Kevin's Celeb Pics

Last night in St. Louis it was three-for-three highlighted by an exciting encounter with socialite Paris Hilton as she arrived at Lambert St. Louis International Airport from Los Angeles. She was originally scheduled to arrive at 5:20 p.m., but inclement weather in St. Louis delayed her flight until 6:50 p.m. Paris and her bodyguard were some of the first people off the plane. Dressed in all black with a hood and sunglasses, she was barely recognizable as she came off the plane. Although talking on her cell phone, she took time to sign autographs and pose for photographs for myself and about ten other collectors as she walked to the baggage claim area. It was quite the scene as we followed her. It had lots of other passengers wondering what was happening and the identity of the celebrity. As Paris came to the baggage claim area, her bodyguard led her outside to the parking garage and her SUV. By the time she approached the car, she had ended her telephone conversion and continued to sign autographs and take photographs. She even signed an old Time magazine, featuring her grandfather, Conrad Hilton, on the cover, for my friend, Jay. Paris was more than generous with the autographs, signing three for me and as many as six for another collector.

Here's another shot with Paris as we were walking through the airport. The hand on her shoulder was the bodyguard. He kept a hand on her the entire time walking through the airport before relaxing in the parking garage. The shot above was taken by the car. By the way, Paris was in St. Louis to promote her new fragrance, Can Can, at the South County Mall today. $150 would have gotten you the opportunity to meet her and get a signed photo.

Next, we hit the interstate for Laclede's Landing and the Laugh Factory. Actor, comedian, and former Saturday Night Live star Tracy Morgan was appearing there this weekend. We only had to wait about 15 minutes before he rolled up in a Lincoln town car. As he opened the door, we couldn't help but smell the aroma of a wonderful herbal cigarette that he'd been enjoying on the ride to the comedy club. Tracy was very nice and stopped to sign a photograph and take this picture. We also pointed out to him that the name of the street on which the club was located is Morgan Street and the pub across the street was the Morgan Street Brewery (see the sign in the background). He thought that was "cool."

Earlier in the afternoon, we stopped by the Holiday Inn in Alton to get an autograph and photo with comedian Emo Phillips as he departed for his show at the Argosy Alton Casino. Emo was the executive producer of the movie Meet the Parents and also starred in the Weird Al/Michael Richards movie UHF. What a silly guy! The inscription on my autograph: "To Kevin: My 18th favorite mammal of all time. Love...Emo."