My first, stumbling (in hindsite embarassing) attempts at blogging were devoted to the few autographs I received when I was 11-13. I wanted to be a "blogger," but wasn't sure what it was I would "blog," exactly. My autographs were exclusively mine, so I thought that would be a good start. Nowhere else on the Web could they be found(!). Isn't that what it means to blog -- present something that is unique enough to merit visitors? So EBIN began with these:
A treasure. It is framed and hanging on a wall. I apparently sent Gene Roddenberry a drawing I'd done (no doubt of the Enterprise), and poured out my 11-year-old's love for his creation onto my Star Trek stationary. How cool is it to have Gene Roddenberry wish someone luck in the future. Alas, "the future" has not meant being Captain Kirk......I've always wondered why my last name (Adams) was left off of the inside address. Perhaps my handwriting was illegible when I wrote it. Either way, surely he recognized that my first and middle names were the names of the first two (other than Captain Robert April) captains of the Enterprise -- Christopher Pike and James T. Kirk. I have so much love for Roddenberry because he did this:
When I was around 12, I began I hobby where I'd cut pictures out of magazines like Starlog, and mail them in a S.A.S.E. to the person pictured with a request for an autograph. Most would respond with something like this from Anthony Daniels. This is a picture from The Empire Strikes Back, so I received it around 1980:
The imprints and holes caused by the tacks I used to pin this one on a wall in my room are evident on my Billy Dee Williams:
I seem to recall sending Dave Prowse a picture I'd cut out of Darth Vader, but this was just as good(!):
Harrison Ford paused for a moment while making either Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) or Blade Runner (1982), presumably, to do this for me:
Finally, my Christopher Reeve:
How great is that?! What a collection, luckeeee! How do you store these?
ReplyDeleteFor an 11 or 12 year old, I put a lot of effort into getting those! I don't remember the people who didn't respond like these did, but several did not. I actually don't store them as properly as I should. You've got me worried!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this in response to my question in the previous entry. I wish I'd have thought of this. Nowadays, I can't think of too many movie stars who would do this. It's kind of a shame that you can now buy autographs off of eBay.
ReplyDeletere: Superman the movie. I wish I could get as excited about a movie now as I was about that one.
anonymous- I obtained these the old-fashioned way - I earned it, as John Houseman used to say.
ReplyDeleteAs far as being excited about movies now - ain't that the truth!
Waaah! My Harrison Ford autograph is a STAMP--that piker. Good on you, nice collection. I have that Dave Prowse sig, he seems pretty militant about getting credit where he felt credit was due.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Can you tell I'm back on the night shift after my long maternity leave?
Hey dorothy! I'm glad you're "back"! And congratulations. I hope everything is good.
ReplyDeleteSo you can verify that my Harrison Ford is indeed the signature of Harrison Ford? I'm pretty sure my Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams are genuine, and I'm absolutely positive as to the authenticity of my Roddenberry. But I've always wondered about whether or not my others were signed by the actual person, or possibly stamps.
Well, the sig looks just like my stamped one, and your name is on it--it's the real deal as far as I'm concerned! The picture of Harrison Ford is just breathtaking. I have a fascination for him in just 3 movies--all George Lucas--American Graffiti, Star Wars, and The Empire Strikes Back. I've enjoyed some of his other films, but that time period...he moves me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Harrison Ford was very cool in all of those. The Star Wars prequels needed (among other things) Han Solo/Harrison Ford.
ReplyDelete