On this page I'd just like to share my favourite autographs, picking out those that have special meaning, significance or just ones that I think are especially cool. All are listed elsewhere on the successes pages along with addresses used and dates of when I sent/received.
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| Peter O'Toole is a great actor. His charismatic performance in Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable but he has always, as far as I've known, a tough signer. A friend of mine got him c/o London agency a few years ago when O'Toole had a new book coming out, leading us to suspect that he only signed at times when he is promoting something. This may be true but it was with some pessimism that I sent a photo and letter to the Dublin production office of the movie Lassie. To my astonishment, my envelope came back and my photo was in there, not only signed and inscribed but someone (not necessarily O'Toole) had taken the trouble to put it in a plastic sleeve for added protection. Great one to get from one of Britain's best! He had my vote to play Dumbledore in Harry Potter after Richard Harris passed away. |
 | I bought this from a dealer on Ebay. He told me a relative of his worked on The X-Files in its early days and got a lot of signed photographs, including this one. Obviously I'm having to assume he was telling the truth and that this is genuine! I'm a big fan of the show and heard that Gillian Anderson doesn't sign any X Files photos anymore so was very happy to receive this item, signed by both Anderson and Duchovny. When I received the item, there were traces of "Blue-Tack" on the back of the photo, suggesting this has been on someone's wall. I can't imagine he'd have had it on his wall if he had known it to be fake. Anyway, assuming this is genuine, this is an instant admission onto my favourites list! |
 | I grew up on Star Wars and I think every fan of the movies loved the characters of Darth Vader and especially the bounty hunter Boba Fett. James Earl Jones was the unmistakeable voice of Vader but it was Dave Prowse on screen, while Jeremy Bulloch played the bounty hunter. When I saw this item for sale, I couldn't resist! It shows Vader and Fett watching over the carbonite freezing of Han Solo at the end of Empire Strikes Back and is signed by both Jeremy Bulloch and Dave Prowse. A great item and a real gem amongst my collection. |
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This man has been some of the best films to come out of the Far East. Known for his partnership with director John Woo, his charismatic action hero performances have featured in classic Hong Kong actioners as The Killer and Hard Boiled. More recently he has shared his talents with western audiences, ironically the best of which was in Mandarin in the majestic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I had never tried writing to him before and it is thanks to my good friend Jerry that I obtained a movie set address. I sent a photo off to the location in Canada and I was delighted to receive it back signed and inscribed a couple of weeks later - it was my first movie set attempt and success! I had a previous success with John Woo and together, these two autographs are front runners for my most favourite. |
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One of the greatest action directors ever. Don't even try to argue! OK he's not Spielberg, but his films are not the (generally) family-oriented fayre that Spielberg makes. Don't get me wrong, I love Spielberg's movies but John Woo made action thrillers that brought Hong Kong action cinema to the attention of Western audiences. His careful choreography of action sequences are meticulously planned and his use of slow-motion at key points in the action, frequently involving regular star Chow-Yun Fat, gun in each hand, have become his trademark. Sadly since his move to Hollywood, he's not been able to recreate the same level of quality, with the exception perhaps of Face/Off (if you forgive the far-fetched plot). His films are not all about action though. His films have heart and regular focus on friendship, family, honour and loyalty. Some might call it cheesy but watch The Killer and tell me if you still have doubts. A class act, I was delighted to get his autograph with a nice inscription. |
  | Clive Cussler has been one of my favourite authors for a long time. He might be best known for writing Raise The Titanic, a book that was made into quite a turkey of a film. However his books are great fun - action adventure thrillers following the exploits of Dirk Pitt, who works for a government agency specialising in marine investigations and recoveries. One such book, Sahara is to be made into a film starring Matthew McConnaughey - fingers crossed it's better than Raise The Titanic! I was pleased when I located an address for CLive Cussler and wrote to him saying how much I enjoyed his books. He replied with a signed photo and signed my index card, writing "Happy to hear you enjoy my books. Forgive me for not writing them faster"! He inscribed the photo "ŁTo my mate Gareth". Nice guy. |
 | No one can doubt that Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors of all time. His astonishing performances in films like Taxi Driver, The Godfather Part II and The Deer Hunter have cemented his place at the top of his profession. We even forgive him for indiscretions like We're No Angels when he turns in performances like that in Casino or Mean Streets. I sent him an 8x10 of him in Taxi Driver and it was returned signed. I was thrilled and even though there have since been some doubts expressed over the authenticity of successes reported from his New York production address (suggestions they are secretarial), I like to think I have the real deal. I love the photo - Travis Bickle walking the streets of New York, a time bomb waiting to go off - and there was never any doubt about its inclusion on my "Favourites" page. |
 | A true cinematic legend, Clint Eastwood has been in a tremendous selection of films, not of of them particularly good ones it must be said! However I am a huge fan of the spaghetti westerns he did with Sergio Leone, in particular The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, one of my all time favourites. Eastwood was one of the first celebrities I wrote to when I started collecting in the 1990s and I received a signed photo from his usual address in Carmel (see successes page C-D), although there are questions as to whether success from there are secretarial. He must get a lot of fan mail! Earlier this year I got wind of a production address for him and sent a picture of him in "Western" garb. About two weeks later I was lucky enough to receive it back signed and inscribed to me! Another of my all time favourite stars secured in my collection! |
 | Another cinematic legend, who sadly passed away in 2000. His great performances are too numerous to list here but his popularity in more recent times was undoubtedly enhanced by his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. He had already amassed a tremendous list of films, including The Bridge On The River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, The Lavender Hill Mob and who can forget his Oscar winning portrayal of eight members of the Ascoyne family in Kind Hearts and Coronets. One of my favourites would be The Ladykillers, a part to be resurrected by Tom Hanks in the Coen Brothers remake set in the American deep south. A superb talent and he left a legacy that we can enjoy forever. |
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OK, put aside his dubious politics and support of the pro-gun lobby, Charlton Heston is a great actor. He has been in some classic epics, including The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur and El Cid and is another I would consider as a cinematic legend. I have heard mixed reports about successes via his usual address (see successes page G-H) in that sometimes items are returned unsigned. I had a success a few years ago, one of my earliest successes, when I received a 7x5 signed photo of him with a broken shotgun over his shoulder! I wanted something a little more memorable and so I sent him a photo of him as Ben-Hur in the chariot race which he duly signed for me. I don't agree with his politics but he's made some great films and Ben-Hur is one of my favourites! |
 | This guy is one of the busiest actors working today and he has played a tremendous array of memorable characters. For variety, go from psychotic Frank Booth in Blue Velvet, to the mad photo journalist in Apocalypse Now, through biker Billy in Easy Rider (a film he also directed) to a great cameo as Christian Slater's Dad in True Romance. I had always been under the impression that he was one of Hollywood's tough guys and would never sign but I had hope after some friends had successes with him via a movie set in Australia. I sent a photo to his next movie production I saw and he returned it signed and inscribed, saying "Thanks for your wonderful comments". He truly is an amazing, versatile actor, one never to shy from a controversial role and this success cemented his place among my favourites. |
 | This is another classic actor who is sadly no longer with us. When Jack Lemmon succombed to cancer in 2001 the world lost one of its best loved actors. I have seen and enjoyed many of his films and especially loved The Apartment, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Odd Couple. But my favourite had to be his fantastic double act with Tony Curtis in the unforgettable Some Like It Hot. Lemmon was one of my first successes and I was very upset when I heard he'd died but was thankful I had my chance to tell him how much I'd enjoyed his work and had received his autograph. |
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In his scenes in the Bond movie The World Is Not Enough, Desmond Llewelyn's character Q introduces his assistant R played by John Cleese. A few months later, Llewelyn died in a car crash and made those scenes seem quite poignant. In the most recent Bond movie, the "Q scenes" feature R instead. I'm a big Bond fan and always enjoyed the comic relief of Bond's visit to Q Branch. I wrote to Llewelyn earlier in 1999 and he sent me a signed, inscribed photo of him with the various Bonds. Although he looked very old in the recent Bond movies, Q and Desmond Llewelyn are assured of their place in cinema history. |
 | William H Macy is one of those actors you see in all sorts of films and think "I like him" but how many remember his name? Luckily he is now getting more recognition but has yet to make the A-list. Perhaps that is for the best. Macy is a character actor who seems to revel in the supporting roles, usually playing characters who are down on their luck. Take poor Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo who is in financial trouble and has his wife kidnapped in order to keep half of the ransom paid by his wealthy father-in-law. Macy received an Oscar nomination for this and since then he has had a string of great movies, including Magnolia, State & Main, Boogie Nights and Door To Door. One of my favourite actors, I received his autograph by sending a photo to the London thatre he was appearing at. |
 | Bill Paxton is another character actor, not in the same class as William H Macy of course, but one who has been in some really great films! Aliens and The Terminator are two that spring immediately to mind as the pick of them, but he has also had some good performances in the likes of Titanic, True Lies and Apollo 13. A tough autograph to get, I was relying on a movie set to provide a success. A friend had received a good response via an earlier production so I tried to be optimistic when I sent a photo to the Thunderbirds set at Pinewood. I had to wait 2 months and had nearly given up hope when my photo was returned signed but to which he had added his own 8x10 of him as Jeff Tracy from the new Thunderbirds film. A great addition to my collection! |
 | Another great actor who is sadly no longer with us. My Dad worked with him on Julius Caesar back in 1970 and this gave me immediate incentive to write to him. I wrote to him in 1999 and received a 10x8 a year later which he had inscribed to me with the comment "Once upon a time Gareth", refering to me talking about his performance in Once Upon a Time in the West in my letter. Later that same year, he lost his battle with lung cancer - a great irony after his last great performance was in 1999's brilliant Magnolia in which he played a man dying of the same disease. |
 | My favourite author. His epic sagas about the Courteney family in Africa are utterly compelling - full of authentic detail about African history including the inception of apartheid. The vast majority of his books are set in Africa and some of his other books are set in different periods, including the Rhodesian war and the 1700s. All fascinating, all gripping, I have learned a lot from Smith's work and it has only served to enhance my desire to go to Africa and see the amazing land for myself. I addressed my letter to Smith's publisher in the USA and they evidently forwarded it to his residence in South Africa because the reply he sent me had an African postmark and stamp. I received a signed photo and index card and have since bought two signed books. If you like adventure stories with a bit of love, betrayal, family and plenty of action, look no further. |
 | Jimmy Stewart is my favourite actor of all time - I could watch his films all day. His charming persona shines through in all his films and my biggest regret is not writing to him before he died. I only really got into his films when the BBC ran a season of them as a tribute after he'd died. Among my favourites would be Harvey, Vertigo, Rear Window and of course It's a Wonderful Life, although from an acting point of view I'd rate his performance in Mr Smith Goes To Washington above all these. An amazing actor and a wonderfully warm human being by all accounts, who fought for his country in the Second World War and made some of cinema's most memorable films. I bought this signed photo from a dealer. |
 | Louis Theroux started out as a journalist and later a correspondent on Michael Moore's series "TV Nation". A nice website with lots of info about Louis can be found by clicking here. My girlfriend and I both love his great tv series "Weird Weekends" in which he investigates the weird amongst the ordinary, covering such subjects as extreme wrestling, porn, swingers' parties, alien hunters and evangelists. I wrote to him recently and he sent a photo which he signed to us both. If you get a chance to catch one of his programmes - take it! |
 | Another great character actor, John Turturro has been in some great films, most notably some of those by the Coen Brothers: Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski & O Brother, Where Art Thou?. I really hope he gets some major recognition because he sure deserves it as he continues to produce great work on both stage and screen. Not the easiest autograph to get through-the-mail, I wrote to him at a New York theatre, sending a printed montage I'd put together from Quiz Show. He signed this and enclosed a 10x8 of his own which he signed and inscribed to me. |