magazine was in newsstands...I wrote about the day I met Little Richard. That was probably 15 years ago, so I’ll write a much shorter version of that story, since I woke up to find he has…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880585295?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880585295?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Back in the day when you could go into a diner and put a quarter in the jukebox and hear your favorite ‘50s or ‘60s song, and Autograph Magazine was in newsstands...I wrote about the day I met Little Richard. That was probably 15 years ago, so I’ll write a much shorter version of that story, since I woke up to find he has passed at 87.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a huge fan of rock ‘n roll, and a collector of music memorabilia, I’m proud to say I own an autographed Elvis Presley album. It cost me $875, though. I was bummed it was “Fun in Acapulco” but a few years later that worked out well, when an auction had a shirt Elvis wore in that movie. I got that for $50, and someday I’ll frame them together.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880592055?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880592055?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>I looked at a few Buddy Holly autographs over the years, but they were always a few thousand dollars. That’s out of my price range (although I was lucky enough to get an album signed by all the Crickets, for a mere $25).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chuck Berry only came to San Diego one time in my life (and I’m 50). At the time, I was 20-years-old, and the venue was 21-and-up. I had to stand by the backstage door listening, while everyone else I worked with in radio enjoyed the concert. At least they took a guitar backstage that he signed for me (and he drew a smiley face on the guitar neck). I ended up also buying an album signed by Berry years later.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880598266?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880598266?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>I was a huge fan of Fats Domino, and I bought a signed picture of him relatively cheap. I framed it, and glued dominoes all around the glass frame. It looks amazing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of all those ‘50s icons, Little Richard is the one I just wasn’t the biggest fan of. Don’t get me wrong -- I LOVE “Long Tall Sally” “Keep A-Knockin’ (but you can’t come in), and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” I always thought “Lucille” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” were done better by other artists. I don’t care for his vocals on a lot of his songs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of my favorite Little Richard stories involves Buddy Holly. A woman that was a groupie in the ‘50swrote a book. She said she was backstage and wanted to do stuff to Little Richard. He was having none of it (she admits to being clueless about his sexuality), but he told her she could play with his chest a little. So, he had his shirt off, and she’s kissing and licking his chest, and Buddy Holly walks backstage. He drops his pants and starts … having his way with her. She said it was great, but that she heard the house announcer say, “Ladies and Gentleman, Buddy Holly!” and he immediately ran, while trying to put his pants back on. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Oooh, my head! (see what I did there?)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880604684?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880604684?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>But this isn’t about groupies. It’s about autographs. Let me get back on track.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was always fun seeing Little Richard in interviews, laughing, and yelling “Shut up!” He was playful, and listening to him rant about being the real “king of rock ‘n’ roll” (I saw in one interview say, “Correct that, I’m the queen of rock ‘n roll, darling….hahahahahaha.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s also nice that he lived long enough to make a lot of money in a business that screwed over a lot of the early artists. I remember when he played the Del Mar 20 years ago, he was paid $95,000 for the show. Not bad for a few hours work.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Doors and Beatles are my two favorite bands. The Fab Four covered three Little Richard songs (Ohh! My Soul, Lucille, and Long Tall Sally). McCartney also covered Lucille on one of his solo albums. Well, I always had a blast going to Beatles conventions. There would be bands doing cover songs, interesting items being sold, and lots of memorabilia to buy. They always had interesting celebrity guests, too. At one event in Los Angeles, Harry Nillson was a guest. There was a long line to meet him, and he was drunk off his butt. As much as I wanted him to have him sign an album for me, I figured there’d be another time (he died a year later). And, I had gotten tickets to take my roommate to see one of his favorite bands in concert that night -- Sweet (Ballroom Blitz). I had to split to drive back to San Diego.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880640461?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4880640461?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>Well, a bunch of Doors fans decided that if there can be Beatles conventions, there should be a Doors event. It was planned to be at the Marriott hotel on the Sunset Strip, just down the street from where they started at the Whiskey A-Go-Go and London Fog. I made the drive up there, met fellow fans, and got to meet Danny Sugarman (author of the book “No One Here Gets Out Alive”) as well as Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek (may they both rest in peace). Album photographer Henry Diltz was there, and I interviewed him for a story (he took the cover photo of Morrison Hotel, and over 200 other album covers).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I started talking music with this one guy and we really hit it off. He asked if I’d like to join him for a cigarette outside. I went to my car, grabbed a cigar, and joined him. As we talked about our favorite bands, the longest black limo I had ever seen pulled up. A gorgeous woman, about 35, got out and smiled at us. She looked like a combination of Halle Berry and singer Vanity (you young folks can look her up). We figured she must be a famous model. And as we smoked and talked, she came out of the hotel 15 minutes later. She was on the arm of Little Richard, who was wearing a silver sequins sports coat. I said “Oh my God, you’re Little Richard!” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He smiled and said, “I sure am.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I asked if I could get his autograph and he said, “Let me get into the car first.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He got into the limo with the woman and me and my new friend started talking about how bizarre it was. We were about 8 minutes into talking ‘50s rock ‘n roll when he said, “Uh, you realize he’s never going to come back out of that limo and give us his autograph.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, I did what a crazy fan would do. I knocked on the tinted window. It rolled down and I asked about his autograph. He said, “Oh yes, young man. I completely forgot.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With that, he handed me a really small bible. It was about 6 x 3. I said, “Uh, well...do you mind autographing this bible for me?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, “It’s already signed inside.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I said, “Great! Thank you so much.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The limo took off, and the guy said “Well, open that thing up. Let’s see his autograph.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I opened it up, and a small black-and-white photo fell out. On it was an inscribed message with a biblical verse, and his signature. It wasn’t hand signed, but printed on the photo. I was bummed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I wrote about this for the magazine, someone sent in a letter telling us that when he met Little Richard, he was also handed a bible (although his didn’t have a photo and he offered to buy mine).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wait. Did I start this story off saying it would be short? Sorry ‘bout that.</span></p>Val Kilmer -- Autographs Part IItag:live.autographmagazine.com,2020-05-04:3524372:BlogPost:14643002020-05-04T23:12:46.000ZJosh Boardhttps://live.autographmagazine.com/profile/JoshBoard870
<p>I wrote the story before about how he wouldn't sign autographs for people that had to sit through his horrible "Citizen Twain" play/movie, even though they paid $100 for the "meet-and-greet" (and they couldn't talk to him, as the surgery rendered him without a voice).</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1430641914?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1430641914?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a> He would sell you a signed picture for $75, he just wouldn't sign your items. Well,…</p>
<p>I wrote the story before about how he wouldn't sign autographs for people that had to sit through his horrible "Citizen Twain" play/movie, even though they paid $100 for the "meet-and-greet" (and they couldn't talk to him, as the surgery rendered him without a voice).</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1430641914?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1430641914?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a>He would sell you a signed picture for $75, he just wouldn't sign your items. Well, people that pre-ordered his book could get signed copies. A few had complained they didn't get it signed, though. Others have complained they got a book plate signed. I ordered one, so I could do a review.</p>
<p>In his book, he tells two interesting autograph stories. One of them is on the set of Batman (can we all agree, he was the worst Batman?). Jim Carey, playing the Riddler, was distraught about having just lost his dad. Carey said that at the funeral, someone came up with a headshot of him asking for him to sign it.</p>
<p>He also said that Marlon Brando, on the set of Dr. Moreau, gathered the entire cast, and everyone working on the movie, no matter what their job, to come over to his trailer so he could introduce himself. Kilmer figured he did this so during filming, various people wouldn't try to ask for his autograph during the process. A smart move by Brando.</p>
<p>Anyway, don't waste your time on the book. It's a mess. Here's my review of it: </p>
<p><a href="https://fox5sandiego.com/entertainment/val-kilmer-im-your-huckleberry-review/">https://fox5sandiego.com/entertainment/val-kilmer-im-your-huckleberry-review/</a></p>