TTM Update! Gene Wilder Stamps Raise Questions?
So I am guessing most of you have heard by now…
Gene Wilder has stopped signing TTM authentically. He has been stamping all returns within the last week.
There is a ton of debate going on about what caused this great disappointment.
I know there was a ton of people sending off multiples, and I am sure the mail piled up to a point where it was almost unmanageable.
Gene Wilder has done a great service for our community. For those that could not afford high-priced memorabilia, he made a signed item of memorabilia available for all. It is remarkable that, despite his old age, he signed for such a long period of time with the amount of items being sent.
With great pride, Wilder commented on his fanmail in an interview with The Hour.
“People will ask me for autographs and say things like, ‘you are so funny,’ but they’re thinking of my movies,” Wilder said, his signature mop of curly hair and expressive eyes having changed only slightly with age. “When I did ‘Young Frankenstein,’ ‘Silver Streak,’ and ‘Stir Crazy,’ I was intending to be funny. People tend to think that’s who I am, but I don’t think I’m really funny in the day-to-day life.”… “I still get three to five letters every day with people asking me for autographs,” Wilder said. “I’m very proud of that.” http://tinyurl.com/oy46dt9
There are a ton of fans who are concerned, not only because multiples were sent, but the type of items that have been sent over the past year have caused great concern. Fans have sent original full sheet movie posters, books, multi-cast signed items, and other irreplaceable memorabilia that are awaiting a terrible stamped fate. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done if a full sheet poster or books gets stamped. There is no way it can be taken off. Hopefully, the multi-signed cast items do not suffer from the same result.
In the midst of the discussion and debates on forums across the TTM spectrum, there have been several posts that stick out of the crowd.
There is speculation that a southern Californian autograph company, OC Sports Cards, who conducted a past private signing with Gene Wilder, is planning another signing.
I have heard of cases when a celebrity has an upcoming paid signing, the dealer will often tell their client to stop signing through the mail or in person as it might hurt sales.
A forum poster on startiger.com, who says he has a strong affiliation with the company, has spawned allegations on authenticity claims. These claims may or may not have had an impact on the thoughts of the community. Only time will tell.
Among his claims are that the stamps are “part of the deal.” More importantly, he ends with the claim that he “will be making an announcement most likely in the next week.”
Now, OC Sports Cards has neither confirmed nor denied whether or not there is a signing coming in the near future. We have called and they couldn’t supply any more information. However, rumors, other allegations, and their website assume otherwise.
http://www.ocsportscards.com/servlet/Categories (Scroll or Search Gene Wilder Products)
http://www.ocsportscards.com/servlet/the-10840/gene-wilder-blazing-saddles/Detail
Moreover, the poster possibly enlightened us a little bit more, “Right now we have over 30 contracts out to various people. Until they come back signed we can’t confirm anything. I’m just saying I knew about the stamps, and there is a reason for them. Honestly, I wish Gene would have just went back to his Preprints. It would have saved him time to stamp stuff all day.”
The same poster claims that Wilder “receives over 2,000 fan letters per week.” Furthermore, Wilder has “not been at his CT home address for over 2 months.” Dropping Allegations that the signed items might have been secretarial.
Now, we all know based on the successes that came through that Gene Wilder was signing TTM a couple years before the private signing took place. The autograph he gave at the private signing was the same autograph I was receiving years before money came into play. As for the “2,000 letters” Wilder receives or the possibility of secretarial allegations, how about you hear it from Mr. Wilder himself.
At the 11:40, he claims he signs as many as he can. You can view it at this link or click the video below. http://youtu.be/ezfVc5MGmIU?t=11m40s
*SCANS FROM STARTIGER www.startiger.com*
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So so sad. I sent a photo and I fear now it will be stamped.
That explains a lot. I was wondering why now Gene would stop singing. The almighty buck. These people doing the signing were like, “Don’t sign for fans, we won’t make any money!”
Disgusting.
I always figured on the CT ttms being secretarial. They were very similar in Gene’s style but the letters were spaced out while the authentic IP, private signings or examples of ttms above were messier and mostly spaced together.
The stamp resembles the recent spaced out version and it wouldn’t be crazy to think it was a secretarial example just stamped. NRA was selling Charlton Heston t-shirts which featured a printed version of his secretarial signature.
I enjoy hearing about these private signings (Van Dyke, Lewis and others) because they give fans the true opportunity to obtain real autographs from signers who have used secretaries for years. For years Gene would send pre-prints via agencies, I was shocked when I saw ttms coming back. I do think it’s strange Gene would only receive a few letters a week, though. It wouldn’t be unheard of for a star to claim they are aware of their fan mail and sign. If they wanted fans to know if there ttms were fake, they would send letters of non-authenticity when the secretarial autographs come back to fans.
who cares its gene wilder…
Sounds like this Jason dude in the comments here,is the star tiger guy that posted all the claims. all i know is psa and jsa both passed all my Gene’s that i got back ttm.
No, I’m not on star tiger. Just a long time collector who has had many failures ttm.
I sent two items back in October and they came back signed, not stamped. I had met him in person in 2008 got two books signed. The in-person autographs are very close to the items I sent via the mail.