Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Earlier this month, I spent eight days in New York City with three friends (Doug, Jay, and Mark) collecting photographs and autographs at movie premieres, Broadways shows, talk shows, and special events. I even got my first subway "celebrity encounter," and made my debut on the syndicated television show, "TMZ on TV." I came home with photographs/autographs from 104 different individuals.

I'll have a more "in-depth" recap of the trip later, but here are a few highlights:

Day one of trip on Saturday, December 6, yielded a photograph with actor John Malkovich at the Saturday Night Live "after party." Malkovich is widely known for not signing autographs or taking photos. However, as he arrived at the party, he surprisingly stopped to take a photo with me and other members of our group. He didn't say much during the encounter, except a comment to my friend, Jay. Jay mentioned that he was also a graduate of Illinois State University, to which Malkovich responded, "oh, how tragic." As my friend, Mark, said, "this guy has weird he hasn't even begun to use." I had an encounter with Malkovich several years ago at the Roger Ebert Film Fetival. He literally spent three minutes explaining to me why he wasn't going to sign autographs or take photographs with anyone. Needless to say, I was happy that he stopped to take a photo!





Meeting my favorite movie director was another highlight of the New York trip. M. Night Shyamalan, known for movies such as The Sixth Sense, The Happening, and Signs, was doing a presentation at an architectural library on 44th street on December 11. He arrived late to the event, but stopped to sign one autograph for me and five other collectors waiting at the front door. I asked for a photo, but he declined citing his tardiness. So, a couple of hours later, I returned for the photo. He was more relaxed after the event and was happy to pose and even sign another autograph.









The third highlight of the trip was my encounter with astronaut and senator John Glenn. Glenn, one of the first astronauts in the U.S. space program and the oldest human to fly in space, was in town as the guest speaker for the College Football Hall of Fame Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Glenn arrived mid-afternoon, and after a quick trip to the men's room, signed an 8 x 10 for me and posed for this photograph.

Syndicated columnist and blogger Arianna Huffington was the featured speaker at last night's St. Louis Speaker Series presentation at Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis, Missouri.

She stuck out her hand to greet me as she exited the town car upon her arrival. Ms. Huffington then agreed to pose for this photograph and signed one 8 x 10, commenting, "wow, you are really prepared."

Today in St. Louis I met up with Richard Springthorpe. Richard who? You probably know him better as Dr. Noah Drake from the television soap opera General Hospital, or perhaps as musician Rick Springfield. The rock-n-roller is in concert tonight at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Springfield flew into Lambert St. Louis International Airport early this afternoon. He stopped for me and several other collectors and fans as he made his way to secure his baggage. He was a bit pressed for time, but did sign one autograph for each person and pose for photographs with all that asked. He looked especially rested after just wrapping up the Rick Springfield Cruise to Cozumel.

He's achieved success in three major medias: television, movies, and music. He's won numerous Grammy Awards. He's an Academy Award nominee. He's the only actor to have eight consecutive movies gross more than $100,000,000. And, he's one of my favorite actors.

Will Smith was in St. Louis today to promote his newest movie, Seven Pounds (watch the trailer here). I met Will as he left the Four Seasons Hotel about 6 p.m. to attend a screening of the flick at a local theater. The screening also served as a fund-raiser for an area food bank. As he had been doing all day, Will gladly stopped to sign autographs (he placed a beautiful personalized autograph on my Hancock promo poster; top row/far right) and flash his million-dollar smile (I swear he has the whitest teeth I've ever seen) for this photograph.

You can really tell Will enjoys meeting his fans. He's definitely one of the good guys.

Two-time Emmy award winner Sally Struthers stopped in Bloomington, Illinois, last night as the lead character in the play, Nunsense, at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. Struthers is best known for her role as Gloria Bunker Stivic on the long-running television sitcom All in the Family.

I arrived about five minutes before her bus pulled into the backstage area at the facility. The production manager asked that we wait until after the performance for autographs and photographs since Sally was in the "pre-show" zone. So....about four hours later we met Sally as she departed the backstage door for her tour bus. Although it was extremely windy, cold, and beginning to spit snow, she gladly stopped for this photo and signed one 8 x 10.

Here's Barack Obama, your next President of the United States.

This shot was taken during President-elect Obama's visit to a town hall meeting in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 2006. He signed a Time magazine cover and an 8 x10 and posed for this photograph as he arrived at the event.

Last Sunday it was Jackson Browne and today it was another music legend.

I met up with Graham Nash at 3:40 p.m. as he departed the Hilton Hotel in Springfield, Illinois, to board his tour bus and travel to his sold out Crosby-Nash concert at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois-Springfield. As he exited the elevator, Nash walked over to our group, said hello, and told us he'd sign one autograph per person. He placed a beautiful silver signature on a single shot from the current tour. Nash has a very long, free-flowing signature and it stretched across the top of the 8 x 10. After signing, he gladly posed for this photograph before grabbing his rolling luggage to head out the door.

I wasn't so fortunate with David Crosby. However, it wasn't much of a surprise. He's one of the toughest autographs in the music business and today was no exception. A few minutes after Nash left, Crosby arrived in the lobby accompanied by his tour manager. Without missing a step, he quickly said, "thanks, guys," and made his way out the front door. At least it was a better escounter than another collector experienced in Washington, D.C., recently when he was doused by Crosby's coffee as he attempted to get a signature.

I finally got to meet one of pop music's most gifted singer/songwriters this afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri.

Jackson Browne, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, stopped to take this photograph and chat about autographs as he departed the Westin Hotel at 3:30 p.m. for his concert tonight at the Fox Theater. Browne was more than happy to pose for the camera, however, he said he just doesn't sign autographs anymore. He said too much ends up on Ebay and in other places. Jackson told a story about a recent visit to New York for promotion work on his new compact disk. He was met by the same collectors in all four places he stopped one morning. He was polite and understanding in his discussion with some other autograph collectors today, but stuck to his guns when it came to not signing. I was just tickled that he stopped to take a photo and chat. I actually think he would have chatted longer if not for having to talk about autographs.

Earlier in the day, comedian Steven Wright stopped to take a picture with me as he departed Lambert St. Louis International Airport. I almost didn't recognize Steven with his beard, bushy hair, and Emerson College cap.

Renowned French chef Jacques Pepin was in University City, Missouri, (St. Louis suburb) last night to sign copies of his newest book, Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way. The signing took place at COCA and followed a one hour talk about all things food. In addition to books, Pepin signed a couple of 8 x 10 promotional shots for me and a magazine article from last month's edition of Men's Vogue. He hadn't seen the article in print and enjoyed looking at the layout and photos. He made sure to tell me about his dog, Paco, who was sitting patiently in the photo while he prepared some wild bird.

About 20 minutes and just three blocks away, I scored this signed album from rock and roll legend Chuck Berry. Berry performs (including his famous "duck walk") monthly at Blueberry Hill in U City. He signed for me and three others just after he parked his car in the venue's tiny parking lot. While Berry does not take photos with fans (he'll stop signing if he sees a camera), he does sign at least one item for everyone waiting. And, if he really likes the item you have, he'll add a "smiley face" to his signature.

Dorothy's daughter was in St. Charles, Missouri, last Thursday and Friday to open the new Lindenwod Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Lindenwood University.

Liza Minnelli was the featured star for the school's new facility. She performed to nearly sold-out crowds both nights. I met Liza as she returned to the Ameristar Hotel following her Thursday night show. Although the show ended at 9:45 p.m., I didn't see her until almost midnight. My guess is she enjoyed dinner after the show. Nonetheless, she waved me and other collectors over to her car as she arrived at the hotel. She was in a great mood and took a few minutes to chat with everyone and take photographs. We asked her to sign, but she said to give all our items to her assistant and she would sit down and sign everything once she got to her room. About 15 minutes, her assistant came down with all our signed items.

In between the show and waiting for Liza to return to the hotel, I made a quick trip to University City to catch singer-songwriter Tift Merritt at Blueberry Hill. Talk about the right timing . . . she was meeting and greeting fans at the side of the stage as I walked inside. Tift gladly signed two 8 x 10s for me and posed for this photograph. She took time with each fan to visit before signing their autograph and posing for photos. Tift especially enjoyed one of the photos I had from last year's South by Southwest Festival.

On Sunday morning, I met up with a couple of members of the rock band, Styx, as they departed Lambert St. Louis International Airport. Ricky Phillips was first to appear and he gladly stopped to sign a compact disk and pose for this photograph. About an hour later, I spotted vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw at the check-in line. I waited until he was finished with his flying arrangements before asking him to sign my Shaw/Blades Influence compact disk. I then asked for a photo which he was glad to do. I was pleased he was in a great mood because I had heard from other collectors that he could sometimes be difficult. It wasn't the case Sunday morning. And . . . right before he took his place in the security line, he reached in his front pocket, pulled out a Tommy Shaw Styxworld.com '08 pearl guitar pick and placed it in my hands. Thanks, Tommy!

Frank TV was on the air in Springfield, Illinois, last night as comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo was in concert at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield. He has his own sketch TV show, Frank TV, on TBS and you can see him doing many of his impressions (John Madden, William Shatner, George Bush) as the national spokesperson for Dish Network.

Caliendo arrived via the university's transport van at the venue at 7:45 p.m. just as his manager had promised about an hour earlier. As soon as he exited the van, he made his way towards me and greeted me with a big hello. I asked him for a photo and said I'd take it myself. As I lined up the shot, his manager was in front of us and said, "Wow, that's a better job than I'd do." Frank then gladly signed three 8 x 10 photos (one as George Bush, one as John Madden, and one as Robin Williams), plus a photo he took with my friend, Mark, earlier in the year. His manager was impressed with the Bush photo and asked where I obtained the print. Before I could say a word, Frank said, "Duhhhhhh...you ever heard of the internet?" And we all laughed.

Earlier in the afternoon, I was in downtown Springfield for the Barack Obama rally featuring the first appearance with his vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden. A crowd estimated at 35,000 packed the grounds of the Old State Capitol and the surrounding streets. Lines to gain entrance to the grounds were four to five blocks long. For a moment I thought I was in Manhattan. I decided not to get in line, and instead waited until after the event had concluded before entering the Capitol grounds.

As the crowd began to thin, I caught up with CNN's Senior Political Correspondent, Candy Crowley, as she made her way from the media bleachers to the media work area. Even though she was pressed for time, she stopped to take this photograph and chat for a few seconds. I told her I remembered her from her days covering politics for the Associated Press. She said, "Wow, you have a good memory. That was a long time ago...almost twenty years ago."

I also got a photo with Major Garrett, the Congressional Correspondent for the Fox Noise...uh, I mean News Channel. He was sweating it out (see the photo) during his live shots as he wore a navy blazer over his long sleeve shirt. Garrett also took a moment between live shots to visit with me and take this photograph.

As promised...here's another update from last week.

Last Thursday, I took a road trip to St. Louis as it was "celebrity central" that day. First up was a stop at the Ritz Carlton for a shot at Tom Petty. Although Petty left via the garage on his tour bus and Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench ignored me, I did manage to grab photos with bassist Ron Blair and drummer Steve Ferrone. Both were coming back to the hotel following an afternoon walk and apparently a trip to a music store (see microphone that Blair is holding).

My next success was a meeting with Stacy Ferguson a.k.a. Fergie as she arrived at Lambert St. Louis International Airport following her cross country flight from Los Angeles. She gladly signed two items for me and the other collectors as she waited on her luggage to arrive. Fergie was in concert the next night at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. I asked her about her role in the upcoming movie, "Nine," and she replied that she was heading to London next week (this week) to begin pre-production work on the flick. Check out the size of those sunglasses...they were the size of dinner plates.

Later in the evening, I returned to Lambert to catch jazz saxophonist Dave Koz as he arrived via American Airlines from Los Angeles. He was in concert the following night at The Pageant in St. Louis. Koz was surprised to see so many collectors greeting him upon his arrival. He signed a photo of us from a previous meeting in St. Louis and took this new photograph. And, he signed lots and lots of autographs for the other collectors.

I also scored a signed CD and CD cover from Alice Cooper as he was departing the Four Seasons hotel for his show at The Pageant. He made a quick exit from the hotel to the waiting transport van; however, he did sign while sitting in the back seat of the van. Alice had broken a couple of ribs the week before and didn't feel like getting out of the van for the photograph.

I also caught up with Billy Bob Thornton as he was walking to his bus following his show at the Ameristar Casino. Unfortunately, he ignored me as security walked him to his tour bus. I waited about 30 minutes thinking he may hop off, but the bus started up and headed out of the garage to his next stop in Kansas City.

Just back from a quick and successful trip to St. Louis.

I caught up with rocker Joan Jett as she and her band mate/manager, Ken Laguana, arrived on their flight at Lambert St. Louis International Airport from New York. As she waited for luggage, Joan signed a couple of 8 x 10s and posed for this photograph. She signed 8 x 10s and albums for other collectors, but passed on the request to sign pick guards. Laguana said, "We've been burned on those before, so she's not signing any."

About 30 minutes later, I was at the Argosy Casino in Alton, Illinois, to get an autograph on a photo from a previous meeting with comedian Gilbert Gottfried. He was in concert for the second of two weekend shows. My friend, Mark, was able to secure comp tickets for us, and we were able to enjoy his 50-minute routine which was "over the top!" I still hurt from laughing so much. Following his performance, Gilbert signed autographs at his merchandise table. He remembered our previous encounter and gladly signed the photo and an 8 x 10 photo of the Aflack Duck (he does the voice). Since it was a casino, I couldn't get a new photo inside. Gilbert said meet me outside when I leave and I'll be happy to take a new photo. True to his word, he stopped for this photograph and even thanked me for waiting.

Stay tuned for another update on this past week's activities.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of a friend, I was treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience this past Thursday.

My friend does security for several major country music stars, including Toby Keith. Keith was in concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on July 31. The friend, who should probably remain anonymous, met me at the front gates and escorted me to the backstage area for behind the scenes look at the show. In addition to checking out the maze of tour buses (Keith has three opening acts), I got to hang out on the side of the stage during a portion of Montgomery Gentry's (one of the openers) set. From there, I got to see the dressing room complex. Then, about 8:45 p.m., he escorted me back to the dressing room complex for Keith's meet and greet. About 200 people made their way through the line as Keith posed for photos with each. Each person also got a pre-signed 8 x 10 photograph. As the meet and greet wrapped up, my friend led me over to Keith for this photograph. I mentioned to him that my secretary at work was related to Tim James, the songwriter who wrote the song, "My List." I had a copy of the CD single which James had already signed. My friend got Keith to sign the disk just as he left the dressing room for the stage. To wrap up things, my friend escorted me to the soundboard and to check out the first three songs of Keith's set.


After departing the venue, I headed to Lambert St. Louis International Airport to meet actress/singer Idina Menzel as she arrived on her flight from New York City. She had a concert the next night in St. Louis. Menzel won a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway play, Wicked. She gladly signed an 8 x 10 and posed for this photo.






Earlier in the afternoon, I stopped by Vintage Vinyl in University City to get autographs and this photo with the Ting Tings. Jules and Katie had just gotten in from Chicago after filming their latest video. They treated those in attendance to a brief three-song acoustic set before sitting down to sign CDs, poster, and photos.




This afternoon (Sunday), I took a "Free Ride" to St. Louis to meet rock-n-roll legend Edgar Winter as he arrived on his American Airlines flight from L.A. He was making his way to the Decatur Celebration today for an afternoon and evening performance. Edgar had just wrapped up a month-long tour last night as a member of Ringo Starr's All-Star Band. While he was waiting for his luggage to arrive, he took a seat and gladly signed a couple of 8 x 10s and then posed for this photograph.

Back in Jacksonville, I visited our local tatoo establishment, House of Ink, where I met actor/singer Jake LaBotz. LaBotz is on a tour of tatoo parlors as spreads his brand of rock and blues music. He played the role of Reese in the 2008 version of Rambo. LaBotz gladly signed one of his compact disks and posed for this photograph.

Loretta Swit, best known for her role as Major Margaret Houlihan on the television series, M*A*S*H* was in St. Louis Saturday evening for a benefit for Stray Rescue St. Louis. When we arrived, the 71-year-old actress was taking a break in the courtyard at the event. She had remembered us from a previous encounter at a jewelry convention (she designs and sells jewelry and had given us a bracelet) and walked us into the charity event to show us her animal artwork. She gave us detailed descriptions on several pieces. Loretta then happily signed a M*A*S*H* dvd and insert and posed for this photograph.

A little earlier in the evening, I met the guys in the band, One Republic, as they arrived via Frontier Airlines on their flight from Denver. They were scheduled to play Live on the Levee later in the evening. They currently have a top ten hit, "Stand and Stare," after scoring another top ten single last year with "Apologize." Each member signed their CD, "Dreaming Out Loud," although their tour manager initially kept us away from lead singer Ryan Tedder as he sat on the baggage carousel awaiting his luggage.

The Reverend is in the house!

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and R-n-B legend Al Green is in St. Louis tonight to perform at the Fox Theater. I met Reverend Green earlier this morning at St. Louis Lambert International Airport as he arrived on his American Airlines flight from Chicago. He was in great spirits as he playfully hid behind a post to avoid me and several other autograph collectors. The Reverend was especially excited to see I had his newest disk, Lay It Down, for him to sign (The new CD is vintage Al Green...track four, "No One Like You" is my favorite cut). He punctuated his excitement with a couple of "oh yeahs and hallelujahs" and a little dance after signing each autograph. And, he gladly posed for photos with us as he waited for his luggae to arrive.

George Carlin . . . a comedy legend . . . left us yesterday. And . . . he loved to meet others.

Talking about signing autographs, he said, “I always do it. No matter what. Look, it’s 30 seconds out of my life. And now those people had a good experience. And the next time my name comes up, for the rest of their lives, they’ll say ‘Yeah, I met Carlin once. He was nice.’ I’d much rather that than a lifetime of ‘Yeah, I bought all that guy’s albums and then he wouldn’t even sign my hat. That guy was a jerk.’ Thirty seconds for a lifetime? I’ll do that every time.”

I met him two different times...the last time shown here in late 2004 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis. George gladly signed my photo from our previous encounter and posed for this photo (one of my favorite shots...George was looking extra cool that day with the shades and leather jacket). And then, while examinig my friend, Mark's, albums, uttered this infamous line in a way only he could do, "Just where the f*** do you get all these records in such pristine condition?"

It's Sunday evening and time to recap last week's two celeb encounters.

The jazz supergroup, Return to Forever, was in concert at the Fox Theater in St. Louis on Tuesday. The group, consisting of jazz legends Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, Stanley Clark, and Lenny White, made a quick exit to their tour bus following the show. Unfortunately, all the fans got was a wave. So, I decided to follow their bus to see where it stopped. After a long trek through downtown St. Louis, the bus pulled into the new Four Seasons hotel near the riverfront. As the bus came to a halt, all four members exited the bus at the same time, so it was going to be a challenge to get them all to stop. I did good, obtaining autographs from Corea, Di Meola, and Clarke, and these photos with Corea, top, and Di Meola.





Last night, I made a quick 15 minute trip to Murrayville, Illinois, to get an autograph and photo with country artist T.G. Sheppard. T.G. was the special guest for the city's 150th anniversary celebration. He had an extensive merchandise table and was gladly signing photos, CDs, and t-shirts for fans.

Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich from the TV series Barney Miller was in the house Friday night at the Alton Argosy Casino. Steve Landesberg was on hand for the first of two nights of stand-up comedy at the Casino.

After a tip from a guard outside, we learned that Landesberg was dining inside the facility. We found the restaurant and waited until he finished his meal. Just before he arrived at the front door of the restaurant, he stopped and gladly signed two 8 x 10 photos and took this photograph. One of the photographs was from comedian Jonathan Winters' 80th birthday celebration. It was a photo he hadn't seen and he took a few minutes to recall the event for us.

This past Sunday started at the airport and ended in the rain in St. Louis.

First up on a busy day was a meeting with Harry Wayne Casey, better known as the KC of KC and the Sunshine Band. I met up with KC in Terminal A of Lambert St. Louis International Airport before he boarded his Continental Airlines flight to Cleveland. KC gladly signed a couple of 8 x 10s and posed for this photograph before getting in that dreaded security line. He had performed the day before at the Rib America Fest in downtown St. Louis.

Next up was a trip to Vintage Vinyl for an in-store performance and signing by Blind Melon. Unfortunately, the group's lead vocalist had a case of laryngitis, and the gig was canceled. However, they were scheduled to play later in the afternoon at Rib America, and that's where I caught up with the band. Each member gladly signed an 8 x 10, posed for photos, and apologized for canceling the in-store appearance. Two of the band members offered free admission to their show, which we gladly accepted. Here's an interesting shot with Rogers Stevens, guitarist. Kudos to all the guys for being so accommodating!

Next up on the Rib America Fest line-up was blues artist Johnny Lang. The Grammy-award winner was set to sign for me as he left his tour bus to take the stage, but his tour manager quickly halted that. Johnny said he'd take care of me after the show, and that's what he did. He signed an 8 x 10 and posed for this shot. The tour manager kept a close eye on everyone, making sure each person got only one autograph and no more. I'm pretty sure Johnny didn't care, but the tour manager was calling the shots.

I had a flashback to my high school days with Night Ranger, the final band of the day. Night Ranger was one of my favorites during the early 80's. They arrived about an hour before show time and quickly headed to their dressing room to prep for the show. However, a few minutes later, guitarist Brad Gillis popped out and came over to sign for me and a growing list of fans. Soon afterwards, lead singer Jack Blades did the same, gladly adding his signature to my albums and 8 x 10s. I had to wait until after the show to get the final original member of the band, Kelly Keagy. That wait wasn't long as a thunderstorm cut their set to about 45 minutes. The band emerged as the rain subsided and Kelly signed my items. For the "icing on the cake," the guys gathered together and posed for this group shot.

It was a judge and a rocker last night in Springfield.

United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was in town to speak at the Centennial Celebration of the Illinois Supreme Court Building at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.
Scalia arrived about 20 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. start. He signed one 8 x 10, commenting about how much hair he had in the photo. Scalia was a bit hesitant about posing for a photo, but finally agreed after a bit of prodding.

A couple of blocks away, legendary rock drummer Carmine Appice was conducting a clinic at Rolen Brothers Music. Appice got his start with Vanilla Fudge and later was the long-time drummer for Rod Stewart. During his tenure with Stewart, Appice wrote two of Stewart's biggest hits, "Young Turks," and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" The hour and a half clinic featured numerous demonstrations by Appice and question and answer session. As he wrapped up the event, he headed to his merchandise table to meet fans and sign autographs.