Don Knotts and Other Autographs from “The Andy Griffith Show”
Saturday, September 8th, 2007
Let me clarify this…My first foray into collecting autographs from the stars of The Andy Griffith Show occurred on December 11, 1985. I had sent out seven autographs requests the day before and I followed it up on the 11th with five additional letters. Two of them were unsuccessful due to having the wrong addresses – Tim Conway and Art Carney (again). But three were quite successful, one of them being Don Knotts. Read the rest of this entry »
If I were to argue that Noel Neill was the very first and most prolific actress to portray Superman heroine Lois Lane, you might respond that Phyllis Coates was actually both the first Lois Lane in both the movies and on TV. And you would be correct. Phyllis Coates portrayed Lois Lane for the duration of the first season of The Adventures of Superman and also starred in the theatrical movie Superman and the Mole-Men in 1951. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Coates on three different occasions. 
An ode to Three’s Company…It was December 10, 1985 when my flirtation with collecting autographs from the cast members of Three’s Company first began. When sending requests through the mail, I generally steered clear of most ‘high-caliber’ stars of the current day. They were generally met with one form of rejection or another. However, John Ritter did not disappoint me. He signed both the photo that I sent him along with two notecards, even adding a humorous inscription on one. These were returned in an extremely timely fashion as well: on December 23, just two days before Christmas. 
I first met Gary Owens at the Hollywood Collectors Show during the Summer of 1995. He wasn’t there selling his autograph, he was just browsing the stalls. Bob pointed him out to me and I approached him and asked him to sign two blank 3 x 5 notecards. He was very friendly, but I still recall to this day that after he signed my autographs he turned to walk away and made some odd face, as if saying “now get the hell away from me.” I only mention this because it sticks with me so vividly, but I have always assumed that maybe I misinterpreted his expression. 
All in the Family was always one of my very favorite TV sit-coms, so I was ecstatic to find that Sally Struthers would be appearing at the Hollywood Collectors Show during my February visit to California. Having already gotten her autograph through the mail in 1998, I didn’t need to purchase any additional signed photos, but brought the photo that she was kind enough to send me just in case she wondered why I wasn’t buying. In addition to more recent photo at left, she had also signed an All in the Family cast shot that already had the signatures of Caroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton – which I will display at a later time.