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.