Autograph Hound's Blah Blah Blog

Friday, October 31, 2014

Clive Revill Emperor Dallas Fan Days 2014

The guys that run Fan Days also do a lot of private and public signings with various Star Wars alumni. Over the years I have gotten most of the main cast in person from the original Star Wars movies.  This time they brought in Clive Revill.

Okay, he’s not a marquee player like Mark Hamill but a rare opportunity nonetheless.  He was the first actor to portray the emperor in the movies. Yes, it’s minutiae but geeks are into minutiae.


The line was short but constant. Most of the people in line were working on projects.  The fans unrolled their posters already littered with signatures.  Some items barely had room for one more autographs. You’d almost expect to see gloves worn by the collectors to prevent the oils in their hands from damaging the paper…I think I have seen too many movies about mysteries in the museums.

After a short wait I got my photo signed and joined up with some friends. We were done for the night and started planning the next day.

AH

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Peter Robbins – Charlie Brown Dallas Fan Days 2014

As I get to the front of the line, I’m looking over PeterRobbins. He doesn’t LOOK like Charlie Brown.  He doesn’t SOUND like Charlie Brown.  Of course he is a voice actor and that was 45 years ago. It’s unfair of me to expect an oversized round head, beady eyes, one strand of curly hair, and thin lipped weak smile.

Friendly, open, smiling – what a great way to describe someone you grew up with as a kid.


After the pleasantries were aside, he asked if I knew any good steak places. Hmmm, I like a good filet.  I had several recommendations.  Not knowing his price point, I shamelessly mentioned the high dollar ones: Bob’s, III Forks, Silver Fox, and Del Frisco’s Double Eagle.

When I saw that he was actually writing down the names of the restaurants, I realized he was serious. He asked about how far they were.  I gave some estimates.  I looked to the volunteer helping at his table to get some confirmation of the distances. Her expression was a deer in the headlights; just a blank look.  Obviously her idea of a good steak was Red Lobster or even (the horror!) Steak Kountry.

Realizing the volunteer was no help, I told him to the show promoters.  He thanked me and I left with my autograph.

AH

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Karen Allen Dallas Fan Days 2014

Often I really have nothing to say to someone. Outside of exchanging a few pleasantries I just wing it.  I have no research to go on. I react or say something off the top of the head and move on. Sometimes it organically becomes a great meeting. Sometimes it’s a dud.

However, there are times I could use a few warm up swings.  Getting some time in the batting cage would be good. Stretching and preparing before the big game would be good; especially when I get a chance to meet Karen Allen.

This was THE Karen Allen of Indiana Jones fame; THE Karen Allen of Starman fame; THE Karen Allen who I’ve had a crush on for decades; THE Karen Allen the wife was tired of hearing about 2 months ago.


No one was in line for Karen. I rushed to the front with a huge silly grin on my face. She said hello. I’m not sure but I think I blushed. I said hello back. I asked for an autograph. She asked me what I would like signed. I picked a photo.

While everything was ‘good’, it was NOT going in a way worthy of the experience. I knew it was going to end too soon. Too soon!  This was embarrassing. This was going to be a premature autograph. I can’t have that with Karen Allen! I needed to do something to stop this. I needed to slow it down.  I need change the game plan before I just walk away with no anecdote to record. The count was now 0 and 1.

I paused. Mentally I stepped out of the batter’s box. I took a deep breath. Yeah, okay, it wasn’t a deep breath; it was a big love sick sigh. I looked her in the eyes. I said: I just need to absorb this for minute. I can’t believe I’m seeing you in person. I love your freckles. She just smiled. 

Yes, I’m really back on track now with that comment. Was that ever a swing and a miss?  I was miles behind that fastball. It wasn’t even a long foul ball. Ugh. I love your freckles? Really?  Let’s just say I’m pervy stalker. The count was 0 and 2. I haven’t even made contact.

I pause again…sans love sick sigh.  She asked if I want it personalized.  I said no. She signed. She handed me the photo. I thanked her. I told her how happy I was to finally meet her. She smiled sweetly back. It was over. This ended with a foul tip third strike into the catcher’s mitt. How inglorious.

I turned and left. I walked away and stared at her photo thinking that I could have game planned better.

AH

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Pat Priest Munster Mansion 2014

Something I had not known about for the last 10 years is Munster Mansion. A lady in Waxahachie has built a house to resemble the memorable abode for the TV series, The Munsters.  For one weekend a year, you can tour the house and the money goes to a charity.  Fair warning, it’s an extremely long wait to get inside.  It is amazing and while you may have your doubts about waiting, you do not question yourself afterward.

Along with the tour are several activities for the young and old. The event that caused a couple of hounds and me to drive all the way out there was Pat Priest, the blond, normal one from the TV series.

While I was only the 5th person in line, I waited close to 45 minutes to get my autograph. She was extremely personable and outgoing. With every intention of saying nothing to her so I could get in and out quickly, I found myself chatting and spending more time than I planned.

She told me was living in Idaho and how the weather in Texas is so unpredictable. She had been to the Munster Mansion wearing furs and long johns and other times desperately wanting air conditioning.  She brought a nice assortment of photos and was willing to sign other items and more than willing to pose for photos.

AH

 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Burton Gilliam Norma’s Café 2014

While Burton Gilliam is a local, I haven’t gotten him before. When I heard he’d be signing at the local Norma’s Café at lunch, I headed on over.

I got there as Burton was finishing. The wait staff and managers were busy taking photos with him. They had served him a large plate of chicken fried steak.  He spent 5 minutes trying to cut a piece off and eat it as one waitress or another posed with him. Very good naturally, he lifted his fork, dripping with gravy and posed with several people.

I just hung back and wanted him to finish.  He smiled and joked through all of the interruptions.  As he finally got the forkful in and chewed, he looked around and saw me.  He waved me up to the table.  I waved him and off and said I’d wait.  He swallowed and told me that it’s his pleasure. He pulled out a photo and picked up his pen.

He read my name badge and signed his photo. (Yes, I stopped by during my lunch hour.) I thanked him and was ready to let him eat in peace.   That was not in the cards. He asked where I grew up.  I told him Jersey. He gave me an even a bigger grin. He asked if I knew of Cape May.  I nodded yes. He told me he was in the Coast Guard and stationed there.  Then he told me he boxed for the Coast Guard. He had a very impressive record. I paused. I looked at his nose. I said, you must have been good, your nose wasn’t broken.   He said nope.

Then he asked where I worked.  I told him I’m at Mary Kay. He paused and he pulled a name out of the past: Rodgers.  I said: Richard?  I got a quick and emphatic yes.  He told me he went to church with Richard and his mom, Mary Kay. 

At that point I left.  He made a great impression with me and I was smiling all the way back to work.

AH

Friday, October 24, 2014

Nolan Ryan B&N Northpark May 2014

Yes, it’s true; the great Nolan Ryan wrote a cookbook. And he signed it too. Considering he has his own cattle and beef company, a cookbook is not that far from mark.

The wife and I attended the signing at a local Barnes and Noble. The crowd was large but well behaved. The signing went smoothly. We were in and out in a reasonable amount of time.   He did try to look up for each person and thank them for showing up. Nothing less than you would expect from a classy guy like him.

AH


Thursday, October 23, 2014

Ali Faulkner Fan Appreciation Days 2014

Dallas has a wealth of conventions that interest autograph collectors like me.  One of them recently changed hands. They held a Fan Appreciation Day to say thank you for the years of loyalty. The event was free and they had a few local actors and artists in attendance.

At this event, I picked up Ali Faulkner; a home grown actress that had a small role in one of the Twilight movies. While at the time I had not seen her in Twilight, I had seen her in Bad Kids Go to Hell.

We chatted.  Her fiancé was her handler. They made a cute couple.  The both seemed so young. A sign I’m getting old.

The photo I picked was the favorite of the future hubby. I guess we both have good taste.

AH

 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Garfunkel and Oats House of Blues 2014

Garfunkel and Oats came across my radar because of Chris Hardwick. The duo sang their song 29 31. Yes, it’s an oddly named song but very funny and the wife and I just laughed.

When Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome (the Oats and the Garfunkel) starred in a show on IFC, we naturally watched. We were slightly shocked but we also laughed. When they appeared at the House of Blues, we went and saw their act live. They do put on a good show. Go see them.

After the show we stayed and collected some autographs.  They set up a table and tried to sell CDs and t-shirts (let’s face it – a show on IFC didn’t bump them to a higher tax bracket) but everyone just wanted to say hello and get a signature.

They genuinely seemed to enjoy talking to their fans. They engaged individually or together based on the people talking to them.  They accepted feedback and input from the crowd with aplomb. I felt slightly greedy asking for an individual photo AND a group photo to be signed. When I mentioned it they both shook off any concern I had and thanked me for wanting their signatures.
But really, go see their show. You'll like it. You'll laugh. You'll never think of go carts the same way.

AH

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Survivor – Kickstarter 2014

Because of Veronica Mars, I learned about Kickstarter. While I was too late to take part of that project, I did surf through their site and funded the movie Survivor with Kevin Sorbo.  My perk was a signed poster and DVD.

To be truth, I’m not sure who signed the DVD. I image Kevin Sorbo signed but none of the signatures look like his. It does look like 5 people signed.  Nonetheless, it’s cool and I have it. Check out the scan.

If you have some insight on the signatures, send the info along. I’d love to hear from you.

AH

Monday, October 20, 2014

Candy Clark Summer 2014 – car show NY

My dad and I were talking and he slipped in a question about the top loaders I use for my autographs.  He did it slyly and hid his intent well. However, I grew up with this man and know some of his Jedi tricks.

This is the man that bought 2 Rubic Cubes when we thought he bought one. For months, he had the family amazed that he could solve it.  In reality, he just swapped out the disorganized one with the one that was untouched when we weren’t looking.

In time I’ll tell other tales, but a casual question may not be as casual as you think.  The conversation ended with me sending some top loaders, you know, ‘in case’ the need arises.

Not long after I sent my package, I get a package back from him. Inside was an autographed photo from Candy Clark of America Graffiti fame.

Dad goes to a lot to car shows. Not like the autoramas we have that tours the convention centers. These are shows of personal cars covering acres and acres of open fields. The cars are organized and the owners hang out with pride. They have travel from far and wide to spend a weekend talking to fellow enthusiasts.

At a show in New York, dad ever thoughtful, noticed Candy and went on over. He talked to her about my collection and got an autograph for me. He liked her and said she was friendly.

Thanks dad!

AH

Friday, October 17, 2014

Tom Baker CD

While I’m not as big of a Dr Who geek as a Star Trek geek, I have watched an awful lot of Dr Who. Of the old school, Doctors, Tom Baker is my favorite. I watched his episodes for decades since the others incarnations were not shown on PBS. Tom Baker is a part of my life.  We won’t even talk about the tears that fell when I say him regenerate…let’s move along to happier thoughts…puppies and kittens…


When a fellow hound mentioned a private signing in the UK with Tom, I couldn’t pass it up. I sent my money months in advance and just hoped to wasn’t a scam.

I got my audio CD in the mail with cool foreign postage markings.  It arrived safe and sound – the jewel case not cracked. I was a happy camper. It’s not a 8x10 but I’m very happy.

AH

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Teri Garr OC Dugout 10/2014

You probably know Teri Garr from a ton of different projects: Mr Mom, Close Encounters of Third Kind, and Young Frankenstein.

Being a Star Trek geek, I know her from Assignment Earth, the last aired episode of the second season. It was a possible spin off candidate for the series. She played a ditzy blonde secretary. While she is known for her ditzy characters, this might be the only ditzy female in a Star Trek episode that actually had lines.


I don’t do private signings because I don’t get my 2 seconds with the celeb, I made an exception with Teri Garr. I know she doesn’t do shows and with age and health being a factor, I figured this was my last chance.  I gladly sent my money to OC Dugout and chose the photo of her as Ms Lincoln from her Star Trek episode.

I eagerly waited for the photo to be sent back. When I saw the envelope, I greedily opened it. I stared at it for a few seconds. I showed it to the wife (not nearly as excited as I was) and stared at it for a few more seconds. Deep sigh of contentment.

The next day I found out she will be signing at a convention in Jersey. Her first convention ever. Oh well. I wasn’t going to Jersey and I’m glad she will be seeing her fans. I’m sure they will love her.

AH

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Ron Campbell Hard Rock Dallas 2014

While I was cruising in Hawaii, one of my autograph buddies contacted me about Ron Campbell. My fellow hound wasn’t sure when I was getting back but did want to ensure I didn’t overlook this opportunity. Being a big Beatles fan, this was a tough one to miss.

Ron Campbell was an animator for the Beatles cartoon TV series (I remember watching that as I kid with my Grandmom) and on the movie Yellow Submarine.  Thank God for Amazon Prime.  Since I didn’t have anything for him to sign and not having a lot of time to shop…what’s a girl to do?  I used my Amazon app and ordered the Yellow Submarine DVD and had it delivered in 2 days. It arrived in plenty of time for the signing.


Of course, I’m never important at work until I want to leave on time. I told most people I wanted to leave at 5PM so my buddy and I could drive down to Hard Rock together. Well, I left at 6PM.  It happens.

When we got to the Hard Rock they had some kids playing some very good music live but it was also very loud. The ambiance was nice but it was impossible to talk. I got my DVD signed but there was really no way to talk to Ron. A shame.  He was friendly and personalized but there a few questions I would have loved to ask him about animation in the 60’s and working the TV series and movie. It happens.

AH

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Matt Marcy Hawaii Cruise 2014

Yes, I have a problem and it concerns autographs. I was away from home and it’s been 5 days since I tracked down an autograph. It didn’t matter that I was in the tropical paradise known as Hawaii. It didn’t matter that I was with my beautiful wife. It didn’t matter that I was exhausted at the end of each day.  The itch was there; hiding behind every Lei or Banyan tree.  Each crash of a wave relaxed me and calmed me and allowed me to connect spiritually to my inner autograph hound.  The ever present Aloha and Mahalo didn’t distract me from wondering about odds of seeing Dog, the Bounty Hunter or the cast from Hawaii 5-O.

What made matters worse; I found out that I arrived in Hawaii a few days too late for a small Lost convention. I could have gotten Jorge Garcia!  How cool would that been?  That would have been perfect!

Of course, I would have been divorced not soon after. Small price to pay and all that. It’s not like this was an important trip. It was just celebrating our 10th anniversary, albeit 16 year late. I digress…

So, we are on ship. Sailing around Hawaii. There was a magic show. Upclose magic with Matt Marcy. I like magic. I like upclose magic. I dragged my wife.

It was a good show. Even with knowing how a few of the tricks were done, I was very entertained. He did it well. And the best part? Yes, you guessed it. He was signing copies of his DVD. How could I resist! Of course I queued up and
got a DVD signed.

We exchanged a few pleasantries. I mentioned he should be on SyFy Channel’s Wizard Wars. He mentioned they actually talked but filming and cruise schedules conflicted. I picked up my DVD and left.

My Mr Hyde was appeased and the monster was at bay for rest of the trip.

AH

 

Monday, October 13, 2014

I’m back – sorta

No promises as we still a lot of life going on.

We have a roommate.

We found a house and are building. So we are making gains on that front. Considering we weren’t even thinking about a new house 5 weeks before we signed some papers, that’s incredible.

BUT we went and survived Hawaii. We even had a good time, although we both caught colds. And that is one ‘front’ that is completed.

We are getting into some kind of routine…for good or ill.

I think I can write some posts on a semi-regular basis. I’m turning on the lights and spending some time on the blog.


I was told that my ‘follow me’ link didn’t work for Facebook. Ugh. So I tried and they were right, it didn’t work. I tried to find another application/widget to replace the one I had. No luck. Then I tried looking for code I could use and manually create a widget. No luck. Then I just removed the offending ‘follow me’ section.

Since life works this way sometimes, once I removed the section; I got an email from the company that created the widget that wasn’t working. I tried again and still had some issues. It’s ‘better’ but not perfect.  You can open my Facebook page IF you are already signed into Facebook. Baby steps…

My twit link opens 2 twitter sessions. Have no idea way. But two is better than none, although it does NOT look professional. Sorry.

Usually I post chronologically.  I only got through half of SDCC but I had some fun stuff happen since July and I want to share those first.

 AH