My first celebrity crush finally responds!

C. Thomas Howell
Sent: 2/8/11
Received: 2/28/11

Address used:
C. Thomas Howell
The Glick Agency
1250 6th Street
Suite 100
Santa Monica, CA 90401
USA

Comments: They say you always remember your first, and in my case, that's very true. C. Thomas Howell was the first celebrity I ever crushed on. In fact, I'm pretty sure he was the first boy I didn't think was icky. I was around 10 at the time, and I thought he was waaay cute in "E.T." and I was all about his Ponyboy in "The Outsiders" (which is still one of my favorite films of all time). By the time I saw "Red Dawn" I was done for. I think I've seen every film he's ever made (including another all-time favorite, "The Hitcher," and yes, I've seen all of the bad films, too), I still have the poster of him that hung on my wall for years as well as the hundreds of teen magazines from the late 80s and early 90s I collected with him in them. I know for a fact that my first fan letter, ever, was written to C. Thomas Howell, when I was in the fifth grade. I told him I loved him and wouldn't mind marrying him and invited him to our house for supper (I'll never forget my mom's reaction to that one). It has taken me probably 25 years to get a response. Don't worry -- I stopped including marriage proposals once I hit high school. But persistence pays off (and I suspect the fact that his career really has gone downhill since the 90s helped a little, too). I am ecstatic at his "Stay gold" inscription on the photo I sent him from "The Outsiders" because it's a shout-out to the film, but I almost fell over when I saw that he'd sent me this incredible movie still from "The Outsiders" as well. Thank you, C. Thomas Howell. You've made this diehard fan very happy and fulfilled a lifelong dream. :)

A big-screen legend: Doris Day!

Doris Day
Sent: 2/16/11
Received: 2/28/11
Address used: http://ddaf.org/dd/

Comments: I've become quite the fan of classic cinema, and Doris Day is a living screen legend I knew I needed for my autograph collection if I wanted to hold my head up high. The star of such films as "Pillow Talk" and "Calamity Jane," Ms. Day is an icon of cinema. However, I discovered she started an animal welfare foundation, a cause near and dear to my heart (and something that only made me like her more). I made a small donation to the foundation via its website and added a note asking if Ms. Day accepted autograph requests, and if so, where to write. A couple of weeks later, this autograph arrived along with a brochure about the foundation. The signature on the 8x10 she sent me doesn't totally match the signature on the brochure, but I'm happy to receive this success anyway. The picture alone is worth a great deal!