Last night and this morning I am hearing some very sad news about John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach for UCLA who won 10 National Titles from 1964-1975, that he is "gravely ill" at a hospital here in L.A. Though he is 99, and described himself as "at peace with my life" in an interview a few months back, It would seem this news is not good.

I post this for two reasons. I have been lucky to obtain about a dozen of his signatures over the last 20 years, attending the many…

In my Beatles signed record saga, I have an upcoming story about a relative that bought hundreds of tickets to a game in which a baseball record was going to be broken. All with the idea that this player would sign the tickets, they'd sell them, and split the profits. It didn't work out so well. Stay tuned for a future Autograph magazine for details.

It ties in to this unusual story.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay threw a perfect game against the…

What a great idea and for a very worthy cause.

The ska band NO DOUBT is listing currently on Ebay a boat load of memorabilia and autographed items with all the proceeds going to several very worthy charities of the bands choosing. What a fantastic way to obtain REAL signatures from this very friendly, yet hard to track down and obtain in person, 4 member band. Known as one the friendliest bands for signing for fans, yet also known for some very sloppy autographs on the…

I was at a party in Encinitas (15 miles north of San Diego), and I met an entertainment attorney. One of his clients was The Beach Boys. Another was Barbara Streisand. He had some great stories about hanging out with them in the studio and having them call his dad on his birthday, etc.

Well, in the San Diego Union-Tribune today, there was a story about an 8th grader at Notre Dame Academy in Carmel Valley (here in San Diego). This 8th grader is the daughter of Beach Boy Mike…

As part of the promo release for his newest album, "Thank you Mr. Churchill", Peter Frampton appeared at an in store Q&A session, and even played a bit of guitar, at the Hollywood Guitar Center on Wednesday May 26th from 7pm -10pm. It a nutshell, it was a blast!!! As part of the continued "SESSIONS" celebrity serise by The Guitar Center, the crowd of less than 200, including press, squeezed (I mean squeezed) into the area of side room stage, and was treated to a night of pure and very…

Now actor, Dennis Hopper has passed on! I never met him, but I do own his autograph I traded a dealer with for one that I owned. First Gary Coleman now Dennis.....who will round it out to make celeb death number three????

Here is a link..... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100529/ap_on_en_mo/us_obit_dennis_hopper

In retirement, he worked as a gunsmith, ran a salvage yard and raised horses and cattle. He spoke often of the Navy as a good career choice for young men and women.



"His story will continue inspiring generations to come while also reminding us all about the contributions and sacrifices of America's greatest generation," said Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Alpine), a longtime friend.



Finn was particularly important to aviation ordnance specialists: sailors whose job, while…

Gary Coleman passed today. I interviewed him at the Chiller Con in 2008. He signed a few items for me after our interview. Here is a link... http://www.movieline.com/2010/05/breaking-gary-coleman-dead-at-age-42.php

One of these days, I'll get around to writing my column about actress Juliette Lewis (anyone remember her dad Geoffrey, who played Clint Eastwoods buddy in thos 70s films?)

Her and I have had a few autograph moments together that I'll someday share, when I run out of other cool column ideas.

Anywhoooo...in US Magazine, it said that she was signing autographs outside a bathroom on a Delta flight from New York City to L.A.

I always wondered the…

While waiting in line outside last night (5/26) to attend the Guitar Center (Hollywood location) in store interview and album release of rock legend Peter Frampton, Woody Harrelson comes riding up on his Triumph motor cycle. After being told by security to park it in back, he then comes walking up to the store entrance. Seeing my chance for basically a freebie signature, I asked him for his autograph. Right away he said no, he doesn't sign, blah/blah/blah......... . I indicated that if he…

I'm a big fan of Jewel, and was excited to see the former San Diegan doing this event.

I'm going to be writing about it later in Autograph Magazine, but thought I'd alert you to this now in a blog, in case you're interested.

It's a lot cooler than the listener parties some music stores do when a new CD comes out. This is an interactive concert, where you can go to a venue in your city, and watch Jewel perform. And, you can also buy a copy of Jewel's latest CD --…

On CNN's Headline News, I just saw an interview with these people that are selling a Michael Jackson tribute belt. It's going to retail for $1,500.

And to promote the thing, they have one belt that was signed by the Jackson family. This INCLUDED his three children (Blanket could barely spell out his name). This is going to be auctioned off Thursday online, with the money supposedly going to the family foundation.

Wow. Exploiting the kids in any way like this…

Don't see this movie. It's awful.

I hated the first one, and have found that so many women loved it. It baffles me.

And I was a big fan of the show!

There is one scene where a guy, who became a movie star in the first one (and Kim Cattral slept with, of course)...he shows up with a big movie he's promoting in New York. At the after-party, he's talking with Cattral, and a fan comes up and asks for his autograph.

Some of you know, but for those that don't, I am an all volunteer umpire and rules instructor for Little League Baseball for the past 14 seasons. I umpire games all over So. California. Many people in my leagues know too that I collect Rock and Roll autographs. So they put 2 and 2 together and ask me over the years about autographed Baseball Cards. I must confess to them that the only autographed baseball cards I have, in spite of my extreme love for both BB and autographs, are from Steve…

When I read the newspaper this morning at 6 a.m., half asleep, two stories caught my eye.

A silver dollar from the late 1700s sold, for over $7 million dollars. Some collector had owned it for seven years and decided to sell.

There was also a story about an art gallery in Paris that had a big robbery. Apparently, the alarm system hadn't been working since March. The thief did that move where they cut the paintings out of the frames, and left the frames…

Jonah Hill was on David Letterman the other night, to talk about his latest film "Get Him to the Greek" (it was funny, but could've been better).

He talked about a guy next to him smacking him in the face. The guy was sleeping and he woke him up. This passenger explained he had "night terrors" when he went to sleep and he apologized (before falling back asleep). It was hsyterical. You wonder why if someone doesn't have a condition like that, they avoid sleeping on a plane. Or,…

In this age of VIP concert tickets, pre-concert dinner parties, and merchadise that used to be just t-shirts and programs but now includes jackets, underwear, mugs, caps, jewlrey and even condoms (yes, I bought some KISS condoms at a concert in Anaheim several years ago), why I ask are these artists not selling pre-concert autograph signing packages? These artists are still on tour for many reasons, but seemingly those that are making a living by these touring bands will tell you a concert…

I have just added a discussion about the 4 time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion's signture structure and signing habits. I wanted to get this information out because of some recent problems where a couple of Non-NASCAR specific authenticators have been failing authentic Jimmie Johnson signatures. You can find that discussion here…