Quoted from jesster64:yes, they get paid to act and not be themselves. An autograph show could be considered a gig since they are getting paid somewhat.
I remember taking my 5 year old daughter to a bret hart signing at a local car dealer. When we got to the table, he said "and who's this pretty girl"? She was ear to ear smiles. I always wanted to thank him for that. He has 2 fans for life. All it took was an extra 3 seconds of kindness.
I think I heard a story from the lead singer ac/dc. He said he never asks people for autographs, but he found himself next to james brown one day and couldn't help himself because he admired him so much. Mr. Brown, could I have an autograph please? The response was, sorry, but I only sign once a day and I allready signed today. He said he remembered the feeling of being so hurt, that he vowed to always sign for fans when asked.
My buddy was an All Pro NFL player in the 1990s and won a couple of Super Bowls. He isn't Joe Montana or Dan Marino popular, but most football fans know him when they see him. He keeps around a hundred of his football cards, signed, in his briefcase and hands them out whenever a fan asks for his autograph.
The only time time I have ever seen him get upset with someone was when we were out to dinner in New York during Super Bowl weekend a few years ago and a guy in his 40's came up to him asking him to sign 3 of his jerseys. This guy goes on to say that he will need to photograph him signing each jersey to prove their authenticity should he ever decide to sell the jerseys. After being denied, the autograph seeker became very upset and the staff at the restaurant had to remove him.
I would never want to be famous. I doubt I would handle it as well as most of the people who are.
Massillon, OH
