The biggest (not size-wise, but in level of importance to my specific memories) was Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. He was the son of famous wrestler Johnny Valentine, and was a no-nonsense pug-faced wrestler who wrestled both in the NWA and the WWF during my first go-around as a wrestling fan. I think I remember him best during his early days in the WWF when matches from Madison Square Garden would occasionally be broadcast in their entirety. When I asked him to add “The Hammer” to his signature, he told me that he already had.

Brutus Beefcake came around at about the same time period and teamed with Greg Valentine for a while. He was known as “The Barber” because he cut the hair off of Adrian Adonis in the ring, after a defeat by Roddy Piper. I don’t remember him well, but his name was certainly familiar to me.

I planned to only pick up signed photos from these two, and each attempted to charge me for pictures with them, but I worked in free photo ops into our deal. I got the feeling that the wrestlers were located in a bit of an out-of-the-way location amongst the non-celebrity dealers and they weren’t doing too much business. The photo ops were my favorite parts of the encounter, as I had them pose in the ‘attacking/cutting my hair’ fashion, and then in ‘friendly’ fashion.

Foes

Friends (I know. It’s hard to tell the difference)

The Barber simulates a hair cut

Pals afterall

There was a third wrestler sitting with them named Andrew Anderson. I had never heard of this gentleman, who is exactly 20 days younger than me – but he was bound and determine that I wasn’t going to leave the wrestlers table and purchase something from everyone but him. We bantered back and forth for a bit. And finally I agreed to pay $10 for a signed photo and a picture with him.

Two things clinched this decision – one being that he was part of the ‘Anderson’ legacy, being Ole Anderson’s real-life (he claims) nephew (unlike the fictitious nephew Arn Anderson and brother Gene Anderson, who weren’t related in any way). He said that Ole didn’t want him to enter wrestling, but he did anyway, and eventually adopted the made-up name.

Andrew Anderson in The Wrestler

The other clincher was that Andrew appeared in the acclaimed Mickey Rourke film The Wrestler as The Anvil, and from the point that he mentioned this, all I heard from him, Greg Valentine, and especially Brutus Beefcake was trash-talk about Mickey Rourke. It was awesome. I felt like Vince McMahon or Gordon Solie doing a wrestling interview.

Meeting Andrew Anderson, a talkative and really nice guy – as the photo indicates

As long as the wrestlers keep showing up, I’ll keep giving them business. They’re a unique bunch who combine athleticism with over-the-top comic acting.

Celebrities of the Spring 2011 Chiller Theatre Show will continue…

For starters, Sherry joined the cast of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1956. Those conducting the auditioning found her lisp to be very funny, and she was assigned to the (second tier) Blue Team. After her stint on that show, she went on to appear in Dance with Me, Henry, which happened to be Abbott and Costello’s last film. She would make appearances in many sitcoms of the 1960s including Family Affair, My Three Sons, and The Monkees.

Sherry had photos for sale from both of these works, so I made her one of my standard offers: two photos for $30. She gladly accepted the offer and willingly posed for a picture with me.

Even if I hadn’t known her for the ‘key’ work she was there for, I am still grateful for the chance to have a brush with Sherry Alberoni – and add signed photos to my Abbott and Costello collection and Mousketeer collection.

Celebrities of the Winter 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…

Naturally, it is an older woman (specifically Shelagh Fraser), who plays her in the first film. In the two prequels, she is played by Bonnie Piesse. I got the chance to meet her at the Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago when she appeared there on Saturday, August 13, 2011.

I wasn’t clamoring to pay the $25 for an autographed photo, plus an additional $5, for a photo with her, since her character was so minor. I did try to talk her out of the photo op fee, but in the end – since we were dealing with the Star Wars canon - I made the purchase at full price. It was probably my least impressive encounter of the day, but I’m sure one day I’ll be glad that I got everyone from the films that I could.

Celebrities of the 2011 Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago will continue…

But Marli Renfro can. She was the body double for Janet Leigh, who was never nude during the filming. Even her scenes are subject to debate, but for the most part, anytime you’re not clearly seeing Janet Leigh’s face, you’re seeing Marli Renfro, who was a model, actress, and showgirl. She also appeared on the cover of the September 1960 issue of Playboy.

Because of my love for Hitchcock and Psycho, I simply had to purchase an autograph when she made an appearance at the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011. She was a nice lady and had been the subject of the book The Girl in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shower. I opted not to purchase this but a pseudo-lobby card from the film, showcasing the famous knife going into the famous belly.

Although she suggested writing the title of the book instead, I had her inscribe the photo with “Marion Crane’s belly”.

Celebrity encounters of the Fall 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…

But what interested me the most was that she has starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1964 masterpiece Marnie, portraying Lil Mainwaring, the sister-in-law to Sean Connery’s character. It was naturally a photo from this film that I chose to purchase.

Diane Baker was a real class act, and I saw something happent that I had never seen before. The handler for both Millie and Diane had prepared a price list that indicated $20 for an autograph and $10 for a photo op. Sometimes I bypass by asking the celebrity directly for a photo and thus, ‘miss’ the pricing on the sign. But there was no need in this case. As she sat back down, I heard her tell her handler, “I just can’t do this. I can’t charge for pictures with me.”

I can imagine that the pride and greed of some celebrities is too great to resist the opportunity to charge for pictures. But it is a celebrity like Diane Baker, whose integrity and appreciation for the fans surpasses this, and ensures that her legacy will be someone who treated them right. She may have been a contrary character in Marnie, but in real life she was anything but.

Celebrities of the Fall 2011 Chicago Hollywood Celebrities Show will continue…