The Terrible Catsafterme

I wrote to Jane Russell on May 23, 1985 – mostly because I had purchased a photo of her through Carl Ahlm’s photo catalog. I had purchased this particular photo because A) It was in color, and B) It showed two hot women, one of them being Marilyn Monroe. I had never seen a single movie with Jane Russell at that point, but knew who she was. A careful check of The Film Encyclopedia indicated some of the famous titles of films she was in: The Outlaw, The Paleface, and of course the film from which the photo below was taken: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Ms. Russell also was kind enough to send along the additional signed photo above – in addition to signing the one below. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the factors that drew me back into the world of autograph collecting in early 1985 was the wide array of legendary celebrities that were now in retirement, sitting around their pads signing autographs for fans. Looking through our tent Grand Sheik Carl Ahlm’s autograph albums, I was astonished by the volume of illustrious film icons that were responding to fan mail. Read the rest of this entry »

I began the era of the late 1980’s with one thing on my mind: collecting autographs. 1985 saw a renewal in my interest of the fine art of the famous signature. While I had really began my collection in 1980 at the Hollywood Sons of the Desert convention (click here), and then took up the hobby again in sixth grade (under the influence of my school teacher) – it wasn’t until 1985 when the hobby really began to take flight.

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Ah, the late ’80s. It’s difficult to characterize this time period with sweeping images that would cover this whole five-year period. I was simply changing from year to year so much that the ‘me’ of the mid-80’s had become a completely different person as the decade came to a close. I literally went from being an awkward, gawky young teen to the cusp of fatherhood within this era.

It was during this time period that I think I fully realized that I was completely obsessive about things and had a completely one-track mind when it came to my hobbies. I suppose I had always had it and most certainly still have it to this day. My first wife Lisa always said that I was in a “(fill in blank) phase”, knowing that it would eventually dissipate and a new one would take it’s place. Never more true than it still is today. Read the rest of this entry »