Writing to the Stars...(or just "A" star in particular, Michael Crawford!)

I'm a bit befuddled.  The one time in my entire life I felt moved enough to try and write a fan letter to a famous person, and I'm being told I can't do that unless I pay money to the official fan club for an opportunity to sign a private guest book that they MIGHT see but will definitely NOT respond to.  Eh?

Let me back up a bit.  A few weeks ago, I got accidentally caught up in an old Britcom from my childhood called "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em."  If you're not familiar with it, look it up on Youtube.  That's where I found it when searching for something else.  Anyway, the title was familiar, so I started to watch it.  Then I watched the next episode, and the next...well, you get the idea.

Crawford as Frank Spencer in "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em," ca. 1972.

The main character is played by British actor and singer Michael Crawford.  I'd heard of him when I was younger, never really gave it much thought, and then all of a sudden, I discover I'm a huge fan of his work.

Sometimes, culture doesn't really slap us in the face until we're much older.  Much, much older.

I didn't go and see him perform in the first musical production of "Phantom of the Opera" in London (while I lived there...gah!), and I didn't really keep up with his singing career or see him in any of his other shows stateside.  But now I have an appreciation for his work and thought I might try and write a letter of thanks to send to him wherever he may be now.  From news articles, it looks like that would be somewhere in New Zealand.

Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the original London production of "Phantom of the Opera" in 1986.

Ok, so the fan association that he endorses is shut up like Fort Knox.  The only way in is to pay, and then they have recently (as in just in the last few months) discontinued allowing personal mail to Mr. Crawford.  Like I said, you have access to a private guest book, and there's no way of knowing if your fan message has gotten through or who reads it or anything!

Excuse me, but didn't Mr. Crawford perform for the world?  Isn't he a star that everyone can admire?  Why, then, must I pay a membership fee just to have this privilege of signing an electronic guest book, instead of sending a letter the good old fashioned way?  Are these folks so special that they're the only ones who can have access (so they claim) to his fan mailing address??

It's discouraging.  The man himself seems so attentive to his fans, so thankful for their support in his musical career and now charity work, and yet the one "official" group representing his fan base is being all militant about what information you can have as the general public and what's considered "member only news."  They even have a "member only hotline newsletter."

WTF??!?

I guess what that means for people like me is that we'll just be able to admire him from afar and never get to say, "Thank you" and "Well done!" directly.  If we do, it will be through the fan club police for a nominal fee.

That's just wrong.  There aren't many quality stars out there these days, and Michael Crawford, for one, is getting on in years.  Why shouldn't fans be given the satisfaction of sending them letters of gratitude, whether they read them or not, if nothing more than to give is the comfort of knowing we made our thoughts known (hopefully) and can go on living and admiring the artist in question?

Give me the satisfaction of writing a thank you letter to someone I think is the greatest thing to have happened to the musical showbiz industry!!  Andrew Lloyd Webber wouldn't be the household name he is today, if it weren't for Mr. Michael Crawford.

Michael Crawford, OBE

There, I've said it.  And now, I'll go on with my day feeling a little better for venting, as I give the "Association" the ol' two-finger salute.

Good day.