Dirty Rotten Egos and All Shook Up — Page 3

As far as I know, Newman still signs. That's still pretty creepy.

amourdujour, their job is exactly that. To entertain and make people happy, as you said, through their art. That doesn't include anything off-stage, as far as I see it. You said it yourself, so I don't see what the problem is.

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No, I wouldn't at all, but I understand that it's not their job. In one of my posts before, I said how grateful that the experiences I've had meeting actors have become some of my favorite memories - he's included in that group, for which I consider myself extremely lucky.

Then again, I probably wouldn't approach an actor forty-five minutes before curtain, because I'm simply too shy, among other reasons.

I've seen one of my favorite people in the entire world not sign. I think nothing less of him as a performer... and over a one-time disappointment, I think I have it in my heart to let him off and not whine about it.

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You are right...I would never approach an actor that close to a performance, as well.

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I'll add something to what Em said--I don't think it's fair for anyone to judge a performer on whether the one time you saw them they were nice or signed. Yes, actors should love what they do and appreciate fans, but that certainly doesn't mean they should be forced to sign/take pics every single fan that asks them. We all have to remember sometimes we all have those days where we don't wanna talk with people, sometimes we're too exhausted to do anything, etc. I usually give people the benefit of the doubt, as I've seen not only in broadway but baseball, fans who will say so-and-so never signs just because one day he didn't sign, then again he signs more than any other Yankee(Jeter if you're lost).

In terms of Norbie, I'm with the he's usually very gracious club. Everytime I've been at the stage door he hasn't left until every single person had an autograph or a picture that they wanted. That in itself definitely puts him way up in my book.

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OMG - I didn't even think about there being 11 people. Not sure why that didn't click.

Geez. 11 people heading towards them? This isn't even a discussion at this point. I'd run back in too. No question.

"Kind of absurd?" Extremely absurd! 11 people rushing at you while you're eating and catching a breath of fresh air could be a bit daunting.

Although it's never a surprise to see the one poster in this thread reiterating yet again that people like Butz and Scott should be GRATEFUL because this is THE JOB THEY CHOSE so they really have NO RIGHT to decide that there are times when they are less psyched about being charged at by fans, no matter how big the crowd.

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"He works too closely with these people to have such an attitude as you say someone said he had."

No, no. I was there when it happened. It is certainly possible that he was having a bad day, but it certainly didn't seem like a joke.

No one will ever win the debate over if actors should or shouldn't sign. I, for one, would never *expect* a person to do it, but I do think it is smart PR.

I watch "celebrities" who sign TONS of autographs everyday (Spamalot boys, Jeff Goldblum, Denzel, etc) and you can tell they know the drill. I was passing through Shubert Alley on last Saturday and Goldblum was out signing so I stopped and watched for a bit. One guy had around 10 things (some I would bet made it to E-Bay) and others he asked for "messages to be written" like "oooh write this." I thought it was an absurd amount of stuff for one person to ask to be signed, but Goldblum did and smiled the entire time. It truly impressed me. He made conversation with everyone who was there.


But seriously, a dozen of you heading over 45 minutes before curtain? I would run too. Who knows, you might have wanted one group picture or 11 individual ones. That would take more than a minute or two. So close to curtain, it was a smart move.


Edit: Final/Summarizing thought - Should they sign? Sure. Do they have to? NO! Is it smart for their career? Definitely.

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Updated On: 5/15/05 at 10:03 PM

Emcee-You're totally right, we don't know what kind of people they really are away from the theatre. What I'm saying is that when he interacts with fans, he treats them with so much respect and kindness.

Oh, the drama! Alejandra said it best-"It ain't BWW if there's no drama!"

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Rait,
And I met your close friend on the 104 bus and she was very gracious.
A wonderful lady.

Without a doubt, they handled that badly. Unless they want to, itis not an actor's job to sign autographs and pose for fan pictures. However, it is everyone's job to be pleasant. 7:15 is not close enough to showtime to warrant a mad dash to the wings.