Christopher Eccleston

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is the one and only Christopher Eccleston.


For those of you who don't know, Christopher played the Ninth Doctor in the 2005 re-boot of THE greatest tv show of all time, Doctor Who.

Before this time, however, you might have caught him in some early episodes of Cracker (starring Robbie Coltrane) before his character was killed by Robert Carlyle, and also in the Nicolas Cage Angelina Jolie film Gone In 60 Seconds.


Now, back to Doctor Who. The show began in 1963 and ran until 1989, with a telemovie in 1996. Much loved around the world, Christopher's performance as the broody yet confident Ninth Doctor was something not yet seen in the role. Sadly, he opted out of a 2nd season of the show, which probably adds to his appeal, leaving us wanting more.


There was much speculation about Christopher's departure from Doctor Who. Many rumours pointed to a high workload needed for the show, a fear of being typecast, personality clashes, or even a desire to try new things. Regardless of the reason, Christopher left, and has since starred in numourous feature films and tv roles.

For example, there was his turn as the villainous Destro in 2009's GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra.


And more recently as John Lennon in the tv movie Lennon: Naked.


Lately there's been talk of a possible return to Doctor Who for a one-off 50th Anniversary special episode in 2013. But of course, it's all rumour. Fingers crossed though!

Now, onto the autograph, here it is, a signed postcard received through the mail of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor.


Fantastic!

John Travolta

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, the one and only John Travolta (yay!).


John's first big role was as Vinny Barbarino in the 1970's sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" which starred Gabe Kaplan as a teacher in Brooklyn.


During this time, Travolta starred in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, and the 1979 film, Grease. Maybe you've heard of it? Or maybe like me you've watched it too many times? There's just something about a good musical. A-ha, a-ha, a wella wella...


Anyway, after these 2 hit films, Travolta continued working but didn't hit the bigtime until 1989 when he co-starred alongside Kirsty Alley in "Look Who's Talking" and the subsequent films "Look Who's Talking Too" and "Look Who's Talking Now".

The came 1994, when Travolta really hit the big time, starring as Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction". I watched this film again last week, and it's still brilliantly awesome!


Then in 1996 he starred alongside Christian Slater in "Broken Arrow", 1997 alongside Nicolas Cage in "Face/Off", and in 2001 he starred alongside Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry's boobs in "Swordfish", and don't forget his cameo in 2002's "Austin Powers in Goldmember".

In 2004 he played the villain in "The Punisher", based on the Marvel Comic book, and then in 2007 he returned to his musical best in "Hairspray". Great stuff, keep it coming John!


Anyway, onto the autograph. In the early 2000's I wrote to him, and received this nice inscribed photo in the mail. Pretty simple, but still fantastic.


Until next time...

Mark Viduka

Next on my celebrity autograph blog is former Socceroos Captain Mark Viduka. Yep, that's right, the V Bomber!

Mark Viduka started his football career in 1993 playing for the Melbourne Knights in the old NSL (National Soccer League). As top goal-scorer for the club, he was selected to play for the Socceroos in 1994.


After 2 seasons with the Knights, he moved to Croatia to play for Croatia Zagreb (now Dinamo Zagreb) for just over 3 years, playing in their UEFA Cup and Champions League teams during this time.

In 1998 Viduka moved to Glasgow Celtic in the Scottish League, where he experienced headaches with the club, mainly due to stress, and financial problems the club incurred with his transfer from Zagreb.


Then in 2000 he moved to Leeds United in the English Premier League, where he played the bulk of his career (130 matches). The highlight of his time at the club would have to be his 4 goals against Liverpool.


In 2004 he moved to Middlesborough, and with regular team appearances he was elevated to captain of the Socceroos under Guus Hiddink's tenure. Playing in the 2006 World Cup for the Socceroos, he failed to score but proved to be effective distraction for the opposition, which allowed other players (such as Tim Cahill) to score the goals. Hooray!


Then in 2007 he moved to Newcastle United, which struggled in the league and was eventually relegated to the First Division. With the club's relegation, Viduka retired from professional football. Since this time there has been rumours of a move to the A-League, most likely for either Melbourne Victory or Melbourne Heart, but Viduka has recently re-iterated his decision to retire from the game.

Now, onto the autograph. During his time at Leeds United I wrote to Viduka (despite me being a Liverpool supporter and he having just scored 4 goals against the Reds). Not long later I received this nice signed postcard.


Goal!

Martina Hingis

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is former Women's World Number 1 Tennis Champion, and my favourite player of all time, Martina Hingis.

Hingis was born in 1980 (like me!) in Slovakia, and represented Switzerland on the international stage. She spent a total of 209 weeks as World Number 1, won 5 Grand Slam singles titles, and 9 Grand Slam doubles titles.

Not only was she a fantastic player, but she was also very outspoken. Noticibly towards other players such as Steffi Graf "She is old now. Her time has passed.", Amelie Mauresmo "She's here with her girlfriend. She's half a man already.", and also Anna Kournikova "What rivalry? I win all the matches".



And I'm not even going to discuss what she said about the Williams sisters. Look it up.

In 2007 she tested positive for cocaine during that years Wimbledon tournament, and thusly retired from the sport before any ban could begin. But by then she'd already won over $20 million US.

Now, onto the autograph. During her playing career I wrote to her via the Swiss Tennis Institute and requested an autograph. Not long later I received this in the mail:



Score!

David Tench

My next autograph is a bit obscure, since he only existed for a few months in 2006, and when you think about it, he didn't actually exist at all. Of course I'm referring to: David Tench.



"Who the hell?" you ask? Good question. David Tench was the host of a chat show on Channel Ten called David Tench Tonight, which aired from August to November 2006, with a Christmas Special the following month.

The show was created by Andrew Denton, and David was created via computer technology. He would interview real people (albeit celebrities) and according to funnyman Mick Molloy, the interviewee would simply interact with a TV setup behind the desk, with the CGI entered in later on.

During the 2006 season of Big Brother, the show was promoted via viral marketing, with the BB demographic their obvious target. Some of his guests included Pat Rafter, Nelly Furtado, Jimmy Barnes, Layne Beachley, Meat Loaf, and future Australian PM Julia Gillard.


How emabarrassment!

David Tench was played by Australian actor Drew Forsyth (uncredited), given an American accent, and was also meant to be very cheeky and contriversial. Although a lot of people didn't really get his jokes, enjoy the show, or even watch the show. That's why it was cancelled.

Regardless, just like I did with Hamish and Andy when they were on Channel Seven, I emailed David Tench Tonight via their website and asked for an autograph. What I received was not your standard signed photo, but a jpeg image:



Not bad considering he never existed.

Matthew Pavlich

My next celebrity autograph for you is one of my most recent, Matthew Pavlich.


For those of you who don't know (as I don't have many sportspeople on this blog), Pavlich is the current captain of the Fremantle Football Club, having been in the role since 2007 and with the club since 2000.

Whilst the club, joining the AFL in 1994, has yet to win a premiership and even play in a Grand Final, it has made the finals in 2003, 2006 and 2010, mainly due to Pavlich (let's be honest).

As at the end of the 2010 season, Pavlich has played 236 matches and kicked 468 goals, which is pretty good considering he's more of a Centre Half Forward and not a traditional Forward.


Originally from Woodville West Torrens in South Australia, Pavlich ended intense media speculation and fortified his loyalty to the club, by re-signing with Fremantle in late 2007 for a further 3 seasons.

The club changed their logo and guernsey for the 2011 season, perhaps that may take them a bit closer to a premiership? Only time will tell.


But not only is Matthew Pavlich a champion on the field, he's also a decent bloke off the field, as an Ambassador for PBF the Paraplegic Benefit Fund. For more info please check out their website: http://www.pbf.asn.au/index.php

Now, onto the autograph. As a long-time Essendon supporter I wrote a letter to their current captain Jobe Watson, and all I received in reply was a pre-printed autograph of the 2010 team. Disheartened with that dismal response, I then wrote to Matthew Pavlich and included his 2006 trading card (wearing the club's away guernsey at the time). It didn't take long and I received this reply:



Terrific stuff!

Burgess Meredith

My next celebrity autograph is definately one of my most interesting, Burgess Meredith.


Who? You may ask. Tisk! Tisk! Perhaps you may remember him better as The Penguin from the 1960's Batman tv series? That's right. The Penguin. One of Batman's greatest enemies, Burgess Meredith appeared in 21 episodes. Not bad considering the show only went for 120 episodes in total. But lets not forget, he also appeared in the 1966 Batman movie, alongside The Joker, The Riddler and Catwoman, which shows you not only how popular the tv show was, but also how popular his character was.


Is that it? Definately not! Prior to his days as The Penguin, Burgess Meredith appeared in various episodes of The Twilight Zone, and Rawhide (amongst other Westerns). In fact, Burgess had a fairly extensive acting career, even after his breakout role as The Penguin ended.

But it wasn't until 1976 when he was cast as trainer Mickey Goldmill in Rocky alongside Sylvester Stallone that Burgess Meredith found his next big role. He continued the role in the subsequent sequels, up until 1990's Rocky V (that's the fifth one).


Is that it? No! Burgess Meredith also appeared as Grandpa Gustafson, alongside veterens Walther Matthau and Jack Lemmon in the 1993 movie Grumpy Old Men, and the 1995 sequel Grumpier Old Men.


Had Burgess Meredith not died in1997 I'm sure he would've appeared in many more movies.

Now, onto the autograph. As a teenager my brother and I used to collect comics from our local comic book retailer (in Ringwood, VIC Australia). We became friendly with the owner of the shop who was intrigued by our autograph collections. Then one day, he gave me this little gem, a Batman trading card which he had signed by the one and only Burgess Meredith. Golden!


Thanks Ian! Until next time...