I for one think it’s a pretty big deal to meet one of the top-billed performers from the original Star Wars trilogy, and it’s rather rare to see them on the autograph circuit. I got lucky in the past getting a photo with Carrie Fisher at an autograph show, and I had to put my neck on the line for my Harrison Ford encounter, but getting Billy Dee Williams – who played the lead character Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – was really quite easy. It just took having four twenty dollar bills in my wallet and the will to give them up when he came to the Hollywood Show on February 11, 2012.
I’m not sure how his pricing is at the other shows, but I’m noticing he’s been doing quite a few lately; I suspect his prices have only gone up. In this case, I had to purchase a professional photo op for $40 as he wasn’t doing them at the table. Later I went ahead and purchased the signed photo from him, and of course I wanted one with him as Lando. Sure, he had done a few other things of interest here or there (Mahogany, The Out-of-Towners, Nighthawks, and Batman to name but a few), but there’s not much that can compete with the Star Wars legacy. I wanted to make absolutely sure that I the photo I chose was him in the Lando costume since there was nothing else in the photo to indicate it was a ‘Star Wars’ photo. He laughed a bit and asked me if I had even seen the movie.
Even though I had already gotten my professional photo op, I still tested the waters and asked if I could get a photo at the table with him. He said that there was only the professional opportunity available, but that I could take a photo of him signing the picture. Even though he had already signed it, he pretended that he was signing it again for the photo. It made me laugh for whatever reason.
In any case, I was pretty glad to get the chance to meet Billy Dee Williams even if it did cost a pretty penny. Now I’ll just be waiting patiently for Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker to show up somewhere…
Celebrity encounters from the Winter 2012 Hollywood Show will continue…
Lando’s not a system. He’s a man.
Chris
August 23rd, 2013
Criminally under utilized in Jedi. Friggin’ Lucas…
Eric Hubble
September 17th, 2013