How would I get the autograph of a long retired singer?

May 25, 2023 4:44 PM

A friend of mine has a wall of autographed photos from opera singers, some of whom stopped singing before his birth, but he wrote to them and got them. With active singers, I believe you contact their artist manager. With someone who is in her 90s and presumably has no manager, is there a way to do this? I have missed getting the autographs of some singers I loved who died and the one or two I have are nice keepsakes. (I could go on ebay or something but the thrilling thing with my friend's little collection is thinking: you had Madame X actually write this for you. Be they ever so stupid, that few seconds of connection would seem to be the charm of autographs.)
posted by less-of-course to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

It's possible the person has retired and simply no longer wants the bother.

On the other hand, you can likely find a forwarding address via her former manager or former agency, or a known associate, or similar contact. They may be willing to forward mail or a message to the person. Don't approach family on social media unless they advertise as interested in handing media or fan contacts (otherwise you would come across as stalker-y.)

If you do get in touch, consider sending flowers or an extra nice thank you note.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:29 PM on May 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

There was a Bob's Burgers episode about this called "Local She-Ro", so maybe watch that for inspiration (sort of).


I have a friend who sends baseballs for autographs, and has hundreds, and most are not from baseball players, and includes several US presidents. I guess people love autographing baseballs.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:00 PM on May 26, 2023