2018 Autographs: A Year in Review

Ok folks, I hope your 2019 will be an awesome one and you get all the autographs you want. Here is my, albeit small, 2018 autograph review.

January:

This was my son and I’s first time going to an IWR (Imperial Wrestling Revolution) event. The name has since been changed. But that night was really cool for the most part. The autographs I got that night were from WCCW legend “Iceman” King Parsons and Lisa Marie Varon aka WWE’s Victoria. I also got to see Ross & Marshall Von Erich.

February: zip

March: zip

April: Actor Ed Gale was having a sale on his website. Four 8x10’s for $20+shipping. Could not pass up that one of a kind deal. 

My friend Paul in the UK went to a signing with Russell T. Davies. Out of the kindness of his heart he got Russell to sign the photo of him and I when I visited Cardiff last year. 

May: I purchased a small handful of sports autographs including Byron Hamspard (8x10 card), Bert Emanuel (8x10 card), David Murphy (8x10 photo), Keshawn Martin (signed card), Ian Kinsler (8x10), Michael Choice (signed card), Todd Collins (8x10 card) , Vernand Morency (8x10 card), Yatil Green(8x10 card), & Albert Connell (8x10 card)

June: Tina Packar from the Doctor Who series “The Web of Fear” as Anne Travers. She signed my 8x10, a print out, & two index cards. 

My friend Paul attended Utopia 2018 in Whitney and had Waris Hussein sign a postcard for me. Waris directed 11 of the original series including “The Unearthly Child”

July: Bonnie Langford aka Melanie Bush from Doctor Who. My friend Nigel attended the London Film and Comic Con and picked up this awesome autograph for me. 

Corpus Christi Hooks pitcher Riley Ferrell. I met Riley when we visited watched the Hooks take batting practice off of the USS Lexington. A couple weeks later my friend Greg surprised me with a signed card from Riley since I wasn’t able to get his sig in Corpus. 

August: I had won tickets and meet and greet to the Lost 80’s Live concert. I met and got autographs from the following people. 

Mike Score (A Flock of Seagulls) , Nick Feldman (Wang Chung) , Valerie Day & John Smith (Nu Shooz) , Astrid Plane & Bill Wadhams (Animotion), Clive Farrington & Andrew Mann ( When in Rome) , Dale Bozzio ( Missing Persons ) , Christopher Anton, & Michael Aston (Gene Loves Jezebel) 

I placed an order for a small handful of Doctor Who autographs from Tenth Planet in the UK. I got signed 8x10’s of Frazier Hines (aka Jamie McCrimmon), Louise Jameson (aka Leela), & Daphne Ashbrook (aka Dr. Grace Holloway). To make my order even sweeter they had a private signing with Paul McGann (The Eighth Doctor) and he signed my photo at no charge.

September: David Newell aka Mr. McFeely from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. He sent me and my three kids signed photos, me a personal letter, two books of Fred Rogers, and a children’s book of Mr. McFeely. To say that I was very floored by this would be the understatement of the year.

My friend Craig in England had an extra David Gooderson autograph and he sent me one. Mr. Gooderson played Davros in Destiny of the Daleks on Doctor Who. 

October: This was a total surprise. Actor Jamie Hill. I have spoken of Jamie so much that even those who have never heard of him before know who he is now. For the few that might not, Jamie played some really cool characters in recent years on BBC’s Doctor Who. I met Jamie when my daughter and I visited Cardiff, Wales for the closing of the Doctor Who Experience. That day I had taken a couple photos with Jamie. I had sent my photos of him and I along with a photo of a Mondasian Cyberman (that Jamie portrayed). As a surprise to me Jamie signed all three of photos along with seven additional signed photos of various characters he has portrayed.

November: I purchased a ticket to the Dallas Comic Show: Holiday Special 2018. I personally only got one IP autograph from the show and that was from actor Ray Wise.

The next day I took my son to the show for his first “Comic Con”. I made a custom t-shirt that said “My First Dallas Comic Show” on it. I give him a closed sharpie and we just walked around meeting everyone. Five celebs signed his shirt. Actor Ray Wise (Fresh off the Boat, Robocop, & Swamp Thing), Harry Goaz (Twin Peaks), Jason Douglas (Preacher, The Walking Dead), Cynthia Cranz (Dragon Ball Z & YuYu Hakusho), and local artist Terry Parr. He had an awesome time meeting everyone and seeing everything. And everyone seemed to have loved meeting him.

My friend Mark (Who owns and runs the Dallas Comic Show) also sells autographs that he’s pick up over the years at various conventions. Well I was able to pick up two gems from him. Actor Michael Jayston (The Valeyard in Doctor Who) and actor Nicholas Hammond (The Amazing Spiderman & The Sound of Music).

Most who know me know of my fondness of Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Well to round out my November, I received some really awesome autographs from Officer Francois Clemmons himself. Mister Clemmons sent seven really cool autographed photos that I will always treasure.

December: This month started off pretty darn cool. My friend Angel who goes by the name Saqman sent me a Christmas gift. It was a t-shirt with his latest Doctor Who (Jodie Whitaker) designs on it.

To my surprise my friend Dave surprises me with two Doctor Who Christmas cards (I didn’t even know there was such a thing) signed by the great Penelope Wilton yes Harriet Jones herself and by the talented Lee Evans aka Malcom from Planet of the Dead. Then to go even further, he sends me two Doctor Who Target books (Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear & Doctor Who and the Time Warrior).

As I said with my success from November, most know of my love of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Well I had sent “Handyman” Joe Negri a First Day Cover of Mister Rogers’ stamp. To which he graciously signed as well as sent me a signed photo of himself as well. Absolutely love this as well.

And to round December off with a bang. Dave comes through again. He was doing some in person autographing around London and thought of old Riley. He was able to get me three index personalized signed index cards of a few Doctor Who (and other things) actors. He was able to get:

Ron Cook (Sean the Irish bastard in the first series of The Black Adder or George Merchant in Hot Fuzz, or even as Mr. Magpie in the episode “The Idiot’s Lantern” in Doctor Who)

Phyllis Logan (Some would know her from the Doctor Who episode and series finale “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos”, or in Lovejoy as Lady Jane, or even in Downton Abbey as Mrs. Hughes)

 Bill Bailey (Some might know him as Droxil in the Doctor Who episode “The Doctor, The Widow, & The Wardrobe”, or in Hot Fuzz as Sergeant Turner, or even on the hilarious Never Mind the Buzzcocks)

And also an interview I did with Jamie Hill was printed in the latest issue of Cosmic Masque from the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. http://www.dwasonline.uk/CM7_STD_format.pdf 

Well that’s it for 2018. For autographs it was a pretty good year I must say. Got a new son, got some cool autographs, and made some cool friends. 2019 has got to be better and I wish it better for you. Thank you for your time and good luck with you collection.

MERRY NEW YEAR

BEEF JERKY?

Thank you for being my neighbor.

"Most people who know me are well aware of my fondness for the public television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As a child, it was one of my favorite shows. Who am I kidding? It still is. Of course, back in the day, I liked Sesame Street as well, but it didn’t hold a candle to Mister Rogers.

Mister Rogers would take you on a journey that you wouldn’t usually get to experience. He would take you along to see how a saxophone or crayons were made, or even to visit the penguins at Sea World (long before there was ever a Sea World here in Texas). These field trips were all done through the wonderful 'Picture Picture.'

Most of the time, you knew Picture Picture was about to be used when the ever-so-quick Mr. McFeely would stop by for a 'Speedy Delivery' to drop off the daily mail. He usually delivered rolls of film (which eventually evolved into VHS tapes) that Mr. Rogers would slide into Picture Picture, and the footage would instantly start playing. I found out years later that a stagehand—often a young Michael Keaton working behind the scenes—was the one actually taking the film and starting the video. But to me as a kid, it was just an amazing, magical television screen.

The adventures didn't stop there. Trolley would also take you to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe with a familiar Ding! Ding! There, you would meet characters like X the Owl, Daniel Striped Tiger, King Friday (and his royal greetings), the lovely Lady Aberlin, and the rest of the cast. They played out scenarios that most kids go through at some point, helping us figure out how to cope with life’s everyday problems. Most of all, Mister Rogers, Lady Aberlin, Handyman Negri, Bob Dog, and everyone involved in the show tried to instill one core belief in their viewers: Just be yourself. We are all different, and those differences are exactly what make every single one of us special.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood will always have a special place in my heart, and it eventually found a special place in my children’s hearts, too. It held a slightly larger place for my daughter than my son, mostly because the show was sadly canceled when my son was still very young, so he didn't get quite as invested. However, they were both incredibly excited when Mister Rogers sent them personalized, signed photos—keepsakes they still hold onto today now that they are in their early 20s.

Life is such a roller coaster. It’s funny how unexpected moments can tie right back to your past. My wife and I have this awesome little guy, Joseph, in our lives now. When he was just a few months old, we were searching for something to watch on television—looking for something non-violent with a positive, educational message for a growing mind.

Lo and behold, we found an animated program called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Because of the title, my instant thought was that they were ripping off the original show. I usually don't care for remakes or reboots, but after giving it an open-minded watch, I realized how wrong I was. They managed to create a truly beautiful homage to a great show.

As we watched, Joseph took an instant liking to it—and surprisingly, so did I. There are a couple of things I don’t particularly care for, like how the Daniel Tiger character can be a bit whiny at times, or the lack of other human characters from the original neighborhood. Only Mr. McFeely transferred over to the animated world. While I understand they can't bring everyone back, a surprise visit from Lady Aberlin or Officer François Clemmons here and there would be incredibly cool to see.

Recently, I decided to write to David Newell (Mr. McFeely) and sent along a couple of items for him to autograph. About a month later, I came home to find a package on my doorstep. The box was torn up beyond belief, but the addresses were still legible and the contents were perfectly safe. As soon as I read the return address, I knew exactly who it was from. I wondered what it could be, since I had only sent him a couple of small 4x6 items. I took it inside and carefully opened it up. WOW.

Inside were three books: two written by Fred Rogers that pertained perfectly to our current family situation, and a children's book about Mr. McFeely that I can read to Joseph. Also enclosed was a warm, four-page letter apologizing for the delay and answering some questions I had asked, alongside a signed 6x8 photo dedicated to me. He even mentioned that if I sent him my kids' names, he would send them autographed photos, too. I sent them over, and a week later, they received their own signed pictures in the mail. I didn't get my original items back, but given his massive, unexpected generosity, I am totally okay with that. My mind was completely blown.

I am in my fifties now, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is still putting a smile on my face—and on the faces of my children. My older kids loved their new photos. Joseph didn't quite know what his was yet (lol), but it leaves you with such a good feeling. A very good feeling."

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Riley