By Fred Deutch.
I'm Fred Deutch and I am an autograph hound. I used to work at a famous Late Night show in New York City. I won't name what it was so that they won't be legally liable from my own antics. But there I was, working in this gateway of stars. I didn't care about a lot of them but as a self-professed Star Wars nerd, seeing Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford in the flesh gave me chills.
At first, it was Mark Hamill, the nicest of the three. He really wasn't supposed to be on the show, he was just there for a little gag we cooked up behind-the-scenes. But even when the cameras weren't on, he was still the nicest celebrity I'd ever met. So much so that he didn't even mind signing my many copies of the Empire Strikes Back poster when we rehearsed the gag. I still remember giving him the sharpie to use for his autographs.
As for Fisher, Carrie for those of you who don't know, she was also nice but a little bit aloof. Though I don't blame her! She was at the show to promote "Return of the Jedi" and she was most probably sick of meeting fanboys such as myself. But when I explained to her that I only wanted her to sign my posters, she put on a smile and kindly gave her autographs. I swear to you, seeing THE Princess Leia sign my collection was out of this galaxy!
For the rest of the cast, aside from Ford, I got my whole team to attend the New York premiere of "Return of The Jedi". All of the cast, including George Lucas and, unbelievably, Sir Alec Guinness himself, sign our posters! Now that was a night I'll never forget! I was on cloud 9 the entire evening. Had Ford signed our posters that night as well, I would have gone straight to heaven!
So Harrison Ford, on the other hand, now this guy is the Hollywood weird type you just can't decipher. And his deep voice didn't make it any easier. This was a year later after I got the rest of the cast to sign my posters. His was the only one I needed. So during the latter parts of my career, still in the same Late Night talk show, I got the balls to ask him. At first, he was confused. He thought I was just another crazy fan who sneaked into the studio. But when I explained that I worked there and that I got most of the cast's autographs apart from his, he... still didn't get it! But he signed my posters anyways, so maybe there's still hope for Ford to be a stand-up guy like his castmates. Hopefully!
Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
