I know that the autograph scene in this funny bit isn't the main thing, but for us collectors, it adds a bit of fun. Watch this funny skit that "Funny or Die" has done:…

Everyone is talking about actresses Felicity Huffman (and her husband William H. Macy) and Lori Loughlin getting caught up in this scandal where they paid off people to take the SAT for their kids, to help them get into college. Well, Loughlin did something that a lot of you would love, but most people hated. She signed autographs outside of court last week. It was probably bad form. Especially since Huffman has said she’s guilty and sorry. Loughlin seems…

I was watching Danny DeVito on The Talk today (can somebody explain to me why these talk shows with all women are so popular? Both "The Talk" and "The View" are just awful). Anyway, his new movie "Dumbo" looks great. And, he was in my favorite sitcom of all-time -- Taxi. He started talking about the show and he said how he had a lot of stuff around him that a…

Most younger folks (those under 40) probably only know Dick Dale from his great tune “Misirlou” being used to start Pulp Fiction off; or, they know the song that samples it by the Black Eyed Peas (in a concert I saw once, Dale said that Black Eyed Peas song made him enough money to buy a room edition on his home).

Those of us old fogies, or guitar lovers, know Dale as the “King of the Surf Guitar.” I was saddened…

Val Kilmer is an amazing talent. The stories of his early days are legendary. He was the youngest actor to ever get into Juilliard acting program. He was offered lots of film roles while he was there, and did stage work before hitting the big screen.

It’s hard to pick your favorite role of his, because so many were great. Here in San Diego, most locals would pick his Ice Man character in “Top Gun” since it was…

I thought I’d combine a handful of different things that are going on. The first, is what I heard about on a sports radio show. For a few days, they were talking about “cameos.” Now, as a movie critic, I think of a cameo as the point in a movie where a famous person comes on screen for only one scene. Well apparently, there’s a website (cameo.com) where you can pay to have famous people say a message to you, or for a friend/family member, for that special…

President Trump toured the area where a tornado killed over 20 people in Alabama. And, one of those bizarre autograph stories happened. Now, the last time I wrote about a weird autograph story involving Trump, it was when he held the photos up of folks that were killed by illegal immigrants. After he was done speaking, and holding up those huge photos, he autographed them and gave them to the family members. Now, it’s one thing if the family asked him to sign…

I just read in the paper this morning that Guy Webster died. Most of you won’t know that name. He was a great rock photographer. He did The Doors first album. He did the photo of the Mamas & Papas that has them all in the bathtub (he said they were all so stoned, it was even hard to do that). Dunhill record label producer…

Watching the Oscars, I was thrilled to see that “Green Book” won for “best picture” and that it grabbed the gold for the “best screenplay” and “best supporting actor.” All well-deserved, although I’d say Viggo should’ve won over Rami Malek wearing a fake mustache to play Freddie Mercury. That’s an argument for another day, though.…

I was shocked (and disappointed) to hear the NFL settled with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He sued the league for collusion, claiming they conspired to keep him out for kneeling during the National Anthem. I think it was a mix of him not being a very good quarterback anymore, and the bad press a team would get from…

My incident with Ryan Adams isn’t as crazy as the recent ones that are popping up, but...I figured I’d share it anyway. Often times, a celebrity dies and THEN I share my story of meeting them. Since Adams is in the news, I figured I’d tell my story.

I wasn’t much of a fan of his first band “Whiskeytown” but I loved his first solo albums after that (Gold, Heartbreaker), and I kind of dug his band The…

I have autograph dreams (I just read that in a Martin Luther King, Jr. voice). They happen about once a week. I once dreamed I got onto the Queen tour bus, and everyone signed the “A Night at the Opera” album (perfect white background for a black Sharpie), except Freddie. I kept following him around bugging him, and in my dream, my mind said -- wait, Mercury is dead. How is…

There’s a story that came out the other day that confuses me. A baseball card collector named Dale Ball in Fresno, California, claims he’s holding a baseball card that might be worth millions. If proven to be real, it will put the Honus Wagner card to shame. And he only paid $2 for it, which didn’t surprise me. At first. I figured, he probably saw it at a garage sale or something. What blew me away though, is that he purchased it at Action Sports and Coin, in…

I love how Jimmy Kimmel does the autograph thing. It’s weird with people in the media. I once gave Jay Leno crap because he was always asking musicians to autograph a CD for him. You could see that right before they went to commercials and Leno was handing a Sharpie and CD to the star. I always wondered if Leno kept those, or gave them to friends/family as nice gifts.…

Have you ever had someone damage one of your autographs or collectables? I’ve had two different girlfriends that have. One time a girlfriend had purchased me this huge glass frame, shaped like a baseball field. She thought I could put some of my autographed baseball cards in it. There were spots for cards to slip in near the position they play. So by the pitchers mound, a spot to slip a card in. By first base, second, third...all the outfield. I told her I…

I’ll never forget the day I met legendary entertainer Carol Channing. Oh hell, who am I kidding. I did forget. Yet when I found out she died today, at 97, I quickly remembered.

The Hello, Dolly star was the toast of Broadway, and had iconic roles in the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. She was funny, cute, and had that interesting, slightly…

I always like to comment when movies have autograph scenes. The new movie “The Upside” (my review is here: https://fox5sandiego.com/2019/01/10/the-upside/ ) has two autograph scenes. In one of them, Bryan Cranston’s character talks about owning a lot of 1st edition books that are signed, that were gifts from his wife.…

It’s strange that since I’m not the biggest baseball fan, that my next blog would also involve baseball. Yet a story popped into my brain that I hadn’t thought about since it happened when I was in 9th grade (more than 30 years ago).

The story actually starts when I was in 5th grade. A kid named Mike moved into town and everyone at our elementary school disliked him. He had this arrogance that was annoying, and his…

Baseball might be my least favorite sport. Now, that doesn’t mean I’d turn down an autographed Mickey Mantle baseball (but I’d prefer his Topps rookie card). I’ve got about 10 signed baseballs (the Roger Maris one is probably my favorite).

Because I love football and find baseball to be boring, I thought George Carlin’s baseball/football bit was hysterical.

Yet I heard…

It was sad news to hear that Penny Marshall died. It's even sadder that most people (over the age of 50), only know her from her TV work as Laverne on "Laverne and Shirley." She's directed some amazing films -- Big and A League of Their Own, both with Tom Hanks. Hey, there may be no "crying in baseball" but there can be crying for Marshall. Losing this talent, at age 75, is tragic.

I met her once. Well, strike that. I didn't meet her. She walked by me, and we smiled at each other. I…