Here's the creator of Twitter and the Founder and CEO of Square, Jack Dorsey, before a recent event to promote Square in Chicago. Dorsey, whose net worth is over $1 billion, happily posed and signed several 8x10s for my collection. Plus, he signed his Twitter handle, @jack, on this sheet. 

80's rocker Greg Kihn was one of the featured guests at the 2013 Beatlefest in Chicago this past weekend. Kihn was in town to promote his newest novel, Rubber Soul, which casts the Fab Four in a murder mystery. In addition to promoting his latest literary efforts, Kihn visited at length with fans, signed copies of his books/cds/photos, told stories, and even gave a three-song acoustic performance.

Joey Molland, the original lead guitarist for the 70's band, Bandfinger, was also a guest. Badfinger, known for such hits as Day After Day and No Matter What, shared the Beatles Apple Records label. Molland premiered his newest recording, Memphis, at the event. He said he plans to visit other music cities across the United States, including St. Louis, MO, to record music with the feel of the city using each city's best and most famous musicians.

Both Kihn and Molland played with the Beatlefest band, Liverpool, each night of the event.

Other artists making an appearance both on stage and at the Fest included:

Chad and Jeremy, one of the first groups to hit it big in America during the British Invasion. Both signed autographs and met fans following their concert.
 

Billy J. Kramer, another artist from the British Invasion. He was managed by Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager. Kramer met fans during the convention.

Mark Hudson, Ringo Starr's longtime producer. Hudson who has also produced mega-hits with Aerosmith and Eric Clapton, also chatted with fans and signed autographs during the Beatlefest.

Can't begin to say how nice it is to get pictures and autographs less than a mile from home. That was the case this past weekend as the Morgan County Fair made its annual run.


Here's country artist Joe Nichols following his set Friday night. Nichols was great with fans. He spent close to an hour visiting with fans, taking pictures, and signing autographs. Having lived in St. Louis during his younger years, he was excited to see one of my photographs of him wearing a Cardinals jersey at last year's NLCS. He sang the national anthem that particular day. I also had a nice visit with his tour manager, Derek, who bears a striking resemblance to country star Zac Brown.


Saturday night I took part in a quick meet and greet with country star Josh Turner. He signed a copy of his new CD for the collection and posed for this photograph, courtesy of tour manager Jim Mayo.

George Costanza joined the club last night. He's the final Seinfeld cast member to make an appearance on Kevin's Celeb Pics.

Jason Alexander was in St. Louis for a private performance at the Peabody Opera House. About 30 minutes following the show, he exited the venue and walked over to greet me and a group of ten other fans. He signed lots of autographs (switching pens, asking where to sign, even signing one fan's overstuffed billfold and a high school yearbook from his days at Livingston, NJ high school) and took pictures with everyone, all the while cracking jokes and answering questions. Some wanted to ask about his new hair, but none was brave enough to inquire.

Alexander is not a stranger to St. Louis. He spent part of 1989 in the city filming the movie, "White Palace."

His tweet as he left St. Louis last night, "Nice arch, BTW."

Ebertfest, the annual Roger Ebert Film Festival at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, IL, was this past weekend. One of the visiting actresses was Shaliene Woodley. Woodley's star is rising quickly after co-starring with George Clooney in the Descendents and starring on the television series The Secret Life of an American Teenager. Look for her next summer as the co-star in the Amazing Spiderman 2, plus a starring role in Divergent, currently filming in Chicago. She signed a couple of 8x10s and posed before heading into the theater for the screening of The Spectacular Now, a film released earlier this year.


As a bonus, I got a photo with Woodley's co-star in Divergent, Zoe Kravitz, as she made the trip with her pal to experience Ebertfest. Kravitz is the daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz and former Cosby star Lisa Bonet. She'll co-star with Will Smith in After Earth, set for release later this summer.


On the return trip, I stopped by Timbuktu in Decatur, IL, and got this photo and an autographed poster from country artist Chris Cavanaugh.

It was a busy weekend in Hannibal, Missouri, with back-to-back trips Friday and Saturday.


Here's Judy Norton who played Mary Ellen on the long-time CBS family drama, The Waltons. Norton was at Hannibal-LaGrange University for a benefit concert for the Hannibal Arts Association. Following her performance, she met fans in the lobby and signed autographs, including two stills from the Waltons. Norton has been in the area before, having competed in World Free Fall Convention (that's skydiving) in nearby Quincy, IL.


The next afternoon it was a trip to Hannibal High School for the Pirates Family Fund annual dinner and auction featuring pro football Hall of Famer, Dave "The Ghost" Casper. The Notre Dame graduate and Oakland Raider tight end met fans and signed autographs prior to his presentation in the school's auditorium.

Here's country music legend Dwight Yoakam in Springfield, IL, as he prepares to depart for his show tonight at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. The singer, songwriter, actor (who remembers Sling Blade?), and director was a bit slow on foot after suffering a foot injury at last night's concert, but happily singed his latest CD and posed for the above photo.

Interesting fact: Dwight is the most frequent musical guest in the history of the Tonight Show.