A recent trip to New York City allowed me a few hours to explore the Broadway scene. Here's a recap of my experiences at the stage door.
The husband and wife team of Ed Harris and Amy Madigan recently completed their appearance in The Jacksonian at the Acorn Theater. This theater can be a tough one to meet the actors. There is a front and back exit. With some advice from a fellow collector and a little luck, I managed to get photos with Ed and Amy as they left following a Friday night performance. Amy was a joy to visit with and we chatted about her role in one of my favorite movies, A Field of Dreams. Ed, meanwhile, was more reserved and quiet, but I did get him to pose.
Acting icons Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan are starring in Waiting for Godot at the Cort Theater. Billy Crudup is a co-star. McKellan was a gentleman about posing and signing playbills, and even conversing with fans. Stewart who just doesn't pose with fans (unless he gets paid) did manage to chat now and then with fans and sign a few autographs. Crudup was a gem taking care of everyone with autographs and photos.
St. Louis native and Tony Award winning actor Norbert Leo Butz is starring in Big Fish at the Neil Simon Theater. Unfortunately, the night I stopped by, Butz couldn't speak following the day's two performances. But he did smile when I mentioned St. Louis and when he signed my playbill.
Dule Hill and Fantasia currently star in After Midnight at the Brook Atkinson Theater. Dule, known for his TV roles on The West Wing and Psych, and Fantasia, an American Idol winner, signed and posed for photos following a Sunday afternoon performance.
It was a good thing I waited around because this guy walked by the theater. Hello Elvis Costello! He's a Broadway regular.
Zachary Levi of TV's Chuck fame is the star of First Date at the Longacre Theater. Levi does things right. He signs autographs for everyone first. Then, those who want a photo with him line up along the barricade. Nice and orderly. He even has a real conversation with each fan, asking questions, thanking them for attending, etc. Others should take a lesson. 
Here's Tony-award (The Light in the Piazza) winning actress Victoria Clark after a Sunday performance of The Snow Geese at the Sam Friedman Theater. Unfortunately, the star of the now ended play, Mary Louise Parker, exited another door.
My other Broadway disappointment was a no photo policy with Daniel Craig following his performance in Betrayal at the Barrymore Theater. Craig came out to say hello to fans, shake a few hands, and explained he couldn't sign autographs (charity signed playbill auction each night) or take photos because there were so many fans. His wife and co-star, Rachel Weisz, left through the theater's back door.

Time to get busy on some updates!

Here are the guys from the Mannheim Steamroller "Red Tour" following their concert December 16 at Sangamon Auditorium in Springfield. It was the first time I've seen the guys meet and greet fans following their show. That was a nice touch! They signed autographs for everyone who waited and stuck around a few extra minutes for photos for those who wanted.


PGA legend Fuzzy Zoeller was in St. Louis November 24 to promote his new premium vodka. Zoeller, one of only three golfers to win the Masters in their first attempt, signed autographs and posed with fans at a Sunday morning brunch at the Market Pub House.



I had a nice visit with NCAA record holder Jack Taylor, November 23, following his team's victory over Illinois College in Jacksonville. The Grinnell College junior holds the record for most points scored in a single college basketball game, 138, last year versus Faith Baptist Bible College. He also scored the NCAA's third-highest total of 109 in a game earlier this year. Taylor signed several action 8x10s and added the 138 inscription on each.


This 80's pop star made a RARE appearance in St. Louis November 9. Thomas Dolby was in concert at Blueberry Hill, promoting his new Invisible Lighthouse film project. Dolby, known for his mega-hit, "She Blinded Me With Science," stopped for a small group of fans as he exited his tour bus for a late afternoon sound check. He signed a couple of 8x10s and a CD for my collection.

A little later in the evening, I caught up with legendary country music group, Alabama, as they headed to their sold out show at the Fox Theater. Each member of the group took a moment to stop and pose for the camera. In order is Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook.

 

 

Country music group, Gloriana, took care of fans following their concert this afternoon at the Beardstown Fall Fun Festival. The trio of brothers Mike and Tom Gossin and Rachel Reinert emerged from their tour bus a few minutes after the show to chat with fans, sign autographs and pose for pictures, like this one above. The group earned their first platinum single earlier this year with "(Kissed You) Good Night."

Here's Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and founding member and lead vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, Marty Balin, following his performance September 21, 2013, at Sangamon Auditorium in Springfield. Balin was gracious with the autographs, signing several 8x10s, several albums, and a program. He also jumped in front of the camera for this shot.

I Dream of Jeannie and sure enough, dreams do come true!

Here's actress Barbara Eden at today's Hollywood Collector's Show in Rosemont, Illinois. The 82-year-old movie and TV actress whose work spans six decades, signed autographs, posed for photos, and visited fans throughout the morning and afternoon hours.
















One of her I Dream of Jeannie co-stars, Bill Daily, who played astronaut Roger Healey in the series, was stationed next to Eden. Daily, who grew up in Chicago, shared tales of his career performing as the bass player in Liberace's band. Daily is also famous for his role as airline pilot Howard Borden in the Bob Newhart Show. In addition, he recalled his fondness for working with baseball broadcasters Jack Buck and Harry Carey on charity events in St. Louis and Chicago.

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.

Here's one of my favorite musicians and one of the world's greatest guitarists, Eric Johnson. Johnson was at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois-Springfield for a concert last night. He stopped on his way in to the sound check to pose and sign a CD and a photo from our last meeting at the Old Rock House in St. Louis. The Austin, Texas, native even stuck around an extra minute while I sprinted back to my car to get the photo I forgot to grab.

This is Johnson performing one of my favorites, My Desert Rose, from a gig in Italy last year.

Here's actress Maria Bello Friday evening upon arriving in St. Louis for her appearance today at the Working Women's Survival Show. Bello commented this was her first trip to St. Louis and was excited to check out some of the sights during her weekend visit. Bello, best known for her work in Coyote Ugly, A History of Violence, and the TV drama E.R., signed two 8x10s and posed for this shot.


A couple of hours later, I ended up meeting actor/comedian/musician Brian Posehn following his set at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in St. Louis. Posehn, best known for his appearances in the Sarah Silverman Show, Just Shoot Me, and Rob Zombie's The Devils Rejects, took pictures and signed hundreds of autographs for everyone who asked. For you Seinfeld fans, Posehn was in the episode entitled, "The Burning." His character, along with Kramer, was instructed to "act out" to a group of medical students. While Kramer got gonorrhea, his character had a sponge left in him post surgery.

Here's country music legend Charley Pride as he gets ready to leave following last night's concert at the Effingham Performance Center in Effingham, Illinois. Pride is the biggest selling artist for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. Pride has an amazing 39 number one country hits to his credit.

The Country Music Hall of Famer visited with me for a few minutes and signed an album for my collection. We also talked a little baseball as he proudly showed me his 2011 American League Championship ring from the Texas Rangers. Pride is a minority owner in the major league team.

Legendary film director Oliver Stone was in Normal, Illinois, this evening to promote his current Showtime series and companion book, The Untold History of the United States, at Illinois State University.

The Academy-award winning director stopped to sign his book, along with his co-author, Peter Kuznick, upon arrival in Bloomington-Normal. He was excited to see I had the book. While signing the book next to the Adlai Stevenson statue seat, he mentioned he was hungry after two flights today. I told him the folks at ISU would probably take care of him, to which he responded with his wide grin, "What are they going to feed me? Corn on the cob? Meat loaf?"

Here are the first two celebrity photos for 2013.


Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Marc Cohn was in concert last evening at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. Cohn stopped for the photo and some autographs upon his return to the venue following dinner. In addition to a couple of 8 x 10s, he signed a rare promo CD single of Silver Thunderbird, the follow-up single to his biggest hit, Walking in Memphis. Silver Thunderbird is one of my favorite tunes.


Here's last night's opener for Cohn, British actress-singer-songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon. Pidgeon, who has appeared in such films as The Spanish Prisoner, The Winslow Boy, State and Main, Heist, and Red, met fans in the lobby following the show. She signed her Grammy-nominated CD and some movie stills for the collection. Her husband is a pretty famous guy too. He's playwright-director-writer David Mamet.

Here's the last celebrity photo for 2012 taken on the year's last day.



CNN's John Zarrella was setting up for his first live shot on Duvall Street in Key West, Florida, when I walked by in search for an evening meal (I was in Key West for vacation). Zarrella has been CNN's correspondent in Key West for the past ten New Year's Eve celebrations. We exchanged small talk and he asked me to stick around for an upcoming live shot which turned out to be during "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer. He asked me where I was from and a little bit about the weather back home. I also included a "shout out" to Blitzer telling him what an honor it was to be in "The Situation Room." Zarella said Blitzer got a chuckle from my comment.