As I mentioned, I was attempting to collect the autographs of the stars of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World during the Summer of 1985, so the next logical person to write to on August 13 (the day after I wrote to Hank Aaron, Jim Backus, Dom DeLuise, and Milton Berle) was Buddy Hackett. He played the character of Benjy Benjamin, who was described in the film as the gut with the “marbles in his mouth.” I always remembered that.
During my sixth grade autograph letter writing instruction from my teacher Mr. Turner, I’ll never forget being told that a classy way to sign off a letter is with the phrase “warmest regards” – which I always did, and often do today. Although I have heard tales that Buddy Hackett could be a total jerk-wad in-person, he evidently like my send off too. He sent me the great signed 8 x 10 using my closing, plus signed a couple of notecards – all of which arrived on September 3, 1985.
More autographs from 1985 to come…
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