Christiane Amanpour, CNN's Chief International Correspondent, was in St. Louis last night as part of Maryville University's St. Louis Speaker Series at the Powell Symphony Hall. She arrived just before her scheduled 8 p.m. presentation and was happy to sign an autograph and take a photograph.

This usually only happens in New York, but it happened in St. Louis last Thursday. While awaiting John Mellencamp's departure from the Scottrade Center, NBC and HBO broadcaster and St. Louisian Bob Costas strolled by with his wife and friends. They had just saw the concert and had visited with Mellencamp afterwards. Bob is always nice and was more than happy to pose for this photograph. By the way, we saw Mellencamp, just not in person . . . through the bus window.

Actor/comedian Paul Reiser was the keynote speaker at last night's opening of the annual St. Louis Jewish Book Festival. Reiser, who is known for his co-staring role with Helen Hunt in hit TV series Mad About You, was accompanied by his wife, Paula.

Following his presentation, he signed copies of his books (and other memorabilia) and visited with fans. Reiser was more than happy to pose for photographs, even though officials at the event were reluctant to have him do that. In fact, he got up out of his seat and came around to the side of the table to pose for the photograph......and he thanked us for coming!

This past Friday night, I traveled to Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, for a visit to the college by a 1953 graduate. This alum majored in theater. He shared an apartment with Dustin Hoffman in New York City while studying theater. This screen legend is considered one of Hollywood's best actors, appearing in such classics as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Robert Duvall was on the campus as part of the school's Distinguished Speaker Series and Homecoming weekend. Duvall was interviewed and answered questions from more than 1,200 students, parents, and movie fans during a program in Principia's Cox Auditorium. After the 90-minute program, Duvall graciously signed autographs and took photographs with all those who were interested. In addition, Duvall's wife, Luciana Pedraza, who was his co-star in Assassination Tango, was also present.

I'm back....it's been awhile...hasn't it? Here's latest happenings in the world of "Kevin's Celeb Pics."

This past Friday, I traveled to the Argosy Alton Casino for the host of The Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson. You also might remember him as Nigel Wick on the Drew Carey Show. He was performing the first of two nights of comedy at the Casino. Our early arrival (about 5:30 p.m.) proved fruitless as Craig had already arrived. That meant hanging around until after the show. Thankfully, it was an early 7 p.m. show. A little after 9:00 p.m., he exited the Casino and made his way toward a waiting Chrysler 300 stretch limo. Our group of collectors called to Craig asking him to sign and he waved us over. He pleasantly signed all our items and took photos with each of us before departing.

A quick trip north up I-55 proved just right as we arrived at a post-performance reception/auction at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield for the Pirates of Penzance, featuring actor/singer ("You Take My Breath Away") Rex Smith. Rex was mingling with patrons at the reception and he was more than happy to sit down and sign our albums and take photos. He really enjoyed checking out the old album covers and told us stories about getting his "rock hair" prepared for the photo shoot. Interesting side note on Rex...he's a full-time realtor. He does the acting/singing stuff on the side.

350 million albums sold . . . the largest selling Christmas recording of all time . . . a Grammy winner . . . the first artist to ever have a greatest hits release . . . the third largest selling male artist in the United States (just behind Elvis and Frank Sinatra) . . . pretty impressive, 'eh! Who I am talking about? Johnny Mathis, of course.

Johnny was in St. Louis Saturday night for the first of two concerts at the Fox Theater. While I was one of only two people awaiting his arrival in the afternoon, he simply motioned to his watch and said he was running late as he made his way into the Theater at about 3:30 p.m. Running late at 3:30 p.m. for a 8:00 p.m. show??? Hey, maybe he'll do a sound check and then leave for dinner or go back to the hotel to relax. Could I be that lucky? Nope . . . he stayed inside until the very end. As he exited the Theater, he waved to the crowd and hopped in a town car. No autographs? No pictures? As the car made its way out of the parking lot, it slowed, and down came the back window. He signed autographs for about three minutes, and I was one of the lucky ones to get my CD signed. However, photos were impossible in the crowd that had grown to about thirty people. So . . . I jogged across the street to my car and waited for Johnny's car to exit. Naturally, I followed. Destination unknown. It was somewhere downtown. Final stop was the Ballpark Village Hilton. As he waited for his luggage to be unloaded, I asked for the photo and finally got it. Whew . . . success at last!

When you think of the Tonight Show . . . you naturally think of Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and this guy . . . Doc Severinsen. He was the leader the NBC Orchestra from 1967 to Johnny's last show in 1992. Sometimes, he served as Johnny's sidekick when Ed was away.

Doc was in Decatur, Illinois, today at the Kirkland Fine Arts Center for the final stop on his last tour with his Big Band. I caught up with him as he left the hotel on the way to the venue. Doc looks pretty good for 80-years-old, wouldn't you say?

Friday night was a doubleheader. An early trip to Springfield netted a photograph and autograph from legendary folk singer John Prine. John was in concert that night at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield. John was more the happy to set down his dinner to sign, take pictures, and visit briefly with us. I asked him if he was planning to play my favorite John Prine song, "Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian." He didn't make any promises, but I understand from a very reliable source who was at the show, he did play the song and even mentioned our conversation a few hours earlier.

Later that evening, I took a trip south to the Holiday Inn in Alton, Illinois, to await the arrival of a Supreme, Mary Wilson. Mary was in concert earlier in the evening at Argosy Casino. Just as I had been told, Mary arrived about 10 p.m. and was eager to sign autographs and take pictures for myself and three other autograph collectors. She thanked us all for waiting and wished us a great evening as she departed for her room.