Pat Carroll

Received a great Halloween response from the lady behind the voice of the villainous Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid...Pat Carroll! For as long as I can remember, The Little Mermaid has been one of my all-time favorite Disney movies (a true classic) and Ursula has been one of my top three favorite Disney villains as well (along with Jafar from Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King).  In addition, some of you may know Ms. Carroll from her appearance as Lily Feeney in the television classic, Laverne & Shirley.  I watched that show religiously in syndication as a child -- along with The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island -- and I'll never forget the great theme song.  Y'know, there's a serious lack of great theme songs these days; aside from The Big Bang Theory, where are they?! But that's tangential to this post...anyways, I'm thrilled to add Ms. Carroll to my autograph book! I tell you, I'm getting closer and closer to filling my second book of 5x7"s -- I'm hoping to have it completed by the end of this year.

Rachel Griffiths

This is another one of those great successes that makes me thrilled to have started this hobby.  Yesterday I received my photos back signed and dedicated from the lovely Rachel Griffiths, who starred as Sarah Walker on ABC's Brothers & Sisters for five years until its unfortunate cancellation this past spring (the writing during the final two seasons just was not up to par with the first three).  Anywho, Rachel did an amazing job and Sarah was my favorite character until the end, so naturally I knew I had to write when it was announced she would be joining the Broadway production of Other Desert Cities (Sound familiar? That's how I received Stockard Channing's autograph this past February).  The show officially opens this Thursday at the Booth Theatre and I'm amazed at how fast I received a response (especially during the hectic time of preview performances) -- it only took NINE days! Awesome!

In addition to signing and dedicating my photos as requested, Rachel also left some nice messages on the exterior of my envelope.  She added "Do Not Bend" on the front of my envelope (which is always a nice thing to do) and also commented on my nice penmanship on the back of my envelope.  Rachel is the umpteenth celebrity to have complimented my nice handwriting, in addition to Joel McHale, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Pine, to name a few.  And for those of you who have seen my handwriting, you better agree...because I certainly do take my time to make it look Purdy. :)

Eddie Kaye Thomas

FINCH!!! Today I received my photos back signed from the hilarious Eddie Kaye Thomas, known for his performance as Paul Finch in the American Pie trilogy and the upcoming American Reunion (which features the entire original cast!).  For years I have been a fan of American Pie and I cannot wait to see what's in store for the gang when Reunion hits theaters next year.  Recently, Eddie has appeared Off-Broadway in The Submission with Glee's Jonathan Groff and True Blood's Rutina Wesley.  The play closed this past Saturday after an incredibly successful limited engagement.

When I was writing my letter to Eddie, I tried my hardest to pick my favorite Finch moment, but I simply could not do it...there are just too many laugh out loud moments! For instance, his bathroom scene in the first film (after Stifler gave him laxatives), any scene between him and Stifler's mom (played by Jennifer Coolidge), and the entire feud between him and Stifler in American Wedding to try and score with Michelle's younger sister (resulting in Stifler eating dog poop).  Sure, my more mature readers may not find this sort of humor as hilarious as I do, but these were three great, "coming of age" films with insanely talented actors.  These movies really made you feel part of the group of guys depicted onscreen, and as previously stated, that's why fans cannot wait to see what happens next in American Reunion.

Ann B. Davis

THE DRYSPELL IS OVER! Today I received a very nice, heartfelt reply from Ann B. Davis, who will forever be known as Alice from the iconic television series, The Brady Bunch.  I, like millions of others spread across the planet, am a HUGE fan of The Brady Bunch and Alice provided great entertainment during the half-hour block (My favorite Alice moment, which I mentioned in my letter, occurred when the Bradys were set to film a commercial for laundry detergent in their kitchen.  Alice, of course, prepped herself beforehand and when it was her cue to enter, she came twirling out of the family room with her hair curled and eyelashes batting for the camera.  Hilarious!). 

In addition, I was also a HUGE fan of the Brady Bunch movies made during the '90s (with Shelley Long and Gary Cole) that, in essence, made fun of the Bradys as they adjusted to life in the 20th century.  Well, not really adjusted, but the classic storylines from the 60s/70s were applied to the 90s and they were GREAT.  Most of the original cast members made cameo appearances in the first film, and Ann appeared as a truck driver who consoles a runaway Jan.  Which leads me to the photo I sent to be signed...since I could not find any high resolution shots from the original series, I decided to make my own! I reconstructed the classic grid with shots of everyone from the movies (except Alice) and inserted a nice photo of Ann in the center.  Beneath the grid, I added the tagline, "Some things may change, but there will always be one Alice Nelson," and a line for her signature.  I think it turned out great and Ms. Davis even commented on how clever it was on the back of my picture.  Needless to say, I'm thrilled!

James Remar

I've been waiting for this one for awhile now, or so it seemed...Today I received my photo back signed and dedicated from the fantastic James Remar, who is known for his roles in television hits such as Sex and the City (Richard Wright, anyone?) and Dexter (as Harry Morgan, Dexter's mysterious father).  Sex and the City is an all-time favorite of mine and I've become addicted to Dexter over the past couple of months now -- heck, I just realized I received my photo on the eve of the highly-anticipated sixth season premiere of Dexter tomorrow night.  Y'know, I'm always amazed at how these things work out.  But back to Mr. Remar...remember Mortal Kombat: Annihilation? While not the most well-received film by critics, I thought it was awesome and James kicked you-know-what (remove the 'gr' from 'grass') as Rayden.  I watched that movie nonstop as a child -- and when I say, "as a child," I actually just watched it a couple weeks ago (I'm 21 years old and I still consider myself a child, haha) -- and while James actually replaced a different actor as Rayden in the second film (a move that usually never yields a good result), I think it totally paid off. 

So, Dexter...what a compelling show! I bought the first four seasons when they were on sale back in July and was almost finished with season one when school started and my free time diminished to almost nothing.  So I'm stuck on episode six or seven and I am eager to see what Jimmy Smits and John Lithgow bring to the show when they join in seasons three and four, respectively.  Once again, James has done a fantastic job each week on Dexter and I cannot wait to see what is in store for Harry Morgan.  If only I had time to find out!