fan mail?

[kindkit]

I am thinking of writing a fan letter to Christopher Neame, erstwhile star of Colditz. (If you've somehow missed this burgeoning obsession of mine, you can use my Christopher Neame tag to find out more.) The internet has provided me with his agent's fan mail address, which hopefully is up to date.

I feel awkward about it, though. I'd try to write a sensible letter omitting some of the, er, creepier aspects of my fannishness (i.e. talking about his work and not how hot he was back in the 1970s). But then I find myself unsure what to say, or whether it's even possible to write a fan letter without feeling like an obsessive weirdo.

And so I turn to your collective wisdom in my first ever DreamWidth poll. Comments welcome, results not anonymous.

The poll's second question is unrelated to Christopher Neame, but quite related to what I've been cooking lately, which I plan to post about eventually.

Poll #10922

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 30

View Respondents

1) Writing a fan letter to a mostly-obscure actor would be:

View Answers

Awesome! He'll be glad to know he still has fans.
14 (48.3%)

Nice, although you might want to mention his work that's less than forty years old.
15 (51.7%)

Pointless. Actors don't care about fan mail.
0 (0.0%)

Cringe-makingly nerdy.
0 (0.0%)

This is bordering on stalker territory, Kit.
0 (0.0%)

BACK AWAY NOW.
0 (0.0%)

Something else, which I may elaborate on in comments.
0 (0.0%)

2) Curry?

View Answers

Indian
7 (24.1%)

Thai
4 (13.8%)

Other curry-producing cuisine
1 (3.4%)

I don't like curry
1 (3.4%)

I don't like spicy food
3 (10.3%)

ALL your curries are belong to me!
13 (44.8%)

Comments

[likeadeuce]

Honestly, I've heard actors talk about fan letters, and I know people who have written them and received responses. Truly not weird! Also, considering that he IS an older actor, he's probably more familiar and comfortable with the concept of a letter as opposed to a tweet or an email.

[malnpudl]

I've done something like this three times in my adult fannish life, and it's always been fine. Sometimes pretty cool. I'd say go for it.

Also: Curry! Yummmmmmm. :-D (As long as it's not so spicy as to be painful. *wuss*)

[shadowvalkyrie]

I think it's a nice idea! Unless you write seriously creepy letters. ;)

[justvan]

I definitely think that you're the sort of person who would write a really nice, thoughtful "fan" letter that someone like him would enjoy receiving. I definitely say go for it. :D

As for curry, the answer is YES.

[vilakins]

What he said! And I'd add Mexican to that.

[miss_morland]

I tend to look at it like this: if someone posted a long, detailed, squeeful-yet-thoughtful comment on an old fic I'd posted years ago, I would just be surprised and delighted that the story was still being read and enjoyed. In this respect I don't think actors are so different from fanfic writers.

[halotolerant]

LJ is not playing ball (again) so look at me switching to another medium all flexible and stuff *g*

I think writing to him is a really good idea - I think any actor would like to know that someone is excited about them/their work, and whilst with some really current people there's a sense that any one letter will get lost in the heaps and/or practically add to a health and safety risk of piled fanmail, for someone less in the public eye, I think it would be great. Or at worst, he could just ignore it - what's to lose? And it might make his day, which would be nice *g*