Fridays and the Four have been good the past two Fridays.

Last night, I snapped this photographs with actor, comedian, and musician Steve Martin as he arrived back at the Four Seasons Hotel following his sold out concert with the Steep Canyon Rangers at the Roberts Orpheum Theater in St. Louis. He even put down his banjo for the shot.

A few minutes earlier, Martin signed autographs, in the rain, for about 50 fans waiting at the stage door. I asked for the photo then, but he declined citing too many people. Here's a shot of Martin signing before he autographed an 8 x 10 for my collection.

Check out Steve in action here.

Emmy and Tony Award winning actress Glenn Close was in St. Louis last night as the special guest for the Change a Mind, Change a Life Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel. She posed for this photo near the end of the cocktail hour.

She threw out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game this afternoon and is singing America, The Beautiful during the 7th inning stretch.

I also caught up with actress and fashion model Chloe Sevigny as she arrived in town for tonight's Dada Ball. The Oscar-nominated actress and star of HBO's Big Love, happily signed a Hollywood Life magazine cover and posed for this shot.

My night in St. Louis wrapped up with this photograph of professional wrestling legend Ric Flair. He is in St. Louis this weekend for a pay-per-view event. Flair threw out the first pitch at last night's Cardinals game.

Local Residents See, Photograph the Stars

Thanks to Kathy Rem and the Springfield State Journal-Register for the nice story.

I can't begin to tell you how nice it is when a famous person is less than two miles from your house. That was the case tonight as Helen Thomas, "Dean of the White House Press Corp," presented Illinois College's 2010 Phi Alpha Lecture. She also received an honorary membership in the Society. You may read about Thomas' press conference earlier this afternoon here.

Thomas was very gracious as she stopped to pose for this shot ("Why certainly," was her reply when I asked) and sign an 8 x 10 as she made her way into the College's Rammelkamp Chapel for her presentation.

Yes, she really is that short.

It's been a couple of weeks since I added to the collection, so here are the details.

On March 29, I arrived early at the Fox Theater in St. Louis for a chance to grab a photo and an autograph from Mo'Nique, this year's Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. She's currently on a tour featuring her first love, comedy. She and her entourage arrived a little less than two hours before show time. I did manage to get her attention as she made her way to the stage door, but she turned down my request for the photo. I then asked her if I could get an autograph. At that request, she stopped and moved toward me to sign my 8 x 10. However, I had to hand my Sharpie to her "guy" who then handed it to her. I asked for a photo again, but Mo'Nique said she had to get inside for the show. I inquired about after the show and she answered with a "well see, sweetie."

During the wait for her show to conclude, I did manage to get a new photograph with folk legend Arlo Guthrie. He was in concert at the Sheldon, which is across the parking lot from the Fox. While he used to be a generous signer, Arlo signed just 1 or 2 for the few fans waiting by his bus and then stopped for my photo before boarding his bus.

Back to the Fox, as the crowd exited, I heard people mention something about a "meet and greet" inside the Fox. I decided to inquire, and sure enough, she was meeting fans and posing for photos in the lobby. After a lengthy wait in line, mission accomplished. She posed for this shot, but wasn't up for signing autographs. However, I did manage to get another signed 8 x 10 as she exited the stage door surrounded by her entourage.