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It was a bit confusing, and the jokes were a bit outdated (especially on Monday nights) but the show itself was terrific, with many awesome sketches, such as: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.