Confession: Did You Ever Write and Request a Celebrity Autograph?
Please tell me I'm not the only one.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was one of those. I was an autograph seeker in the 70s. Though my collection of autographs pretty much consisted of guest singers and musicians from church summer camp, I did write to one particular celebrity.
It could have been a letter to The Fonze from Happy Days, one of Charlie's Angels, or Valerie Bertinelli from the TV show One Day At A Time. It could have been to the girl I thought was the love of my life, Melissa Gilbert from Little House On the Prairie. But, no, it was none of these.
My celebrity crush was an athlete - an athlete who wore purple every Sunday. It was none other than Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton. I wrote him a letter asking for an autographed picture. I doubt he ever saw my letter, but I did receive in the mail a small, black and white autographed picture. I treasured it for years, until finally the autograph faded away and it was just a picture.
Now, it's time to see the world from the other side of the fence. I'm certainly no celebrity, but we received a letter in the mail this week at the radio station from what appears to be a little boy from Pennsylvania. He writes:
Dear KOOL 107.9-
Can you do me a huge favor? And please give me a autograph picture of yourself? If you don't mind at all?
Well you take good care-
Nicholas
How could I possibly say no to this little boy from so far away? The fact is, I can't, and an autographed photo is on its way back east. Nicolas doesn't know me, but I am sure hoping that when he opens the envelope and reads my little note inside that for just a moment, he will be the happiest little boy on the planet.
So, now it's time for you to come clean and tell the world who you once wrote to requesting an autographed photo -and be sure and let me know if you were successful.