Secrets to Contacting Celebrities

Secrets to Contacting

CELEBRITIES

&

PUBLIC FIGURES

101 Ways Ways to Reach the Rich & Famous JORDAN MCAULEY

Mega Niche Media

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Also by Jordan McAuley Books The Celebrity Black Book www.CelebrityBlackBook.com Celebrity Leverage www.CelebrityLeverage.com Help from Hollywood www.HelpFromHollywood.com

Databases Celebrity Causes Database www.CelebCauses.com Contact Any Celebrity www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com

Resources Celebrity Book Endorsements Toolkit Toolkit www.BookEndorsements.com Celebrity Endorsements System www.CelebrityEndorsements.com How to Hire a Celebrity www.HowToHireACelebrity.com Make Your Book Famous www.MakeYourBookFamous.com

Secrets to Contacting

CELEBRITIES

&

PUBLIC FIGURES

101 Ways Ways to Reach the Rich & Famous

“Indispensable.”

I n n c cl lu u d d e e s s a F R RE E E E 3 0 0- - D D a a y M e e m mb b e e r rs s h h i ip p t o o w w ww w .C o o n n t ta a c c t tA A n n y C Ce e l l e eb b r ri i t t y .c o o m m ( $ $3 3 0 0 V a a l lu u e e ! ! )

-Autograph Magazine

JORDAN MCAULEY

Secrets to Contacting Celebrities and Public Figures: Figures: 101 Ways Ways to Reach the Rich and Famous. Meg Niche Medi 8721 Snt Monic Blvd., #431 West West Hollywood, CA 90069-4507 310–388–6084 (Phone) 310–388–6084 (Fx) www.MegNiche.co Visit Contct Any Celebrity t www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com to serch our online dtbse of over 54,000 celebrities nd public figures worldwide for the best iling ddress, gent, nger, nd publicist. All rights reserved. No prt of this book y be reproduced or trnsitted in ny for or by ny ens, electronic or echnicl, including photocopying, recording, or by n infortion storge nd retrievl syste—except by  reviewer who y quote  brief pssge for review. review. Copyright © 2009 Jordn McAuley McAuley.. All rights reserved. Edited by Robin Quinn (www ( www.W .WritingAndEditing.biz) ritingAndEditing.biz) Cover Design nd Interior Design: Desktop Mircles, Inc. AENION: Quntity discounts re vilble on bulk purchses of this book for reselling, eductionl purposes, subscription incentives, gifts or fundrising. Specil books or book excerpts cn lso be creted to fit specific needs. For ore infortion, contct our Specil Sles Deprtent t Meg Niche Medi, 8721 Snt Monic Blvd., #431, West Hollywood, CA 90069–4507. Although the uthor nd publisher hve de every effort to ensure the ccurcy nd copleteness of the infortion contined in this book, we ssue no responsibility for errors, inccurcies, oissions, or ny inconsistency herein. Any slight of people, plces or orgniztions is unintentionl. Mnufctured in the United Sttes of Aeric Librry of Congress Control Nuber: 2008924664 ISBN–10: 1–60487–001-X ISBN–13: 978–1–60487–001–5

Tis book is dedicted to ll Mebers, pst nd present, of Contct Any Celebrity (www.ContctAnyCelebrity.co). Your ptronge, loylty, feedbck nd friendships en ore thn you will ever know.

vii

Table of Contents Contents

Introduction

1

Part One

Insider Secrets—All the Right Moves CHAPTER ONE

Getting Gret Autogrphs

CHAPTER TWO

Doing Your Your Reserch Re serch

18

CHAPTER THREE

Contcting Celebrities on MySpce

32

7

Part Two

Tips for Contacting Certain Types of Celebrities CHAPTER FOUR

Actors & Actresses

39

CHAPTER FIVE

Musicins & Music Groups

52

CHAPTER SIX

lk Show Hosts

62

CHAPTER SEVEN

elevision Hosts & News Anchors

68

CHAPTER EIGHT

Bsebll Plyers

76

CHAPTER NINE

Footbll Plyers

85

CHAPTER TEN

Bsketbll Plyers

90

CHAPTER ELEVEN

NASCAR Drivers

97

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hockey Plyers

100

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Golf Pros

108

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Wrestlers

111

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Politicl Figures & Heds of Stte

113

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Authors & Writers

114

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Coic Book Artists & Writers

117

ix

x

SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Superodels

121

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Plyboy Plytes

123

CHAPTER TWENTY

Adult Fil Strs

127

Recommended Resources BONUS ARTICLE: Knowing Who Does Wht Common Autograph Terms Terms About the Author

129 133 137 139

“I’ll worry when they stop asking me for my autograph.” —KATHARINE HEPBURN

Introduction

“You know, Mama, one day some other young girl is going to make her way across this room and ask for my autograph.” —JAYNE MANSFIELD

So You Want to Contact a Celebrity . . . I’ ssuing tht since you’re reding this book, you wnt to ke contct with one or ore celebrities. Tis book will show you how to do it. Filled with insider tips, tricks, nd techniques, Secrets to Contacting Celebrities & Public Figures will show you everything everythi ng you need to know to rech the strs— literlly! Mybe you wnt n utogrph utogr ph fro your fvorite f vorite ctor. ct or. Or perhps you’ you’d like your photo tken t ken with your fvorite fvo rite singer. Or ybe you you’’re looking to get your fvorite bsebll plyer to sign  jersey for your little brother who is sick. Whtever your need for contcting  celebrity, celebrity, this book will help you succeed. In fct, if you totled y tips up, you’d find ore thn 101 wys in this book to chieve contct with well-known well-known nd sought-fter individuls. Of course, this infortion is not bout stlking. I do not condone invding  celebrity’s personl life or trespssing on privte property. Insted, this book is bout how to contct your fvorite str or celebrity t events, concerts, live ppernces, book-signings, book-signings, conventions nd even through the il. As the Founder of Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) nd the editor of the best-selling Celebrity Black Book (www.CelebrityBlackBook.com), I’ve spoken with collectors, fn club presidents, gents, ngers, publicists, journlists, 1

2


photogrphers, ssistnts nd even the strs theselves bout how to do this the right wy. Soe of the ethods contined in this book re ore questionble thn others, but they re ll legl. Morls re subjective, nd the choices re for you to ke on your own.

How to Use This Book In the pst, contctin c ontctingg or eeting celebrities ce lebrities y hve seeed diffi d ifficult or even ipossible to you. Soon you’ll see tht it’s ctully very possible. Tis book delivers the “how to” you need to succeed, nd I’ve orgnized it in the following wy to ke your options s cler nd doble s possible. Part I, “Insider Secrets—All the Right Moves,” strts with this introductory chpter. It then continues with three dditionl chpters which will help you develop bsic skills so you’ll be ble to ove forwrd with your plns successfully.

Chpter 1 Chpter 2 Chpter 3

“Getting Autogrphs” “Doing Your Reserch” “Contcting “Contct ing Celebrities Celebrit ies on MySpce”

Part II, “ips for Contacting Certain ypes of Celebrities,” then gives you the lowdown on the specifics for pproching the kinds of strs tht interest you. A seprte chpter is devoted to ech ctegory of celebrity. celebrity. Once you hve your bsic skills developed fro reding Prt I, you cn jup hed to the chpters in Prt II tht re relevnt to you. Prt II strts str ts with “Actors & Actresses,” Actresses,” nd progresses to “Musicins,” “Musicins,” then “lk “ lk Show Hosts” nd “Progr Hosts & News Anchors.” Tis is followed f ollowed by seven chpters for different types of sports figures, fro “Bsebll Plyers” to “Wrestlers. “Wrestlers.”” After tht, there’ t here’ss  short chpter on “Politicins “Politicins & Heds of Stte.” Next you’ll find “Authors” nd “Coic Book Artists nd Writers.” Finlly, Prt II concludes with three chpters on soe of tody’s sexiest celebrities, celebrit ies, “Superodels,” “Plyboy Plytes,” Plytes,” nd “Adult Fil Strs &

Introduction

3

Centerfold Models.” You’ll lso find helpful suppleentry infortion in the bck of the book, including Resources,  Bonus Article by n ctul V Producer, Producer, nd  list of Coon Autogrph ers ers tht insiders use.

Send Me Your Success Stories! By the wy, I’d love to her your success stories relted to using this book. Feel free to eil the to e t [email protected]. You cn lso send your success stories to e here: Jordan McAuley Contact Any Celebrity 8721 Santa Monica Blvd., #431 W. Hollywood, CA 90069–4507 Or fax them to: 310–362–8771

Ready? Let’s Go! Now you know the bsics. Wht you need to do t this point is to keep reding nd get your cer loded. I’ bout to give you ll the info you’ll ever need to get in touch with your fvorite celebrities, nd hve the strs ctully be hppy you did! But before we dive into the teril, here’s  vluble tip. If you get on y privte eil list, I’ll send you free Celebrity Addresses of the Week—plus updted tricks nd techniques on contcting celebrities which re not included in this book. o sign up, visit Contct Any Celebrity t www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com. While you’re there, you cn lso serch y exclusive online dtbse for over 54,000 celebrities nd public figures contining such contct infortion s the best iling ddress, gent, nger, publicist, production copny nd/or chritble cuse. OK, let’s get going! We’ll strt by looking t collecting utogrphs . . .

Part One

Insider Secrets— All the Right Moves

chapter

One

Getting Great Autographs

“Always give an autograph when somebody asks you.” —TOMMY LASORDA

Autographs used to be a wy of proving you hd relly et  fous person—the wy  signture in  hotel guest book could prove tht Abrh Lincoln hd ctully slept there. ody, however, ost utogrphs tht re collected either dispper in  drwer, in the trsh, or they end up in collectible stores nd in online uctions like eBy. “I reeber whenever I got good grdes in school, y o would sy, ‘Congrtultions, do you wnt to go to Wht’s Wht’s on Second?’ [ locl sports collectibles store],” sys New Englnd Ptriots’ Superbowl-winning qurterbck o Brdy. “I’d “I’d lwys sy, sy, ‘Let’s go!’ Te crd rket rke t is pretty zing. When Wh en you hve soething signed by soeone you dired s  kid, you feel like you hve  little piece of the. It’s just continued to grow, inly becuse people see to hve  fixtion; they like to buy bsebll crds. We’re sked to prticipte in  lot of crd shows, nd it isn’t until you get there tht you relize how 7

8


big  del the crd industry relly is. Shoot, the whole eorbili industry is zing now. o think tht Luis Gonzlez’s gu went for s uch s it did; tht’s zing to e.” By the wy, Luis Gonzlez’s gu relly did go for  lrge ount of oney on eBy—$10,000 in fct—leding Settle Mriner’s relief pitcher Jeff Nelson to try nd sell bone chips fro his elbow on the service soon fter. Unfortuntely for hi, eBy hs  rule ginst selling body prts, so Nelson’s uction ws soon cncelled. Be wre tht n utogrph cn just s esily be junk s it cn be tresure. o Brdy knows this fro experience, hving hd to tell ore thn one eorbili store owner tht  footbll in their possession supposedly signed by hi ws relly  forgery. forgery. “When you tlk bout how big of  business utogrphs is, nd how uch oney is involved, you cn understnd why people re trying to cut corners. I know I’  little pprehensive pprehensive when I see older guys stnding outside witing for y utogrph.” Te only wy to be sure tht the utogrph is genuine, whether it coes fro n thlete, ctor, usicin, or seril killer (yes, people collect utogrphs fro the s well), is to ke contct with the person yourself (well, ybe not the seril s eril killer). killer ). Tis cn be diffi di fficult with wit h soe celebrities, cele brities, but others othe rs re very esy to trck down nd re ore thn willing to offer you their signture for your collection. If you’re srt, sne, nd prepred to do  little hoe (nd leg) work, you cn contct just bout ny celebrity out there nd let the know how uch you pprecite their work. Of course, getting n utogrph on  piece of eorbili like  bsebll,  script, or  ovie poster—s opposed to  blnk piece of pper—is best becuse it dds vlue. It lso kes the utogrph suitble for fring or for disply disp ly in your yo ur hoe ho e or offi o ffice.

In-Person In-Person vs. Mailed or Sold Not everyone seeking n utogrph is  rel fn. Mny people re professionlly eployed eployed utogrph seekers, nd soe spend hours every dy in pursuit of  celebrity oniker, oniker, erning up to six figures  yer in the process.

Getting Great Autographs Autographs

9

An “in-person” utogrph seeker heds to plces where celebrities re known to hng out— store or  hot resturnt—nd they’ll wit . . . nd wit . . . nd wit. When they finlly do spot  celebrity, the ost hrdcore utogrph hunters will go to their cr nd delve through soe of the thousnds of hedshots they keep on hnd—just in cse—to find the right ones. Tese utogrph seekers usully sk for ore thn one photo to be signed so they cn sell the to utogrph delers. However celebrities don’t like this, nd it y be the reson they refuse to give you n utogrph. Other ties, the professionls will work in concert with people in other businesses like lio drivers, bell boys, or itre d’s who will cll nd let the know when soeone fous is inside. But not every celebrity is willing to sign, especilly when they know they’re they’re deling with  professionl who’s who’s going to ke k e  lot of oney off o ff their ne. n e. Strs like lik e obey Mguire, Mguire , Ceron Diz, nd Britney Spers hve been notoriously unlikely to put  pen to picture, nd ctors like Sen Penn nd Edwrd Norton cn ke  scene when they sy no. “I cn lwys tell  genuine fn nd n eBy junkie,” Ewn McGregor reportedly told London’s Dily Str, dding tht he ight not bother signing ny ore utogrphs in the future since so ny show up on eBy. Soe strs like Mdonn nd Juli Roberts only sign utogrphs for chrity. Yet others like George Clooney nd Angelin Jolie see to be ore thn hppy to sign  photo when sked.

In Person Spotting  celebrity t the ll or on the street cn be n exciting experience. Just reeber, they’re people, too. Tey’re not wild nils tht hve just escped fro the zoo, lthough I’ sure they feel tht wy t ties. Here re soe bsic points to reeber when you do spot your fvorite celebrity out nd bout: Stay calm. You don’t wnt to frighten your celebrity wy! Smile. People usully respond positively to siling since this kes the feel ore cofortble (unless the sile is coing fro Jck Nicholson in Batman!).

10


Be informed . Know who it is you just spotted. If ll you hve in ind to sy is: “Aren “Aren’’t you the guy g uy who plyed tht t ht guy . . . ,” then you should s hould probbly probb ly not pproch the celebrity. Don’t interrupt. If the celebrity is on the phone, eting, in the bthroo, or tlking to soeone else, just leve the lone. If they hppen to be with their children, don’t bother the—nd in prticulr don’t hssle their kids. Keep moving. Don’t hng round nd frek the out. Step bck nd tlk to soeone else until unt il you see tht there’s there’s  lull in the converstion converst ion or they’re they’re bout to leve. Be real. As J-Lo likes to point out, she’s still “Jenny fro the Block.” Whether you believe tht stteent or not, tret ech celebrity with soe coon courtesy, nd try to tlk to the like they’re rel people. Stay low-key. low-key. If you tlk loudly or cuse  big scene, the celebrity will ost likely be out of there fster thn Jennifer nd Ben’s Gigli ws out of the thetres. Be creative. “Would you ind signing this for y kid?” usully sees to work—even if you don’t hve  kid. (You didn’t her tht fro e!)

In contrst to showing courtesy to celebrities, during the pst few decdes there hve been incidents of str stlking turned ugly. A won obsessed with Brd Pitt pushed herself through n open window to enter his house, slept in his bed, wore his clothes, nd ws found with  book of witchcrft nd  long needle with ribbons round one end. (We don’t wnt to know wht tht ws for!) Pitt ws then grnted  restrining order ginst the teenger. A Mdonn fn chose the wrong superstr to t o ess with when he clibed over the wll to her house fter reportedly sking her to rry hi nd thretening her repetedly, nd he ws shot severl ties by her security gurd. Mdonn’ Mdonn’s stlker ultitely ult itely ws sentenced sent enced to 10 yers in prison for his h is ctions. Most recently, n U Turn fn who sent letters to the str thretening to kill hiself if he sw her with nother n ws indicted on stlking chrges. Of course, he didn’t just send  letter. Te n lso tried to get into her triler by cliing he ws  friend when she ws filing  ovie in New York.

Getting Great Autographs

11

However, you don’t hve to be  coplete psycho to be ccused of stlking. Mny people hve been ccused ccu sed of invding  celebrity’ celeb rity’ss personl spce sp ce for being just  little too persistent. See the sidebr “Te Good, Te Bd, nd the Ugly” below for insight on how to sty in sfe territory.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly . . . or How Not to Be a Stalker Te tips below will help ke sure you don’t eet your fvorite celebrity . . . in court.

Example 1—Stop the Paparazzi! Good: Spotting  celebrity on the street nd sking if they’d ind hving their photo tken with you. Bad: king the celebrity’s photo without perission s he or she ets dinner t  resturnt. Ugly: king the celebrity’s photo without their perission s they hed into their plstic surgeon’s or therpist’s office.

Example 2—Fan Mail Good : Sending  letter to  celebrity telling the bout your fvorite ovies tht they’ve been in. Bad: Sending 18 letters to  celebrity telling the bout your fvorite ovies tht they’ve been in. Ugly: Sending 18 letters to  celebrity telling the bout the voices in your hed tht tell you to kill.

Example 3—Celebrity Book-Signing Good: Showing up t  book-signing nd purchsing the book tht the celebrity recently wrote, then sking the to sign it.

unuth orized biogrphy bout Bad: Showing up t  book-signing with n unuthorized the celebrity tht he or she didn’t write nd sking the to sign it.

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Ugly: Spitting on the celebrity t their book-signing becuse you disgree with his or her pst ctions. (his ctully hppened to Jne Fond t  recent book-signing for her utobiogrphy, My Life So Far !). !).

By Mail Since the odds of spontneously running into your fvorite str on the street re soewht low, I’ll ddress the best wys to rech hi or her by il. Most celebrities receive fn il every dy. Soe get thousnds of letters ech week, which is why their il is soeties hndled by other people eployed by the strs. Tese people coe in the for of personl ssistnts, ngers, publicists, nd gents. When il is received, the person opening it usully sorts it into three piles. Tese stcks divide the il into things to be discrded, requests for utogrphed photos, nd “specil” correspondence. Flling into tht lst ctegory re letters fro people who cli to know the celebrity or letters tht tell  good story which ight interest the str. Soeties it includes letters fro people who hve siply put in  lot of effort. Tis lst coveted pile is where you wnt to your letter to be plced.

So How Do You Make Sure Your Correspondence Gets Noticed? Well, there’s  fine line between king  letter personl nd eningful to  celebrity nd sending soething tht freks the out nd puts you on their list of potentil stlkers. (Yes, these lists relly do exist.) See the sidebr below to get  sense of how to be seen fvorbly.

Meaningful or Creepy? Not sure of the difference when it coes to how you write your letters to celebrities? Here re soe clrifying exples.

Example 1—Kinship Meaningful: Discussing how you’re  friend of the celebrity’s uncle.


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Creepy: elling the celebrity tht you slept with his or her uncle.

Example 2—A Reel Fan Meaningful: Stting how you’ve lwys respected the person’s work. Creepy: elling the you hve 18 copies of their first fil.

Example 3—Photo Opp Meaningful: Including  nice photo of you wving hello. Creepy: Including  nude shot of yourself.

Including your your photo is  good wy to get noticed enough to hve soething personl sent bck. When the celebrity or celebrity’s ssistnt cn put  fce with your letter, it’s less likely they’ll tret it like the 1,600 others in front of the. Reeber Rosie O’Donnell’s O’Donnell’s tlk show sh ow where she’d she’d lwys tlk tl k bout  letter she received fro  “cutie ptootie”? Tt’s wht I en. Or wtch Ellen DeGeneres’s tlk show nd notice how she entions things people hve sent her tht lost lwys include  photo she cn show on V. Professionl utogrph hounds usully include n unsigned 8x10 photo of the celebrity, plus  Shrpie pen nd  self-ddressed stped envelope to ke it s esy s possible for the str to sign the photo nd send it bck. Doing this, however, however, soeties kes the celebrity or ssistnt think the signed photo will only end up on eBy, which they don’t like. Insted, be personl. Revel how the celebrity’s personlity or work hs hd n ipct on you. Did they get you to exercise ore? o explore  different culture? o tret your kids better? Te esiest rule of thub is to think “if I received  letter like this out of hundred of others nd didn’t know the person, would I tke it to hert?” Follow the rules below nd you’ll find yourself getting get ting signed photos photo s bck in the il in no tie: you’re requesting n utogrph utogr ph in person or through tthe he il, Be polite. Whether you’re reeber tht celebrities y be fous but they don’t owe you nything. Be original. If you use  for letter, it will be obvious fro the strt tht you

14


don’t relly cre bout the. Be personable. ell the person wht you dire bout the, but don’t fwn.

Concentrte on things the celebrity hs chieved tht ke the proud insted of prts in fils tht brought the oney but little stisfction. For instnce, if you’re writing Angelin Jolie, tlk bout how uch you dire the fct tht she dontes so uch tie, energy nd oney to hunitrin issues round the world nd hs dopted three children. Tt will ost likely get  better response thn “I loved you in Tomb Raider .” Don’t touch on negtive things th ings in the person per son’’s life, nd try tr y to steer Be positive. Don’ cler of your own probles unless the story you’re telling depends on it. If you lost your leg in  osh pit t  Mrilyn Mnson Mnson concert, then by ll ens go into gret detil (he’d (he’d probbly like tht). But trust tru st e . . . Mrth Stewrt does doe s not wnt to her bout your enlrged prostte or the lover who duped you. And Mrth especilly doesn’t wnt to be reinded tht she went to prison or is  convicted felon. KISS. No, not the envelope. KISS is short for “Keep It Siple, Stupid!” No celebrity wnts to red five pges of hndwritten scrwl bout your dog Muffin. Well, ybe Ellen does, but she’s the exception. Make it clear. Use  word-processing progr like Microsoft Word to type nd fort your letter, nd then print it out. Celebrities re busy—they do not hve tie to decipher your hndwriting. h ndwriting. Make it easy . Include  folded 9x12 nil envelope with postge ffixed (this is clled  self-ddressed stped envelope or SASE) inside  lrger 10x13 envelope. If you’re not sure how uch postge to include, sk your locl post office or use n online service like Stamps.com to clculte nd print exct postge fro your coputer. Celebrities y hve  lot of oney, but they’re not going to py for postge to reply to every fn letter they receive.

pho to of the celebrity celeb rity.. here re ny Include a photo. Also include your own photo plces where you cn buy the online. A gret site to use to get qulity unsigned celebrity photos is Amazing Celebrity Photos (www.AmazingCelebrityPhotos.com).


15

Most strs hve hedshots nd still photos fro their ost recent fil tht they cn sign nd send you, however soeties they run out. Including one of your own will ke getting  reply tht uch esier. Keep it short. Your letter should be only one to two pges typed, doublespced. Give a good reason. If you wnt the celebrity to write you bck, you hve to give the  reson. Asking  question is  gret wy to do this, especilly if it reltes to soething the person loves. When I ws younger, I wrote  letter to Kthy Btes sking her wht the word “ownd” ent tht she kept yelling in the ovie Fried Green Tomatoes . She wrote e bck on pig sttionery ( nod to her role in Misery) tht the word ws  bttle cry for n Africn Queen ned ownd, nd tht the scene where this ws explined hd been cut fro the finl version of the ovie. (It’s now included on the Collector’s Edition DVD.) She lter sent e  full-size Fried Green Tomatoes Tomatoes poster. At the tie, Kthy Btes hd just won n Oscr for Misery . So don’t think tht just becuse  celebrity is fous, they won’t won’t write wr ite bck. b ck. Ask for what you want. If you don’t sk for  signed photo, you probbly won’t get one. Be complete. Mke sure everything you send hs your ne nd ddress on it; soeties teril gets seprted fter the il is opened. Put your detils on the envelope, on the letter, on the bck of the photo, on the SASE, etc. Put it on everything—just in cse.

Don’t send sen d nything nyth ing vluble vlub le tht th t cn’t cn’t be replced. here’s here’s no gurBe cheap. Don’ ntee you’ll get nything bck. Mybe you’d relly like Ben Affleck to sign tht Good Will Hunting poster you bought. However, when tht huge pckge gets delivered to his gent’s office, it becoes ore of  proble thn  fvor— especilly with incresed security regrding pckges fro unknown people. (his is true tr ue even if you send soething vi UPS or FedEx.) FedEx.) If you wnt Hilry Duff to sign  CD, just send the liner notes, not the entire disc. Reeber, it’s

16


your proble if n ite cost you  lot of oney nd it gets lost becuse you sent it to  celebrity. Be reasonable. One per custoer—do not send 15 ites to be signed. his is supposed to be bout  fn connecting with their fvorite str nd tht str doing the  sll fvor, not king  fortune on eBy. hough you won’t get in trouble for selling n utogrph to ke oney (like n old one you no longer wnt), being respectful nd courteous is lwys the best wy to get  reply. Be professional. Spell check, spell check, spell check! Mking sure your grr is correct couldn’t hurt, either. Be patient. Getting  reply norlly tkes six to eight weeks—soeties sooner, soeties lter. If the celebrity is filing  ovie on loction nd wy fro hoe, it cn tke  while. Soe celebrities tke up to  yer to send bck  reply. he key here is to be ptient. Reeber, good things coe to those who wit!

Selling Your Autographs If you do wnt to sell your utogrphs lter on, there re ny delers you cn try to sell the to. Te best plce to locte current utogrph delers is in Autograph Magazine (www.AutographMagazine.com), which you cn usully find t lrge bookstores like Borders nd Brnes & Noble. Ech issue contins full-pge ds for delers listing wht utogrphs they currently hve for sle nd how to contct the if you wnt to sell your collection. Tis is lso  gret gzine to subscribe to for news nd updtes on the world of utogrph collecting. You cn lso sell or uction off your utogrphs online vi eBy.

Join the Club! You should lso join the UACC (Universl Autogrph Collectors Club) (www.UACC.org). Tis orgniztion is the lrgest utogrph club in the world, consisting of over 2,000 ebers in over 25 countries. Tey publish  64-


17

pge bionthly journl clled the Pen nd Quill where ebers cn buy, sell, nd exchnge utogrphs, nd the UACC lso holds seinrs to educte collectors nd the public on collecting nd preserving utogrphs s well s identifying forgeries.

Is It Real? As I entioned erlier, the only wy to know for sure tht your utogrph is rel is to wtch the celebrity sign it in person. However, you cn lso hve it uthenticted using one of the following services: Collectors Universe (www.Collectors.com)

Tis is the leding provider of vlue-dded grding nd uthentiction services of high-end collectibles. Is It Real (www.IsItReal.com)

Tis is n utogrph opinion nd reference service bsed in Gerny. Tey provide free infortion on topics like wht to look out for when buying utogrphs, nd for-py opinions of your utogrph including “likely genuine” or “likely not genuine.”

chapter

Two Two

Doing Doing Your Research Research

“Fame lost its appeal for me when I went into a public restroom and an autograph seeker handed me a pen and paper under the stall door.” —MARLO THOMAS

Locating celebrities requires a little

reserch. Here re the best wys to find out if  celebrity will be in your re filing  ovie, king  live ppernce, or showing up for  signing.

Search Engines Serching for info bout your fvorite celebrity on n Internet serch engine, like Google (www.Google.com) or Yahoo (www.Yahoo.com), is  gret wy to strt. Often you cn find out where nd when the celebrity is scheduled to ke n ppernce ner you. A few yers go, Yhoo ws the #1 plce to visit for online infortion. However, over the lst few yers, it’s turned into ore of  brnd nd directory thn n ctul serch engine. At the tie of this writing, Google hd 18

Doing Your Research

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indexed ore thn four billion Web pges, ore thn 800 illion iges, nd ore thn 845 illion newsgroup essges. More thn 81.9 illion users visit Google every onth, nd 35 different lnguges re utilized. Why is it so populr? Becuse Google usully cn provide the nswers you seek. ry these serch phrses for strters. As you becoe ore filir with the serch engine nd how it works, you cn ke subtle chnges to these exple phrses. Don’t worry, it relly is esy! o begin, go to www.Google.com now nd type in one of the following phrses, replcing replcing [celebrity ne] with soeone you wnt infortion on: [celebrity ne] book signing [celebrity ne] chrity event [celebrity ne] contct infortion [celebrity ne] eil ddress

Refining Your Google Search Here’s Here’s n exple of how to refine  serch. If you try tr y it online s you’re you’re reding, you’ll find tht the results hve chnged slightly since the tie this prticulr serch ws done. Tt’s Tt’s becuse Google is constntly plying round with the serch results they disply. But the exple below will give you  feeling for how to get the precise infortion tht you’re looking for. ry typing in the words: Julinne Moore contct detils. Tis will give you ny results to look through, but knowing how to use Google ens relly knowing how to use Google! Mny users don’t relize tht serching for tht phrse will bring up pges with those words (Julinne nd Moore nd contct nd detils) displyed nywhere on its pge. Tt ens you could get  pge tht ws written by Julianne Sith bout Roger Moore, where she sys he cn be contcted for  trnscript of n interview the ctor did with Details gzine. In order to hve Google truly nrrow this serch down to relevnt results, we would need to dd quottion rks. When we put quotes round two words (like “Julinne Moore”), Google will look for instnces where those two

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words, nes, or phrses will be shown together rther thn just the pges where both pper nywhere. Tt is when we brek out the plus sign (+). ry  Google serch for “Julinne Moore” + “contct detils”—nd now Google will return only Web Web sites where those th ose two double-word phrses phrs es both occur. Te difference is vst. In y originl serch with no quottion rks, Google turned up over 1,540,000 tches. But when I dded quottion rks nd the plus sign, it returned 910. We y still get bd results, however, even with such qulifiers. For exple, if Julinne Moore,  student t XYZ Business School, is offering to tutor high school students nd hs put up  Web Web site with her contct detils, detils , tht’s tht’s going to show up in the serch bove. Svvy serchers will dd  little soething extr to nrrow down the serches even ore. When I dded the word “ctress” to the ix, the results ce down to 535]. Ten I threw in “signed photo,” nd the results were reduced to just j ust 104— Web Web pge tht listed li sted  postl post l ddress of Julinne Moore’s Moore’s gent. Tt ws  good strt, but I knew I could do even better. better. Te phrse “contct Julinne Moore” Moore” is  decent option. However, However, when I put tht in Google, it returned  ere 102 results. Looking down the list, I sw tht ost of the results gve the se infortion: the agent’s address . Soe results didn’t hve ny ddress t ll, but insted hve those words t the botto of the pge so they’d show up on Google serches . . . sneky! Others were just portl Web sites, pointing to other Web sites with the ctul infortion. Wht I relly wnted ws n ctul ddress tht I’d feel confident using, so I decided tht soething else needed to be dded to the serch string. I chose  ter I ight find only in n ctul ddress (exple: “USA”). So I used “USA” when I conducted y new serch, for  serch of: “contct Julinne Moore” + “USA”—nd I got 21 results, soe of which listed n ctul ddress. In this t his prticulr cse, ll of the were the t he gent’s gent’s ddress, which is fine. At lest I knew the infortion ws probbly fctul nd current. But would  letter to tht ddress result in  signed photo? And if did, would it be rel or just  pre-printed signture? Another one of y Google

Doing Your Research

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serches nswered n swered tht question qu estion pretty prett y well: “Julinne Moore” + “signed photo” brought up  few Web pges where signed photos re sold, but it lso brought up  Web Web site where n utogrph collector hd listed his successes in sending wy for signed photos—nd one of those ws fro Julinne Moore. When I clicked on the picture, I could see tht it ws signed “Der Dniel,” which would indicte tht Ms. Moore signs her own photos. Bingo! Also, soething else worth noting is tht while I ws doing  lter serch on the Internet, I found  Web Web site which lists  contct ddress used with c/o Laws of Attraction,  ovie tht Moore ws king in 2003. Tis is n insider tip— sending correspondence correspondence to the production copny of whtever ovie  str is currently filing is uch less likely to result in  pre-printed signture, becuse not ny people re writing the there! (o find the ddresses of production copnies, check industry trde gzines like Variety (www.Variety.com) nd Te Hollywood Reporter (www.HollywoodReporter.com). You’ll lern ore bout these publictions lter in this chpter.). chpter.). So you cn see tht I just spent  little tie nrrowing down the right iling ddress, nd got info showing tht Moore will likely give us  rel utogrph, nd tht she’s open to fn contct—not to ention working out the best wy to get in touch with her. her. And I did it ll with  few srt Google serches. Not bd! Once you lern how to nrrow down the serch results nd get through the bd ones, the possibilities for finding the infortion you need re virtully endless. Of course, there re ny Web sites devoted to celebrity ddresses, but the big question for you is whether or not the listings re ccurte. A Web Web site of celebrity ddresses set up by n utogrph collector—but never updted— won’t do you ny good. Celebrities chnge gents nd ngers often, so ddresses ust be constntly reserched nd updted. My service, Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) intins n online dtbse for over 54,000 celebrities, with such info s the t he best iling ddress, gent, nger, publicist, production copny nd chritble cuse, nd we updte this dt every dy. My stff cn lso reserch ny specil requests you hve nd will send you  Postge Refund Check if ny letters you send re returned to you by the Postl Service.

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BetterWhois If the th e celebrity celeb rity you’ yo u’re re looking lookin g for hs n  n officil Web Web site, sit e, check ch eck BetterWhois (www.BetterWhois.com). Siply type in the doin ne of the Web site, nd this service will give you the iling ddress, phone, fx nd eil of the dinistrtive contct listed the doin. Tis wy you cn write the celebrity c/o (cre of) the dinistrtive contct listed with BetterWhois.

Online Newsgroups & Forums Internet newsgroups hve becoe  bit of  joke ltely, since ny re filled with sp dvertiseents. However, they cn still be gret plces to find specific infortion, especilly when it coes to connecting with other fns regrding  prticulr celebrity, finding tidbits bout the str, nd lerning how to contct this fous individul. “Newsgroups” (lso clled “Usenet”) is  prt of the Internet in which groups re creted for every conceivble topic. People who ccess those groups cn red essges posted by other people or post their own in order to discuss  prticulr topic. Tese groups cn be very eclectic, rnging fro people who like to photogrph horses to people who like idget gynstics, plus everything in between. Terefore, you’ll hve no trouble finding groups for fns of  specific celebrity with who you cn gossip bout the str s uch s you wnt. Subscribing to  newsgroup is esy once you know how. Tere’s no cost involved, nd your browser softwre cn probbly hndle the job without needing ny extr downlods or instlltions. On the other hnd, there re progrs tht cn ke orgnizing the infortion you find in newsgroups uch esier. Tese re clled “news reders” or “newsgroup reders,” nd they cn be found with  siple serch on Google for links to soe free downlods. If you wnt to red essges nd serch the newsgroups for specific infortion, this t o go. Google Groups section (groups.google.com) is by fr the best wy to At groups.google.com, siply enter  serch string in the box provided nd click the serch option. In fct, I did this while writing the erlier section of

Doing Your Research

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this book bout using our phrse: Julinne Julinne Moore contct detils. As  result, I found  newsgroup newsletter posting tht listed her contct ddress longside every other celebrity fro the fil Far from Heaven, which ws relesed in Noveber 2002. Tere re literlly hundreds of thousnds of posts on Usenet. Yet wht kes the Google service specil is tht they hve every newsgroup post in their syste, sys te, ll the wy bck to 1994! Most people peo ple don’ don’t need to view ll those thos e illions of postings fro the lst 12 yers, but tht’s tht’s exctly wht Google hs done for you. If you do decide to ccess  newsgroup, whether it’s it’s with  softwre progr or n online service like Google, do not put your eil ddress in the post in n esy-to-red wy. If you do, your ddress will ost likely be sped within dys of its first ppernce on the newsgroup. Insted, put soething like “info t contctnycelebrity contct nycelebrity dot co” or “[email protected]” insted. When spers send their scnners, or spiders, out to utoticlly hrvest eil ddresses, yours won’t register correctly in their dtbse. Anyone who wnts to legititely contct you, however, cn do so. Speking of sp, it hs ffected ost newsgroups. Wht you wnt to look for re “oderted” forus, where  odertor pproves every essge posted to the newsgroup. Tt keeps spers wy (for the ost prt t lest). Once you strt nvigting the vrious groups, you’ll figure out which ones re oderted nd which ones ren’t uch ore thn  pointless collection of sp.

Industry Resources You y be  Hilry Duff fn, but did you know tht her fvorite ovie of ll tie is Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion , or tht she htes techno usic, or tht she ws hoe-schooled since the ge of 10? Probbly not, but tht sort of info on Duff nd bckground on just bout every other celebrity is contined in the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) (www.IMDB.com). Siply serch for the celebrity you’re interested in to check out his or her biogrphy, trivi, the fils they were in, the people they’re relted to, etc.

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In ddition, every re of the entertinent industry hs t lest one, if not severl, industry trde gzines used by those in the business. In fil, V nd usic, these resources cn be expensive, but single issues re usully sold in your locl bookstore like Borders nd Brnes & Noble. Variety (www.Variety.com) is the ost instntly recognizble industry newspper for fil nd television, nd it uses n odd industry lingo tht hs been round for nerly 100 yers. his publiction is printed dily, giving us ll the inside infortion on who is strring in wht, who is producing wht, nd who is relesing wht. More iportntly, it lso includes  weekly “production guide” tht gives the inside scoop on wht is in production. his llows people to write the str they’re interested in t the locl production copny king the ovie. So, if Reese Witherspoon is filing  ovie or she’s bout to go on loction for  ovie in ennessee, you cn try writing the locl production copny, which will usully forwrd il to her once she rrives there. he Hollywood Reporter (www.HollywoodReporter.com) is n option besides Variety , with  siilr fort nd the se infortion when it coes to production listings. However, it lso hs good interittent listings of other infortion, such s which gencies nd ngeent copnies represent certin celebrities, who the jor power plyers re, who is getting pid the ost, nd who re the new ctors on the rise to fe. his info on “up nd coing strs” is  gret tool if you’re n utogrph collector, becuse you cn write the ctors nd request n utogrph. Since they ren’t yet fous, they’ll ost likely oblige, nd you’ll know there’s  good chnce he or she will be  household ne in  yer or even just  few onths. Billboard (www.Billboard.com) is the usic world’s version of Variety , with industry news nd plenty of resources to keep you brest of who is up nd coing in the usic biz. Like those entioned bove, this trde resource isn’t prticulrly fn-friendly; however, if you tke contcting celebrities seriously, you’ll wnt to strt reding nd lerning s uch bout the business side of their lives s you cn.

Doing Your Research

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Show Business Weekly (SBW) (www.ShowBusinessWeekly.com) is to the live perforing rts wht Variety is to the fil world. Every week, SBW updtes its csting selection news, listing ll the iportnt udition nd csting notices. In ddition, there re in-depth rticles for ctors. SBW y be of liited relevnce to nyone not in the cting business. Still, keeping brest of who is up-nd-coing will help you sty on the pulse of the industry if you’re n utogrph hound or if you’re looking to find  screen legend perforing up close nd personl t  setting ner you.

Official Fan Sites Most celebrities celebr ities tody t ody hve lots lo ts of unofficil fn sites s ites devoted devo ted to the with wit h questionble infortion, nd so ny strs hve decided to strt their own officil sites. sites . Soeties these t hese re very ver y user-friendly user-fr iendly.. Soe re ent to t o stroke the str’s ego, nd ll you get is  few pictures nd  couple of news tidbits now nd then. Others re in-depth peeks t wht kes the str tick, especilly if the celebrity is personlly involved in the site. Ben Affleck used used to t o own www.BenAffleck.com, but he hd to shut it down when probles with  network V pilot forced hi to close ost of his interctive productio produ ction n copny cop ny (it is now n unoffi unofficil fn fn site). site). But when w hen his his officil site site ws live, not no t only did it eticulously eti culously ctlog ctlo g every step Affleck took in the t he world (fro rchiving newspper interviews to presenting clips fro V shows), it lso hd  essge bord. Ben took gret delight in nswering questions sked on it. He even clled up  few of the regulrs, unnnounced, just to give the  thrill. Writer/director Kevin Sith (Jersey Girl , Clerks , Dogma, Chasing Amy ) hs  very fn-friendly Web site t www.ViewAskew.com. Trough the site, he not only nswers questions fro fns, but hs lso given soe of the jobs. He hs hosted specil events too for correspondents t which he’s he’s screened unrelesed fils fro his production copny. For severl yers on his own Web site, Sir In McKellen hs been giving his fns infortion before he gives it to the press t www.McKellen.com. He even kept  running diry while shooting Lord of the Rings nd shot  hoe video of the production s well.

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Hlle Berry’s own www.Hallewood.com goes s fr s to offer video workout clips, s well s Hlly-pp Hlly-pproved roved beuty products. product s. Berry’s Berry’s webpges go bove nd beyond in welcoing fns into her privte worlds. Her site hs even spwned  group of fns who cll theselves “Te Groovers,” nd they counicte with her on  regulr bsis. Like the exples bove, ny other celebrities hve de their own officil Web Web sites sit es vilble to give fns  look into int o their everydy life. TouTo usnds of celebrities (or their publicists) hve tken the tie to crete  site, nd therefore these strs hve  link with their fns. Celebrity blogs re lso becoing populr, with strs like Rosie O’Donnell (www.Rosie.com) nd Moby (www.Moby.com) contributing lost dily posts bout their personl lives. Rosie even posts regulrly updted videos to her blog using her Web c! Tese exples, ex ples, however h owever,, re fr f r fro the nor. no r. Most officil celebrity cel ebrity Web Web sites re little ore thn  PR offering or  business-driven corporte site, rther thn  serious ttept to connect with fns. For exple, Dvid Lynch’s Web site (www.DavidLynch.com) chrges users for ccess nd offers the unique online series content when they do. Fil to py nd there’s not uch for you to see. When Johnny Crson C rson ws live, his site sid, si d, “Wrong, Johnny won’ won’t red your eil, but soeone fro Crson Productions will.” Ten they offered  series of tpes nd DVDs to purchse. Other offi o fficil str st r sites site s cobine coercil nd non-coercilis non-co ercilis. . Mdonn Mdonn’ ’ss offi officil ci l site si te (www.Madonna.com) offers free streing usic nd usic videos, with the t he option to join jo in her officil fn club for instnt ins tnt ccess cces s to exclusive reixes, utogrph givewys,  newsletter (which is ctully  very well-produced gzine), interviews with dncers, rtists nd photogrphers who work with her, nd ore. For those involved in fil nd television, there’s no better resource for finding findi ng offi o fficil Web site s itess thn t hn the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) (www.IMDB.com) which llows you to serch for the nes of nyone ever involved in fil or television. t elevision. If n offi cil Web Web site for f or tht celebrity celebrit y exists, it will usuus ully list it right there, free of chrge.

Doing Your Research

27

Of course, you cn lwys do  serch on Google—for Google— for “celebrity ne” + “officil site.” s ite.” However, However, this will only show ccurte cc urte results if the th e celebrity’ celebr ity’ss site sit e is titled tit led n “officil site. sit e.”” Usully it will bring up hundreds hundred s of fn f n sites insted, so it’s best to check  resource like www.IMDB.com where the celebrity’s personl ssistnt ssist nt or publicist public ist hs listed l isted the celebrity’s celebrity’s ctul offi cil site. If one prticulr celebrity is the object of your interest, consider strting your own unofficil Web Web site sit e devoted devote d to tht person. Mny fns hve done this nd ended up in close contct with the celebrity once the str st r (or the str’s str’s publicist) publicist ) relized the th e unofficil site served  vluble vl uble purpose, purpos e, especilly especi lly if  lot of people visit it.

Unofficial Fan Sites Just s the officil fn sites s ites cn be b e gret plces to reserch reserc h celebrities’ celebrit ies’ interests, their unoffi u nofficil fn sites s ites cn be even better. bett er. Soeties the info i nfo you’ll get fro n unoffi cil site s ite will be ore in-depth nd personl pers onl thn th n wht you’d you’d find t the str’ st r’ss officil site. sit e. Tis is becuse becu se often oft en ll of the infortion inf ortion found on o n officil sites is screened by the str’s publicist, nd they don’t wnt  lot of info to be de public. public . Te people who run r un unofficil sites site s tend to know  lot lo t bout their fvorite celebrity.

Fan Clubs Every celebrity with  decent ount of fns hs  fn club, nd ore so with the usic industry thn ny other field of entertinent. If you’re interested in contcting  usicl rtist, the fn club entioned on the liner notes of one of his or her CDs is  good plce to strt. Of course, if you downlod usic insted of buying it, you cn’t red the liner notes, cn you? (Unless you leglly downlod usic t iunes (www.iTunes.com), which does include liner notes.) Any officil fn club c lub will hve h ve ccess to its celebrity, c elebrity, but tht doesn do esn’’t en the str will show up for its gtherings or hng out with fn club ebers on  Fridy night. Wht is does en is if you join for  price, you’re gurnteed

28


to get  signed picture, ybe  t-shirt,  ebership crd, preferred seting t concerts, nd  newsletter. newsletter. For the diehrd fn, the cost is generlly not  big del since the newsletters will give you infortion on exctly where you cn eet your fvorite celebrity. Mybe they’ll be t  book-signing in Svnnh, Georgi this week or  chrity event in Ssktoon, Cnd next week. Tt newsletter will usully tell you where nd when. Most fn clubs lso hve givewys every so often for bckstge psses, front row concert tickets, eet nd greets, sound checks, nd utogrphed eorbili. eorbili. So  gret wy to score soe cool stuff is becoing  eber of  fn club for one of your fvorite strs nd entering their contests. (I won two free tickets tic kets to Mdonn’ Mdonn’s “Drowned World World our” our” through throu gh her fn club—wort club —worth h $500 since the tickets were $250 ech—nd hrd to get!). Adittedly, not every fn club is professionlly run nd operted. In the 60s nd 70s, fn clubs were  huge del, nd they were  substntil business for those who rn the. Nowdys, however, ostly due to the Internet, things re ore csul. Tere re  lot of free online fn clubs with no chrge for ebership nd no rel return other thn regulr news nd updtes. Tere re lso plenty of plces online tht cli to be fn clubs, but very few re in the trditionl sense where you ctully get nything for signing up. Most re erely collections of photos nd in-depth news, but if you’re interested in seeing wht’s out there, try tr y using  reputble serch engine like Google. Googl e. Serch for the celebrity’s ne in quottion rks nd the words: fn club. For exple, if you’re you’re looking for Mdonn Mdo nn’’s fn club, type in: “Mdonn” fn club. Te Web site ddress is usully the ne of the celebrity plus .com— for exple, hers is www.Madonna.com. Esy, right? Oprh’s site t www.Oprah.com invites you to sign up for  free ebership nd “becoe prt of Oprh’s world.” Yeh, right . . . if only it were tht esy! For the usic fn, thousnds of these fn clubs re listed nd housed t Music Fan Clubs (www.MusicFanClubs.org). Soe of the re very professionl with lots of info (which wouldn’t hurt you to know if you ever do eet the celebrity), but ost don’t offer ny contct infortion. o ctully contct  celebrity nd get  response, you’ll probbly hve to skip fn clubs nd insted send  letter to his or her iling ddress. For

Doing Your Research

29

the best iling ddresses for over 54,000 celebrities, you cn join y service, Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebity.com), for instnt ccess to y exclusive online dtbse.

Libraries If you cn’t find the infortion you’re looking for online, you y hve to resort to using the librry. Your public librry cn be  gret plce to find info on the celebrity you’d like to contct. Librrins do  lot ore thn only check books in nd out. Tey lso reserch nd ctlog infortion, store newsppers nd gzines in their rchives, nd help librry ptrons find the th e infortion they’re they’re looking loo king for. f or. Mny librries subscribe to  dtbse such s LexisNexis (www.LexisNexis.com), which ctlogs news rticles, speeches, officil biogrphicl infortion, nd uch ore. he librry will usully llow you to use this service for your own needs, whether it’s for  school pper or  fscintion fs cintion with “tht guy on tht show s how..” Other librries will llow you to ccess these resources only if the librrin is serching for you. Te best thing bout using  public librry for reserch is tht it’s not going to cost you uch oney. You y hve to spend  few cents to use the photocopy chine or print pges fro the coputer, but using  librry is often free—thnks to txpyers like us! Often the librry will store info fro old newsppers nd pictures in icrofiche for, which ens it is printed in tiny writing on sll strips of icrofil tht you view using  lrge disply screen. Te screen gnifies the fil ny ties so you cn red it like  newspper, llowing the librry to store decdes of newsppers nd gzines in  single drwer. When your online serching continully coes up with newsppers wnting you to py for ccess to n rchive, the librry kes for  cheper, lbeit ore tieconsuing lterntive. While t the librry libr ry,, you’ll you’ll hve ccess to  nuber of o f wys to do your own reserch. Tis includes the use of Marquis Marquis Who’s Who’s Who (www.MarquisWhosWho.com),  collection of extensive biogrphiclly bsed resources—bsed on regions of

30


U.S. nd the world, business focus (rt, politics, science), nd ore. It’s ll there for you to use for free, so you ight s well do so. You’ll find bckground on the Internet-bsed Who’s Who in the next section, “Generl Sources.” When in doubt, sk. Librrins will help you find n ddress if it’s vilble, nd they enjoy encourging you to frequent the librry for reding nd reserch. If they cn’t help you find the info, chnces re they’ll know soeone who cn, so go get your librry crd tody! o find  locl librry ner you, visit the following librry resources: American Library Association www.ALA.org Public Library Association www.PLA.org

General Sources One of the gret reserch tools for bckground infortion bout celebrities re the Marquis the Marquis Who’s Who listings (www.MarquisWhosWho.com) on the Internet. Mrquis hs been round since 1899 nd now hs ore thn 1.3 illion biogrphies in their dtbse, king it n incredible reserch tool. Tis resource is better for finding contct infortion for public figures like world leders, religious figures, politicins, politicins, etc., thn ctors nd ctresses. When you subscribe to Mrquis, you cn siply type in  ne you’re reserching nd their dtbse will give you the person’s bckground, eduction, civic service se rvice records, reco rds, fily infortion, infor tion, wrds, wrds , ffilitions, where wh ere they worked, wht they’ve creted or chieved, degrees, hobbies, interests, religion, nd uch ore. It incorportes ll the infortion found in the following publictions: • • • • •

Who’s Who’s Who in America Who Was Was Who in i n America Amer ica Who’s Who in 20th Century America Who’s Who in the World Who’s Who in the East, West, Midwest, South and Southwest

Doing Your Research

• • • • • • • • • •

31

Who’s Who’s Who of American Women Who’s Who in Science and Engineering Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare Who’s Who in Finance and Business Who’s Who’s Who in i n American Ameri can Law L aw Who’s Who’s Who in i n American Ameri can Politics Politi cs Who’s Who’s Who in i n American Ameri can Art Ar t Who’s Who in American Education Who’s Who in American History Who’s Who’s Who on the Web Web

If you don’t wnt to py for n online subscription, cll your locl librry nd sk if they hve n ccount. As entioned erlier, ny librries hve subscriptions to services like this one nd others like LexisNexis tht relly coe in hndy when you’re digging up contct infortion.

chapter

three

Contacting Celebrities on MySpace

“I won’t be happy until I’m as famous as God.” —MADONNA

surve y, 60 According to a recent Nielsen/NetRatings survey illion+ people visited MySpace (www.myspace.com) in August 2007. So wht kes MySpce so populr? First, it lets users crete their own free profile, including photos, videos, nd usic. Users cn lso copletely custoize the lyout, colors, nd text of their profiles, dding blogs, event nnounceents, bulletin posts, nd ore. Celebrities know the benefits of being on MySpce. One dvntge is tht when they ke  post to their MySpce blog–tlking, for instnce, bout soething they’re working on or nnouncing n event such s  live ppernce or utogrph signing—their essges will be viewed directly by their fns without hving to rely on eil lists, spend  lot of oney on dvertising, etc. Also, other edius y or y not get their essge out in tie. 32


33

MySpace—The Basics Extreely populr with teens nd young dults, MySpce is prt of  growing new trend on the Internet of socil networking sites. Although there re ny socil networking sites online tody including Facebook (www.Facebook.com), Friendster (www.Friendster.com), Xanga (www.Xanga.com) nd Ning (www.Ning.com), MySpce is the ost populr. It lso hs the ost celebrities s rel ebers. MySpce MySpce is so populr, populr, in fct, tht News Corp. bought it for $580 illion in 2005! In its ltest fiscl yer, the copny’s Fox Interctive unit, consisting lrgely of MySpce, brought in $550 illion—lost tching tht investent. o use MySpce, first you set s et up your profile. Ten you invite your friends to link their profiles to yours nd tht’s tht’s when the fun begins! Most of the people linking to you nd to your friends will hve the se interests, live in the se town, etc. So it’s it’s  gret wy to keep in touch with old friends nd lso ke new ones, which is why MySpce MySpce is clled  “socil networking” site. Tink of it like six degrees of seprtion (but in ctulity it’s it’s ore like three degrees online!). Although MySpce is currently used ostly by teens, ore young dults nd dults re signing up every dy (including celebrities). So despite wht you y hve herd bout old en setting up profiles on MySpce to lure young children, ost people use it to keep in touch with old friends, eet other people like theselves, nd to ke new friends. You cn serch for people by zip code, city, high school, college, ctegory of interest (Mdonn, soccer, rketing, etc.), nd ore. Tis lets you find other people you lredy know or would like to eet, becuse they shre either the se bckground or the se interests, creer, or hobbies tht you do. MySpce llows its users to shre intite detils bout their life (soeties  little too intite!) tht th t you would perhps never lern without it since ost people put on irs in person. perso n. As society becoes ore nd ore socilly cut off with technologicl dvnces like cller ID, eil, nd text essges, people re now looking for ore nd ore wys to connect on  personl level while still utilizing “cool” technology. MySpce lets the do just tht, nd celebrities re no exception. Tey cn now counicte with their fns

34


without hving to give out their personl infortion. Now when they eet their fns they th ey cn sy, sy, “Look e up on MySpce MySpce nd send e  essge!”

Celebrities on MySpace Lrger-thn-life celebrities use MySpce MySpce to proote theselves. Mdonn, for instnce, posts news bout her ltest lbu releses, song downlods, screen svers, nd ore on her profile (www.myspace.com/madonna). Recently it linked to MTV.com so fns could coul d vote for her in the th e five MV Video Music Awrds Awrds ctegories she ws nointed for. Celebrities like Mdonn ke no quls bout using MySpce s  svvy rketing nd prootionl tool. Mny celebrities ctully set up their profiles theselves, red their essges, nd respond to fns directly. Jnice Dickinson, the forer “love her or hte her” judge on America’s Next Top Model hs her own profile (www.myspace.com/janicedickinsonmodels). She used it to nnounce csting clls for her relity show the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency on Oxygen. Adult str Jenn Jeson uses her profile (www.myspace.com/jennajameson) to blog bout her life nd show off photos of herself with strs like Pris Hilton. (Of course, Pris Pris hs her own profile (www.myspace.com/parishilton) with sister Nikki Hilton s one of her friends s well). An A n ssistnt ssist nt for Kthy Griffi n got hired hire d becuse she sent  essge to Kthy’s MySpce profile (www.myspace.com/teamkathygriffin). Te won explined tht she ws looking to get into the entertinent industry s n ssistnt, nd it just so hppened Kthy ws looking to hire one! So how do you know if the celebrity’s profile is rel or not? (Unfortuntely, there re ny celebrity iposters—lso known s “fkers”—on MySpce.) Tere re three in wys to tell: nuber of friends, personl photos, nd the profile’s profile’s design. Usully, Usully, the celebrity’s celebrity’s profile with the t he ost friends friend s is the offi cil one. For exple, exp le, if there the re re two profiles profil es for Mdonn, Mdo nn, nd one hs 30,000 friends nd the other hs 48 friends, you cn bet the one with 30,000 friends is hers. (As of this writing, her offi cil profile hs 39,386 friends.) Te second wy to tell is if the celebrity’s profile includes ny personl nd/or cndid photos. (You usully hve to hve your own profile in order to


35

view photos, so you’ll need to crete one on MySpce first [see below].) Iposters usully don’t hve personl photos of the celebrity. Te third in wy to tell if  celebrity’s profile is rel is how professionlly the profile is designed. MySpce knows tht celebrity profiles bring in  lot of users, so they work to ke sure the celebrity’s profile is custoized nd professionl. Iposter profiles will not look s slick.

Creating Your Own Page & Making the Connection o set up your own MySpce profile, visit www.MySpace.com nd click on Sign Up in the top right-hnd corner. Fro there, fill out the infortion it sks for nd follow the rest of the instructions. After you’ve you’ve set up your profile, you cn downlod profile tepltes fro sites like MyGen (www.MyGen.com.uk). Do  serch on Google for “yspce profile tepltes” to find other siilr sites. After you’ve set up your own MySpce profile, you cn send privte essges to celebrities you find fter you dd the s friends. Since ost celebrities understnd tht when you dd the s friends to your profile they y gin dditionl fns ong your friends, they’ll usully pprove your friend request even though they don’t know you. As  friend, you cn lso subit  posting for their pge which includes your coents nd picture. In ddition,  gret wy to request  free utogrphed photo fro the str is to send  essge to the vi their pge on MySpce, king sure to include your ne nd ddress with wht you write.

Part Two

Tips for Contacting Certain Types of Celebrities

chapter

Four

Actors & Actresses

“Fame is being asked to sign your autograph on the back of a cigarette packet.” —BILLY CONNOL LY

Official Channels Soeties the reson you y need to contct  celebrity isn’t becuse you wnt to get to know the celebrity personlly. Insted, you ight hve  business opportunity or chritble cuse tht could use the str’s ssistnce. Tese dys, you’d you’d need to tke the offer through  process proc ess tht is professionl prof essionl nd n d offi o fficil ci l.. Nobody is going to sign on to help  superstr chritble orgniztion if its representtive is pproching celebrities for help in resturnts while the strs re brunching on eggs Benedict. Likewise, if you’re sending wy for signed photos with  note tht sys, “I’ve got  gret opportunity for you. Cll e t this nuber . . . ,” you’re not going to get very fr in getting support fro  str. 39

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However, there re chnnels you cn go through, nd this chpter describes vrious wys you cn ke the right kind of contct with  str.

Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG) Te Screen Actors Guild (lso known s SAG) hs  free telephone hotline vilble for those who need to find the gent for n ctor or ctress. Tey only give the gency ne nd phone nuber for up to three celebrities t  tie, so if you wnt ore you’ll hve to cll bck. Te Actors to Locate Line is 323–549–6737. Since it’s  free service, the hold ties re usully quite long, nd often the celebrity’s info you’re looking for will show up with “no contct infortion listed.” Tt ens you’ll hve  lot ore work to do in order to find the infortion you wnt. o contct the Screen Actors Guild for other resons, use the following infortion: SAG West West Coast Office (Hollywood) 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, 7th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90036–3600 323–954–1600 www.SAG.org

SAG East Coast Office (New York) 360 Madison Avenue, 12th Floor New York, NY 10017 212–944–1030 www.SAG.org

Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses for over 9,697 ctors nd ctresses.

Television elevisi on Show Sh ow Tapings Tapings Celebrities cn be the ost ccessible, oddly enough, when they’re t work. If you’re  Jon Stewrt fn nd you show up t his fvorite deli while he’s eting lunch, chnces re you’re probbly going to disturb hi. But if you get tickets to  tping of The Daily Show (which he hosts in New York City), your chnce of shking his hnd nd getting hi to sign soething is uch better. Te strs who work in live television depend on the udience to help the do their job. With sitcos, for exple, the udience y provide the

Actors & Actresses

41

entire lugh trck, nd soe shows like Scrubs nd 30 Rock hve this s their officil policy polic y. If the t he udience udien ce doesn’t doesn’t lugh t  joke, j oke, the th e writers write rs will scrble to odify it or coe up with  new one. So when you wtch  television sitco like Scrubs , you’re hering the ctul udience tht ws t the tping tht dy lugh throughout the entire show. For lte night shows like Stewrt’s, the hosts need you to lugh t their jokes becuse it helps the project enthusis for ntionl V. And on tlk shows like Ellen nd Oprah, the host nd producers need to be ble to feel out the udience like the sitcos do so they th ey know wht’s wht’s working or not working. Most V shows tht hve  live udience lso hve  “wr-up guy” whose job is to tell  few jokes, ly out the ground rules, ybe do soe udience prticiption, nd get everyone in the studio totlly wred up for the show. If there’s  dely or  brek in shooting, this guy hs to keep things going so the udience doesn’t get bored nd wnt to leve. He’s lso your best bet to get to the on-screen tlent nd soeties will even bring  str up to the udience section. Regrding this celebrity exposure, soe strs do hng round fter nd tlk to udience ebers one-on-one. Soe won’t, but the wr-up guy will tlk to nyone. So if you cn ke hi feel iportnt, he cn quite often help you get to the people you relly wnt to eet. Don’t sk one of the producers if you cn go bckstge—they’ll sy no. Don’t sk n intern to get soething signed—you’ll get  “no” there too. But tht wr-up guy is usully working so hrd (nd is ybe even  little nnoyed tht he’s he’s not the str of the show) tht you cn soeties get hi to to do you  fvor if you ply your crds right. V show tping tickets do not cost oney, except for specil circustnces like concerts, wrds shows, nd sporting events. Sitco tpings nd ge shows re free of chrge. Often the udience will be uch sller thn you expected ( The Daily Show sets 100 people), while hlf the t he udience noise in  Wheel of Fortune tping is fro the crew itself. Te pek television production seson is generlly August through Mrch for ost of the jor networks. Tese include ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN, WB, NN, the Disney Chnnel nd Nickelodeon. Sitution

42


coedies, relity, nd ge shows re the ones ost likely to require  live udience, since drs don’t require udience interction. Reeber tht  V show tping is not  quick prospect. You’re not only there for the hlf hour you see during the finl product. You hve to be there erly, you ust sit round while they set up, nd you’re required to go through the wr-up. Ten the cst will probbly do one rehersl fro strt to finish, nd they will fil severl tkes for ech scene so the editors hve plenty of options. All of this cn tke  long tie, even up to eight hours (I know this fro personl experience!). Plus they’re not going to serve lunch or dinner prtwy through. Of course, the ctors cn et ll they wnt fro the ctering tble bckstge, nd they often coe out on stge with food to rub in the fct tht they’re eting nd you cn’t. But it’s still fun. Just ke sure to et before you go in, use the restroo before you tke your set, nd turn off your cell phone. Often the funniest prt of  live V tping isn’t the cting itself, it’s wht goes on behind the scenes. If n ctor is king  joke, the ctors off cer will often rect to wht he or she is sying in n unexpected wy. People will crck up, others will dlib, nd shots will get essed up nd hve to be retped. It’s n interesting look t wht goes on behind the scenes of television, even if you don’t get to eet the str of the show. o get  ticket, see the resources below. You norlly hve to ke reservtions for populr shows onths in dvnce becuse they fill up quickly. If ll else fils, you cn soeties find studio workers hnding out tickets in front of Grun’s Chinese Teter t 6925 Hollywood Boulevrd (where the fous hndprints re) nd in front of the Hollywood Boulevrd nd Highlnd Avenue Avenue shopping coplex next door towrd the est. Once you hve your ticket, the rules re siple—pplud when you’re told to, lugh when you think soething is funny, don’t yell out t rndo ties, don’t curse, don’t disrupt other people round you, sty seted until the end of the show s how (restroo (restroo  breks coe before bef ore the show, not during), nd don do n’t tke photogrphs.

Actors & Actresses

43

Reeber, if  scene hs to be redone, you’re going to hve to lugh ll over gin. Te truth is tht the show tping isn’t bout your entertinent. It is bout your ssistnce in putting together  good show. If you get bored esily by repetition or sitting for  long period of tie, ttending  live V tping probbly isn’t for you. On the other hnd, if you enjoy wtching how television shows re creted nd you don’t ind following the rules, you’ll hve  lot of fun, lern  lot, nd ybe even get to eet or t lest wtch  fvorite str st r..

To Attend TV Show S how Tapings Tapings ABC Network Live Shows www.abc.go.com/site/tvtickets.html

Audiences for ost ABC shows re hndled by outside entities, but you cn be directed to the people you need to tlk to vi the Web site bove. CBS Network Live Shows 212–975–2476 (New York) 323–575–2458 323–575–2458 (Los Angeles) www.CBS.com

o get tickets for  CBS show by il, send  self-ddressed stped envelope: CBS Tickets 7800 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036

NBC Network Live Shows 212–664–3056 (New York) 818–954–6000 818–954–6000 (Los Angeles) www.nbc.com/nbc/footer/tickets.shtml

ickets for ost NBC shows with  live udience re not vilble through NBC. You You cn, however, however, find tickets for ny of their shows t www.TVTickets.com, which is run by Audiences Unliited, Inc. nd isn’t ffilited with NBC.

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To Attend TV Show Tapings in Los Angeles Audience Associates 323–467–4697 or 818–985–8811 www.TVTix.com [email protected] or [email protected]

Audience Assocites regulrly recruits for crowd scenes in ovies. Web site reservtions re given the highest priority. Audiences Unlimited 100 Universal City Plaza Universal City, CA 91608 818–753–3470, ext. 321 www.TVTickets.com [email protected]

he Audiences Unliited Web site includes schedules for shows, pilots nd specils, show chnges, studio ps nd ore. CBS Studio City Tickets 7800 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 323–575–2458

Free tickets to live tpings of CBS V shows cn be cquired t CBS’s ticket window on the west side of CBS V City which fces Firfx. he ticket window is open Mondy through Fridy fro 7:30 7:3 0 a.m. to 5:00 p.., lthough it is soeties open on the weekend if  show is being tped. For tickets by il, send  self-ddressed stped envelope to the ddress bove. HollywoodTickets.com 818–688–3974 www.HollywoodTickets.com [email protected]

HollywoodTickets.com llows you to print your own V tping tickets fro their

website, nd you cn lso browse V tping line-ups so you cn find the best shows to fit your schedule.

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To Attend TV Show Tapings in New York City Saturday Night Live

Advnce ticket requests re only hndled in August nd re given out in  lottery syste. Send n eil to [email protected] with your ne, ddress nd phone nuber. nuber. If you re selected, you will be given two tickets for  rndo dte nd tie. Stndby tickets re vilble t 7:00 a.m. every Sturdy tht shows re tped on the 49th Street side of 30 Rockefeller Plz. Tey re given on  firstcoe, first-served bsis nd re strictly liited to one per person. You You y get  ticket for the 8 p.. dress rehersl or the 11:30 p.. live tping. Total Request Live (TRL)

o get tickets hed of tie for the show, eil [email protected]. Alterntively, try getting  stndby ticket by rriving t 2:00 p.. or erlier t MV Studios, 1515 Brodwy between bet ween 43rd nd 44th Streets. Young Young dults between bet ween the ges of 18 nd 24 re preferred by the producers.

To Attend Shows in the U.K. BBC

Te BBC is lwys looking for people to tke n ctive prt in their ge shows, coedy udiences, nd even docuentries. More info cn be found t www.bbc.co.uk/whtson/beonshow. For free tickets to BBC V nd rdio shows, go to www.bbc.co.uk/whtson/tickets. TV Recordings www.TVRecordings.com

If it’s shot in London, you cn probbly get tickets t this Web site. Registrtion is required.

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BeOn Screen www.BeOnScreen.com

BeOnScreen.com is  resource for potentil U.K. V guests, show prticipnts,

nd udience ebers. Serch BeOn’s directory of V progrs nd register for eil updtes. Tis site is lso used by V producers who often plce ds for their projects on this site.

More TV Show Taping Resources Studio Audiences www.StudioAudiences.com

Tis Web site brings info fro ny other sites together in one plce. You cn find the contct infortion for just bout ny show right here. On Camera Audiences www.OCATV.com

On Cer coordintes tickets for V progrs ll cross the t he country. country. Shows include the Lte, Late Show with Craig Ferguson nd Family Feud , which re both shot in the LA L A re. New York TV Show Tickets, Inc. www.NYTix.com

Tey list New York York television shows sh ows s well s discount Brodwy tickets, tickets , strving rtist tickets, secret discount codes, nd city tours.

Television Exhibitions, Conferences Confer ences & Conventions Every yer, the television industry holds  lrge nuber of events where it unveils its new shows to the edi, hypes upcoing projects, gets the press tlking, nd generlly wines nd dines nyone who cn help the over the next business yer. Getting into these conventions is quite  fet. However, once you’re in, you’ll hve ccess to ny people you otherwise wouldn’t be ble to get ner.

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Soe conventions require nothing ore thn  registrtion fee nd re open to the generl public. But those tht re held for industry people only, which ost of the tend to be, cn soeties get costly. Of course, there’s lwys  wy round tht! Te first wy is to becoe  eber of the orgniztion running  convention. For exple, the NAPE (National Association of elevision Programming Executives) hs  convention ech yer tht ttrcts  few hedliners, nd ebers receive receive  discount on their th eir registrtion. Another wy is to obtin credentils s  eber of the edi, lthough this tkes  little ore plnning, effort, nd ptience. You’ll find ore info on this in the “Musicins” chpter. Te ost iportnt thing to t o reeber when ttending  V convention is to do it the right wy—don’t gush over the strs nd don’t run round like  nic grbbing every utogrph you cn. If  security gurd sees the pnic of n utogrph hound in your eyes nd strts sking questions, you could be on your wy out the door. Chill out, ct like n executive, nd know your story. Tere re literlly dozens of V conventions every yer tht ttrct ttr ct celebrities, but ore often thn not they won’t tell you hed of tie who is going to be there. However, if Jessic Biel is hedlining  new series on CBS, chnces re she’ll she’ll show up t the t he next big television convention to hype the series. Still there re no gurntees. Soe conventions to keep n eye out for include: MIPTV (International Audiovisual Content Trade Show)—Cannes, Show)—Cannes, France

Tis one tkes plce during the Cnnes Fil Festivl, which kes it prie ground for celebrity spotting. Nerly every television sttion nd distributor in the world will be represented by their buyers, developent execs nd, of course, celebrities. About 12,000 ttendees were there in 2007. MIPTV (France) www.MIPTV.com

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NATPE (National Association of Television Programming Executives)— Las Vegas

Te Ntionl Assocition of elevision Progring Executive events re iportnt ones for those in the biz. Tis is  globl orgniztion so its conferences extended beyond those offered in the United Sttes. Its in nnul conference is held in Ls Vegs. NATPE Headquarters www.NATPE.org

Film Festivals Festivals Soe of the best plces to spot celebrities in one plce without tons of security, security, ssistnts, ssistn ts, nd people keeping you wy is t  fil festivl. Every week, ll over the world, fil festivls tke plce tht llow fns nd people in the industry the opportunity to wtch indie (independent) (independent) fils looking for relese, studio fils trying to build udience buzz hed of their relese, nd interntionl fils you ight not otherwise get the chnce to see t ll. One of the fringe benefits of these events is tht the festivls often bring the strs nd director of the ovie out either before or fter the screening to nswer questions fro fns. Tese folks lso pper t prties nd ccept wrds t the festivities. Soe festivls re too sll to ttrct uch in the wy of celebrities, like the Clevelnd Fil Fil Festivl, Festivl, while others work hrd to drw in two or three big nes. Of course, the ost well-known fil festivls, like Sundnce, Cnnes, oronto, nd ribec, re lwys crwling with celebs. Tere re two in wys to eet celebrities t these events. Te first is to ctully buy  ticket nd hope for the best. Te second is to ttept to get into the industry prties, where you could be  lot ore successful. Celebrities often let their hir down t  fil festivl, but only when they’re in their own crowd. At  prty for industry plyers,  celebrity will ingle, cht, give out contct info, tlk bout things they norlly wouldn’t, nd generlly be theselves. If you’re  producer,  lwyer, n ccountnt, or  journlist, then you’re ore thn welcoe to coe to such n ffir—just s long s you specilize in the

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entertinent industry. If you’re not yet  plyer in the “industry,” you’ll need to get  little ore cretive. Te first thing the cretive will need is  good business crd. Get  friend who knows his or her wy round grphic design progrs like PhotoShop, InDesign, or Qurk to ke you soething tht looks professionl, corporte, full-color, nd instntly credible. Word Word your title s ipressively ipressi vely s possible, even though you y only be working for yourself t this point. You get the ide. Te next thing you need is n industry pss, which is like  seson ticket for  fil festivl. You get your picture tken, nd then you get  linted pss tht hngs round your neck nd nnounces to the world tht “W “ Wlter J. Sith” is  credible industry type. Usully you hve to show your business crd t registrtion, fill out  for, f or, nd py the dission fee to get one. Ten you strt sking round whether there re ny prties going on. Most fil festivls hve  detiled Web site tht will tell you how to register nd get on bord. One lst piece of dvice: Fil Fil festivls re not the plce to sk for  photo or n utogrph. Industry people just don’t do tht. If you do, you’ll likely be politely escorted wy nd sked not to t o return. Here re soe of the top t op fil festivls worth exploring:

Major Film Festivals Aspen Filmfest 110 E. Hallam, #102 Aspen, CO 81611 970–925–6882 970–925–6882 (Phone) 970–925–1967 970–925–1967 (Fax) [email protected] www.aspenfilm.org

Austin Film Festival 1604 Nueces Street Austin, TX 78701 512–478–4795, 1–800–310-FEST (Phone) 512–478–6205 512–478–6205 (Fax) [email protected] www.austinfilmfestival.com

Atlanta Film Festival IMAGE Film & Video Center 535 Means Street NW, #C Atlanta, GA 30318 404–352–4225 404–352–4225 (Phone) 404–352–0173 404–352–0173 (Fax) [email protected] www.atlantafilmfestival.com/

Beverly Hills Film Festival 9663 Santa Monica Boulevard, Boule vard, #777 Beverly Hills, CA 90210 310–779–1206 310–779–1206 (Phone) [email protected] www.beverlyhillsfilmfestival.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Cannes International Film Festival 3 rue Amelie Paris, 75007 FRANCE 33-(0)–1–53–59–61–00 33-(0)–1–53–59–61–00 (Phone) 33-(0)–1–53–59–61–10 33-(0)–1–53–59–61–10 (Fax) [email protected] www.festival-cannes.org

Miami International Film Festival c/o Miami Dade College 25 NE 2nd Street, Floor 5501 Miami, FL 33132 305–237-FILM (Phone) 305–237–7344 305–237–7344 (Fax) [email protected] www.miamifilmfestival.com

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 1314 E. Las Olas, #007 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954–760–9898 954–760–9898 (Phone) 954–760–9099 954–760–9099 (Fax) [email protected] www.fliff.com

New York Film Festival 70 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY 10023–6569 212–875–5638 212–875–5638 (Phone) 212–875–5636 212–875–5636 (Fax) [email protected] www.filmlinc.com

Hawaii International Film Festival 680 Iwilei Road, Suite 100 Honolulu, HI 96817 USA 808–528–3456 808–528–3456 (Phone) 808–536–2707 808–536–2707 (Fax) [email protected] www.hiff.org

Palm Beach International Film Festival 289 Via Naranjas, #48 Boca Raton, FL 33432 561–362–0003 561–362–0003 (Phone) 561–362–0035 561–362–0035 (Fax) [email protected] www.pbifilmfest.org

Hollywood Film Festival 433 N. Camden Drive, #600 Beverly Hills, Hill s, CA 90210 310–288–1882 310–288–1882 (Phone) 310–288–0060 310–288–0060 (Fax) [email protected] www.hollywoodawards.com

Palm Springs International Film Festival 1700 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, #3 Palm Springs, CA 92262 760–322–2930 760–322–2930 (Phone) 760–322–4087 760–322–4087 (Fax) [email protected] www.psifilmfest.org

Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 1521 Alton Road, #147 Miami Beach, FL 33139 305–534–9924 305–534–9924 (Phone) 305–535–2377 305–535–2377 (Fax) [email protected] www.mglff.com

San Diego Latino Film Festival 921 25th Street San Diego, CA 92102 619–230–1938 619–230–1938 (Phone) 619–230–1937 619–230–1937 (Fax) [email protected] www.sdlatinofilm.com

Actors & Actresses Santa Barbara International Film Festival 1528 Chapala Street, #203 Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805–963–0023 805–963–0023 (Phone) 805–962–2524 805–962–2524 (Fax) [email protected] www.sbfilmfestival.org Seattle International Film Festival 400 9th Avenue North Seattle, WA 98109 206–464–5840 206–464–5840 (Phone) 206–264–7919 206–264–7919 (Fax) [email protected] www.seattlefilm.org

Sundance Film Festival 8530 Wilshire Blvd., 3rd Floor Beverly Hills, Hi lls, CA 90211–3114 310–360–1981 310–360–1981 (Phone) 310–360–1969 310–360–1969 (Fax) [email protected] www.sundance.org

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chapter

Five

Musicians & Music Groups

“It’s definitely a dream come true, to be recognized and to be able to sign autographs.” —CHRISTINA AGUILERA

On the Road If the celebrity you wnt is  usicl rtist or n entire bnd, your chnces of  fce-to-fce encounter re uch better t  live show thn elsewhere. Tt is, s long s you’re prepred to do soe witing round, fst-tlking, or dvnce plnning. Tere re three good options when you’re stking out  live show: Option 1. Witing t the stge door nd grbbing  quick word s they ove through, either in or out. Option 2. lk your wy bckstge, where you cn ingle with the specil people. Option 3. Cll hed, nd spin  tle tht you’re  specil person nd need to hve your bckstge psses witing.

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Option 1: The Stage Door Tis is the preferred ethod for chepsktes everywhere, becuse you don’t need  ticket to wit t the stge door. You siply find out where the rtist or group you’re interested in is plying, locte the stge door, then wit . . . nd wit . . . nd wit. Sweet-tlking  security gurd or two (if you cn pull it off) won’t hurt either. Every concert venue hs  bck door where the tlent enters nd leves. Understnd tht you’re probbly not the only one who will be witing, nd tht quite often the tlent will sty bckstge for n hour or longer fter  show, show, hnging out with VIPs, getting drunk (or worse), showering, nd recuperting. Menwhile you’re outside witing in the cold for the to pper for three seconds on the wy out to the tour bus. But if you cn hndle the wit, you’re likely to find success using this ethod. When they do coe out, if there’s ny sort of  crowd witing, there will likely be  surge to get their ttention. A nice usicin will del with tht well, stopping to tlk to everyone nd giving you their tie. However, ost usicins siply ren’t “tht nice.” Tey’re busy people, tired people, nnoyed people, people, nd teperentl people who just wnt to get bck to their hotel roo, the fter-prty, or the house where soeone hs  huge supply of cocine. I’ just sying. In ost celebrity contct situtions, it pys to be the nice fn with  cool converstion intro nd  ptient sensibility. But here you’ll be copeting for spce with  crowd of dirers, ll desperte to touch their idol. You relly need to throw conventionl behvior out the window nd strt pushing your wy out to the front. Be prepred, hve soething to sign nd  wy for the to sign it, nd ost iportntly, ccept it with  sile. If they only hve tie to wve nd ove out . . . tht’s life.

Option 2: Talking Your Way Backstage It y see  little sexist to sy so, but if you’re  guy, you’ve got next to no chnce of getting bckstge for  concert (unless you’re  eber of the edi

54


or industry or just so dn cool tht people cn’t sy no to you). Woen, especilly ttrctive woen, find it uch esier to convince security gurds, rodies, nd venue stff tht they th ey should be llowed bckstge, siply becuse rock strs like ttrctive woen. Tey usully like ny ttrctive woen t once, but tht’s  whole other book. Tere’s relly no gret secret to king this ethod work. You’re either physiclly equipped for it or you’re you’re not. Sure, soeone with  rel gift of the t he gb cn possibly coe up with soe reson to get bckstge, but tht’s  BIG if. However, you ight s well give it  try—everyone else will—nd if you do nge to get ccess bckstge, you ust reeber three golden rules: 1. Don’t Don’t stare. s tare. Move round nd ingle, first with the eployees (rodies nd the like), then the bckup bnd, nd then once you’ve de “friends” with people, you hve  reson to be there nd cn ctully pproch the str. 2. Don’t gush. A single “Oh wow, it’s hi!” cn kill your routine in  second nd see you escorted out. 3. Don’t get in the way. If you nnoy  rodie, he’ll generlly not hold bck in deonstrting tht nnoynce. nnoynce.

Option 3: Advance Groundwork Te hrd fct is tht the edi hs ccess to celebrities tht coon people will never get. When journlists cll up  venue nd sy they’re coing to the Celine Dion concert tht night, they cn expect set upgrdes, ccess to the press re, ccess to the tlent, nd uch ore depending on the level of fe f e of the person in the show. Soe bnds re totlly hppy to hve the press round nd will invite  journlist bckstge, to the fter-prty, fter-prty, whtever they wnt. Others could cre less. So if you hve ny edi connections, it doesn’t hurt to use the in this sitution. Alterntely, soe srt people hve even creted  edi outlet for the sole purpose of using tht outlet to open doors. A fil critic ned Pul Fischer is infous for getting hiself invited to fil sets ll the tie to spek with fous ctors on the pretense tht he will publish the ensuing stories in newsppers, but Fischer ws not  regulrly eployed newspper journlist.


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Tis is the kind of routine ny people in the usic industry use to get free CDs, concert tickets, nd invittions to prties—they pull  Pul Fischer nd either piggybck on sll outlets tht need free content, or crete their very own Web site they will use to open doors—even if nobody ctully goes there. If you’re going to go to tht extent, you’ll hve to do  little work up front. You will hve to get letterhed printed, invest in  fx chine, chnge your nswering chine or voiceil essge to include your copny ne, nd present the ige i ge of  professionl professio nl business overll. overll . But in tody’s tody’s world of blogs nd the Internet, it’s esier thn ever to crete your own edi outlet nd use tht to score press psses. Strt looking over concert listings in your locl pper nd online, choose your fvorite option bove, nd push forwrd. for wrd.

Away from the Tour If you need ore fro  celebrity usicin thn  hndshke, quick converstion, or  bckstge shre of their recretionl drug supply, then you ight wnt to figure out  wy to trck the down during their tie wy fro the tour. Generlly, ost fous bnds or usicins hve the se setup tht ctors do— fn club, n ssistnt who fields their il, nd n gent, nger, ger, or publicist who dels with their business tters. If you wnt to offer  celebrity n ctul business proposition—such s  chrity ppernce,  television coercil, or  V show booking, then you’re better off going directly to the gent or record lbel tht hndles the rtist. Clling the record lbel often entils  long line of phone clls nd getting trnsferred to other people in the copny who will lso trnsfer you to soeone else who will eventully sy, “He’s not in tody.” Tt’s fine . . . just get  fx nuber nd send your proposl pro posl tht wy w y. Most of the tie you’ll get  lot ore ttention tt ention if they th ey think your request req uest is offi cil nd not soe crzy c rzy fn clling up with wit h  pseudo story; s tory;  fxed request on officil letterhed letter hed is best. best . If you re  crzy usic fn who siply wnts to get in touch with the celebrity, then it’s best going through the fn club or fn il ddress. Soeties you cn find this t his listed list ed in the th e liner notes no tes of the usicin us icin’’s CD. You You won’t won’t cquire soe sort of gicl insight into the celebrity by doing tht, but you’ll you’ll

56


probbly get soething— signed photo or, or, t the very lest, detils of how to get  signed photo. Fro there, siply work your wy up. Lern ll you cn bout the celebrity nd where he or she is ppering, nd hope tht they’ll fll hed over heels in love with you s you sit there in the third row. Do tke cution with usicins, becuse they tend to pick up  lot of crzed fns when they rech  certin height of fe. Tey lso tend to tke  lot of fele fns bck to the hotel with the. Tis y see like  good ide t the tie, but lost lwys ends up with n erly orning shove out the door.

Listings of Music Celebrity Fan Clubs Here’s one stop tht will give you ccess to ny fn clubs, including ones for Billy Ry Cyrus nd the Ok Ridge Boys—the International Fan Club Organization (www.ifco.org/fanclubs.htm).

Sending Fan Mail One wy to write to country usic celebrities is through the following ddress. ddress. More often thn not, they ke sure the letter gets into the right hnds: Country Music Television 2806 Opryland Drive Nashville, TN 37214 www.CMT.com

Besides fn clubs nd fn il ddresses, nother plce to write to usicins is to their record lbels. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 3,806 usicins nd usic groups.


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Major Record Label Addresses A&M Records 2220 Colorado Avenue, Floor 5 Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–865–1000 310–865–1000 (Phone) 310–865–7270 310–865–7270 (Fax) [email protected] www.umusic.com Angel Records 150 Fifth Avenue, Floor 6 New York, NY 10011 212–786–8600 212–786–8600 (Phone) www.angelrecords.com Arista Associated Labels (LA) 8750 Wilshire Boulevard, Floor 3 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310–358–4600 310–358–4600 (Phone) 310–358–4307 310–358–4307 (Fax) [email protected] www.aristaassociatedlabels.com Arista Records (NY) 888 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019 212–489–7400 212–489–7400 (Phone) 212–830–2124 212–830–2124 (Fax) [email protected] www.arista.com Arista Records (TN) 1400 18th Ave. South Nashville, TN 37212 615–301–4488 615–301–4488 (Phone) 615–301–4438 615–301–4438 (Fax) [email protected] www.aristanashville.com Artist Direct Records 10900 Wilshire Blvd., #1400 Los Angeles, CA 90024 310–443–5360 310–443–5360 (Phone) 310–443–5361 310–443–5361 (Fax) www.artistdirect.com

Atlantic Records (LA) 9229 Sunset Boulevard, #900 Los Angeles, CA 90069 www.atlanticrecords.com Atlantic Records (NY) 1290 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10104 212–707–2000 212–707–2000 (Phone) 212–405–5475 212–405–5475 (Fax) [email protected] www.atlantic-records.com Atlantic Records (LA) 3400 W. Olive Burbank, CA 91505 8180–238–6800 8180–238–6800 (Phone) [email protected] www.atlantic-records.com Bad Boy Entertainment 1710 Broadway New York, NY 10019 212–381–1540 212–381–1540 (Phone) 212–381–1599 212–381–1599 (Fax) [email protected] www.badboyonline.com Blue Note Records 150 Fifth Avenue, Floor 6 New York, NY 10011 212–786–8600 212–786–8600 (Phone) www.bluenote.com BMG Records/BMG Entertainment 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036 212–930–4000 212–930–4000 (Phone) www.bmg.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Capitol Records (LA) 1750 N. Vine Street Los Angeles, CA 90028 323–462–6252 323–462–6252 (Phone) 323–467–5267 323–467–5267 (Fax) [email protected] www.capitolrecords.com Capitol Records (NY) 810 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019 212–253–3000 212–253–3000 (Phone) 212–253–3099 212–253–3099 (Fax) [email protected] www.capitolrecords.com Capitol Records (TN) 3322 W. End Avenue, Floor 11 Nashville, TN 37203 615–269–2000 615–269–2000 (Phone) [email protected] www.capitol-nashville.com Columbia Records 550 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 212–833–8000 212–833–8000 (Phone) [email protected] www.columbiarecords.com Elektra Entertainment (LA) 2400 W. Olive Street, Floor 2 Burbank, CA 91505 818–238–2200 818–238–2200 (Phone) [email protected] ww.elektra.com Elektra Entertainment (NY) 75 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10019 212–275–4000 212–275–4000 (Phone) [email protected] www.elektra.com

Epic Records Group (LA) 2100 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 [email protected] www.epicrecords.com Epic Records (NY) 550 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 212–833–8000 212–833–8000 (Phone) [email protected] www.epicrecords.com Epic Records (TN) 34 Music Square East Nashville, TN 37203 615–742–4379 615–742–4379 (Phone) 615–742–4338 615–742–4338 (Fax) http//www.sonynashville.com Geffen Records 2220 Colorado Avenue, Floor 4 Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–865–4500 310–865–4500 (Phone) 310–865–1610 310–865–1610 (Fax) [email protected] www.geffen.com Hollywood Records (LA) 500 S Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 91521 818–560–5670 818–560–5670 (Phone) 818–560–3230 818–560–3230 (Fax) [email protected] www.hollywoodrecords.com Hollywood Records (NY) 99 Hudson Street, Floor 8 New York, NY 10013 212–925–0331 212–925–0331 (Phone) 212–925–9126 212–925–9126 (Fax) [email protected] www.hollywoodrecords.com

Musicians & Music Groups The Island Def Jam Music Group, Inc. 825 Eighth Avenue, Floor 28 New York, NY 10019 212–333–8000 212–333–8000 (Phone) 212–603–7931 212–603–7931 (Fax) [email protected] www.islanddefjam.com J Records 745 Fifth Avenue, Floor 6 New York, NY 10151 646–840–5600 646–840–5600 (Phone) 646–840–5791 646–840–5791 (Fax) [email protected] www.jrecords.com Jive Records (LA) 9000 Sunset Blvd., #300 West Hollywood, CA 90069 310–247–8300 310–247–8300 (Phone) 310–247–8366 310–247–8366 (Fax) [email protected] www.jiverecords.com Jive Records (NY) 137–139 W. 25th Street New York, NY 10001 212–727–0016 212–727–0016 (Phone) 212–645–3783 212–645–3783 (Fax) [email protected] www.jiverecords.com Maverick Recording Company 3300 Warner Warner Boulevard Boule vard Burbank, CA 91505 818–846–9090 818–846–9090 (Phone) [email protected] www.maverick.com Mercury Nashville 54 Music Square East, #300 Nashville, TN 37203 615–524–7500 615–524–7500 (Phone) 615–524–7600 615–524–7600 (Fax) www.mercurynashville.com

Motown (See Universal Motown Records Group) NBC Records, Inc. 3400 W. Olive Avenue, #600 Burbank, CA 91505 818–526–6963 818–526–6963 (Phone) 818–526–6946 818–526–6946 (Fax) [email protected] www.nbc.com RCA Records (LA) 8750 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310–358–4000 310–358–4000 (Phone) 310–358–4040 310–358–4040 (Fax) [email protected] www.rcarecords.com RCA Records (NY) 1540 Broadway New York, NY 10036 212–930–4000 www.rcarecords.com RCA Records (TN) 1400 18th Ave. South Nashville, TN 37212 615–301–4300 615–301–4300 (Phone) 615–301–4347 615–301–4347 (Fax) [email protected] www.rcarecords.com Reprise Records 3300 Warner Warner Boulevard Boule vard Burbank, CA 91505 818–846–9090 www.repriserecords.com Reprise Records (LA) 3300 Warner Blvd. Burbank, CA 91505 818–846–9090 818–846–9090 (Phone) www.repriserec.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Reprise Records (NY) 75 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10019 212–275–4500 212–275–4500 (Phone) 212–275–4595 212–275–4595 (Fax) www.repriserec.com Rhino Records 3400 W. Olive Burbank, CA 91505 818–238–6200 818–238–6200 (Phone) 818–562–9236 818–562–9236 (Fax) www.rhino.com Shady Records 270 Lafayette, #805 New York, NY 10012 212–324–2410 212–324–2410 (Phone) 212–324–2415 212–324–2415 (Fax) www.shadyrecords.com

Sony Tropical 605 Lincoln Road, Floor 6 Miami, FL 33139 305–695–3500 305–695–3500 (Phone) 305–695–3624 305–695–3624 (Fax) [email protected] www.sony.com Sony Urban (LA) 2100 Colorado Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–449–2100 310–449–2100 (Phone) www.sonyurban.com Sony Urban (NY) 550 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 212–833–8000 www.sonyurban.com

Sony Music Entertainment (LA) 2100 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–449–2100 310–449–2100 (Phone) 310–449–2959 310–449–2959 (Fax) www.sonymusic.com

Tommy Boy Entertainment 32 W. 18th Street, Floor 12 New York, NY 10011 212–388–8300 212–388–8300 (Phone) 212–388–8431 212–388–8431 (Fax) [email protected] www.tommyboy.com

Sony Music Entertainment (NY) 550 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 212–833–8000 212–833–8000 (Phone) 212–833–4812 212–833–4812 (Fax) www.sonymusic.com

Universal Motown Records Group 1755 Broadway New York, NY 10019 212–373–0600 212–373–0600 (Phone) [email protected] www.motown.com

Sony Music Nashville 34 Music Square East Nashville, TN 37203 615–742–4321 615–742–4321 (Phone) [email protected] www.sonynashville.com

Universal Music Group (LA) 2220 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–865–5000 310–865–5000 (Phone www.umusic.com

Musicians Musici ans & Music Groups Universal Music Group (NY) 1755 Broadway New York, NY 10019 212–841–8000 212–841–8000 (Phone) www.umusic.com Universal Music Group (TN) 54 Music Square East, #300 Nashville, TN 37203 615–524–7500 615–524–7500 (Phone) 615–524–7600 615–524–7600 (Fax) [email protected] www.umusic.com Universal Music Latino (FL) 420 Lincoln Road, #200 Miami Beach, FL 33139 305–938–1300 305–938–1300 (Phone) 305–938–1369 305–938–1369 (Fax) [email protected] www.universalmusica.com Universal Music Latino (LA) 100 N. First Street, Floor 3 Burbank, CA 91502 818–972–5677 818–972–5677 (Phone) 818–972–5611 818–972–5611 (Fax) [email protected] www.universalmusica.com The Verve Verve Music Group (LA) 100 N. First Street, Floor 4 Burbank, CA 91502 818–729–4804 818–729–4804 (Phone) 818–729–4904 818–729–4904 (Fax) [email protected] www.veremusicgroup.com

The Verve Verve Music Group (NY) 1755 Broadway, Floor 3 New York, NY 10019 212–331–2000 212–331–2000 (Phone) 212–331–2064 212–331–2064 (Fax) [email protected] www.vervemusicgroup.com Virgin Records America, Inc. (LA) 5750 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 323–692–1100 323–692–1100 (Phone) www.virginrecords.com Virgin Records America, Inc. (NY) 150 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 212–786–8300 212–786–8300 (Phone) www.virgin.com Warner Bros. Records (LA) 3300 Warner Warner Boulevard Boule vard Burbank, CA 91505 818–846–9090 818–846–9090 (Phone) [email protected] www.wbr.com Warner Bros. Records (NY) 75 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10019 212–275–4500 212–275–4500 (Phone) [email protected] www.wbr.com Warner Bros. Records (TN) 20 Music Square East, Floor 3 Nashville, TN 37203 615–748–8000 615–748–8000 (Phone) 615–214–1567 615–214–1567 (Fax) [email protected] www.wbrnashville.com

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chapter

Six

Talk Show Host Hostss

Lisa: Oprah, can I have your autograph? Oprah: Sure Lisa. Wait a minute, what is this? thi s? Lisa: Oh, you’re adopting me. It’s all nice and legal, I assure you. —THE SIMPSONS

As noted in the

“Actors & Actresses” chpter, the best wy to eet your fvorite celebrity cn be s  eber of the udience t one of their V shows. Tis is true for tlk show hosts s well s drtis perforers. o o send fn il to  host, siply write to the t he t the ddress for their show. Below is info on soe of tody’s ost populr tlk shows:

Chicago Jerry Springer

Cll 312–321–5365 or write: The Jerry Springer Show 454 N. Columbus Drive, 2nd Floor Chicago, IL 60611

Or visit www.JerrySpringerTV.com to request tickets vi eil. 62

Talk Show Hosts

63

The Oprah Winfrey Show The Oprah Winfrey Show 110 N. Carpenter Street Chicago, IL 60607

For The Oprah Winfrey Show , reservtions re hndled “lost exclusively” by phone. Reservtions re in high dend. You cn encounter busy signls for  long tie, nd you y even go to the Web site nd find tht the reservtion line hs been closed. However, you usully hve to tlk to n Audience Deprtent rep (312–633–0808) to get reservtions. Soeties, you ight get lucky nd be ble to request requ est lst-inute lst-inut e reservtions by eil. Stop by Oprh’s Oprh’s Web Web site to to check the current sttus. Visit www.oprah.com/tows/program/tows_prog_getticks.jhtml.

Los Angeles Dr. Phil Dr. Phil 5555 Melrose Avenue Mae West Building Los Angeles, CA 90038 Call 323–461-PHIL or visit: www.drphil.com/shows/page/be_in_the_audience

Ellen Ellen 3000 W. Alameda Avenue, #2700 Burbank, CA 91523

Visit ellen.warnerbros.com/tickets/ for n online clendr where you cn select  dte when tickets re vilble. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The Tonight Tonight Show with Jay Leno 3000 W. Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91523

64


For The Tonig Tonight ht Show Sh ow , send  self-ddressed stped envelope with  brief letter listing the desired dte of  tping nd three lternte dtes. You cn request up to four tickets by il, or try to get tickets on the dy of the tping t the NBC Box Offi ce locted loc ted t  t the th e ddress ddre ss bove. bov e. Te box bo x office opens ope ns t 8 a.m. a .m. o lern ore bout the show, go to: www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno

New York City Daily Show with Jon Stewart Daily Show with Jon Stewart 2049 Century Park East, #4170 Los Angeles, CA 90067

Cll 212–586–2477 nd tell tel l the how ny tickets you need. nee d. For ore bckground on the show, visit www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/index.jhtml. Emeril Live Emeril Live 1180 6th Avenue, Floor 12 New York, NY 10036

Te Food Network uses  lottery for tickets due to the high dend, but the sign-up period for the lottery hppens only  few ties per yer. Entry dtes re posted on www.FoodTV.com before ech lottery period begins. Te Food Network will ignore clls, eils, nd letters, so don’t even try. If your ne is picked,  eber of the Emeril Live stff will notify you by phone two to four weeks before the tping dte. Good Morning America Good Morning America ABC Times Square Studios 1500 Broadway New York, NY 10036

If you wnt to wtch Dine Swyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuoo nd S Chpion do their thing, cll 212–580–5176, or show up weekdy ornings

Talk Show Hosts

65

to ies Squre t 44th Street nd Brodwy, fro 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. to wtch fro the street. More info is t abcnews.go.com/GMA/story. Last Call with Carson Daly Last Call with Carson Daly 330 Bob Hope Drive Burbank, CA 91523

Cll 1–888–4LC-IXX or visit www.1Iota.com for tickets. Stnd-by tickets cn be cquired t the NBC Experience Store t 49th Street nd Rockefeller Plz, but tht will only get you in if there’s roo. Late Night with Conan O’Brien

Send  postcrd with your ne, ddress, nd phone nuber, including the nuber of tickets you wnt to: Conan O’Brien NBC Tickets 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112

See wht Conn’s been up to t: www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O’Brien/index.shtml Late Show with David Letterman

Send  postcrd with your ne, ddress, nd phone nuber to: David Letterman Tickets Ed Sullivan Theater 1697 Broadway New York, NY 10019

Generlly it will tke nine onths or longer to receive n nswer, so be prepred to wit. Alterntively, you cn line up t 9:00 a.m. t the Ed Sullivn ticket offi o ffice nd hope for cncelltions cnc elltions (of ( of which whic h there re ny due to the long wit between booking nd the show). Te show’ sh ow’ss Web Web site sit e is t: www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/.

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Live with Regis & Kelly

Write Write to: Live Tickets P.O. Box 230777 Ansonia Station New York, NY 10023

You You y hve to wit  yer or o r longer for reserved res erved tickets tic kets to this th is show. Stnd-by psses re given out beginning t 7:00 a.m. ech dy t their studio (corner of West 67th nd Colubus Avenue). You’ll You’ll find the officil show Web site sit e t: t : www.bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/regisandkelly/index.html

The Martha Stewart Show The Martha Stewart Show Chelsea Studios 221 West 26th Street New York, NY 10001

For tickets to The Martha Stewart Show , visit the Web site below to subit your request: www.marthastewart.com/the-martha-stewart-show. Rachael Ray

Fill Fill out the online ticket request for t www.rachaelrayshow.com/show-info/audience-tickets/. Tyra Tyra Chelsea Studios 221 West 26th Street New York, NY 10001

Cll 1–888-SEE-YRA or visit www.TyraShow.com The Today Show The Today Show 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, New York 10112

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67

Show up erly, before 7 a.m., to get  good spot t 49th Street nd Rockefeller Plz if you’d like to try to get on s bckground or s n interviewed fn of The T The Today Show . If you hng out round the southest corner, you’ll be behind where the nchors sit. It will probbly help your chnces to be on cer if you dress like  chicken, hve  cute child in your rs, or construct  12-foot sign tht sys “Knss Loves Al!” You cn lern ore bout The Today Show t: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3079108/. The View

Write Write to: The View Tickets 320 W. 66th Street New York, NY 10023

Or visit www.abc.com/theview Stndby Stndby tickets re vilble fro 10 a.m. ech dy on  first-coe, firstserved bsis t ABC Studios t 320 W. 66th Street t West End Avenue. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 41 rdio nd television tlk show hosts.

chapter

Seven

Television Hosts & News Anchors

“There’s a little more ego involved in these jobs than people might realize.” —WALTER CRONKITE

In addition to hosts of

tlk shows, other types of celebrities include hosts of  wide rnge of other types of V progrs s well s ntionl nd locl news nchors. Soeties we see these folks’ fces so often, it feels like we lredy know the. Below re soe ides for how to ke  connection with this type of celebrity.

Meeting in Person One possible wy to run into news nchors is by going on  tour of  network’s studio. One of the ost populr news network tours is the CNN Studio our in Atlnt.

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Television Hosts & News Anchors

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CNN Studio Tour 190 Marietta Street Atlanta, GA 30303 404–827–2300 404–827–2300 (Phone) www.cnn.com/studiotour

Sending Fan Mail Te best wy to contct ntionl progr hosts nd news nchors is through their network. Write Write to those t hose folks t their respective network, but send il to to  locl personlity t your locl chnnel (even if the sttion where they pper is  locl ffi  ffilite of  ntionl network). network) . You You cn usully u sully find the locl loc l ddresses ddress es by doing  serch on Google for soething s oething like “NBC ffilite Atlnt Atl nt”” s n exple nd then locting the sttion’s ddress on their Web site. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 231 television hosts nd news nchors.

Major Television Network Addresses A&E Television Television Networks 235 E. 45th Street New York, NY 10017 212–210–1400 212–210–1400 (Phone) 212–983–4370 212–983–4370 (Fax) www.aetv.com ABC Entertainment Television Group (ABC) 500 S. Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 91521 818–460–7777 818–460–7777 (Phone) www.abc.com AMC 200 Jericho Quadrangle Jericho, NY 11753 516–803–3000 516–803–3000 (Phone) www.amctv.com

Animal Planet One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910 240–662–2000 240–662–2000 (Phone) 240–662–1845 240–662–1845 (Fax) [email protected] animal.discovery.com BBC America 7475 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, MD 20814 301–347–2222 301–347–2222 (Phone) 301–656–8073 301–656–8073 (Fax) www.bbcamerica.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Black Entertainment Television Network (BET-DC) One BET Plaza 1235 W Street NE Washington, DC 20018 202–608–2000 202–608–2000 (Phone) 202–608–2631 202–608–2631 (Fax) www.bet.com Black Entertainment Television Network (BET-LA) 4024 Radford Avenue R&D Building, Floor 4 Studio City, CA 91604 818–655–6700 818–655–6700 (Phone) 818–655–6770 818–655–6770 (Fax) www.bet.com Bravo Network (LA) 3000 W. Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91523 818–840–4444 www.bravotv.com Bravo Network (NY) 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Pl aza, #14-E New York, NY 10112 212–664–4444 212–664–4444 (Phone) www.bravotv.com British Broadcasting Company (BBC) Wood Lane London W12 8QC UNITED KINGDOM 011–44–20–8433–2000 bbc.co.uk

Cable News Network (CNN) Turner Broadcasting Systems One CNN Center P.O. Box 105366 Atlanta, GA 30348 404–827–1500 [email protected] www.cnn.com

Cartoon Network 1050 Techwood Techwood Drive NW Atlanta, GA 30318 404–885–2263 404–885–2263 (Phone) 404–885–4312 404–885–4312 (Fax) www.cartoonnetwork.com CBS Entertainment (LA) 7800 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 323–575–2345 323–575–2345 (Phone) www.cbs.com CBS Entertainment (NY) 51 W. 52nd Street, Floor 6 New York, NY 10019 212–975–4321 212–975–4321 (Phone) www.cbs.com The Christian Broadcasting Network (TBN) 977 Centerville Turnpike Virginia Beach, VA 23463 757–226–7000 757–226–7000 (Phone) www.cbn.com Cinemax 1100 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10036 212–512–1000 212–512–1000 (Phone) www.cinemax.com CMT: Country Music Television (LA) 2600 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–752–8248 310–752–8248 (Phone) www.cmt.com CMT: Country Music Television (TN) 3300 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37201 615–335–8400 615–335–8400 (Phone) 615–335–8619 615–335–8619 (Fax) www.cmt.com

Television Hosts & News Anchors CNBC 900 Sylvan Avenue Englewood Cliff, NJ 07632 201–735–2622 201–735–2622 (Phone) 201–735–3200 201–735–3200 (Fax) www.cnbc.com

E! Networks 5750 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 323–954–2400 323–954–2400 (Phone) 323–954–2662 323–954–2662 (Fax) www.eonline.com

Comedy Central (LA) 2049 Century Park East, #4170 Los Angeles, CA 90067 310–407–4700 310–407–4700 (Phone) 310–407–4797 310–407–4797 (Fax) www.comedycentral.com

ESPN (CT) ESPN Plaza Bristol, CT 06010 860–766–2000 860–766–2000 (Phone) www.espn.com

Comedy Central (NY) 1775 Broadway, Floor 10 New York, NY 10019 212–767–8600 212–767–8600 (Phone) 212–767–8592 212–767–8592 (Fax) www.comedycentral.com Court TV 600 Third Avenue New York, NY 10016 212–973–2800 212–973–2800 (Phone) 212–973–3210 212–973–3210 (Fax) www.courttv.com Discovery Networks One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910 240–662–2000 240–662–2000 (Phone) 240–662–1845 240–662–1845 (Fax) [email protected] www.discovery.com Disney Channel 3800 W. Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91505 818–569–7500 www.disneychannel.com

ESPN (NY) 605 Third Avenue, Floor 8 New York, NY 10158 212–916–9200 212–916–9200 (Phone) www.espn.com Food Network 1180 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 212–398–8836 212–398–8836 (Phone) 212–997–0997 212–997–0997 (Fax) www.foodnetwork.com Fox Broadcasting Company P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213 310–369–1000 310–369–1000 (Phone) www.fox.com Fox News Channel 1440 S. Sepulveda Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 310–444–8752 310–444–8752 (Phone) 310–444–8665 310–444–8665 (Fax) www.foxnews.com Fox Sports Network 10201 W. Pico Boulevard Building 101 Los Angeles, CA 90035 310–369–1000 310–369–1000 (Phone) www.foxsports.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES FX 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Floor 19 Los Angeles, CA 90067 310–369–1000 310–369–1000 (Phone) 310–969–4688 310–969–4688 (Fax) www.fxnetworks.com

Lifetime Television (LA) 2049 Century Park East, #840 Los Angeles, CA 90067 310–556–7500 310–556–7500 (Phone) www.lifetimetv.com

Game Show Network 10202 Washington Washington Boulevard Boule vard Culver City, CA 90232 310–244–222 www.gsn.com

Lifetime Television (NY) 309 W. 49th Street, Floor 16 New York, NY 10019 212–424–7000 212–424–7000 (Phone) 212–957–4264 212–957–4264 (Fax) www.lifetimetv.com

HBO Enterprises (LA) 1100 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 212–512–1000 212–512–1000 (Phone) 212–512–5698 212–512–5698 (Fax) www.hbo.com

LOGO 1775 Broadway, Floor 11 New York, NY 10019 212–258–8000 212–258–8000 (Phone) 212–767–4460 212–767–4460 (Fax) www.logo-tv.com

HBO, Inc. 2500 Broadway, #400 Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–382–3000 310–382–3000 (Phone) www.hbo.com

MSNBC One MSNBC Plaza Secaucus, NJ 07094 201–583–5000 201–583–5000 (Phone) [email protected] www.msnbc.com

Home & Garden Television (HGTV) 9721 Sherrill Boulevard Knoxville, TN 37932 865–694–2700 865–694–2700 (Phone) 865–531–1588 865–531–1588 (Fax) www.hgtv.com

MTV Networks (LA) 2600 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–752–8000 310–752–8000 (Phone) www.mtv.com

Home Shopping Network 1 HSN Drive St. Petersburg, FL 33729 727–872–1000 727–872–1000 (Phone) www.hsn.com

MTV Networks (NY) 1515 Broadway New York, NY 10036 212–258–8000 212–258–8000 (Phone) www.mtv.com

The Independent Film Channel (IFC) 200 Jericho Quadrangle Jericho, NY 11753 516–803–4500 516–803–4500 (Phone) 516–803–4506 516–803–4506 (Fax) www.ifctv.com

National Broadcasting Network (NBC) 3000 W. Alameda Avenue, #5366 Burbank, CA 91523 818–840–3532 818–840–3532 (Phone) www.nbc.com

Television Hosts & News Anchors Nickelodeon (LA) 2600 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–752–8000 310–752–8000 (Phone) www.nick.com Nickelodeon (NY) 1515 Broadway, Floor 38 New York, NY 10036 212–258–7500 212–258–7500 (Phone) www.nick.com PAX 601 Clearwater Park Road West Palm Beach, FL 33401 561–659–4122 561–659–4122 (Phone) 561–682–4236 561–682–4236 (Fax) www.pax.tv

Sci-Fi Channel (NY) 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 212–664–4444 212–664–4444 (Phone) 212–703–8533 212–703–8533 (Fax) www.scifi.com Showtime Networks, Inc. (LA) 10880 Wilshire Boulevard, #1600 Los Angeles, CA 90024 310–234–5200 310–234–5200 (Phone) www.sho.com Showtime Networks, Inc. (NY) 1633 Broadway New York, NY 10019 212–708–1600 212–708–1600 (Phone) www.sho.com

PBS 1320 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314 703–739–5000 703–739–5000 (Phone) 703–739–0775 703–739–0775 (Fax) www.pbs.org

SOAPNET 3800 W. Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91505 818–569–7500 818–569–7500 (Phone) 818–566–7402 818–566–7402 (Fax) www.soapnet.com

Playboy Entertainment Group 2706 Media Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90065 323–276–4000 323–276–4000 (Phone) 323–276–4500 323–276–4500 (Fax) www.plaboytv.com

Spike TV 1515 Broadway New York, NY 10036 212–258–8000 212–258–8000 (Phone) www.spiketv.com

Quality Value Value Convenience (QVC) 1200 Wilson Drive West Chester, PA 19380 1–800–200–0777 1–800–200–0777 (Phone) www.qvc.com Sci-Fi Channel (LA) 100 Universal City Plaza Building 1440, Floor 14 Universal City, CA 91608 818–777–1000 818–777–1000 (Phone) www.scifi.com

Starz Entertainment 8900 Liberty Circle Englewood, CO 80112 720–852–7700 720–852–7700 (Phone) 720–852–7760 720–852–7760 (Fax) www.starz.com TBS (ATL) 1050 Techwood Techwood Drive NW Atlanta, GA 30318 404–827–1700 404–827–1700 (Phone) 404–885–4673 404–885–4673 (Fax) [email protected] www.tbs.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES TBS (LA) 3500 W. Olive Avenue, Floor 15 Burbank, CA 91505 818–977–5500 818–977–5500 (Phone) [email protected] www.tbs.com Telemundo 2290 W. Eighth Avenue Hialeah, FL 33010 305–884–8200 305–884–8200 (Phone) www.telemundo.com TLC One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910 240–662–2000 240–662–2000 (Phone) 240–662–1845 240–662–1845 (Fax) tlc.discovery.com Travel Channel One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910 240–662–2000 240–662–2000 (Phone) 240–662–1845 240–662–1845 (Fax) travel.discovery.com Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) 2823 W. Irving Boulevard Irving, TX 75061 1–800–735–5542 1–800–735–5542 (Phone) www.tbn.org

Turner Network Television Television (TNT) 1050 Techwood Techwood Drive Atlanta, GA 30318 404–827–1500 404–827–1500 (Phone) 404–885–4947 404–885–4947 (Fax) [email protected] www.tnt.tv Univision 34 5999 Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90045 310–216–3434 310–216–3434 (Phone) www.univision.com

UPN 1800 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 310–575–7000 310–575–7000 (Phone) www.upn.com USA Network (LA) 100 Universal City Plaza Universal City, CA 91608 818–777–1000 818–777–1000 (Phone) www.usanetwork.com USA Network (NY) 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Floor 21 New York, NY 10112 212–664–4444 212–664–4444 (Phone) www.usanetwork.com VH1 (LA) 2600 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–752–8000 www.vh1.com VH1 (NY) 1515 Broadway New York, NY 10036 212–846–8000 212–846–8000 (Phone) www.vh1.com Video Hits One (VH1) 2600 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310–752–8000 www.vh1.com The WB Television Television Network (LA) 4000 Warner Warner Boulevard Boule vard Building 34R Burbank, CA 91522 818–977–5000 818–977–5000 (Phone) 818–977–2282 818–977–2282 (Fax) thewb.warnerbros.com

Television Hosts & News Anchors The WB Television Television Network (NY) 1325 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 212–636–5049 212–636–5049 (Phone) www.thewb.com WE: Women’s Women’s Nework Ne work 200 Jericho Quadrangle Jericho, NY 11753 516–803–3000 516–803–3000 (Phone) www.we.tv

The Weather Channel Landmark Networks 300 Interstate North Parkway Atlanta, GA 30339 770–226–0000 770–226–0000 (Phone) www.weather.com

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chapter

Eight

Baseball Players Players

“Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine.” —PAT —PAT C ONROY

plyer for n utoGetting in touch with a professionl bsebll plyer grph or piece of eorbili used to be relly esy. You siply lined up outside the locker roo fter the ge nd tlked to the plyers s they left for their crs. Or ybe you lened over the outfield wll nd convinced  plyer to coe over nd sign soething s he retrieved  foul bll. Or perhps you even dropped  pen nd  bsebll into the bullpen nd wited for it to get thrown bck up to you. But tht’s not so true nyore. Jose Cnseco begn to ove wy fro providing free utogrphs for fns when he strted chrging kids five bucks per signture t Mjor Legue Bsebll ges. At the tie, this ws considered heresy, but Cnseco ws ctully hed of the curve. cur ve. Wht strted out s  nice gesture between plyer nd fn soon bece n industry. Te plyer quite rightfully feels used when he 76

Baseball Players

77

tkes tie out of his schedule to do  kid  fvor nd tht kid turns round nd sells his utogrph to  eorbili vendor for $10.

How to “Catch” a Player’s Signature Tere re four in wys to get  bsebll plyer to sign for you: 1. An open autograph period. Most tes hve ties when plyers re peritted to sign things for the fns—usully round btting prctice tie, fter  big win, or t n officil te event. If you go to the bllprk four hours before ge tie, you’ll see the plyers hving n erly swing in  low-pressure environent. While they’re witing their turn, you’re generlly not scowled t too uch if you pproch the with  hndshke nd  pen. 2. A charity event. Nerly every Mjor Legue Bsebll plyer—s well s those in the Mjor Legues—is ligned with vrious chrities where he turns up to ssist  few ties per yer. yer. In fct, ny plyers hve chritble foundtions of their own tht they’ve set up to help  certin cuse. Since the plyer gives his tie to the cuse t these chrity events, it’s it’s expected tht fns will be ble to tlk to hi, pproch hi for signings, nd just hng out. Your Your side of the brgin is to give  little to the chrity in thnks—it’ th nks—it’ss  fir trde. 3. Write to the player’s team or club . his is  pretty esy option. Just send  letter to your fvorite plyer through his te nd sk if he wouldn’t ind signing  photo or soething else for you (or for your grndother, child, or dog). Usully the plyer will oblige, especilly if you’re srt nd put  selfddressed stped envelope in the pckge so they don’t hve to py return postge. 4. Get ’em early. Every bllplyer strts soewhere, nd tht soewhere is usully in  tiny bllprk in  tiny town where  tiny crowd turns up to see newcoers newcoer s ply. ply. Nerly every region of North Aeric Aer ic hs  inor legue club soewhere nerby, nd even independent legue clubs cn be  gret plce to get up-nd-coing plyers s well s forer f orer big nes now considering retireent. Most inor legue tes will let fns coe onto the field fter  ge to eet the plyers, especilly fter  win. But if they lose, don’t expect the

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to stick round too long! Forer bsebll plyer Sen Csey, lwys enjoyed signing utogrphs. “Soe guys don’t don’t wnt to be bothered bo thered with wit h it,” he told the Cincinnti Cincinn ti Enquirer in 2003. “Tt’s fine. Te botto line is, it ight put  sile on soebody’s fce. Tt’s the point; it kes soebody hppy.” Csey continued, “I get stories bck fro people bout how I took two seconds out of y dy to sign n utogrph nd it kes their dy. It’s net to know you cn hve tht kind of ipct. I don’t ind t ll if people sk e, becuse I’ve done the se thing.” A cse in point, Csey once showed up to  celebrity softbll ge with  bt, bll, nd trding crds for Pete Rose to sign. “Pete Rose de e  little nervous. nervous . You You get the big-tie, big-t ie, Hll of Fe-type guys. Tey ke you nervous nervo us until you find out they’re good guys. I cted like  little kid.” Soeties getting  plyer to gree to sign soething tkes  little psychology s well s ptience. Especilly in the inor legues, these guys re plying for their futures with every swing of the bt, so tking  flsh photo of the when they re cocked nd redy to swing s  pitch is thrown their wy isn’t likely to ender you to the. Neither will sticking your hed over the top of the dugout, or getting nnoyed if  plyer refuses your request to interrupt his schedule for  signture. But you cn chnge the odds in your fvor. If you bring  plyer’s bsebll crd to the prk nd sk hi to sign it, he’s likely to be ipressed tht it ws hi you wnted to see. If you buy  bll fro the souvenir stnd, likewise they’re ore likely to sign it since you’re helping the te. If you ctch  pop foul nd present the bll to the plyer who hit it fter the th e ge, he’ll pprecite pprecite the vlue of signing the bll nd will likely do just tht. Alterntely, if you’re witing t the stdiu gte with 12 bseblls to sign, you’re going to be pegged s soeone just looking to ke  little csh on the plyer’s tie. Reeber tht tody’s inor legue str could be toorrow’s strting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, nd inor legue eorbili surrounding his erly creer is not only ore unique thn  signed bsebll crd, it cn lso becoe vluble when tht red-fced kid fro Round Rock, exs, becoes the next bsebll All Str plyer. At bout six bucks  ticket for  inor legue

Baseball Players

79

ge, there’s relly not  huge expense involved in stking out the locl bllprk nd looking for the next big thing.

Sending Fan Mail to a Baseball Player o write to your fvorite bsebll plyer, send your letter to the plyer’s respective te. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses for over 6,633 professionl bsebll plyers. Major League Baseball Team Addresses Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2000 Gene Autry Way Anaheim, CA 92806 1–888–796-HALO 1–888–796-HALO (4256) www.LAAngels.com Arizona Diamondbacks P.O. Box 2095 Phoenix, AZ 85001 602–462–6500 www.ArizondDiamondbacks.com Atlanta Braves P.O. Box 4064 Atlanta, GA 30302 404–522–7630 www.AtlantaBraves.com Baltimore Orioles Oriole Park at Camden Yards Yards 333 W. Camden Street Baltimore, MD 21201 410–685–9800 www.TheOrioles.com Boston Red Sox 4 Yawke Yawkeyy Way Boston, MA 02215 617–267–9440 www.RedSox.com

Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field 1060 West Addison Chicago, IL 60613 773–404-CUBS (2827) www.cubs.com Chicago White Sox 333 W. 35th Street Chicago, IL 60616 312–674–1000 www.WhiteSox.com Cincinnati Reds 100 Main Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 513–765–7000 www.CincinnatiReds.com Cleveland Indians Jacobs Field 2401 Ontario Street Cleveland, OH 44155 216–420–4636 www.Indians.com

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Colorado Rockies Coors Field 2001 Blake Street Denver, CO 80205 303-ROCKIES (762–5437) www.ColoradoRockies.com

Minnesota Twins Metrodome 34 Kirby Puckett Place Minneapolis, MN 55415 612–375–1366 www.MinnesotaTwins.com

Detroit Tigers Comercia Park 2100 Woodward Avenue Detroit, MI 48201 www.DetroitTigers.com

New York Yankees 161st Street & River Avenue Bronx, NY 10452 718–293–4300 www.Yankees.com

Florida Marlins Dolphin Stadium 2269 Dan Marino Boulevard Miami, FL 33056 305–626-7400 www.FLAMarlins.com

Oakland Athletics Oakland Coliseum 7000 Coliseum Way Oakland, CA 94621 510–638–4900 www.OaklandAthletics.com

Houston Astros P.O. Box 288 Houston, TX 77001 713–259–8000 www.Astros.com

Philadelphia Phillies One Citizens Bank Way Way Citizens Bank Ballpark Philadelphia, PA 19148 215–463–6000 www.Phillies.com

Kansas City Royals One Royal Way Kansas City, MO 64129 816–921–8000 www.Royals.com Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium 1000 Elysian Park Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012 323–225–6514 www.LADodgers.com Milwaukee Brewers 1 Brewers Way Milwaukee, WI 53214 414–902–4400 www.MilwaukeeBrewers.com

Pittsburgh Pirates PNC Park at North Shore 115 Federal Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412–323–5000 www.PittsburghPirates.com St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium 700 Clark Street St. Louis, MO 63102 314–345-9600 www.StLCardinals.com San Diego Padres P.O. Box 2000 San Diego, CA 92112 619–735–5000 www.Padres.com

Baseball Players San Francisco Giants SBC Park 24 Willie Mays Plaza San Francisco, CA 94107 415–972–2000 www.SFGiants.com

Texas Rangers 1000 Ballpark Way Arlington, TX 76011 817–273–5222 www.TexasRangers.com

Seattle Mariners P.O. Box 4100 411 First Avenue South Seattle, WA 98194 206–346–4000 www.SeattleMariners.com

Toronto Blue Jays 1 Blue Jays Way, #3200 Rogers Centre Toronto, ON M5V 1J1 CANADA 416–341–1000 www.BlueJays.com

Tampa Bay Rays Tropicana Field One Tropicana Drive St. Petersburg, FL 33705 727–825–3137 www.RaysBaseball.com

Washington Nationals Nationals Park 1500 South Capitol Street, SE Washington, D.C. 20003-1507 202–349-0400 www.Nationals.com

Triple-A Baseball League Addresses International League 55 South High Street, #202 Dublin, OH 43017 614–791–9300 www.ILBaseball.com

Pacific Coast League 1631 Mesa Avenue, #A Colorado Springs, CO 80906 719–636–3399 www.PCLBaseball.com

Double-A Baseball League Addresses Eastern League 30 Danforth Street, #208 Portland, ME 04101 207–761–2700 www.EasternLeague.com Southern League 2551 Roswell Road, #330 Marietta, GA 30062 770–321–0400 www.SouthernLeague.com

Texas League 2442 Facet Oak San Antonio, TX 78232 210–545–5297 www.Texas-League.com

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Class-A Baseball League Addresses California League 2380 South Bascom Avenue, #200 Campbell, CA 95008 408–369–8038 www.CaliforniaLeague.com

Midwest League P.O. Box 936 Beloit, WI 53512 608–364–1188 www.MidwestLeague.com

Carolina League P.O. Box 9503 Greensboro, NC 27429 336–691–9030 www.CarolinaLeague.com

Northwest League P.O. Box 1645 Boise, ID 83701 208–429–1511 www.NorthwestLeague.com

Florida State League P.O. Box 349 Daytona Beach, FL 32115 386–252–7479 www.FSLBaseball.com

South Atlantic League 504 Crescent Hill Road Kings Mountain, NC 28086 704–739–3466 www.SouthAtlanticLeague.com

Rookie Baseball League Addresses Appalachian League 283 Deerchase Circle Statesville, NC 28625 704–873–5300 www.AppyLeague.com Arizona League P.O. Box 1645 Boise, ID 83701 208–429–1511

Gulf Coast League 1503 Clover Creek Drive, #H262 Sarasota, FL 34231 941–966–6407 Pioneer League P.O. Box 2564 Spokane, WA 99220 509–456–7615 www.PioneerLeague.com

Spring Training Spring rining is  gret tie to find  lrge nuber of Mjor Legue (nd Minor Legue) plyers in one plce. Every yer round Februry, ll the Mjor Legue frnchises strt their preprtions for the coing bsebll seson by flying down to Florid or Arizon. Once there, the bsebll plyers tke prt in scrtch ges ginst other tes nd even their own tetes. With the pressure of the regulr seson not yet upon the, ny plyers re fr ore greeble to signing things, shking hnds, nd hving their picture tken by fns. If you decide to tke n erly spring vction to

Baseball Players

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the world of Spring rining, visit y Web site Contct Any Celebrity t www.contactanycelebrity.com/spring-training/ first to obtin  list of plces you cn stke out. Arizona Spring Training Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Tempe Diablo Stadium 2200 W. Alameda Drive Tempe, AZ 85282

Milwaukee Brewers Maryvale Baseball Park 3805 W. 53rd Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85031

Arizona Diamondbacks Tucson Electric Park 2500 E. E . Ajo Way Tucson, AZ 85713

Oakland Athletics Phoenix Municipal Stadium 5999 E. Van Buren Phoenix, AZ 85008

Chicago Cubs HoHoKam Park 1235 N. Center Street Mesa, AZ 85201

San Diego Padres Peoria Sports Complex 16101 N. 83rd Avenue Peoria, AZ 85382

Chicago White Sox Tucson Electric Park 2500 E. E . Ajo Way Tucson, AZ 85713

San Francisco Giants Scottsdale Stadium 7408 E. Osborn Road Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Colorado Rockies Hi Corbett Field 3400 E. Camino Camestre Tucson, AZ 85713

Florida Spring Training Atlanta Braves Disney Wide World of Sports Stadium 700 S. Victory Way Kissimmee, FL 34747

Cincinnati Reds Ed Smith Stadium 2700 12th Street Sarasota, FL 34237

Baltimore Orioles Ft. Lauderdale Stadium 5301 N.W. 12th Avenue Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309

Cleveland Indians Chain of Lakes Park Cypress Gardens Blvd. Winter Haven, FL 33880

Boston Red Sox City of Palms Park 2201 Edison Avenue Fort Meyers, FL 33901

Detroit Tigers Tiger Town P.O. Box 90187 Lakeland, FL 33804

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Florida Marlins Space Coast Stadium 5800 Stadium Parkway Melbourne, FL 32940

Philadelphia Phillies Jack Russell Stadium 800 Phillies Drive Clearwater, FL 34615

Houston Astros Osceola Country Stadium 1000 Bill Beck Boulevard Kissimmee, FL 34744

Pittsburgh Pirates McKechnie Field 17th Avenue & 9th Street W. Bradenton, FL 34208

Kansas City Royals Baseball City Stadium 300 Stadium Way Davenport, FL 33837

Seattle Mariners Peoria Sports Complex 15707 N 83rd Avenue Ft. Meyers, FL 33901

Los Angeles Dodgers Holman Stadium 4101 26th Street Vero Beach, FL 32961

St. Louis Cardinals Roger Dean Stadium 4751 Main Street Jupiter, FL 33458

Minnesota Twins Hammond Stadium 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway Ft. Meyers, FL 33912

Tampa Bay Devil Rays Florida Power Park 180 Second Avenue S.E. St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Montreal Expos Roger Dean Stadium P.O. Box 8976 Jupiter, FL 3348

Texas Rangers Charlotte County Stadium 2300 El Jobean Road Port Charlotte, FL 33948

New York Mets St. Lucie Sports Complex 525 N.W. Peacock Boulevard Port St. Lucie, FL 34986

Toronto Blue Jays Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field 311 Douglas Avenue Dunedin, FL 34696

chapter

Nine

Football Players

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.” —VINCE LOMBARDI

When New England Patriots quarterback o Brdy ws eight yers old, he found hiself in the Sn Frncisco Frncisco Gints’ locker roo. While there, he sked Chili Dvis,  str for the t he te t the tie, for n utogrph. Dvis refused, but sid, “Mybe lter kid, ybe if you coe by fter the ge.” ge.” So the young Brdy stuck round the stdiu, nd fter the ge, he re-pproched his fvorite plyer, plyer, only to be turned wy gin. Dvis told hi: “No, I’ not signing utogrphs fter the ge.” Lter, in n interview with Tuff Stuff gzine, Brdy reflected on the incident. “I certinly ws hurt,” he sid, “but t the se tie, I ws in the guy’s clubhouse nd now I look t it fro  different perspective thn I did when I ws tht ge. At the t he tie, though, it seeed like such  little request.” One would expect tht wlking into the Ptriots’ locker roo nd sking for utogrphs ight be  fst wy to get your butt kicked. Still, there 85

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re wys you cn stry into the utogrph-giver’s rdr without becoing  nuisnce. 1. You You must have something to sign. Hving  plyer sign your r y see like  fun ide t the tie—nd they y well oblige—but it’s lrgely  pointless ct since you’re going to eventully wsh it off. A good rule of thub is if you’re not going stright to the tttoo prlor to hve  tttoo rtist trce the utogrph, don’t bother with body-signing. 2. Always carry a good quality pen. Wht’s the point of hnding the plyer soething to sign if you don’t hve soething to sign it with? 3. Know who you’re talking to when you ask for the autograph. If you cn cll the plyer by ne, or sy soething tht shows you hve tken n interest in hi, he’s going to look t you ore positively thn soeone else. 4. Remember that the real estate mantra “location, location, location” also applies here. It’s fr esier to get  plyer to sign soething fro front row sets thn fro sets in the second blcony! If you get tickets for  good set nd rrive t the ge erly, you cn lso tlk to the plyers s they the y wlk by. by. Once you get one in converstion, you ight end up hving  few other plyers stop by s well. Soeties  plyer will strt signing utogrphs nd  crowd will quickly for, which is nother reson to get to the ge erly. Fighting  crowd for signtures—or worse, being in your set s dozens of fns strt crowding round you—is likely to get nnoying. If you cn lern where the plyers coe in nd out of the stdiu, tht’s tht’s nother gret plce to find the, sk for signtures, pose for photos, shke hnds, etc. Te bsebll plyers re fr ore likely to stick round for  while when not in  hurry.

Sending Fan Mail to a NFL Player Whenever you’re just looking for  signed photo, you cn write the plyer cre of his te’s ddress. A better wy is to lso include n unsigned 8x10 photo long with  self-ddressed stped envelope. envelope. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.contactanycelebrity.com) to get the direct

Football Players

iling ddresses for over 8,069 professionl footbll plyers. NFL Team Addresses

Arizona Cardinals P.O. Box 888 Phoenix, AZ 85001 602–379–0101 www.AZCardinals.com

Cincinnati Bengals One Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, OH 45202 513–621–3550 www.Bengals.com

Atlanta Falcons 4400 Falcon Parkway Flowery Branch, GA 30542 770–965–3115 www.AtlantaFalcons.com

Cleveland Browns Cleveland Brows Stadium 100 Alfred Lerner Way Cleveland, OH 44114 440–891–5000 www.ClevelandBrowns.com

Baltimore Ravens M&T Bank Stadium 1101 Russell Street Baltimore, MD 21230 410–547–8100 www.BaltimoreRavens.com Buffalo Bills One Bills Drive Orchard Park, NY 14127 716–646–9229 www.BuffaloBills.com Carolina Panthers 800 S. Mint Street Charlotte, NC 28202 704–358–7000 www.Panthers.com Chicago Bears Halas Hall 1000 Football Drive Lake Forest, IL 60045 847–295–6600 www.ChicagoBears.com

Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Center One Cowboys Parkway Irving, TX 75063 972–910–0797 www.DallasCowboys.com Denver Broncos 13655 Broncos Parkway Englewood, CO 80112 303–649–9000 www.DenverBroncos.com Detroit Lions 222 Republic Drive Allen Park, MI 48101 313–216–4056 www.DetroitLions.com Green Bay Packers P.O. Box 10628 Green Bay, WI 54307 920–569–7500 www.Packers.com

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Houston Texans Two Reliant Park Houston, TX 77054 832–667–2000 www.HoustonTexans.com

New York Giants Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ 07073 201–935–8111 www.Giants.com

Indianapolis Colts 7001 West West 56th Street Indianapolis, IN 46254 1–800–805–258 www.Colts.com

New York Jets 1000 Fulton Avenue Hempstead, NY 11550 516–538–6601 www.NewYorkJets.com

Jacksonville Jaguars One Alltel Stadium Place Jacksonville, FL 32202 1–800–618–8005 www.Jaguars.com

Oakland Raiders 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway Alameda, CA 94502 510–864–5000 www.Raiders.com

Kansas City Chiefs One Arrowhead Drive Kansas City, MO 64129 816–920–9300 www.KCChiefs.com

Philadelphia Eagles One Novacare Way Philadelphia, PA 19145 215–463–2500 www.PhiladelphiaEagles.com

Miami Dolphins 7500 SW 30th Street Davie, FL 33314 954–452–7000 www.MiamiDolphins.com

Pittsburgh Steelers P.O. Box 6763 Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412–432–7800 www.Steelers.com

Minnesota Vikings 9520 Viking Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344 952–828–500 www.Vikings.com

San Diego Chargers P.O. Box 609609 San Diego, CA 92160–9609 858–874–4500 www.Chargers.com

New England Patriots One Patriot Place Foxboro, MA 02035 508–543–8200 www.Patriots.com

San Francisco 49ers 4949 Centennial Boulevard Santa Clara, CA 95054 408–562–4949 www.SF49ers.com

New Orleans Saints 5800 Airline Drive Metairie, LA 70003 504–731–1862 www.NewOrleansSaints.com

Seattle Seahawks 11220 N.E. 53rd Street Kirkland, WA 98033 425–827–9777 www.Seahawks.com

Football Players St. Louis Rams One Rams Way St. Louis, MO 63045 314–982–7267 www.StLouisRams.com

Tennessee Titans One Titans Way Nashville, TN 37213 615–565–4200 www.TitansOnline.com

Tampa Bay Buccaneers One Buccaneer Place Tampa, FL 33607 813–870–2700 www.Buccaneers.com

Washington Redskins 21300 Redskin Park Ashburn, VA 22011 www.RedSkins.com

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chapter

Ten

Basketball Players

“If all I’m remembered for is being good as a basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest of my life.” —ISIAH THOMAS

Getting an autograph from a Ntionl Bsketbll Assocition (NBA) plyer is  tll order—in ore wys thn just their soeties incredible height! NBA sports strs ke  lot of oney, ply in big stdius with  liited nuber of front row sets, nd trin in fcilities tht re usully not open to the public. Tt’s not to sy, however, tht you won’t find  willing signer t n NBA ge who will dorn dor n your ites with his h is John Hncock. You You just hve to work  little hrder thn with soe other sports. Front Front row sets t n NBA ge re the best wy to get the ttention of  plyer. Tey probbly won’t give you ny tie during  ge, since doing so would bring  bet down fro the coching stff. However, between qurters, before the ge, nd fter the finl buzzer, front row sets re  goldine. Also, bsketbll plyers, like people involved in ny other sports, usully will wr up ore towrd children. Are Stoudeire,  six foot, 90

Basketball Basketba ll Players

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10 inch Rookie of the Yer Yer,, hs offered soe insight into this. “Soe dults, ll they wnt to do is put the utogrph ut ogrph on eBy nd sell it. I’ not  fn of tht. I just jus t don’ don’t like it when they ke oney off y utogrphs. utogrphs . I wnt to give out utogrphs for the t he to keep if I’ their fvorite plyer or whtnot. Kids, they’re going to cherish the utogrph nd tht’s going to show they hve  certin ount of love in their hert. When I ws  kid, I lwys wnted to get  professionl plyer’s utogrph, so I try to give ost of y tie off the th e court to t o the kids, becuse b ecuse tht’ t ht’ss the future.” fut ure.” On eBy, eBy, by the wy, wy, Stoudeire’ Stoudeire’s utogrphs cn go for s uch s $80  piece. If you don’t hve  kid brother to bring to the ge,  good wy to eet the plyers is to rrive erly nd try to find the wndering round courtside before their pre-ge wr-up. An investent in  set locted close to the court will wi ll be helpful in this pproch becuse bec use ushers usher s ren’ ren’t likely to let soeone sitting in the nosebleeds get down to the bench. Depending, however, on how erly you rrive, it’s very possible to find plyers in  tlktive ood before the crowds descend on the plce. Perhps  better spot to find plyers who will sign soething is to get the while they’re in college, or plying in other legues tht re found in North Aeric like the CBA (Continentl Bsketbll Assocition). College bsketbll is huge, but not so big tht you cn’t find  side door to the stdiu where the plyers will eventully coe out or  locl br where they kick bck fter  win. Another option is to contct the te nd sk when the t he plyers re vilble for utogrphs. Mny tes hve  tie of dy or week when they ctully encourge their plyers to eet the fns, nd soeties the sessions re sponsored by copnies tht py the plyers for their tie. Although ttendnce t these events cn get you  lot of utogrphs in one hit, it cn lso en  lot of stnding round nd witing for the other thousnd folks in line to hve their turn. One recent chnge in bsketbll utogrph hunting hs been the rise to fe of high school bsketbll. Plyers like the New Orlens Hornets’ sevenfoot, one-inch yson Chndler didn’t erely coe to the NBA stright out of high school. Tey were being scouted nd tlked bout three yers before,

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giving you s  fn  lot of tie to find tht kid, tell hi wht  gret plyer he is, nd get hi to pose for  snpshot. Ten get redy for tht snpshot to be worth  whole lot of oney  few yers down the rod when he signs his first ulti-illion dollr Nike del.

Sending Fan Mail to t o NBA Players o write to your fvorite f vorite bsketbll b sketbll plyer pl yer,, siply send s end your letter let ter to the offi ce for their respective te. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses for over 1,370 professionl bsketbll plyers. NBA Basketball Team Addresses Atlanta Hawks Centennial Tower 101 Marietta St., #1900 Atlanta, GA 30303 404–878–3800 www.nba.com/hawks

Dallas Mavericks The Pavilion 2909 Taylor Street Dallas, TX 75226 274–747-MAVS (6287) www.nba.com/mavericks

Boston Celtics 226 Causeway St., Floor 4 Boston, MA 02114 917–854–8000 www.nba.com/celtics

Denver Nuggets Pepsi Center 1000 Chopper Circle Denver, CO 80204 303–405–1100 www.nba.com/nuggets

Chicago Bulls United Center 1901 West West Madison Street Chicago, IL 60612 312–455–4000 www.nba.com/bulls Cleveland Cavaliers One Center Court Cleveland, OH 44115 216–420–2000 www.nba.com/cavaliers

Detroit Pistons Palace of Auburn Hills 2 Championship Drive Auburn Hills, MI 48326 248–377–0100 www.nba.com/pistons Golden State Warriors 1011 Broadway, Floor 20 Oakland, CA 94607 510–986–2200 www.nba.com/warriors

Basketball Players Players Houston Rockets 1510 Polk Street Houston, TX 77002 713–627–3865 www.nba.com/rockets

Minnesota Timberwolves 600 First Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55403 612–673–1600 www.nba.com/timberwolves

Indiana Pacers 125 S. Pennsylvania Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 317–917–2500 www.nba.com/pacers

New Jersey Nets Nets Champion Center 390 Murray Hill Parkway East Rutherford, NJ 07073 1–800–7NJ-JETS 1–800–7NJ-JETS (765–5387) www.nba.com/nets

Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center 111 S. Figueroa Street, #1100 Los Angeles, CA 90015 213–742–7500 www.nba.com/clippers Los Angeles Lakers 555 N. Nash Street El Segundo, CA 90245 310–426–6000 www.nba.com/lakers Memphis Grizzlies 191 Beale Street Memphis, TN 38103 901–205–1234 www.nba.com/grizzlies Miami Heat American Airlines Arena 601 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, FL 33132 786–777–1000 www.nba.com/heat Milwaukee Bucks 1001 N. Fourth St. Milwaukee, WI 53203 414–227–0500 www.nba.com/bucks

New Orleans Hornets 1501 Girod Street New Orleans, LA 70113 504–301–4000 www.nba.com/hornets New York Knicks Madison Square Garden 2 Pennsylvania Plaza New York, NY 10121 212–465–6471 www.nba.com/knicks Orlando Magic P.O. Box 76 Orlando, FL 32802 407–916–2400 www.nba.com/magic Philadelphia 76ers First Union Center 3601 S. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19148 215–339–7600 www.nba.com/sixers Phoenix Suns 201 E. Jefferson Street Phoenix, AZ 85004 602–379–7900 www.nba.com/suns

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SECRETS TO CONTACTING CELEBRITIES & PUBLIC FIGURES Portland Trailblazers One Center Court, #200 Portland, OR 97227 503–234–9291 www.nba.com/blazers Sacramento Kings One Sports Parkway Sacramento, CA 95834 916–928–0000 www.nba.com/kings San Antonio Spurs One SBC Center San Antonio, TX 78219 210–444–5000 www.nba.com/spurs Seattle Supersonics 351 Elliot Avenue, West #500 Seattle, WA 98119 206–281–5800 www.nba.com/sonics

Toronto Raptors Maple Leaf Sports 40 Bay Street, #400 Toronto, ON M5J 2X2 CANADA 416–815–5500 www.nba.com/raptors Washington Wizards MCI Center 601 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 202–661–5100 www.nba.com/wizards Utah Jazz Delta Center 301 W. South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101 801–325–2500 www.nba.com/jazz

WNBA Basketball Team Addresses Charlotte Sting 129 W. Trade Street, #700 Charlotte, NC 28202 704–357–0252 www.wnba.com/sting

Houston Comets 1510 Polk Street Houston, TX 77002 713–627–3865 www.wnba.com/comets

Connecticut Sun One Mohegan Sun Boulevard Uncasville, CT 06382 www.wnba.com/sun

Indiana Fever 125 S. Pennsylvania Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 317–917–2500 www.wnba.com/fever

Detroit Shock Palace of Auburn Hills 4 Championship Drive Auburn Hills, MI 48326 248–377–0100 www.wnba.com/shock

Los Angeles Sparks 2151 E. Grand Avenue, #100 El Segundo, CA 90245 310–341–1000 www.wnba.com/sparks

Basketball Players Players Minnesota Lynx 600 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55403 612–673–1600 www.wnba.com/lynx

San Antonio Silver Stars One SBC Center San Antonio, TX 78219 210–444–5050 wwww.wnba.com/stars

New York Liberty 2 Pennsylvania Plaza New York, NY 10121 212–465–6073 www.wnba.com/liberty

Seattle Storm 351 Elliot Avenue, W. #500 Seattle, WA 98119 206–217-WNBA (9622) www.wnba.com/storm

Phoenix Mercury 201 E. Jefferson Street Phoenix, AZ 85004 602–514–8364 www.wnba.com/mercury

Washington Mystics 401 Ninth St., N.W. Washington, DC 20004 202–266–2361 www.wnba.com/mystics

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Sacramento Monarchs One Sports Parkway Sacramento, CA 95834 916–928–0000 www.wnba.com/monarchs

What about the Minor Leagues? Recent yers hve seen the resurgence of the inor legues of bsketbll, despite soe len ties in the 90s. Continentl Bsketbll Bsketbll Assocition (CBA) frnchises hd been closing regulrly round tht period, nd in erly 2001, the hed he d office followed. followed . Tree yers erlier, in 1998, the th e Aericn Bsketbll Legue (ABL) hd ended its run. However, in lte 2001 the future of inor legue bsketbll begn to look  little rosier. A vstly reduced nd reorgnized CBA kicked off gin in the fll of 2001, nd it hs since gone on to secure its future. Menwhile, Menwhile,  newly fored Aericn Bsketbll Assocition (ABA) hs grown to ore thn 35 tes in this illenniu. Plus the NBA itself hs lso gotten in on the ct, creting the Ntionl Bsketbll Developent Legue. Tis Legue houses young plyers who hd been drfted by  NBA te but were lter wived before they could ctully ply  seson.

96


ody, the shdow circuit of Aericn bsketbll is oving towrd  truly innovtive product not dependent on superstrs like Michel Jordn to keep it live. Te non-NBA scene hs never been stronger! Current Minor League Teams

Below re the lists of the inor legue tes, s they were t the tie of this writing. Continental Basketball Association (CBA) tes include Albny Ptroons, Yk Sun Kings, Butte Dredevils, Oklho Cvlry, Minot Sky Rockets, Pittsburgh Xplosion, Xplo sion, Atlnt Krunk, Est Es t Kentucky Miners, Rio Grnde Vlley Vlley Silverdos, Vncouver Drgons, nd the Gret Fll Explorers. American Basketball Association (ABA) tes include Anderson Chpions, Atlnt Vision, Boston Blizzrd, Chicgo hrowbcks, Corning Bulldogs, Detroit Pnthers, First Stte Fusion, Georgi Gwizzlies, Hlifx Rinen, Hwii Hurricnes, Houston kers, Jersey Express, Long Bech Brekers, Los Angeles Push, Mnchester Millrts, Mywood Buzz, Minnesot Ripknees, Monterrey Veneno, Veneno, Montrel Royl, Ornge County Count y Glditors, Glditors , Orlndo Aces, Pl Bech Iperils, Peori Kings, Quebec Kebekw, Reno Shrpshooters, Rochester Fire, Roe GA Legions, Scrento Hetwve, Sn Deigo Wildcts, Sn Frncisco Ruble, St. Louis Stunners, Strong Islnd Sound, Syrcuse Rging Bulls, exs exs ycoons, ycoons, Veront Frost Heves, West exs exs Whirlwinds, Whirlwinds , nd Westchester Phntos. National Basketball Development League (D-League) tes include Albuquerque -Birds, Anhei Arsenl, Austin oros, Bkersfield J, Colordo 14ers, Dkot Wizrds, Fort Wyne Wyne Md Ants, Ants , Idho Stpede, Iow Energy, Energy, LA D-Fenders, Rio Grnde Vlley Vipers, Sioux Flls Skyforce, uls 66ers, nd Uth Flsh. SlamBall (SlamBall.WarnerBros.com) tes include Bndits, Bouncers, Diblos, Mob, Mob, Riders, Ruble, Slshers, nd the Stel.

chapter

Eleven

NASCAR Drivers

“Kyle Busch just crowded me into the wall there. But no hard feelings. I’ll just chalk it up to hard racing. I talked with him after the race. Everything’s settled, we’re on good terms, and I got his dad’s autograph.” —CARL EDWARDS

NASCAR wasn’t always a sport in which superchrged rce crs bttled ech other on the course nd drivers copeted for illions of dollrs in sponsorships. In fct, in the erly dys of stock cr rcing, the crs were exctly tht—stock stndrd, nd drivers who didn’t hve  cr to rce would rent  cr for the weekend nd run it ginst the copetition. NASCAR hs dvnced  long wy since then, nd tody the fe of drivers within the sport hs followed suit. In fct, ore people ttend NASCAR events ech yer thn ny other sport in North Aeric! Soe people get to the trck erly nd ke their wy to the pits in hopes of eeting their fvorite drivers. Others hng round before nd fter tie trils with  pen nd pper hndy. Additionl enthusists get in touch with drivers d rivers through t hrough their t heir offi cil fn clubs, cl ubs, which whi ch re generlly gener lly run by the t he driver’s stff. 97

98


Te fns will send  letter, include  self-ddressed self-ddres sed stped envelope, join the fn club, nd wit. However, not every NASCAR driver fn-club ensures you’ll you’ll receive  contct opportunity with the rcer in question. For exple, for  ebership fee of $35  yer, the Jeff Gordon Network gives you: • • • • • • • • •

An officil JGN ebers eb ership hip crd JGN hero crd with letter fro Jeff JGN sling bg JGN luggge tg JGN die-cut ir freshener Coupon for online store Access to exclusive streing videos nd nd photo glleries Te Jeff Gordon onthly gzine Opportunity Opportuni ty to pply for Jeff Jeff Gordon Network events

While being  eber  eber of n offi o fficil fn club clu b soeties soetie s cn help you get ge t in touch with  driver dri ver,, it isn’ isn’t  gurnteed ethod. et hod. Wht works uch better be tter is to keep n eye out for  rce in your town or ny pre-rce driver ppernces. Te drivers will usully turn up for utogrph-signing sessions t locl brnches of their sponsors spo nsors (such (su ch s  Hoe Depot or Lowe’s), Lowe’s), s well s t souvenir souve nir trilers or fter-prties. Ultitely, Ultitely, NASCAR drivers re fully wre tht their rise to fe coes fro their connection to grssroots fns. As  result, if they cn find the tie to sign soething for you, they usully will. Just be polite, don’t gush, nd don’t tke up ore of the driver’s tie thn you should. Oh, nd hve soething for the to sign!

Sending Fan Mail to a NASCAR Driver o write to your fvorite NASCAR driver, the best wy is to join his respective fn club. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses ddresses for over 296 rce cr drivers.

NASCAR NASCAR Drivers

99

NASCAR Fan Club Addresses Jeff Burton Fan Club P.O. Box 1160 Halifax, VA 24558

Bobby Labonte Fan Club 4707 E. Baseline Road Phoenix, AZ 85040

Dale Earnhardt Fan Club 4707 E. Baseline Road Phoenix, AZ 85040

Mark Martin Fan Club P.O. Box 68 Ash Flat, AR 72513

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Fan Club 4707 E. Baseline Road Phoenix, AZ 85040

Kyle Petty Fan Club 135 Longfield Drive Mooresville, NC 28115

Bill Elliot Fan Club P.O. Box 248 Dawsonville GA 30534

Ricky Rudd Fan Club P.O. Box 7586 Richmond, VA 23231

Jeff Gordon National Fan Club P.O. Box 515 Williams, AZ 86048

Rusty Wallace Wallace Fan Club 4707 E. Baseline Road Phoenix, AZ 85040

Dale Jarrett Fan Club 4707 E. Baseline Road Phoenix, AZ 85040

Some Background on Indy Racing Indy Rcing Legue events usully include  “fn dy” on the Tursdy before the rce where ticket-holders cn eet their heroes, nd these gthering tend to get crowded. You cn often iss your chnce to see your fvorites if you don’t get there erly. However, if you’re in line when the doors open, you cn often not only eet the Indy drivers, but lso cht with the echnics nd te ngers. o contct Indy rce cr drivers, use the ddress below in the Chpter Resource section or visit their Web site for ore infortion. Te Chp Cr World Series is nother grouping of rces, nd they returned under  new ulti-yer contrct to ESPN in 2007. Tis includes the Long Bech Grnd Prix nd the Vegs Grnd Prix. Te Chp Cr ddress is lso listed in the Recoended Recoended Resources.

chapter

Twelve

Hockey Players

“Hockey players have fire in their hearts and ice in their veins.” —AUTHOR UNKNOWN

The National Hockey League (NHL)

hs struggled in recent yers to keep up with the ever-incresing pce of the other sports tht copete for people’ peo ple’ss ttention—like ttentio n—like the NBA, the th e NFL, Mjor Legue Soccer, Socc er, nd NASCAR. NASCAR . Tt’s Tt’s not to sy, sy, however, tht it doesn do esn’’t hve  host h ost of fns f ns tht derly wnt to sy hello to their fvorite plyers once in  while. Hockey strs tend to be  little ore personble thn NBA superstrs or NFL linebckers, nd the reson probbly is tht even though they re well-pid, these thletes ren’t surrounded by n entourge 24 hours  dy. Fox Sports journlist Ji Dy explins, “We soeties pull teeth to get certin professionl bsebll plyers to tlk. But when it coes to hockey, plyers tke pride in the fct tht soeone ctully wnts their utogrph. It’s  pride thing, nd tht is the big word I cn use when describing  hockey 100

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plyer—pride. Pride in plying the ge the right wy, pride in being  solid individul off the ice, nd pride in the fct tht they feel lucky to be pid for everything in  ge they love.” If you’re ptient, you cn get n utogrph fro just bout ny NHL plyer s he’s going in or out of the stdiu or ren. On the other hnd, you certinly won’t get one by lobbing n index crd nd Shrpie pen over the glss during  ge. Still, if you don’t ind stnding round for  few hours in the right spot outside the stdiu, you’ll you’ll usully hve little or no proble finding your fvorite plyer in  generous ood (especilly fter  win). As with nyone else, if you’re eeting  str plyer in person, be respectful nd courteous. Tey’ll expect you to sk the to sign soething, or to even shke hnds. But if you wnt to get the to pose for  photo with you nd then wit round for two inutes while it develops so they cn sign it s well, you ight end up wtching the plyer wlk wy. Hockey plyers know they’ll eet their fns on the wy in (usully two or three hours before ge tie) nd out of the stdiu (hlf n hour fter the ge). But if you hng out in their hotel lobby, you y not like the response. Most plyers won’t sign in the hotel becuse it’s considered “their” plce where they cn sit bck nd relx. Te stff in hotels usully won’t llow you to hng round nywy, lthough you’re usully welcoe to stnd outside on the side wlk nd hope. Resturnts re nother plce where plyers tend not to wnt to be bothered; however if you spot  plyer t the hotel br or t  locl nightclub where the te hngs out, you y just wnt to tke  shot—or t lest buy hi one! Te ost successful succes sful utogrph utogr ph collectors collecto rs don’ don’t see  eeting with  str s  one-off chnce to grb  signture. In fct, when  plyer hs seen you round three or four ties nd you’ve treted hi with respect nd wrth, chnces re he’ll stop nd tlk once in  while. Te key here is to not gush ll over the plyers, but insted show the  level of respect. In doing this, you deonstrte to the plyers tht you’re not  drooling fn, nd tht you respect the s dults nd s copetitors (even if they’ th ey’re re not your only fvorite te). On the other hnd, if they don’t hve tie to sign, nd you sy soething stupid like “Yeh, well, I her McDonlds is hiring,”

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then you’re king bsolutely certin you’ll never get nything out of tht plyer—or ny other plyer he ight tlk to s he psses you by. Ech stdiu or ren hs  plce where the hoe nd wy tes coe in ech dy nd prk their crs, buses, nd lios. When they’re coing to the stdiu, chnces re the security gurds will keep you wy. Yet when the ge is over, the gurds will usully bck off to llow the fns  little fce tie. Additionlly, ost tes will hve n erly dy skte round on the ice before the ge, generlly soetie between 10:00 a.m. nd noon. At these ties, the crowds re nowhere to be seen, so you cn get  little spce to bond with the plyers nd shoot the breeze. Be wre tht ny tes hve their pre-ge sktes nd trining sessions t other sller rens, which cn be excellent plces to find celebrity contct opportunities. Despite this, you don’t wnt to strt yelling t  plyer cross the prking lot or you’ll you’ll soon find yourself surrounded by other people vying for his ttention s well. Sty cl nd be csul nd friendly to get tht signture you’ve been witing for.

Be Prepared—What to Have on Hand for Signing If you only wnt to eet the th e plyers, then tht’ th t’ss ll you need to do. Alterntely Alternt ely,, if you wnt  signture s well, then you y hve to do  little strtegic plnning. Reeber—if you don’t hve soething for the plyer to sign, you’re not going to get nything signed t ll. So before you hit your locl ren, stock up on soe hockey crds. In  perfect world, it would be gret to get  rookie crd for everyone on the te, but tht cn be  serious investent of oney nd tie. Insted, pick  couple of your bsolute fvorite plyers nd get their rookie crds. Te rest of the te will hve to ke do with signing current crds, photos, gzine rticles, jerseys, sticks, hts or pucks. Reeber, if your intention is to sell these signtures, you wnt to give the plyer ore thn just  scrp of pper—ke the signture specil by hving it signed on soething specil. A well-known plyer’s signture on the bck of  torn ticket is gret, but  signture on  te jersey becoes  genuine piece of eorbili. If you

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cn convince the plyer to get his picture tken while holding the jersey, you’ve just de yourself  certificte cer tificte of uthenticity tht’s tht’s ctully worth soething in itself. A good fllbck option for utogrphs is the te progr, since it will hve pictures of ll the plyers nd cn be used to gther signtures fro the entire te over tie.

Sending Fan Mail to an NHL Player If you don’ don’t hve the tie or enthusis to stke out the stdiu, try sending  self-ddressed stped envelope (SASE) to the plyer vi the te. Mke sure to include n index crd, photo, or hockey crd for the plyer to sign, nd lwys be willing to lose ny ite if they don’t send it bck to you. Most hockey tes (both NHL nd inor legue) will be ll too hppy to pss your utogrph requests on to their plyers nd coches. In fct, it’s n iportnt prt of their rketing strtegies for the plyers to connect with their fns (you!). Soe Web Web sites even offer off er  wy to write the t he plyer for n utogrph. u togrph. Te Colordo Avlnche Web site sttes, “Autogrph requests should be ddressed to the plyer/coch in question, nd should include  self-ddressed stped envelope (unseled) so the plyer/coch cn return the ite to you. Do not send n ite to ore thn one plyer in the se envelope. Soe plyers receive n extreely lrge ount of fn il nd it y tke  long period of tie for  response. Fns should reeber tht plyers/coches re not obligted to sign or return nything iled to the. Any ites re sent t your own risk; the Colordo Avlnche nd its plyers/eployees cnnot nd will not be responsible for ny ite nor gurntee its sfe return.” return.” Here’s how I would brek down the generl rules: (1) only include one utogrph request per pckge tht you send, (2) don’t send things tht re vluble or hevy, (3) understnd tht not every plyer cn find the tie to send soething bck to you, nd (4) lwys reeber to include your selfddressed stped envelope! Reeber tht hockey plyers—like plyers—like ost professionl thletes—usully live in different cities thn the ones they represent. So if  plyer doesn’t get

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bck to you with  signed picture, the reson y be tht it’s the off-seson nd he’s he’s enjoying being bck b ck hoe. Or ybe  ybe he’s he’s clibing  ountin ou ntin in the Hilys. Or he’s been trded. Or perhps he’s just lzy. But whtever the reson, it’s not the hockey club’s fult. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the best iling ddresses for over 1,013 professionl hockey plyers. Professional Hockey Teams Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2695 E. Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA 92806 1–877-WILDWING (9464) 714–704–2700 www.MightyDucks.com

Carolina Hurricanes RBC Center 1400 Edwards Mill Road Raleigh, NC 27607 919–467–7825 www.CarolinaHurricanes.com

Atlanta Thrashers Centennial Tower 101 Marietta Street N.W., #1900 Atlanta, GA 30303 404–878–3300 www.AtlantaThrashers.com

Chicago Blackhawks United Center 1901 W. Madison Street Chicago, IL 60612 312–455–7000 www.ChicagoBlackHawks.com

Boston Bruins One TD Banknorth Garden Boston, MA 02114 617–624–1900 www.BostonBruins.com

Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center 1000 Chopper Circle Denver, CO 80204 303–405–1100 www.ColoradoAvalanche.com

Buffalo Sabres HSBC Arena One Seymour H. Knox III Plaza Buffalo, NY 14203 716–855–4100 www.Sabres.com Calgary Flames Pengrowth Saddledome 555 Saddledome Rise SE Calgary, AB T2P 3B9 CANADA 403–777–2177 www.CalgaryFlames.com

Columbus Blue Jackers Nationwide Arena 200 W. Nationwide Nationwide Boulevard Boule vard Suite Level Columbus, OH 43215 614–246–4625 www.BlueJackets.com Dallas Stars 2601 Avenue of the Stars Frisco, TX 75034 214–387–5500 www.DallasStars.com

Hockey Players Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 600 Civic Center Drive Detroit, MI 4822 313–983–606 www.DetroitRedWings.com

New Jersey Devils Continental Airlines Arena 50 Route 120 North E. Rutherford, NJ 07073 201–935–6050 www.NewJerseyDevils.com

Edmonton Oilers 11230 110th Street Edmonton, AB T5G 3H7 CANADA 780–414–4000 www.EdmontonOilers.com

New York Islanders 1535 Old Country Road Plainview, NY 11803 516–501–6700 www.NewYorkIslanders.com

Florida Panthers One Panther Parkway Sunrise, FL 33323 954–835–7000 www.FLPanthers.com Los Angeles Kings 1111 S. Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90015 213–742–7100 www.LAKings.com Minnesota Wild 317 Washington Street St. Paul, MN 55102 651–602–6000 www.Wild.com Montreal Canadiens 1275 St. Antoine Street West Montreal, QC H3C 5L2 CANADA 514–932–2582 www.canadiens.com Nashville Predators 501 Broadway Nashville, TN 37203 615–770-PUCK (7825) www.NashvillePredators.com

New York Rangers 2 Pennsylvania Plaza New York, NY 10121 212–465–6000 www.newyorkrangers.com Ottawa Senators Corel Centre 1000 Palladium Drive Kanata, ON K2V 1A5 CANADA 613–599–0250 www.ottawasenators.com Philadelphia Flyers 3601 S. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19148 215–465–4500 www.PhiladelphiaFlyers.com Phoenix Coyotes 5800 W. Glenn Drive, #350 Glendale, AZ 85301 23–463–8800 www.PhoenixCoyotes.com Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena, Gate 9 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 602–379–2800 www.PittsburghPenguins.com

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San Jose Sharks 525 W. Santa Clara Street San Jose, CA 95113 408–287–7070 www.SJSharks.com St. Louis Blues Savvis Center 1401 Clark Avenue St. Louis, MO 63102 314–622–2500 www.StLouisBlues.com Tampa Bay Lightning St. Pete Times Forum 401 Channelside Drive Tampa, FL 33602 813–301–6600 www.TampaBayLightning.com

Toronto Maple Leafs Air Canada Centre 40 Bay Street, #300 Toronto, ON M5J 2X2 Vancouver Canucks 800 Griffiths Way Vancouver, BC V6B 6G1 CANADA 604–899–7400 www.Canucks.com Washington Capitals Market Square North 401 Ninth Street N.W., #750 Washington, DC 20004 202–266–2200 www.WashingtonCaps.com

Don’t Forget the Minor League L eague Teams Teams Reeber tht every gret hockey superstr ws once  rookie prcticing his trde in Moose Jw or Bisrck or Wichit Flls. Minor Legue hockey is  gret plce to eet toorrow’s strs tody, just s in the bsebll nd bsketbll worlds. Tere re severl legues tht serve s feeders to the NHL, ost of which feture cities where the locl te will sell tickets for s little s five dollrs  hed. Minor League Hockey Teams American Hockey League (AHL) One Monarch Place Springfield, MA 01144 473–781–2030 www.TheAHL.com

East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) 116 Village Boulevard, #304 Princeton, NJ 08540 609–452–0770 www.ECHL.com

Central Hockey League (CHL) 4909 E. McDowell, #104 Phoenix, AZ 85008 800–949–8600 www.CentralHockeyLeague.com

International Hockey League (IHL) www.IHL-Hockey.com

Hockey Hock ey Players North American Hockey League (NAHL) 2601 Avenue of the Stars, #400 Frisco, TX 75034 214–387–5650 www.NAHL.com

Canadian Hockey League (CHL) 305 Milner Avenue, #201 Scarborough, ON M1B 3V4 CANADA 416–332–9711 416–332–9711 www.CHL.ca

Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) 700 Monroe Street Huntsville, AL 35801 828–252–7701 www.TheSPHL.com

United States Hockey League (USHL) Executive Corners 300 N. 5th Street, #2 Grand Forks, ND 58203 701–775–7334 www.USHL.com

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chapter

Thirteen

Golf Pros

“We “We are in the entertaining ent ertaining business. They want to get autographs; they want to take something home. Whether it’s a signed hat or, you know, a program or whatever it might be.” —BERNHARD LANGER

Contacting professional golfers nd getting their utogrphs cn be tough. So uch oney is de fro golfing eorbili tht the plyers hve, to  lrge degree, shut down their utogrph-signing hbits. Tis isn’t to sy you cn’t get  golfer’s utogrph, but tht you y either need to find the golfer shopping for groceries, or resort to buying his or her signture fro  reputble deler. deler. If you wnt to go tht lst route, check out Pro our our’s utogrp uto grphed hed eor  eorbil bili i is offiMemorabilia (www.ProTourMem.com). Pro our’s cilly licensed by the PGA our nd the Senior PGA our. You You cn still eet your fvorite golfer in  nuber of wys. For strters, siply go to your locl golf course nd sy “hi” to the club professionl. More often thn not, the club pro hs plyed  little golf nd will know  few other pros. If he or she feels the urge, you ight just be told how to get in touch with their contcts. If not, the ore iportnt tsk when deling with your club pro will be to find out when the t he next big tournent or Pro-A will hppen. 108

Golf Pros

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Lrge golf tournents cn only exist if there re  lot of sponsors, nd since every big-ne plyer is pid  hefty ppernce fee for just showing up, the expecttion is tht the plyer will do  little PR for the tournent. Tt’s Tt’s your chnce to show up s well, ke  little sll tlk, nd sy, “Hey, I wondered if you wouldn’t ind ybe signing y progr for e.” Te golfer y sy no, but chnces re he or she will be hppy to sign. In fct, ost tournents include severl prties nd bnquets before nd fter the festivities. So if you cn get invited, you’ll ost likely find  lot of plyers hppy to tlk with you. A rin dely is nother gret tie to locte your heroes, since they cn’t chnge clothes or shower in cse the rin breks, nd they’ll they’ll hve very little to do other thn sign while they t hey wit for the wether to get better. Soe golf strs re definitely ore ccessible thn the others. Leding plyer Phil “Lefty” Mickelson hs coented on his generlly open ttitude towrds utogrphs nd golf fns. f ns. “I understnd it’s it’s the people in the gllery gller y who coe out nd support the ge of golf tht llow yself nd other plyers to ply golf for  living,” he sid. “So I try to tke the tie nd show tht I respect the, whether it’s to sign utogrphs or just cknowledge they’re there.” Te Pro-A is  gret wy to eet your fvorite golfer, but it will cost you oney—nd lots of it. Spces in celebrity Pro-As re norlly uctioned off to people with oney to blow. However, if you cn fford to get in the line-up, you’ll you’ll not only eet your fvorite golfers, but lso get to ply  round with the. Tt’s got to be worth ore thn  signed photo in the il, don’t you think? Tinking fst is lwys n iportnt prt of eeting  celebrity, nd prticulrly regrding how to ke the encounter  positive experience for everyone. In 2003, when ctor Bill Murry hit  golf bll into the crowd during  Pro-A tournent in Pebble Bech, the quick-thinking won he’d hit ce out of the th e gllery nd sked hi to sign the bll. In  sitution like tht, how could he not? In fct, Murry goofed round with the won for  few inutes before he signed the bll for her nd oved on. One thing to reeber if you do spot  celebrity golfer is to not rush r ush up nd be  pin on the course. Reeber . . . golf y be just  siple plesure for you. However, for the plyers, it’s their livelihood. If you interrupt the

110


while they’re prepring for  tournent, you ight end up with your hed bitten off rther thn t hn getting  signed picture. Golf fns re expected to be cl, good-ntured, gentlenly gentlenly nd ldylike t ll ties, nd when they re, the pros tend to chu round with the. Unruly fns get short shrift, sys Dvis Love III, pointing out the difference between privte nd public course fns. “[Public course plyers] like to tlk  lot. Tey ight get d if they th ey re the 527th person pers on in line nd didn’ didn’t get their utogrph,” sys Love, dding tht the “people who behve” get ore of his tie thn those who get snippy. In fct, ccording to Ji Furyk, being  nice person cn hve dvntges fr beyond just  signture. He ctully et his wife while signing utogrphs on  golf course. cours e. “I ws plying  prctice prc tice round on o n Wednesdy Wednesdy,, nd when I got off the golf course, there were  bunch of kids behind the green. I ws signing utogrphs nd plying with the kids nd I hppened to see her stnding there. I sid ‘hi’ to her, thinking she ws very ttrctive. A friend of hers ws there nd he kind of introduced us, nd then invited e to go to dinner with hiself nd his fincé.” Five yers lter, Furyk nd the woen were rried. Finlly, hndy ites to keep with you for signing by  golf pro y include  scorecrd,  tournent progr,  cp, club-covers, nd even  bll. But reeber, without  good pen, they won’t be signing nything.

Sending Fan Mail to a Golf Pro One of the best wys to write your fvorite golf pro is to send your letter to one of the ssocitions listed below in the Recoended Resources. In ddition, lost every professionl golfer is sponsored by  copny— generlly one tht hs soething to t o do with golf wer, wer, club nufcturing, etc. Tese sponsoring copnies, copnies, s prt of their dels, require the golfer to do PR. So if you don’t hve luck writing to the pro through one of the other contcts, try sending sendin g your note to the copny tht th t sponsors hi hi  or her. It’s It’s  long shot, but worth the price of  stp for sure. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 723 professionl golfers.

chapter

Fourteen

Wrestlers

“I just want my fans to know that when I fight, you know, I’m fighting for them . . . They’re gonna love me.” —QUINTON “RAMPAGE” JACKSON

Professional wrestling is one of

the lrgest sectors of the entertinent industry tody, tody, hving successfully oved fro its forer lowrent sttus s perfornce rt to now erning billions of dollrs  yer. It hs spwned coputer ges, usic, nd books, s well s huge rtings. Although World Wrestling Entertinent (WWE) is by fr the lrgest ssocition in the industry, the sller wrestling ssocitions cn be fr ore ccessible to fns. For exple, there’s Ultite Pro Wrestling (UPW), which serves s  sort of inor legue feeder syste to the WWE (ening ny of UPW strs go on to becoe big nes down the rod). Shows in the sller ssocition re ore intite, soeties drwing no ore thn  few hundred fns. 111

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Sending Fan Mail to Wrestlers You You cn rech your fvorite wrestler (in ost cses) t his respective ssocition by either writing to the correct ddress below, or visiting the ssocition’s Web site. See Recoended Recoended Resources. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 94 professionl wrestlers. Professional Wrestling Organizations All Pro Wrestling (APW) 21063 Cabot Boulevard, #1 Hayward, CA 94545 510–785–8396 www.AllProWrestling.com World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) 1241 E. Main Street Stamford, CT 06902 203–352–8600 www.WWE.com

Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) 63 Via Pico Plaza, #139 San Clemente, CA 92672 949–475–7663 www.UPW.com

chapter

Fifteen

Political Figures & Heads of State

“Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne, knowing him was like drinking it.” —WINSTON CHURCHILL

Tis is  short sh ort chpter, becuse the best wy to contct politicins nd heds of stte is to find their th eir office ddress in one of the t he Mrquis Who’s Who’s Who directories, direct ories, or on their officil Web Web site (see the th e chpter chpt er titled tit led “Doing Your Your Reserch”). Res erch”). But here’s the ddress you’ll probbly ost wnt to keep hndy: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20500 202–456–1111(Comments) 202–456–2461 202–456–2461 (Fax) [email protected]

Visit Contct Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 149 politicl figures nd heds of stte.

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chapter

Sixteen

Authors & Writers

“I used to save all my rejection slips because I told myself, one day I’m going to autograph these and auction them. And then I lost the box.” —JAMES LEE BURKE

Most authors do book tours when they hve  new book coing out, nd they ke stops round the country to eet their fns nd utogrph copies—fter you’ve purchsed the book, of course. You cn trck their route rout e to note when they ight be nerby ner by by visiting their publisher’ publi sher’ss Web Web site or finding  Web site for the uthor or their book on the Internet. Also, wtch the onthly newsletters t your locl Border’s or Brnes & Noble. Tere is lso n nnul book trde show, Book Expo America (BEA) (www.BookExpoAmerica.com), where ny fous uthors pper nd sign books. However,  better option for the generl public cn be book firs such s the Los Angeles imes Festivl of Books (www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks), where uthors pper on free pnels nd lso do book-signings t booths. Lst yer t this L.A. book festivl, over 400 uthors ppered nd 97 uthor utho r pnels were offered. 114

Authors Autho rs & Writers rite rs

115

Sending Fan Mail to Authors One of the best wys to contct uthors is through their publishing copny. copny. You You y lso be ble to write to prticulr uthors by eil through their own Web site or  site for their book. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses of over 2,256 uthors nd writers. Major Publishing Companies Alyson Publications P.O. Box 4371 Los Angeles, CA 90078 1–800–5-ALYSON www.Alyson.com

Farrar, Straus Straus & Giroux 19 Union Square West New York, NY 10003 212–741–6900 www.fsgbooks.com

Avon Books HarperCollins 1350 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 212–261–6500 www.AvonBooks.om

Harcourt Inc. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive Orlando, FL 32887 407–345–2000 www.Harcourt.com

Bantam/Dell Random House 1745 Broadway, Floor 3 New York, NY 10019 1–800–733–1000 www.RandomHouse.com/bantamdell Crown Publishing Random House 1745 Broadway, Floor 3 New York, NY 10019 1–800–733–3000 www.RandomHouse.com/crown Doubleday Random House 1745 Broadway, Floor 3 New York, NY 10019 1–800–733–3000 www.RandomHouse.com/doubleday

Harper Collins 1350 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 212–261–6500 www.HarperCollins.com Henry Holt 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 646–307–5095 www.HenryHolt.com Houghton Mifflin 222 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116 617–351–5000 www.HMCO.com Hyperion Books 77 West West 66th Street, Floor 11 New York, NY 10023 www.HyperionBooks.com

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Little, Brown and Company 1271 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.TWBookmark.com McGraw Hill Companies P.O. Box 182604 Columbus, OH 43272 1–877–833–5524 www.McGraw-Hill.com MacMillan 1400 Miller Parkway McHenry, IL 60050 815–363–3582 www.MCP.com Mysterious Press Warner Books 271 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.TWBookmark.com/mystery New American Library 375 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014 212–366–2000 www.NALAuthors.com Oxford University Press (NY) 198 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 212–726–6000 1–800–445–9714 www.OUP.com Oxford University Press (UK) Great Clarendon Street Oxford OX2 6DP UNITED KINGDOM 011–44–18–6555–6767 www.OUP.com

Penguin Putnam 375 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014 212–366–2000 www.PenguinPutnam.com Prentice-Hall One Lake Street Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 201–236–3290 vig.PrenHall.com Random House 1745 Broadway, Floor 3 New York, NY 10019 1–800–733–3000 www.RandomHouse.com Scholastic Press 557 Broadway New York, NY 10012 212–343–6726 www.Scholastic.com Simon & Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas, Floor 11 New York, NY 10020 212–698–7547 www.SimonSays.com St. Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 212–674–5151 www.StMartins.com Time Warner Books 1271 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.TWBookmark.com

chapter

Seventeen

Comic Book Artists & Writers Writers

“People “People still think of me as a cartoonist, but the only thing I lift a pen or pencil for these days is to sign a contract, a check, or an autograph.” autograph.” —WALT —WALT DIS NEY

Although most comic book creators,

rtists, nd writers tell you where to send fn il inside their publictions, the coic book industry lso tkes gret pins to ke itself vilble to their fn bse through conventions, expos, nd fn events. Te generl rule of thub is if you wit  while,  coic convention (or “coic-con”) is likely to be nnounced in your re, nd the orgnizers will ke ll sorts of proises s to who will be there—nd then ost of the won’t show up. Buy your ticket nywy, nd tke  few hundred bucks nd  good Shrpie pen—becuse even if the people who show up ren’t the people proised, they’ll they’ll ost likely be worth eeting. Most coic conventions tody go fr beyond only coic books. Tey often feture ctors, directors, television strs, set designers, coic rtists, writers, nd n ssortent of retro nes tht will hve you scrtching your hed 117

118


trying to reeber who they were. Te show will usully chrge round $25 for  ticket, but the ttrctions will lst ll dy long, fro rre fil screenings to utogrph sessions to bootleg coics for sle. Most conventions trvel round the country so fns don’t hve to spend ny oney to trvel. Wht should you bring to get signed? Nothing relly, unless you know soeone is going to be there t here nd you hve soe gret piece of eorbili sitting round relevnt to tht person. Usully there re plenty of ites for sle t coic conventions, nd you cn purchse soething you like to hve it signed. Prices t convention’s vendor booths re usully not chep. Still, you cn pick up soe relly net pieces of pop culture eorbili if you look hrd enough, nd the chnce to get tht ite signed by its cretor cn be soething relly specil. Tis includes ites like photos, posters, ovie nd television scripts, costues, etc. Coic book conventions nd the coics theselves re prt of  huge industry tht gets bigger every yer. yer. Terefore, coic-cons re  gret plce to spot up-nd-coing strs before their signtures becoe worth thousnds of dollrs when they relly hit it big. How do you find  coic convention in your re? It’s pretty esy—just go here: Comic Book Conventions www.ComicBookConventions.com

Te ComicBookConventions.com Web site lists ll upcoing coic-cons, usully four or five per weekend, nd it lso nnounces chnges to progring, progring, cncelltions, nd contct infortion. Te better conventions coe bck the se tie every yer, such s Comic-Con International (CCI) (www.Comic-Con.org) nd Dragon*Con (www.DragonCon.org). In 2007, over 100,000 fns converged t the Coic-Con Interntionl Interntionl show in Sn Diego. It lso brought out strs like Rosrio Dwson, Richrd Htch, nd Mrc Singer. Every corner of the country hs soe sort of gthering. However However,, even if you hve to get in the cr nd drive  few hours to get to t o  good-size convention,

Comic Book Artists & Writers

119

the oney spent in doing so cn be gined bck when you tke tht uthentic John Byrne sketch nd put it up for uction on eBy. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses for over 30 coic book rtists nd writers. The Major Comic Conventions

Te big nes of the coic convention business include the following: Comic-Con International (CCI) P.O. Box 128458 San Diego, CA 92112–8458 619–491–2475 619–491–2475 (Phone) www.Comic-Con.org

Te biggest nd the best, Coic-Con Interntionl hs becoe the #1 coic show in the business. ens of thousnds of enthusists gther every yer in “Aeric’s Finest City,” soe flying in fro cross the country to listen to pnels of experts, get utogrphs, buy eorbili, wtch specil screenings of ovies, nd just hng out. Dragon*Con (D*C) P.O. Box 16459 Atlanta, GA 30321–0459 770–909–0115 770–909–0115 (Phone) www.DragonCon.org

A solid second in populrity nd reputtion, reputt ion, Drgon*Con tkes on ore of  fntsy tilt—but it’s not just for Dungeons nd Drgons fntics. D*C gets bigger every yer, nd s the collectors grow fro obsessed teengers to well-funded dult fns, the oney going through the registers keeps incresing s well. Big Apple Comic Convention (BACC) 704 76th Street North Bergen, NJ 07049 201–861–1414 www.BigAppleCon.com

Tis one is held in New York York City, so of course it’s it’s big. If you yo u live in the th e northnorth est, the Big Apple Con is the one for you.

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Mid-Ohio-Con (MOC) P.O. Box 3831 Mansfield, OH 44907 419–526–1427 www.MidOhioCon.com

Te Midwest relly knows how to put on  show, nd M-O-C lwys hs n interesting lineup of nes. It’s not the biggest coic-con round, but it hs  reputtion s one of the best. Mega-Con (MC) P.O. Box 1097 Safety Harbor, FL 34695 727–796–5725 www.MegaConvention.com

chapter

Eighteen

Supermodels

“The people who ask me for my autograph are the people who’ve put me here today, and you can’t afford to forget that.” —KATIE PRICE

Meeting in Person Te best wy to eet your fvorite superodel is to ttend Fshion Week, Week, soeties referred to s Mercedes-Benz Fshion Week or Olypus Fshion week (this depends on who the sponsor is). Although hrd to get into unless you’re  eber of the industry, tickets cn be hd if you know soeone in fshion or cn find soe for sle (check (c heck eBy). Fshion Week Week is held nnully in the fshfsh ion cpitls of the world, including New York City, Pris, London nd Miln. Fshion Week New York is the ost well-known, held t Brynt Prk in New York City ech yer. Ltely the event hs becoe even ore well-known ong the public, s contestnts on relity shows like Project Runway nd The Fashionista Diaries copete to show their winning designs t the event. Fshion Week Week is ttended by jor fshion designers, stylists, gzine editors nd, 121

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of course, superodels (who re often not only in the show, but sitting front row long with jor strs s well). You You cn lso hit the t he clubs in South Sout h Bech, Mii during duri ng “Model Seson,” which is Jnury through April. Becuse it’s too cold in New York nd Los Angeles for fshion shoots, the odels go to where the sun is shining in Mii, nd ny photo shoots for upcoing spring nd suer ctlogs re scheduled for this tie. o find out which clubs re currently the “hot spots,” check Mii’s onthly fshion nd style gzine, Ocean Drive . You cn usully find it t Borders nd Brnes & Noble, or stop online t www.OceanDrive.com.

Sending Fan Mail to a Supermodel o write to your fvorite superodel, you cn send your letter to his or her respective gency: Boss www.BossModels.com Elite www.EliteModel.com Ford www.FordModels.com Wilhelmina www.Wilhelmina.com

o find out which gency represents which odels, visit their respective Web Web sites. sit es. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the best iling ddresses for over 412 odels nd superodels.

chapter

Nineteen

Playboy Playboy Playmates

“It’s incredible to experience a different life. I was in a very small bubble where I came from.” —SARA JEAN UNDERWOOD Commenting on how her life changed after being named the 2007 Playmate of the Year

Caution: Some links in this section contain adult content. Parental discretion is advised.

They’re beautiful, they’re sexy, and they’re tieless. Plyboy Plytes re ore thn just good-looking—they’re  piece of history. Tt’s why  signed photo of  1967 centerfold odel is worth ore every onth you hold onto it. rcking down  Plyte, however, cn be tough, since ny of the erlier odels hve oved on to bigger nd better things since they “did it for the rt.”

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Sending Fan Mail to a Playmate Tnkfully, Plyboy is  copny tht understnds the vlue of their history. Terefore, their Web site (www.PartyWithTheBunnies.com) gives those who wnt to get in touch with  specific odel the ens to do so—lbeit for  price. Another option for contcting  Plyte is to siply write Plyboy t the following ddress for info on where you cn find one of their odels: [Playmate Name] c/o Playboy Promotions Playboy Enterprises International, Inc. 9242 Beverly Boulevard Beverly Hills, Hill s, CA 90210

Tis is  hit or iss option. Tere’s no gurntee tht wht you send will be pssed on to your desired Plyte. In fct, Plyboy usully refuses to forwrd f orwrd correspondence, correspondence, so you need to either get lucky or pled  strong cse. Even if you do get your letter through, there’s no gurntee tht the odel will send you n utogrph despite your hving written her  wonderful letter nd sending long  picture. Mybe she’s bored. But hey, the chnce of  response is worth the price of  stp! Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the direct iling ddresses for over 412 odels nd Plyboy Plytes. Mny Plyboy Plytes lso hve their own personl Web sites where they’ll gldly receive your correspondence (usully by eil). Soe will sign soething for you (for  price), others wnt you to buy their book first, nd soe wnt you to py  ebership free to join their site. For infortion on which Plytes ppered in which issue, check the Plyboy Cyber Cyber Club, which hs rchives of every Plyte ever: Playboy Enterprises www.PartyWithTheBunnies.com

Playboy Playmates

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Meeting in Person One option for eeting Plytes is the Plyboy Golf Scrble, which tkes plce every suer in cities ll over the United Sttes nd Cnd. Tese events bring in  pck of Plytes, nd you cn sign up to ply golf with the for $400. Playboy Golf Scramble www.PlayboyGolf.com

Another type of Plyboy hppening—the “eet nd greet” cigr event—is held yer-round, nd for these, vrious odels (both current Plytes nd Plytes fro previous decdes) show up. Te entire purpose of these events is for the plytes to cht with you. You cn find ore info on these cigr events—including events—including  coplete schedule—on the www.PlayboyGolf.com Web site. Playboy Mansion Parties

In ddition to the bove events, there re two types of prties ctully t the Plyboy Mnsion: (1) the Rented Event nd (2) the Hugh Hefner event. 1. The Rented Event

Te Rented Event is when  copny or privte prty rents out the Mnsion. It still coes stocked with Plytes, nd there cn be  high rtio of woen to en. Tis type of prty hppens frequently nd is  sure-fire wy of getting into the Mnsion. Every yer, Internet rketing consultnt “Te Rich Jerk ” rents out the Plyboy Mnsion for  networking event. Anyone cn get in, s long s you buy  ticket (usully bout $1,000). But wht’s relly cool bout this event is tht it’s not just  prty; it’s designed to help you network nd lern how to ke  lot of oney s well—which ens you cn probbly write it off s  business expense. o find out ore bout Te Rich Jerk nd to get on his eil list for n utotic invite to the next Plyboy Mnsion Prty, visit www.PartyWithRichJerk.com.

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2. Hugh Hefner Events

Tese prties prtie s re run by the n hiself—like hisel f—like the Midsuer Midsu er Night’s Night’s Dre Prty nd the Plyte Ply te of the t he Yer Yer Prty—nd they’ t hey’re re uch hrder hrde r to get into. i nto. Both of the prties I entioned tke plce in the suer, suer, with the Plyte of the Yer Prty kicking everything off in My. Te lrgest ount of Plytes ttend the Plyte of the Yer Prty. According to Hollywood publicist Rob encer (www.RobTencerPR.com), if you cll the Mnsion to try nd be put on the guest list, you’ll be told the following rules rule s (they pply to woen only, s en get n utotic no). no ). Soeties woen re llowed to bring  le guest, but they ust be  celebrity. Otherwise  girl cn only bring nother girl. Tey’ll Tey’ll lso tell you to t o send your bio nd  photo long with your contct infortion to: Playboy 10236 Charing Cross Road Los Angeles, CA 90024

If you’re pproved, soeone fro the Mnsion will cll or send you n invittion. Red it, nd follow the instructions. If you don’t dress ppropritely, you will not be llowed in. So if it’s  pj prty, wer pjs! If you’re A-list, you’ll be llowed to drive onto the Mnsion’s property. If you’re not, you’ll go to the ssigned prking lot nd tke  shuttle to the Mnsion. Good luck!

chapter

Twenty

Adult Film Stars

“I know that fame is fleeting. I am honored that people think that way . . . I try not to think t hink about it in those terms.” — M A R I LY LY N C H A M B E R S Commenting on “being popular”

Caution: The links in this section contain adult content. Parental discretion is advised.

If you’re interested in meeting

your fvorite porn or dult fil str, you’ll need to ke your wy west. Most events where porn strs ply tke plce in Los Angeles or Ls Vegs. Vegs. o o find out bout dult industry indus try prties, pr ties, check the following Web sites: Adult Video News (AVN) www.AVN.com

XBiz www.XBIZ.com

Gay Video News (GayVN) www.GayVN.com

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Te best wy to eet your fvorite dult strs is to ttend the Adult Entertainment Expo (www.AdultEntertainmentExpo.com) in Ls Vegs. Held every yer t the beginning of Jnury, the Adult Entertinent Expo (hoe to the infous AVN Awrds) brings lost every porn str in the world to its exhibition floor where they sign utogrphs nd tke photos with fns. Mke sure you purchse  fn ticket, becuse the ticket price for industry folks is quite steep—lthough both types of tickets get you into ostly the se show. show. In tody’s world, where lost every copny (especilly dult ones) hve  Web site, ny dult strs lso ttend the Internext expos, which re held twice ech yer in Ls Vegs nd Mii. Internext is the trde show for dult Web sites, pyent processors, toy copnies nd nything else dult tht’s tht’s online. onl ine. Internext Expo www.Internext-Expo.com

AVN Adult Novelty Expo www.adultnoveltyexpo.com

Adultcon www.adultcon.com

Cybernet Expo Varies www.cybernetexpo.com

Adult Online Europe www.adultonlineeurope.com

Tere re  couple of other conventions to keep in ind s well, including the following: Erotica L.A. www.erotica-la.com

GayVN www.gayvnawards.com

Erotika U.K. www.erotica-uk.com

The XBiz Show www.xbizsummerforum.com

Sending Fan Mail to Adult Stars Sending fn il to the “dult” celebrities, like with the Plyboy odels, cn be tricky. Mny of the do not wnt their ddresses known for privcy nd security resons, nd they switch gencies often (if they hve one t ll). Te best wy to contct cont ct the str is through his or her offi cil Web Web site, which you cn find by doing  serch on Google s outlined in Chpter 3. Visit Contact Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com) to get the best iling ddresses ddresses for over 50 dult fil strs.

Recommended Resources

National Basketball Association (NBA) www.NBA.com

Associations & Guilds Screen Actors Guild www.SAG.org SAG Actor’s Actor’s to Locate Line 323–549–6737

National Basketball Development League (D-League) www.nba.com/nbdl

Authentication Services

Women’s Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) www.WNBA.com

Collectors Universe www.Collectors.com

Celebrity Contact Information

Is It Real www.IsItReal.com

The Celebrity Black Book www.CelebrityBlackBook.com Contact Any Celebrity www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com

Authors & Writers Book Expo America www.BookExpoAmerica.com

Celebrity Photos

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks

Amazing Celebrity Photos www.AmazingCelebrityPhotos.com

Baseball Players Clubs & Associations Major League Baseball www.MLB.com

Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC) www.UACC.org

Basketball Players Comic Book Artists Ar tists & Writers American Basketball Association (ABA) www.ABAAlive.com

Big Apple Comic Convention (BACC) www.BigAppleCon.com

Continental Basketball Association (CBA) www.CBAHoopsOnline.com

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Comic Book Conventions www.ComicBookConventions.com Comic-Con International (CCI) www.Comic-Con.org Dragon*Con (D*C) www.DragonCon.org Mega-Con (MC) www.MegaConvention.com Mid-Ohio-Con (MOC) www.MidOhioCon.com

Halls of Fame Basketball Hall of Fame wwwHoopHall.com Hockey Hall of Fame www.HHOF.com National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum BaseballHallofFame.org Professional Football Hall of Fame www.ProFootballHOF.com

Hockey Players Fan Clubs International Fan Club Organization (IFCO) www.IFCO.org

National Hockey League www.NHL.com

Magazines Football Players National Football League www.NFL.com

Golf Players Golf News and Upcoming Events www.Golf.com The Ladies’ Professional Golf Association (LPGA) www.LPGA.com Pro Tour Memorabilia www.ProTourMem.com

Autograph Magazine www.AutographMagazine.com Broadcasting & Cable Magazine Magazine www.BroadcastingCable.com Poets & Writers Magazine Magazine www.pw.org/mag/ Talkers Magazine www.Talkers.com

NASCAR Drivers Champ Car World Series www.ChampCarWorldSeries.com

Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) www.PGA.org

Indy Racing League www.IndyRacing.com

World Golf Hall of Fame www.WGV.com

NASCAR www.NASCAR.com

Recommended Resources News Groups Google Groups Groups.Google.com

Newsletters The Pen & Quill www.UACC.org

Friendster www.Friendster.com MySpace www.MySpace.com Ning www.Ning.com Xanga www.Xanga.com

Playboy Playmates Software Playboy www.Playboy.com Playboy CyberClub www.PartyWithTheBunnies.com Playboy Golf Scramble www.PlayboyGolf.com The Rick Jerk’s Playboy Mansion Party www.PartyWithRichJerk.com

Search Services BetterWhois www.BetterWhois.com Contact Any Celebrity www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com Google www.google.com Internet Movie Database (IMDB www.IMDB.com

Marquis Who’s Who www.MarquisWhosWho.com

Social Networks Facebook www.Facebook.com

Photo Stamps www.PhotoStamps.com Stamps.com www.Stamps.com

Supermodels Fashion Week Daily www.FashionWeekDaily.com Fashion Week L.A. www.FashionWeekLA.com Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week www.MBFashionWeek.com

Television elevisio n Taping Taping Tickets Ti ckets Audience Associates www.TVTix.com Audiences Unlimited www.TVTickets.com Be On Screen www.BeOnScreen.com Hollywood Tickets www.HollywoodTickets.com

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New York TV Tickets www.NYTix.com

Show Business Weekly www.ShowBusinessWeekly.com

On Camera Audiences www.OCATV.com

Variety www.Variety.com

Studio Audiences www.StudioAudiences.com TV Recordings www.TVRecordings.com

Trade Publications Billboard www.Billboard.com The Hollywood Reporter www.HollywoodReporter.com

Wrestling All Pro Wrestling (APW) www.AllProWrestling.com Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) www.UPW.com World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) www.WWE.com

Bonus Article

Knowing Who Does What

Hank Mendheim, Television Producer

When trying to contct celebrities, it’s iportnt to know wht ech person does for  celebrity: the gent, the nger nd the publicist. he Agent is the oney guy. He gets pid to find the tlent jobs, whether it be voice-over, on-cer, fils, V, coercils, etc. He gets pid when the tlent gets pid. he Mnger runs ll spects of the tlent’s creer, including hiring nd firing gents, lwyers, publicists, etc. Any business decision eventully goes through the nger. he Publicist hndles ll PR requests: interviews, utogrphs, etc. In soe cses, s with bigger celebrities, the publicist hndles ll decisions regrding PR without hving to go bck to the nger for pprovl. pprovl. So depending on wht you need, you y wnt to go to the nger versus the publicist.

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Autographs—All utogrph requests should go to the best iling ddress listed for the celebrity in the Contact Any Celebrity online dtbse (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com). ht doesn’t en tht you will necessrily get n nswer. nswer. Celebrities re deling with so ny edi requests for interviews inter views nd publicity for projects tht utogrph requests fll lst on the list. So if you request n utogrph, don’t expect it ieditely. It y tke  while. Don’t ever cll to request n utogrph. Write or eil. Soe celebrities don’t wnt to del with such il for security resons nd will not open ny envelopes tht look suspicious or hve  hndwritten ddress. However, ost enjoy receiving fn il nd will nswer it ccordingly.

you’re requesting request ing oney for your chrity chr ity,, send tht th t Charitable Donations —If you’re request to the th e nger of the tlent. tlen t. ht’s ht’s  business decision decis ion nd the nger will ost likely decide whether or not the celebrity ever sees the request. If your chrity or orgniztion is not uthorized to ccept tx-deductible dontions, don’t even bother. Celebrities wnt to know tht they re helping  legitite orgniztion. Also, they receive ny requests for dontions so if you get  “no,” don’t tke it personlly. Check the Celebrity Causes Database (www.CelebCauses.com) to see which celebrities contribute to your type of cuse. Also, Contct Any Celebrity is  gret resource for checking if the celebrity could be  supporter of your chrity. In your cover letter to the nger, you should explin why you re contcting tht prticulr celebrity. Sying “John Doe is y fvorite singer so I think tht it would be gret if he de  dontion” doesn’t cut it. However, writing “John Doe Doe hs been  supporter of XYZ since 19XX nd therefore t herefore we believe he will be interested in our orgniztion” shows tht you hve done your hoework. hoewo rk. And be brief. Your Your letter should s hould not exceed one pge. Tey do not wnt to red  diry nor do they hve the tie. f or officil business only, only, not utogrph requests.) Forget Snail Mail—(his is for his is the technology ge. I tend to send n eil first if I cn trck down the ddress nd then I’ll follow up with  fx. Eil ddresses re ctully quite esy to figure out for the big PR firs, especilly if you do  Google serch.

Knowing Who Does What

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Contct Any Celebrity y lso hve the eil ddresses in ddition to the lnd ddress. You could lso cll the PR fir nd get  fx nuber (nd there is nothing wrong with clling bck to ke sure they got the fx). I cn’t tell you how ny ties I cll the next dy to touch bse only to be told tht they never got y fx. So fx it nd then cll the to let the know it’s it’s there. t here.

Common Autograph Terms

Docuent, Signed: A docuent written in the hnd of the ADS—Autogrph Docuent, signer. (Plurl ADsS) ALS—Autogrph Letter, Signed: A letter written in the hnd of the person

who signed it. (Plurl ALsS) ANS—Autogrph Note, Note, Signed: A note written in the hnd of the person who

signed it. (Plurl ANsS) AQS—Autogrph Quottion, Signed: An utogrphed quottion written

entirely in the hnd of the signer. (Plurl AQsS) Autopen—A device tht uses  pen to duplicte  person’s signture. Carte-de-visite —A portrit photogrph, usully full-length, ounted on 

sll crd. DS—Docuent, Signed: A docuent tht is printed nd originlly signed

(Plurl DsS). FDC—First Dy Cover: An envelope with  postrk issued on the dte nd

in the city  stp is issued. Soeties collected utogrphed. IPS—Inscribed Photogrph, Signed: A photo bering n inscription or per-

sonliztion by the signer. (Plurl IPsS) —Letter, Signed: A letter written by soeone other thn the signer. (Plurl LS—Letter, LsS) SB—Signed Book SP—Signed Photo (Soeties shown s PS) SASE—Self-Addressed Stped Envelope Secretarial—Signed by  secretry or stff eber. TD—yped —yped Docuent TDS—yped Docuent, Signed: A typed signed docuent (Plurl DsS)

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About the Author

Jordan McAule McAuleyy is the Founder nd President of Contact servic e locted in West West Hollywood, Any Celebrity (www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com),  service Cliforni. Contct Any Celebrity helps businesses, nonprofits, uthors, nd the edi get in touch with over 54,000 celebrities worldwide. He is lso the editor of the best-selling Celebrity Black Book (www.CelebrityBlackBook.com). After joring in Motion Picture Business nd English Literture t the University of Mii, Jordn oved to Hollywood. In L.A., he worked t  ovie production copny nd  lrge Beverly Hills tlent gency s n gent’s ssistnt. Tese experiences—cobined with working t Wilhelin Models in South Bech during college, plus internships t CNN nd urner Entertinent—provided hi with insider knowledge on the best wys to contct celebrities. ody Contact Any Celebrity is known interntionlly s the ost ccurte source of celebrity contct infortion due to Jordn’s extensive experience nd personl entertinent industry contcts. Jordn’s online dtbse contins the best contct infortion for over 54,000 celebrities worldwide (including iling ddress, gent, nger, publicist, production copny, nd chritble cuse) plus info for over 7,000 celebrity representtives nd over 4,000 entertinent copnies (phone, fx, nd eil ddresses). Jordn nd Contact Any Celebrity hve been fetured on CNN nd by such ntionl edi s USA Today , Entrepreneur , The Village Voice , Us Weekly , nd Sirius Satellite Radio . He is lso recoended in severl bestselling books including iothy Ferris’s instnt New York Times best-seller The 4-Hour Workweek , Dn Kennedy’s The Ultimate Marketing Plan , Dn

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Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual , nd John Kreer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Books (which includes  chpter by Jordn on how to get celebrity book endorseents). For ore infortion on Jordn nd his books, products nd services, visit visi t his hi s offi cil Web site sit e t www.JordanMcAuley.com.

“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.” —SHIRLEY TEMPLE

Secrets to Contacting Celebrities

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