Oliva Jane Cockburn has dual citizenship, holding both American and Irish passports. She derived her stage name – Olivia Wilde – from one of the latter’s most famous authors, Oscar Wilde.
She signed this quick profile portrait at the premiere of Cowboys and Aliens at London’s O2 in August 2011, and I later found myself captured and published by the swarming paps.
The Ukranian-born French actress Olga Kurylenko became the Bond girl Camille in the 22nd franchise film, Quantum of Solace in 2008.
She has featured in a number of films since, including Oblivion, with Tom Cruise. She signed my sketch in person at its UK premiere at the BFI IMAX in London in April this year, with her abbreviated ‘premiere graph’ ‘Olga K’.
Back in 2008 I got a full name siggy (and a smiley face) on another sketch at Pinewood Studios while she was filming Bond, apparently a rarity.
New Zealand Indy Car driver Scott Dixon had a great week, winning the last three races in the current series, including back-to-back wins in last weekend’s double header in Toronto. That was his 32nd win in IndyCar.
Indy Racing League Championship, winning in 2003 and 2008. He is currently second in this year’s standings. His most memorable victory was winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2008 from pole position.
I sent a copy of my cartoon, published in the Southland Times, to Scott at his Chip Ganassi Team HQ in Indianapolis, which he signed and returned.
While the Ashes series clicks into gear, I recall the Bicentennial Test between the two great rivals. It was a single, one-off match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1988 to celebrate the bicentenary of permanent European settlement in Australia. It was played from 29 January to the 2 February, but was not part of The Ashes series. England were captained by Mike Gatting and the hosts by Allan Border.
The result was a draw… and by some illustrative intuition I ‘drew’ this ‘toon and made up a ‘team sheet’ sending it to the famous ground and hoping both squads members would ‘graph it for me. In those days the cricket fraternity were much more obliging, plus I used a courier who ‘knew a bloke’ on the inside. In fact, he knew a number of blokes with connections, so I used him often. Needless to say, he did manage to see a bit of sport at the same time, and you can’t rush a good delivery, as they say in cricket! It was a mutual relationship that worked well.
Anton Burg’s Bette and Joan played the Arts Theatre in London’s West End from May till June in 2011. It starred Anita Dobson as Joan Crawford and Greta Scacchi as Bette Davis. Based on the real life legendary feud between the two stars, the play shows them at a low point in their careers when they meet on the set of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? which became a surprise hit and propelled them back to stardom.
Both Anita and Greta signed my original and kept copies of the sketch and sent me a thank you letter… so I guess they like it!
Barry Humphries has a face destined for caricature. I was visiting Sydney in early 1991, actually I was visiting Sydney every year since the late 70’s … but on this particular occasion Barry was performing his solo show, The Life and Death of Sandy Stone – his third most recognised alter-ego behind Dame Edna, the Melbourne housewife with a rampant ego and Sir Les Patterson, cultural attaché to the court of St James. Sandy Stone is the ‘returned gentleman’ – a digger from WWI.
I saw this great pic of Barry in a local rag, so I drew this caricature. I thought, he could keep the original and sign a copy for me… so I sent 4 copies for good measure. I could donate one or two to my favourite charities.
I dropped it off at the Theatre. I’m not sure which one, I think the Philip Street Theatre where Barry had connections since the late 50’s.
Anyway, a week later a parcel arrived back in New Zealand with the copies all signed… as you would expect with a witty twist. This one is simply his sig. On the others – remembering it was a copy of the same sketch – he wrote “I like this one,” “this one’s not me,” and “not a bad likeness”.
I couldn’t get a ticket to his show – sold out – but he is doing a farewell tour, which is headed for London later this year and includes Sandy Stone. So here’s hoping!
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills found fame at the age of 13 in Walt Disney’s Pollyanna. She won a special juvenile Oscar for her role and went on to make five other films for Disney to become one of the most popular actresses of the early sixties. Despite her long and successful career, Hayley isn’t sure she would have made it in acting had she not been a child star. “I started work at the right time. At 13 I was still spontaneous and unselfconscious.”
She mad an early stage debut as well, in the 60s West End revival of Peter Pan, as the title character. Her Godfather was the playwright, actor and singer, Sir Noël Coward. In 1992 she toured New Zealand, Australia and the UK in his play Fallen Angels with her sister Juliet. It played my home town of Invercargill, New Zealand, and I was lucky enough to meet them both at the stage door of the Civic Theatre.
Hayley signed my sketch in London, at her agent’s office in 2010.
Neil Diamond is considered one of the greatest pop songwriters/performers of the modern age. ‘The Jewish Elvis’ has sold over 125 million records worldwide and is the third most successful adult contemporary artist ever on the Billboard Chart behind Barbra Streisand and Sir Elton John.
He originally wanted to be a Laboratory Biologist and find a cure for cancer, but in his senior year at New York University a music publishing company offered him $50 a week to write songs, and the rest, as they say, is history. Medicine’s loss was music’s gain.
The Solitary Man himself simply sums it up “I write these little songs and go and sing them in a recording studio and later, in front of a lot of people. It seems an odd way to gain an inner sense of acceptance of the self. But, it’s what I do.”
In March 1996 he broke a 3 year touring hiatus with a world tour, starting in New Zealand and signed my sketch after the Westpac Centre concert in Christchurch.
One of my favourite performers and all round good guys, Chris Isaak loved the the sketch and signed it at the Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand, in July 1995 as part of his Forever Blue Australasian Tour that year.
James Dixon Swain was born in Scotland, fifty something years ago. He emigrated to Australia at an early age and became a music icon… better known as Jimmy Barnes. The ocker rocker songwriter has more hit alblums than any other Aussie entertainer, as a solo artist and as lead singer of the band ‘Cold Chisel’.
His career took a bit of a dive in the mid 1990s but began to revive by 1996. He embarked on a six-gig ‘little New Zealand’ stint, playing smaller, more intimate venues. One of those was the Lake Hawea Motor Inn in Central Otago. I did this quick sketch to illustrate my review for The Southland Times. he signed the original backstage. It was called the Long, Hot, Summer Tour, but from memory, it was neither long (an hour and a bit), hot or felt like Summer, with the weather closing in. Hardly Barnes-storming, but it threatened! More importantly he was a decent bloke, with a ripper encore set.
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