fan mail

See FanMail for the 1999 TLC album.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans".

Overview

Fan mail may be in the form of letters, cards, artworks, gifts, and so on; depending on the recipient, it may also be possible to send fan mail via E-mail. People send to athletes, actors, artists, singers, bands, and coaches of teams. It commonly takes three to four months for a response, depending on how famous the person is. If they are really famous and get too much fan mail they may not reply.

Etiquette

Since a major celebrity may receive thousands of pieces of fan mail every day, it is usually impossible for him/her to reply to or read them all; his/her managers often have the duty of canvassing the incoming mail. Normally fan mail should be sent to the office of the celebrity's management. Some celebrities may also charge a small fee for a signed photo.

Public answering

Many celebrities, such as David Letterman, have incorporated answering such mail as part of their routine. This gimmick has also been used with fictional characters; special episodes of Beavis and Butt-head featured mail sent to the two, and the Homestar Runner website regularly features E-mails sent to and answered by the cartoon's main antagonist, Strong Bad. Public reading and answering of fan mail was a common recurring element of the cult television program Mystery Science Theater 3000.

External links

• FanMail.biz Free celebrity address database

• StarTiger.com the world's largest autograph community, featuring addresses of 260,000 celebrities

• MovieEye.com Celebrity address database and autograph collector community