Letters Sent...

With only a few hours of 2006 remaining, I just thought I would update my blog one last time before the new year. Here are the last few requests I sent out this year:

• Kellie Pickler [Finalist on American Idol; country singer]
• Lee Arenberg [Actor; plays Pintel in Pirates of the Carribean]
• Brian Littrell [Singer; member of the Backstreet Boys]
• Aaron Tveit [Broadway Actor; plays Link Larkin in Hairspray]
• Anthony Rapp [Actor; played Mark in the original Broadway cast/movie of RENT]
• Panic! at the Disco [Band]

I received some great successes this year! Hopefully there are many more to come in 2007! HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Cast of A Chorus Line

In early October, I had the opportunity to see the revival of the Broadway classic A Chorus Line while it was still in previews. I sent out a request to the theatre in early November. Last week I received this signed Playbill accompanied by a letter from the theatre thanking me for my letter and stating that the Playbill had been signed by the entire cast. I've gotten so many great successes from Broadway theatres recently, and this one of course is no exception!

Diana DeGarmo

As any regular visitor on my blog can probably tell by now I am a American Idol fanatic and occasionally write to my favorite contestants from various seasons of the show. In August I had read that Diana DeGarmo was returning to the Broadway show Hairspray to again play the role of Penny Pingleton. I missed the opportunity to write her when she first starred in the musical in the spring, so I was really excited that she rejoined the cast again. I sent her a letter in early September and in early November I received a color 5x7 signed and inscribed photo from her. She also signed and inscribed the index card that I had enclosed with my letter. I am really thrilled to hear back from her! In September I had the opportunity to go to a performance in which I saw both her and Haylie Duff perform. Both did such a great job! Aaron Tviet who played Link Larkin was a favorite of mine as well, so I hope to eventually send out an autograph request to him as well! :)

Emmanuelle Chriqui

I was really surprised to receive a reply back in late October from actress Emmanuelle Chriqui. I had given up hope long ago of hearing back from her, as I sent the letter out to her in 2002!!! I guess it just goes to show you that you never know when you may receive old requests back. She sent me this beautiful 8x10 signed and inscribed photo as well as another black and white photo head shot that she also inscribed and signed. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with her she starred in the movies Snow Day and On The Line.

Candance Cameron Bure

It's been a while since I have posted any new successes, but I am home this weekend from college and have received 3 autographs since starting school so I am adding them all to my blog now. Sorry I could not get them up any sooner. First, I received this inscribed and signed BW photo from Candance Cameron Bure in mid-October. She is most well know for playing DJ Tanner on Full House.

Letters Sent...

Sorry about the lack of updates. Now that I am back at college I haven't had time to send out any new autograph request, nor have I received any more back so far. However near the end of August/ Early September I managed to get a few more letters out before school started up...

• Usher [Singer; "U Got It Bad", "Confessions Part II", "Burn", and "Yeah!"]
• Justin Timberlake [Singer; former member of *Nsync]
• Diana DeGarmo [Finalist on American Idol]
• Rascal Flatts [ Country Band; "God Bless the Broken Road"]
• Sophia Myles [Actress; played Isolde in Tristian & Isolde]

Also, I recently got the chance to see Hairspray on Broadway, which I was really exicted about since Haylie Duff and Diana DeGarmo are members of the current cast. They both did a fabulous job... I'm really hoping to receive a response back from Diana. I'm also considering writing to Aaron Tveit who plays the role of Link Larkin. Does anyone know if he responds to fan mail sent to the theatre? Or have another succesfully tested address for him? If so please comment and let me know, I would really appreciate it! :)

Carrie Underwood

I have been a fan of Carrie Underwood's ever since seeing her audition on American Idol during Season 4. She instantly became one of my favorites, as has her CD Some Hearts. She's made quite an impact on country music in the shortwhile since being declared American Idol in 2005, winning a number of prestgious music awards from the Billboard Music, Country Music Televison and the Academy of Country Music.

Haylie Duff

Earlier this month I sent a request to Haylie Duff via the Broadway play Hairspray where she is currently performing the part of Amber Von Tussle. She plays Sandy on the WB's 7th Heaven. She is also a singer as well, and I love the cover of "Our Lips Are Sealed" that she recorded with her sister Hilary for the movie A Cinderella Story! I've been anxiously waiting for this reply and am happy to receive my 2 photos back signed and inscribed! She also included her own 8x10 color photo with a pre-printed autograph that she personalized to me.

Mel Stuart

Earlier this summer I had a success with Mel Stuart, but the photo I received had been damaged in the mail. I recently got around to sending another letter to him and quickly received another reply. Mr. Stuart was the director of 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, an adaption of the classic Rahl Dahl novel. He made a movie of the book at his daughter's suggestion. Rahl Dahl wasn't pleased with the result, so much that he refused to watch the movie in it's entirety! I received a black and white photo of Mel Stuart with Gene Wilder that was signed and inscribed to me. Mr.Stuart also enclosed a replica of the Golden Ticket that was autographed by him as well!

John Lasseter (pre-print)

I LOVE Disney movies and have a small collection of Disney related autographs (mostly voice actors and actresses). When I came across an mailing address online for Pixar Vice President John Lassester I decided to write to him. He has worked on many notable Disney movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and most recently Cars. Unfortunatley, John is too busy to personally reply to his fanmail, so the autograph is pre-printed. I'm not a big fan of pre-printed signatures in general, I'd much rather have the real thing. But wouldn't we all... Even though it's not an authentically signed photo it was still nice to receive something back and it is a cute photo!

Aria Wallace

I recently received this photo from a young-up-and-coming actress Aria Wallace who starred in the movie The Perfect Man as Hilary Duff's character's younger sister. I'm not entirley sure that this one is authentic, because Aria is only 10 years old, and to me the writing on the picture doesn't seem like the penmanship of a 10 year old. But you never know... Anyway it's a cute inscription and picture at the very least!

Letters Sent...

• Nick Lachey [Singer; memeber of 98 Degrees]
• Tim McGraw [Country singer; "Live Like You Were Dying"]
• Faith Hill [Country singer; "This Kiss", "Breath", "Cry"]
• Haylie Duff [Actresses/Singer; sister of Hilary Duff]
• Cast of Hairspray [Broadway Musical]

Cast of The Drowsy Chaperone

A few weekends ago my sister and I saw the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone. We had front row tickets and it was a great show! The cast were all so talented. Sutton Foster, Beth Leavel and Bob Martin were my favorites! I really wanted their autographs so I wrote the cast c/o the Marquis Theatre asking for two signed Playbills- one for myself and one for my sister. To my suprise today I received two Playbills in the mail today with the cast members autographs all over the cover of the Playbill! I'm really happy with this success. I wasn't expecting a response from them all so soon!

Anna Nalick

My last and favorite success of the day comes from singer/songwriter Anna Nalick. I wrote to her not to long ago and I got this autographed black and white 8x10 that was inscribed to me. She signed and inscribed the index card that I had enclosed as well. I recently discovered her music this past year and love it! Her debut album Wreck of the Day is awesome, so if you've never heard it you should definitely check it out! The best part of this success is that as I was taking it out of the envelope I noticed that there were black marks on the cardboard behind the photo. When I pulled it out I saw that Anna had personally handwritten a note back to me in response to a question I had asked her in my letter about when she plans on recording a new album!!! So I'm assuming Anna must personally read her fan mail, or at least some of it. She seems like a sweet down-to-earth girl who cares about her fans! I've never received a hand written letter or note back from a celebrity. They have all either been written by assistants or typed, so I was really excited when I saw this! I also included a scan of the note she wrote on the cardboard. To enlarge the letter just click on the scan of it! :) That's it for now... I need to get some more requests sent out so hopefully this streak of AWESOME successes I've been receiving lately will keep up! :)

Pat Sajak

I wrote Pat Sajak, the host of Wheel of Foutune through the show's webpage at the same time as I did Vanna. Today in a separate Wheel of Fourtune envelope than my Vanna autograph came in a received this black and white 8x10 autographed by Pat Sajak.

Vanna White

I watched the game show Wheel of Fortune alot when I was in grade school. I recently decided to contact Vanna through the show's webpage, and today I received this nice black and white 8x10 photo autographed by her!

Jennie Garth

This past Friday I received an autographed promo photo of Jennie Garth from "What I Like About You"! She also signed the index card I enclosed. Both signatures appear to be authentic as they match the one found on her Studio Fan Mail pre-prints. I'm really excited as I LOVE her WB show with Amanda Bynes. I also enjoyed Jennie's made-for- TV Christmas Movie "Secret Santa" that aired a few years ago on UPN.

Letters Sent...

Sucesses have been coming in recently a lot faster then I expected. So over the past week or so I've been working on sending some more out, and will continue to do so. Here's who I've sent out so far:

• Aria Wallace [Actress; 'The Perfect Man']
• John Lassester [Vice President of Pixar; has worked on animated films such as 'Toy Story', 'Toy Story 2', 'Finding Nemo', and 'The Incredibles']
• Candance Cameron- Bure [Actress; 'Full House']
• Timothy B. Schmit [Singer; member of the band The Eagles]
• Anna Nalick [Singer; "Breath (2am)"]
• Emily VanCamp [Actress; 'Everwood']

Howie Day

I love Howie's song "Collide". I saw him live in concert near the end of last year, and decided to send a request out to him in late spring. Today I received an autographed booklet for his CD Stop All The World Now. Definitely a nice successes and addition to my collection!

Julie Roberts

I love country music, but usually only listen to a select few well-know artists like Shania Twain, Leann Rimes, The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Up-and-coming country singers never seemed to appeal to me for some reason. That all changed a few years ago when I read about Julie Roberts. She started out as an employee of Mercury Records as an office receptionist, then later an assistant to the head of the record label. She worked on her music on side and eventually collaberated with a producer to record demos, one of which was played for the head of Mercury Records, who didn’t know at the time that this new country singer was his assistant! She landed a record deal, and recently released her second album. She is very reminiscent of Faith Hill, and I think she has a promising career ahead of her! I especially like her songs "Unlove Me" and "I Can't Get Over You".

Bob Saget

Growing up I loved watching Bob Saget's shows "Full House" ( who could forget Danny Tanner?) and "America's Funniest Home Videos". I never bothered to write to him before because he sent out pre-printed autographs from Studio Fan Mail. When others began reporting getting authentic autographs from him, I figured I'd give it a shot. I sent off a letter to him and near the end of June I recieved this black and white 8x10 photo inscribed to me!

Chris Daughtry

American Idol has been one of my favorite TV shows since it began in 2002. I’m a fan of many past contestants like Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Kimberly Locke, Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice. This season Chris Daughtry was one of my favorite contestants! He stood out to me from his audition and I really enjoyed his performances, especially his cover of rock songs such “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” by Fuel and “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi. I was disappointed that he didn’t make it into the finale, as I really thought he had a good chance of winning the competition! Regardless, I think he has a successful career ahead of him and look forward to him releasing an album! As soon as I saw that someone posted online a success for Chris, I wrote him a letter and sent out a request. I was happy to receive this nice signed color photo from him, as opposed to the computer printed photos others received. However, it’s hard for me to tell whether it is authentic or pre-printed. If anyone knows, please comment and let me know! Thanks! :)

Betty White

Some of my requests that I sent out are beginning to come back...I was excited to see not one, but two manila envelopes waiting for me when I came home from work! The first one is from actress Betty White. I loved watching the show Golden Girls when I was younger, and she was one of my favorites. I also enjoyed her in the movie Retrievers because I love dogs, especially Golden Retrievers! I’m glad to add this cute signed and inscribed black & white photograph of her with her Golden Retriever Kitta to my collection!

Letters Sent...

It's been kind of slow with sucesses recently, because I was away at school and haven't really sent a lot of requests out during the year. I started up again since I returned home last month. Here is a list of people I have sent letters to recently:

• Bo Bice [Finalist on American Idol- Season 4]
• Howie Day [Singer; "Collide"]
• Chris Daughtry [Finalist on American Idol- Season 5]
• Sidney Sheldon [Creator of 'I Dream Of Jeannie']
• Jennie Garth [Actress; 'What I Like About You']
• Pat Sajak & Vanna White ['Wheel of Fortune']
• Katelyn Tarver [Finalist on American Idol Juniors]

In other news, I received a signed photo back from Mel Stuart today after emailing him last week. However, my mailman folded the envelope when he put it in my mailbox, so the photo has a crease going down it. I also didn't receive a signed replica of the golden ticket like others have. I really wanted that too, so I'm going to send Mr.Stuart another request via snail mail, and include a piece of cardboard to prevent damage. I will post a scan when I receive an undamged photo, and hopefully a golden ticket as well!

Flashback: Aaron Carter

In April of 2001, I saw that Aaron Carter was starring in "Sessical the Musical" on Broadway. I am a fan of the Backstreet Boys, and Nick Carter was my favorite at the time. I liked Aaron as well, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to get his autograph. At the time I was a beginner, and sent him a newspaper ad, which wasn't the best idea since newspaper doesn't age well. Oh well, you learn from your mistakes. I take good care of my autographs though, storing them all in plastics sleeves in a three-ring binder, so for being 5 years old it is in great condition! I was suprised to get this one back a short while after sending it off to the Richard Rogers Theater, and deicded to start sending out requests as regularly as possible from that point on.

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Shelley. Welcome to my autograph blog! I'll start my first entry with a little bit about my autograph collecting and how I started. I sent my first autograph request out in 1999. It was shortly after I came back from a family vacation at Disney World, during which I had seen Davy Jones (from the Monkees) perform in concert there at Epcot. I was in elementary school at the time, and oddly a big fan of the Monkees. I really wanted Davy Jones autograph but had been unable to get it. My Dad told me how one of his friends collected celebrity autographs through the mail, and he suggested I write a letter to Davy. I searched online and came across the database The Star Archive as well as collector's personal websites. I found an address for Davy, wrote and letter and sent along a brochure from Epcot and a photo. Months later I received both of my items back in the SASE I provided along with a black and white postcard size picture that he included- all authentically signed. I don’t have a scan of any of these as they are packed away separately from the rest of my autographs, since it was before I really began to collect.

Then in April of 2001 I decided to send out some more requests. As I received responses back I became hooked on the hobby and have been sending out requests ever since. Once I began collecting I wanted to construct a website to share my successes with other collectors, but it became to time consuming and I was never quite happy with the results so it never really took off. Then recently I came across autograph collectors who displayed their successes through blogs. It seemed like a creative and less time consuming way to share my successes with other collectors, so I'm going to give it a try! I collect autographs of everyone from Actors, Actresses, Voice Actors/Actresses from Disney movies to singers and American Idol contestants. I even have a few off-beat oddities like ex-con man Frank Abagnale-from whom the movie Catch Me If You Can is based after, Art Clokey- the creator of claymation shows such as Gumby and David and Goliath to Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand- cartoonists of the comic strip Dennis the Menace...I will be posting the new successes I receive as well as those that I have already collected thus far. I will work on getting scans of my autographs up on my blog. In the meantime, you can check out some of my favorite autograph collecting sites under my links section!

Happy Collecting! :)