Boom! POP CULTURE CHRONICLES
The Autograph Biz
Celebrities Name Their Price
By Mike Olszewski
I was zipping through channels, looking for something to watch, and came across the old series, “Family Affair.”
I wasn’t a fan when it first aired because it was too cutesy for someone trying to be a hippie, and I wasn’t about to start watching it now. But I noticed the actress Kathy Garver, who played the older sister, Cissy. At that moment, the station switched to a commercial featuring Garver as a grandmother talking on a phone for folks who are hard of hearing. She has a lot of fans and is a favorite at autograph shows, a popular and profitable side gig for actors with long waits between jobs.
Name Your Price
People are spending lots of money on celebrity autographs. The folks signing draw huge crowds and rake in big money; it’s become a sophisticated business. “Star Trek’s” William Shatner is still in high demand and scheduled an appearance at a local flea market.
I remember when you could walk up to a celebrity and they were usually happy to sign their autograph for free. Online commerce changed that. If you ask Steve Tyler of Aerosmith for his autograph, he’ll ask your name first, and provide a personalized signature, dropping its resale value, a condition that shouldn’t matter to a genuine fan.
Autograph shows are packing convention halls. We went to one recently that featured Michael J. Fox and the cast of “Back to the Future,” as well as Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, actors from “MASH,” “My Name is Earl” and dozens more, but you’d better have deep pockets. It’s usually $100 for a signature; more if you want it personalized and if you want a photo with a celebrity, be prepared to pay big time.
The place was packed. This isn’t a typo: the show brought in 190,000 people over four days, with long lines to spend a few seconds with a star. Pro wrestlers, many too beat up to continue in the ring, are a major draw.
Consider this: Things that we cherish today often have a shelf life when it comes to future generations who will eventually inherit them, making the investment value questionable.
Conversely, some signatures don’t have a dollar sign attached to them. Here’s an example: My blushing bride, Janice, has signatures of actors from her favorite films, including Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, and Clifton Webb and Karolyn Grimes from “It’s a Wonderful Life. “ But the one autograph she’d race into a burning building to rescue is in an old Webster’s dictionary that sits proudly on our bookshelf. Outdated and well-worn, inside is a short note written by her late godfather, Steve, wishing her a Merry Christmas. You couldn’t buy that autograph for any price.
BOOMER TRIVIA: Last issue, I asked which vintage TV series had a theater named the Central City Bijou that ran the film, “The Monster That Devoured Cleveland.” It was “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.”
Next time, one of the most feared movie villains was a Northeast Ohio native who starred in a banned episode of “Sesame Street.”
