My teen idols never answered my fan letters, but that doesn't mean writing them was a waste of time.
Comment: uMmM the jonas brothers are awesome omqqq they rock and no the sonq is called burninq up lol they have a qood future ahead of them awwwww nick and joe are so cute diszx comes frm a 12 year old hehehe
Comment: The Jonas Brothers? I've heard about them but i dont really listen to the that much. they have a song call burnt up right? lol I dont know~
Comment: I wrote to Alan Rickman when I was 12, I'd read that he'd just been cast to play Snape in the Harry Potter films, and I wrote him a letter saying congratulations. Awh I was such a little nerd! And I got sent a picture with a personal autograph, 'to Stacy, best wishes, Alan Rickman.' And I was so impressed that it was in SILVER PEN! To be 12 again. At least I still have my photo, and awe, of Alan Rickman.
Comment: Similar to what Scarlette said, I wrote to Macauly Culkin back in his Home Alone prime, and I actually got a nice little package with an 8 x 10 autographed glossy, a "letter", and some information about him. However, out of everyone else I'd written to (maybe two or three) when I was that age, I never received a response. On the other hand, a few years ago when the movie version of Phantom of the Opera came out, I wrote a quick note to Gerard Butler about how I appreciated his performance in the film, I actually got a response. I don't think it was from him, but it was from someone associated with him at least! It was a generic letter, but I also got a photo, which I thought was pretty neat.
And to the author... I'm surprised Pat Monahan didn't write back! He's a really cool guy who happens to be from my hometown. I think he now "lives" in California, but he's here enough so he must have downtime... I'm surprised he never wrote back to you. Then again, when Train was just emerging, he was probably a busy guy! Anyway, my two cents.
Comment: I'm similar to "Lizi1979," and have also had silly crushes on obscure/offbeat actors.. I'm also in my late 20s (27). In fact, just for $#!! and giggles, I wrote to someone who had bit parts in the 80s to his official page and was sent a kind response. Obviously, it could have been anyone who wrote but I dont think that was the case. Just a nice little thing that happened. :) The reason I bothered to send anything was because I saw him on some made for tv flick some weeks ago... and he pretty much looked the same so I had to send a compliment. ;o) After he responded, I figured.. what the hey... I'll respond to the response.. but it wasn't answered, obviously. ;o) I understood though. I'm a total stranger and he's busy... not hard to understand. ;o)
Comment: ..
Comment: I've written a handful of fan letters in my day. Never to a woman though. Never had a crush on a famous person. Never cared if they wrote back. Didn't expect them to. Didn't really want them to either. I only wrote one handwritten note. It was an assignment in grade school. We were to pick someone famous off this list and write them a letter. I picked Jim Carey. I remember how I talked about how I liked his pet reptile(No, this isn't a sex jok. He really had a pet reptile.) and how I thought he was funny. A lot of teens, especially girls I notice, get attached to famous stars and write them letters. That's not odd. I think there are much easier and less painful ways to become a good writer though. As far as getting someone's attention goes, may I suggest pulling a gun. That always works. Or how about plastic explosives? There's a failsafe method right there. Or how about hijacking their plane? That sounds fun as well as fruitful. See, you girls just aren't thinking hard enough. I know that if you really put your minds to it your scheming will pay off. Sure, you'll spend the rest of your days in a federal prison, but at least you can finally say "They care, they really care!" And who wouldn't care when there's a gun to their temple. Well, probably not me. But, I'm talking about "normal" people here. And this time you can finally find solace in the fact that for once it wasn't just all in your head. What are you waiting for? Get off those prissy teen duffs and get going! I know you can do it!
Comment: This is disturbing! I don't understand how anyone can become so smitten and obsessed with a person that they've never even met. How pathetic, to admire someone that you know absolutely nothing about. Most of these guys are the same *** guys you went to high school with money. Oh, and lets not forget.... THEIR ACTORS!
Comment: My friend wrote a letter for me to Clay Aiken w/o my knowledge and gave him my phone number and address of the time. He never called and he never wrote and he never responded to her. Oh well
Comment: I recently sent an email to Ryan Seacrest at his radio station. I did receive a response it wasn't automated either it actually talked about the things that I had asked him about. I don't know if it was actually from him but it was answered none the less
Comment: I wrote a letter to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when they were still on Full House. They (or their fanclub, or whomever it was that took care of their mail) sent back a package full of pictures and posters, and a book on Full House. I knew it was probably a package they sent out to nearly everyone who wrote them at the time, and that they hadn't personally read my letter. I was still happy. They're the only celebrities I ever wrote to.
Comment: h
Comment: this may be true i don't know i don't have the guts to write a letter to a famous crush i have, but it is good to tell your crush you like him or her even if she or he is famous or not. then you will get over it if they don't resond or if they dont fell the same way. its better then thinking what if this happend ... what is that....
Comment: My older sister had a crush on Donny Osmond in the 70's and put up hugh posters of him and his brothers. I thought it was creepy the way they would stare out. I was very little and swore they were watching me change clothes and would hide in the closet to dress.
Comment: I was totally the same way as a pre-teen/teen in the late 90's. I am pretty sure I wrote to most of the same people as the author of this article. In the same way, I felt somewhat disappointed after never hearing back from my "true love" of the moment. I did, however, get some luck with brothers Richard and Jonathan Jackson. I think I sent a folded up teen magazine pin-up in with the letter, and someone was nice enough to sign it and return it to me. Whether or not it was actually my one of my heartthrobs who signed it, I'll never know...but it made my day all those years ago. Ahh, to be young again.... :)
Comment: As a young "tween," I too had a huge crush on JTT. Both small and large pics of him, torn from the pages of Tiger Beat and BOP, were plastered all over my bedroom walls, and I never missed a single episode of "Home Improvement" (slightly obsessive, yes). Finally, I wrote him. Unlike the author of this article, I did get a "form letter" back. It was a postcard with his picture and a fake autograph on the front, thanking me for writing and such. It went right up on the wall with all my other pics, and its probably still somewhere in my mom's attic.
Comment: I read a book on American letters this past year, and it made me go on a huge letter writing kick. Eventually, you run out of family and friends to write to, so I started writing to all sorts of random people, including three pieces of fanmail. The first was to folk rocker Josh Ritter, who I adore to the point that I'm reminded of my old *NSYNC obsession, except this time it's about really good music. :P I haven't gotten a reply from Josh yet, but I'm confident it will come once he takes a break from his nonstop touring. That's the kind of guy Josh is--when I met him and told him about the letter, he promised a reply but said it might take awhile. And I believe him. :P The second and third pieces of mail were after my recent trip to New York, where I saw Spring Awakening. I wrote to two cast members, and I got a very quick reply from the star of the show, the amazingly talented Jonathan Groff. His little reply back totally made my day! :P
Comment: haha that is great! You can write me anytime you like, ofcourse my wife might have to check it first... but you have a great personality and it shows from your writing... keep at it and never lose your dream... because they may not have personally written back, they somehow wrote into your heart the desire to write...
Tom
Comment: I am pushing 30, in my tween heyday I had some deep crushes on (then) mostly obscure and offbeat actors, like Christian Bale (he's huge now!). I never wrote to any of them. I was into message boards, and we used to show our love through what amounted to lobbying efforts, to get them articles written about them, etc.
Now I'm a mom, and as a household, we LOVE the adorable Jonas Brothers. I have followed them closely and I'm sure they, like the rest, they have a hard time answering written love letters and emails...but they do a ridiculous amount to convey their appreciation to their adoring young fans. They still do meet and greets, hugging girls by the thousands daily, make little online videos saying 'hi' almost daily, write blogs about their adventures very regularly, and have a system to leave all of their fans voicemail messages on their cellphones. It may not be as personal as some fans in love would like, but I am hardpressed to remember BOYFRIENDS I have had that were that attentive, let alone celeb crushes.
It is smart and sweet, and my inner tween is totally jealous.
Comment: while living in hawaii in the late 1970's i was firtunate enough to meet my crushes! shaun cassidy,donny osmond and willie aames! all were very nice signing autographs and psing for pics. shame today because of creepy stalkers its hard to meet your idols.
Comment: When I was about 11 or so, I saw Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Still one of my favorite movies ever, BUT when I was 11, the only real reason I would watch it was *gasp* Elijah Wood. I fell in love with those blue eyes and became slightly obsessed. I have never been so obsessed with any celebrity before him or afterwards. By strange coincedence, my classroom had a book with celebrity addresses from Nicole Kidman to Mel Gibson. (don't ask me why there was a published book with addresses in my classroom) . But, lucky for me at the time, Elijah Wood's address was there! So I wrote it down on a paper, got home and started writing to him on my Harry Potter stationary (how embarassing!) I asked him how he was and told him about myself and also asked if we could be pen pals. I also put some of my drawings in the envelope as well. Eventually, after waiting so long, I decided he was never gonna reply and be my pen pal. But strangely...after a few months, I checked the mailbox and there was an envelope addressed to me from California. I opened it...there was no written reply from Elijah, but an autograph...better than nothing. I put it in one of my Lord of the Rings books and to this day, it's still there. I admit it is a bit embarassing, but whenever I open my LOTR book to read, I see his autograph and I remember one of my dear childhood memories.
Comment: I hate to tell you this, but here in Washington State, Pat comes into my coffee store. I was too young when Train really blew up to know what he looked like, or who he really was for that matter, but one of my co-workers explained to me who he was one day after he left. He is always courteous whenever he orders a drink, and his wife is a sweetheart to every extent. I always look forward to helping him with an order, and I've finally stopped being nervous if I drop a pastry or something near him!
While I have never asked for an autograph, I think the day I leave to return to school I might have to sneak one.
Oh, and his favorite drink is a Tall Non-Fat Soy Latte with no foam. It's ironic---you'll know why.
Comment: My best friend wrote a letter to Prince William one time. The funny thing was, somebody who read, or said they did, wrote her back a kind letter saying that the Prince was sorry he couldn't read all of the letters he got, but he very much appreciated it, and so on. I never wrote a "love letter" to any of my celebrity crushes. I never really cared enough to write to them, my crushes usually only lasted a day or so. Now, I will occasionally write to a band on their MySpace that they're performance was fun and I had a good time meeting them and such. Maybe I just didn't have the nerve to write a letter confessing my love or just about my day. It does make a person wonder though, if they really do read, or at least skim, the notes that you send. It's worth a shot though right?
Comment: My best friend wrote a letter to Prince William one time. The funny thing was, somebody who read, or said they did, wrote her back a kind letter saying that the Prince was sorry he couldn't read all of the letters he got, but he very much appreciated it, and so on. I never wrote a "love letter" to any of my celebrity crushes. I never really cared enough to write to them, my crushes usually only lasted a day or so. Now, I will occasionally write to a band on their MySpace that they're performance was fun and I had a good time meeting them and such. Maybe I just didn't have the nerve to write a letter confessing my love or just about my day. It does make a person wonder though, if they really do read, or at least skim, the notes that you send. It's worth a shot though right?
Comment: hmmm i used to do the same n it did cost me to a lot to write those overseas fan letters(hehe yeah i live in asia) it just seems hopeless devotion is everywhere on this earth:P from devon sawa to leo and let alone those popular boybands.so far i havent got any letters bk from them n my friends either.wen i grew older haha yeah i just turned 26 bt still havent learned a lesson from tat yet:P i mean im still obsessed with those pop celebs hehehe the only different thing is tat i dont write any fan mails or emails at all.just keep their posters on the wall of my room n go to their concerts(if they ever come over hea).all tat i wanna say is NO REGRET ^ ^ still gotta say thx to them for bringin enjoys to me n my friends
haha wish i could see the high skool musicial live with my own eyes there-.-
Comment: hmmm i used to do the same n it did cost me to a lot to write those overseas fan letters(hehe yeah i live in asia) it just seems hopeless devotion is everywhere on this earth:P from devon sawa to leo and let alone those popular boybands.so far i havent got any letters bk from them n my friends either.wen i grew older haha yeah i just turned 26 bt still havent learned a lesson from tat yet:P i mean im still obsessed with those pop celebs hehehe the only different thing is tat i dont write any fan mails or emails at all.just keep their posters on the wall of my room n go to their concerts(if they ever come over hea).all tat i wanna say is NO REGRET ^ ^ still gotta say thx to them for bringin enjoys to me n my friends
haha wish i could see the high skool musicial live with my own eyes there-.-
Comment: I know a girl kind of like this. I don't believe she sends any fan mail, though it is quite possible. However, she spends more time on the fan forums for David Arch, former American Idol contestant, than I want to know about. I don't know if it's just me, but I think it's strange that people can get so obessed with that show that they still continue to be active users supporting someone who lost in American Idol. It's understandable to some degree, but people get a little carried away. As long as is doesn't affect their everyday life I guess I can be ok with it. I am kind of intrested in this girl, but I I think she is so obsessed with David Arch, Zac Efron, and Johnny Depp that I wouldn't even stand a chance. Thanks for the article, I really wanted to vent about that.
Comment: I know a girl kind of like this. I don't believe she sends any fan mail, though it is quite possible. However, she spends more time on the fan forums for David Arch, former American Idol contestant, than I want to know about. I don't know if it's just me, but I think it's strange that people can get so obessed with that show that they still continue to be active users supporting someone who lost in American Idol. It's understandable to some degree, but people get a little carried away. As long as is doesn't affect their everyday life I guess I can be ok with it. I am kind of intrested in this girl, but I I think she is so obsessed with David Arch, Zac Efron, and Johnny Depp that I wouldn't even stand a chance. Thanks for the article, I really wanted to vent about that.
Comment: And add the February part in... go to the cached version on Google, and you'll see that it says February of 1990, not 1998. Clearly it was a typo and it was corrected.
Comment: Or actually, I don't need to email the article to you. Just Google "In 1990, I wrote this to Leonardo:" and you'll see the Newsweek link with the 1990 date on it, below the new version with 1998 on it.
Comment: Ugh - I printed it this morning as a PDF and it did say 1990 - I can email it to you if you want. I agree that the "14" comments were stupid, but this morning it said 1990 for Titanic. You really think that many people made up the 1990 comment?
Comment: I'm sorry but you aren't the best readers. First of all, the article never metioned 1990 for TItanic. I read it the first day it was posted, last Saturday, and I printed it out to show my elementary class and it says 1998, which is when she would've written the letter. Secondly, Saved by the Bell has been showing re-runs since it stopped airing new shows. So, that isn't confusing at all. And lastly, it's saying she stopped counting how many letters after 14, not that she was 14 years old when she stopped writing. Learn to read people.
Comment: I wrote to New Kids on the Block a few times. I did get a couple form letters with pictures from the fan club. I was ecstatic! Now when I want to do something for my favorite star, I make them a gift and give it to them when I see them in concert. I've given Fergie several gifts and written her letters, but they were given to her in person.. Back when she was with Wild Orchid was the first time I gave her a gift. I made the girls jewelry and cards and I put the link to my Wild Orchid web page on the cards. A few months later they added my link to their web page!! And now Fergie remembers me each time I see her. Though I don't think she remembers my name lol.
Comment: the Jonas Brothers are my life- im 13- i clicke on this link right as I saw the pic of them on the hotmail thing- the JB have helped me thru so much just by listening to their music bcuz theirlyrics can relate to teenagers so much. ive been a fan since 2006- been to 4 concerts- 2 more in July- and Ive met them once afterwaiting over 13 hours. I dont know where I would be without them- and Nick Jonas- he is everything i could ever wish for and more- he is my hero- I told him that when i met him and he thanked me. I really need him to know that Ive never felt this way about anyone before. I dont send letters to the JB- i write letters and save them until a concert so I can give them to a member of their crew- also when I met them I had a 4-page long letter for them and I gave it to kevin- Im not sure if they read them but its better to give it to them in person.
Comment: I want you.
Comment: When I was 16, I wrote a letter to one of my favorite french singer... I don't think things are different is my country but he answered me... I could remember that day my whole life. I read his letter again and again because it was a 'real' letter that he wrote himself giving me an advice about what I had written to him! I tryed to write him back but I couldn't... I was feeling so stupid and couldn't find my words... so time went on... and you can't imagine my surprise when at the end of the summer I had another letter from him, asking if has solved my problems... I felt so important at that moment! I was just happy!!!
Stars should know that just a little thing can make their fans feeling stronger and better... I can't imagine how many letters they have a day and I'm sure they can't answer to everybody... but even 10 letters a week would make 10 fans happy... it's better than 0, isn't it?
Comment: Actually, she edited it to say February 1998. This morning I read the artice (about 7:15am), and it did in fact say 1990 for the Leo DiCaprio letter. She obviously changed it since then because her error was brought to her attention.
Comment: Cute article. :)
Comment: the Jonas Brothers are my life- im 13- i clicke on this link right as I saw the pic of them on the hotmail thing- the JB have helped me thru so much just by listening to their music bcuz theirlyrics can relate to teenagers so much. ive been a fan since 2006- been to 4 concerts- 2 more in July- and Ive met them once afterwaiting over 13 hours. I dont know where I would be without them- and Nick Jonas- he is everything i could ever wish for and more- he is my hero- I told him that when i met him and he thanked me. I really need him to know that Ive never felt this way about anyone before. I dont send letters to the JB- i write letters and save them until a concert so I can give them to a member of their crew.
Comment: I can totally relate to this article. I'm 28 years old and I've been writing to celebs since 1993. First person I ever wrote to was actor Thomas Ian Nicholas after seeing him in "Rookie of the Year". He replied back with a signed pic and a form letter. I was thrilled! I still collect celebs autographs to this day and my most recent one was from Shia LaBeouf.
Comment: It must have been corrected since it was first posted. It did say 1990 earlier today.
Comment: I don't understand why you guys think she said she wrote to Leo in 1990, she never mentioned 1990, she said she wrote to him in 1998....
Comment: I am confused why you guys think she said Titanic came out in 1990, she didn't say that.....
Comment: This was a funny article, despite that fact that most comments on here criticized the time line of events and got confused by the what the numbers were representing, but hey that's OK, we all interpret things differently when reading. Being a pre-teen in the late 70's, for some reason Eric Estrada from the show CHIPS was just so darn cute, I did write him and got a reply with a picture that was signed, of course it was a copy of an original, but still the fan club was very good back then to respond.. I don't think Fan Clubs show the love any more to their hopelessly devoted fans.
Comment: With me it was Donny Osmond. I met him before a concert and gave him a letter and a bag of candy Kisses (I know, it's nauseating. I was 14!). Not only did he send me a hand written card, he actually wrote the envelope out himself. (Believe me, I knew his handwriting AND he used a PURPLE pen!!! He even put a regular stamp on it and it was postmarked from Provo, Utah, his home town.
I still have it.
Comment: Are you guys idiots?! She wrote about the number of letters she wrote to each idol, not how old she was when she sent them! Christ, I got that right away! There is no timeline issue in this story; she says herself she wrote to Leonardo DiCaprio in February of 1998. Christ people... it was a cute, nostalgia story. get a grip.
Comment: is better to give them the letter in person so that they would actually read it thats what i did with the jonas brothers back in november. I had writen to them in january of 2007 and received a respond in february but after they came out with the new cd none of my letters got respond only one but it was a picture with and autograph which i already have tons of so i decided to write all my letters to each one of them and give it to them when ever i had an opportunity to do so. i gave nick 8 letter joe 8 and kevin who i adore 12 and guess what there reactions were ...amazed but they did read each and everyone of them because i recieved the biggest respond from each one of them. I have been a fan of the jonas brothers since there first school tour i have gone to 58 concerts in over 3 years and this summer it will be 64 im not obsses I just support them with what i can do the best being a fan and going to their concert oh and buy the cd :)
Comment: Sometimes we do remember things out of order, but 7 years is a large amount of time when you are young. The difference between being 10 and into teen idols and being 17 and a little old for that. The glaring errors take away from the authenticity of the story.
Comment: It is interesting that she saw Titanic in 1990 and the rest of us waited until it came out in 1997. Where's the fact checker??
Comment: You know, regardless of the timeline, I thought it was a nice story. Sometimes we "remember" things happening at times that they really didn't--especially when an event occurs at such a young age. For example, I swore I was 8 the first time I accompanied my parents to a jazz concert, but actually I was only 6. One could argue that she should have done research when relaying information that included dates, but if this story came from her heart (which doubtlessly it did), I don't imagine that thought coming up in her head. I???m sure she didn???t mean any harm. Please lay off the criticism a little and appreciate this story for what it is: a warming recollection of someone's childhood--not a Dateline special.
Comment: You know, regardless of the timeline, I thought it was a great story. Sometimes we "remember" things happening at times that they really didn't--especially when an event occurs at such a young age. For example, I swore I was 8 the first time I accompanied my parents to a jazz concert, but actually I was only 6. One could argue that she should have done research when relaying information that included dates, but if this story came from her heart (which doubtlessly it did), I don't imagine that thought coming up in her head. Please lay off the criticism a little and appreciate this story for what it is: a warming recollection of someone's childhood--not a Dateline special.
Comment: About the timeline:
I thought the same thing as I was reading it, then I went back and investigated a theory, and I believe I was right. She said, "I stopped counting my Leo letters after 14." She meant 14 letters, not age 14.
Comment: This story needs serious fact checking and date verification. Do editors work at Newsweek? I guess I should not be concerned - this is only Newsweek - not the New Yorker!!!
Comment: What happened to truth in journalism? Did one of the editors not check this persons work. Titanic did not come out in 1990. I know because I was a senior in high school and had a class discussion about the movie. With this knowledge, I feel confident enough to say that I don't belive the rest of the story either. Even if this person did those things the information is wrong. I understand that the article is in the culture and ideas section, but shouldn't "truth in journalism still apply"? Don't get me wrong, this story is cute no matter how wrong it is. And I did have fun reading the article, but it would have been a better article if it would have been factual.
Comment: I too am confused by it. Additionally, when she first mentions Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie Titanic, she states that she lost track of how many love letters she wrote to him after the age of 14, but by the end of the story we learn that she stopped writing letters at the age of 12. It is an extremely cute story, and I can relate to writing fan letters with no response, but the timeline is extremely off.
Comment: I too am confused by it. Additionally, when she first mentions Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie Titanic, she states that she lost track of how many love letters she wrote to him after the age of 14, but by the end of the story we learn that she stopped writing letters at the age of 12. It is an extremely cute story, and I can relate to writing fan letters with no response, but the timeline is extremely off.
Comment: there seems to be something off in the timeline of this article. How could she have written a note to Leo DiCaprio in 1990 discussing Titanic? It didn't come out until 1997. Also, how old was she when writing mark-paul gosselar of "Saved By The Bell"? SBTB stopped running in 1993, when the writer would have been about 8, making her about 4 when it first aired. It's a cute story, it just seems implausible to me that a 5 or 6 year old would be writing to "Zach". Am I the only one confused by this?
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