British PM David Cameron

Next on my list of autographs is the new British Prime Minister, David Cameron.


I noticed David on an British News Report a few months ago, and there was a lot of buzz around him as a possible future PM, so (as I have a few British PM autographs in my collection) I decided to ask him beforehand, just in case he did get the job.

It was just a simple email to the Torrie Party HQ. Now I don't really support either the Conservatives or the British Labour Party, but I thought I'd send a supportive email and see where it got me. Well... it got me this:


1. A pre-printed autographed photo of David (I can tell it's pre-printed because the autograph is pixelated).


2. A poorly spelt letter from the Conservative Party (I counted 2 mistakes, the first being no Full Stop in the second paragraph, and the second is the word "their" instead of "they're"). Hmm, makes me wonder if I can get a job at 10 Downing Streeet?

Until next time, be good!

Conan O'Brien

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is acutally one of my first ever successful through-the-mail replies, Conan O'Brien.


For those of you who don't know Conan, he was a writer for Saturday Night Live from 1987-91, and then he was a writer on The Simpsons from 1991-93.


Later that year, he replaced David Letterman as the host of NBC's "Late Night" when Letterman switched to CBS after being denied hosting duties on The Tonight Show (then held by Johnny Carson).


Foxtel's Comedy Channel used to show "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" from Monday's to Friday's, straight after The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Although, as Late Night was beemed off the satellite, Tuesday night would show Monday's episode, Wednesday would show Tuesday's episode, etc, and even worse, Monday night would show Friday's episode.
It was a bit confusing, and the jokes were a bit outdated (especially on Monday nights) but the show itself was terrific, with many awesome sketches, such as:
Triumph The Insult Comic Dog


and, In The Year 2000 (which co-starred O'Brien's side-kick Andy Richter)


Despite initial poor ratings, Late Night soldiered on, and it was this under-dog status that really made O'Brien stand out. Even when Andy Richter left, and the show seemed to be at it's lowest ebb, O'Brien really started to own it, and people started tuning in. Big time.
On a side note, when I visited New York City in 2005, I did the tour of NBC Studios, and stood in the Late Night studio. Unfortunately, O'Brien was on holidays in Norway at the time, so I never got to meet him (that would've been cool).

Late Night was such a hit that O'Brien went on to host The Oscars, whilst in Australia, the Comedy Channel switched The Tonight Show and Late Night (until they were told to switch it back to the normal format).

Then, in 2009, O'Brien got his wish to finally host The Tonight Show (once Jay Leno left). He moved everything from New York to Los Angeles, including the Max Weinberg 7, and he even got Andy Richter back to introduce the show each night.


Sadly, NBC didn't like O'Brien's version of the show, and after only 7 months he was forced out (with a hefty severance package), and replaced by the returning Jay Leno.

Conan O'Brien then started his "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" of 30 cities across the USA, and the latest word is that O'Brien has now signed on to host a new late night talk show TBS in November 2010. Hopefully the Comedy Channel picks it up...

Anyway, back to the autograph. Here it is, a nice b&w 8x10 of Conan O'Brien on the set of Late Night.

:D

Kaley Cuoco

Next in my line up of celebrity autographs is American TV star, Kaley Cuoco.


Kaley's first decent role was as Maureen McCormack (the actress who played Marcia Brady) in the biopic "Growing Up Brady". She received some applaud for this role, and having seen it once on Foxtel, I can agree. The film wasn't that bad either. Well, it was definately a lot better then "The Brady Bunch In The White House".

(That's her in the red top in the middle of the stairs)

After this, Cuoco went on to star in the mega-hit sitcom "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter" which was then shortened to "8 Simple Rules". Unfortunately, during the filming of the show's second season, John Ritter, who played the Dad, died of a congenital heart defect. The producers put the show on hiatis, and when it returned they wrote the death into the storyline. Going into it's third season, the show was never the same again (despite Katey Segal taking a more prominent role, and the casting of James Garner and David Spade), and was cancelled.

Then, Cuoco went on the star in the final 22 episodes of Charmed, as apprentice witch Billie Jenkins. But her biggest role (to date) was just around the corner...

Kaley Cuoco can now be seen as Penny in the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" on Channel 9, Go!, and Foxtel's Comedy Channel. For those of you who haven't watched the show, it's a delightful romp about two 20-something "nerds" who live aross the hall from Penny, a wanna-be actress. It has some great laughs, and a lot of comic book/movie/pop culture references. In the more recent epsiodes, Penny has hooked up with Leonard. In the past, when the 2 lead roles get together, this has lead to the show's downfall, but in this case it has reinvigorated the dynamic of the show and has lead to better storylines.

Anyway, back to the autograph, when Cuoco was starring in 8 Simple Rules, I sent my usual letter of request (including a self-addressed envelope) and not much longer, I received this charming 3x5 card as a reply. Sa-weet!

Pamela Anderson

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is 1990's sex symbol, Pamela Anderson.


Born in Canada and moving to the USA, the story goes that Anderson initially found fame when, whilst sitting in the crowd at a football match, she appeared on the big screen to the cheers of the crowd. She was then signed up as a model, and eventually moved to LA to appear in Playboy and become an actress.

It didn't take long before she was cast as Lisa, the "Tool Time Girl" on the popular sitcom, Home Improvement. 2 years later, she left the show and starred in what would arguably be her biggest role, as CJ Parker in Baywatch, aka "the most watched TV show in the world".

You can see why the show was so popular.


A year before she left Baywatch, she appeared in her only lead role feature film, Barb Wire. Savaged by critics, the film did very poorly.

After Baywatch, she starred as Valerie Irons in her own TV show, V.I.P. which lasted 4 seasons. A few guest appearances later, it wasn't until the Fox Network aired her sitcom Stacked, set in a coffee/book shop. Co-starring Christopher Lloyd, this show had a few good laughs, for an American show anyway.

Since then she has spoken out for PETA against Kentucky Fried Chicken, appeared in Australia's Big Brother, and had a cameo in the movies Borat, and Superhero Movie.

Hilarious!


Anyway, during her time on V.I.P, I managed to find her fanmail address, and wouldn't you know it, I received a successful reply in the mail. Booya!



Oh yeah, she also married a couple of blokes, and filmed a couple of home-made sex videos... but that was before it was "the cool thing to do".

Julie Newmar - Catwoman

The next autograph I have to show you is actually one of my most recent through-the-mail successes, Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman in the 1960's Batman TV show.

Here she is during a photoshoot in the 1960's.


For those of you who aren't familiar with the Batman TV series, it ran for 3 seasons, from January 1966 until March 1968, and also included a feature film in between the 1st and 2nd seasons. It was a worldwide hit and made stars out of the two leads, Adam West as Batman, and Burt Ward as Robin. The show also had some of the biggest names in showbusiness as villains, such as Cesar Romero as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, and Vincent Price as Egghead.

I was born in 1980, far too late to watch the show during it's original run, but thanks to Foxtel, I can now watch it every Saturday and Sunday morning on Fox Classics. My daughters love it!

Now, Julie Newmar was the first of 3 actresses to play the role of Catwoman during the 60's, the second being Lee Meriwether in the feature film, and Eartha Kitt in Season 3. I always thought Newmar was the best, which is why I wrote to her.

Which Catwoman do YOU prefer?
Julie Newmar


Lee Meriwether


Eartha Kitt


Julie Newmar also had a cameo in the low budget bio-pic Return To The Batcave, which included a cringe-worthy dance-scene between herself and Adam West. The movie is actually very good, and the actors playing Adam West, Burt Ward, etc all did a very good job in the roles. Check it out, it's camp, but it's good (just like Batman, actually).

Anyway, back to the autograph... I wrote a letter to her in 2002, with a self-addressed envelope and an international reply coupon, and I received the autograph 7 years later, making it (to date) my longest wait for a positive reply. But, it's a great autograph...



Although, I would've liked her to have written "To Manuel, Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar" but still, it's great nontheless.

David Tennant - the Tenth Doctor

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is David Tennant, one of the most popular actors to play The Doctor in the long-running BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who.



Fans of the show would know that in 2005, Christopher Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor, but declined a second season in the role for fear of typecasting. Therefore the producers decided to cast one of their original choices, David Tennant, whose claim to fame in those days was in the TV shows Blackpool, Casanova, and a cameo appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The Tenth Doctor was a cheeky upgrade on the brooding Ninth Doctor, and the fans loved it. Dressed in his "Geek Chic" suit and overcoat, sneakers, and with a boofed hairstyle and sideburns, the Tenth Doctor was zany. He appeared in the show from his end of season cameo in 2005, until his recent demise on New Years Day 2010.



David was a self confessed fan of the show (which had originally been on the air from 1963 until 1989 (with a tele-movie in 1996). The Tenth Doctor fought against some of the great villains, such as the Daleks (of course), the Sontarans, the Master (played by John Simm), a new-look version of the Cybermen. He also had a collection of wonderful companions, included Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, and Catherine Tate.

If you watch the Doctor Who Confidentials (the behind the scenes features in the DVDs) you will notice that David Tennant uses his natural scottish accent. However he decided to switch to a regular English accent for the show, which he felt would add to his character's appeal. If you would like to hear the Tenth Doctor in a Scottish accent, you just need to watch the episode "Tooth and Claw" to catch a glipse of it.

Now back to the autograph. In 2006 I wrote a letter to David Tennant asking for an autograph. You will notice, however, that when I received his autographed, David also included a letter, asking me to give thanks to my Mum for writing to me. Cheeky!



I hope you enjoyed my blog on David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor!

Pierce Brosnan - 007

Next on my list of celebrity autographs is Pierce Brosnan, the man who, in 1995, reinvigorated the James Bond movie franchise after it's 6 year absence from the silver screen. He's appeared in many other films, The Lawnmower Man, Mrs Doubtfire, and Dante's Peak, but since I'm a Bond nut, I'm devoting this blog to his years in the tuxedo.

Brosnan first came to the attention of Eon Productions, the team behind the cinematic super spy, back in 1981 when his wife, the late Cassandra Harris, played the role of Countess Lisl alongside Roger Moore in the brilliant For Yours Eyes Only.

When Roger left the role after 1985's A View To A Kill, Eon tried to secure Brosnan's contract, however he could not break free of his commitments to the TV series Remington Steele. 10 years later, Timothy Dalton said "thanks but no thanks" (apparently) to reprising his role for a third time, so Pierce was finally secured.

Brosnan as James Bond

1995's Goldeneye saw an all-new James Bond. Not just in his appearance, but also his character. Gone were his cigarettes, his dark brooding manner (introduced by Dalton), and gone was his overt sexually. Sure, he necked with Caroline in his Aston Martin DB5, had a hot sweaty romp with Xenia Onatopp in a spa, but it wasn't until he met Russian computer programmer Natalya Simonova that he finally did the nasty.

Buoyed by the box office success of Goldeneye, 1997's follow up Tomorrow Never Dies had one of the fastest production times for a Bond film since the 60's. It had some great elements, an interesting plot, and (in true Bond style) some cracking stunts, but if you took away all of the action, the film would probably have been 30 minutes long. If they had've allowed a longer pre-production time, the film may have been better. Also, screening it alongside James Cameron's Titantic was a poor decision.

1999 gave us The World Is Not Enough, my personal favourite. Brosnan finally seems comfortable in the role of Bond. With the longest pre-title sequence of all time, we get to see Brosnan fall out of a three storey window in Bilboa, take the Q-Boat on an action packed tour of the Thames, and ride a hot air balloon. The film also has Denise Richards (aka Dr Christmas Jones) parading around in next to nothing, with a great wet t-shirt competition in a nuclear sub near the end (I'm no expert but I think she won that competition).

The longest gap between films brought us to 2002's Die Another Day, which is the first time since 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service that a Bond film would use CGI (to it's detriment, I might add). 40 years since the first Bond film, Die Another Day was a celebration of all things 007, and you can spend hours trying to pick out all of the references. In terms of Box Office, it was also Brosnan's best, so you can see how he'd be miffed to then be axed from the role, in favour of the younger Daniel Craig.

This leads me to my autograph (I bet you forgot all about that, didn't you?). In late 2002 I was fortunate enough to see Brosnan at Melbourne's Crown Casino for the premier of Die Another Day. I wasn't one of the red carpet attendees, and I didn't even have a ticket, but I did wait for 2 hours under the hot December sun, just to catch a few minutes of 007 in the flesh. I didn't have anything for him to sign, so I was happy just to take photos. Oh, and Rosamund Pike was there as well. Lovely.

So, this shot was taken with an old film camera (remember them?) and I sent the best image to Pierce in the mail. About 2 months later, this is what I received. That's his autograph along with a PEACE symbol. Groovy man. Before you say it's a fake, please note that I have had this authenticated by a German collector (God bless the Germans).



It's nice to know that even big name Hollywood movie stars like Pierce Brosnan will sign autographs through the mail.