Bob Anderson

[andypowell]

Hi All

 

Have been going to these events for some time now, but this is the first time I've ever written on this but felt I should. I basically just went to the show on Sunday and my prime auto targets were the Star Wars guests. One guest in particular who I wanted to see was Bob Anderson being a rare signer. I saw Bob after his talk on the Sunday at about 2.30ish. What I did see though was a guest who appeared very confused and in particular looked shattered. In fairness the assistant who was with him asked if he wanted a break but he didn't. I had four pieces for him to sign and at one point during the signing he actually asked what he was doing. My question is this, given that this guy is 87 years old I felt very guilty asking for four pieces to be signed and probably being one of the busiest Star Wars guests do you feel more should be done in terms of his age i.e. I know he can have a break etc but maybe a break from it completely as it was very hot in there, I also noticed he didn't have any family members with him who could have helped. Other than that is was Brilliant.

[SHiFu1010]

Hi :)

Yeah i felt the same, i only got one signature from him each day which i didnt feel to bad about, but there was one guy who got somethng like 10 autographs from him which i think was a bit much, i think Showmasters probably did everything they could of but they might of been able to do more like put a limit to how many someone can get. Either way i think Bob Anderson was great and it was really good of him to be there both days and do a photo shoot!

[Count Fooku]

Hi All

 

Have been going to these events for some time now, but this is the first time I've ever written on this but felt I should. I basically just went to the show on Sunday and my prime auto targets were the Star Wars guests. One guest in particular who I wanted to see was Bob Anderson being a rare signer. I saw Bob after his talk on the Sunday at about 2.30ish. What I did see though was a guest who appeared very confused and in particular looked shattered. In fairness the assistant who was with him asked if he wanted a break but he didn't. I had four pieces for him to sign and at one point during the signing he actually asked what he was doing. My question is this, given that this guy is 87 years old I felt very guilty asking for four pieces to be signed and probably being one of the busiest Star Wars guests do you feel more should be done in terms of his age i.e. I know he can have a break etc but maybe a break from it completely as it was very hot in there, I also noticed he didn't have any family members with him who could have helped. Other than that is was Brilliant.

 

I think I'm right in saying that he did have some family members with him, possibly his wife and another lady who might have been his daughter. I suspect you might have been a bit unfortunate in your timing, I think his talk finished at about 2.30 and I think the effort of the talk tired him out quite a bit. If you met him shortly after the talk it's quite possible he was a bit disorientated.

[andypowell]

I think I'm right in saying that he did have some family members with him, possibly his wife and another lady who might have been his daughter. I suspect you might have been a bit unfortunate in your timing, I think his talk finished at about 2.30 and I think the effort of the talk tired him out quite a bit. If you met him shortly after the talk it's quite possible he was a bit disorientated.

 

Yeah maybe I did catch him at a bad time. Just didn't want the impression that he was signing all day, doing a talk and a photoshoot. Thats a gruelling schedule for most people half his age. Great to see him though.

[swsigsuk]

Hi guys,

 

Bob did have both his wife and daughter with him at the show. However they, like Bob, were enjoying the show as a whole, had a good look round and did quite a lot of shopping, so they were not at his table all the time.

 

While you're correct about Bob's age, I spoke to him and his family at length on several occasions over the weekend and it was clear he was having a great time. As is often the case with guests young and old, you have to give a bit to get something back. Just signing your name on the same photos over and over is a very monotonous process and the mind wanders. But if you engaged Bob in conversation about his work the old showbiz gleam quickly came back into his eye and he told all sorts of stories from his swashbuckling days.

 

Bob also enjoyed seeing some of the Collectables fans brought him to sign, particularly the big posters. A couple of us working behind the scenes bought him a poster and got it signed by all the guests from The Empire Strikes Back who were at the show. When we presented it to him he was overjoyed, apparently it is going to be framed and put in his study with all his other Collectables from his career.

 

At times he did get tired, but he was not shy about asking for a break when he felt he needed one and he was always allowed to rest until he felt ready to do some more.

 

Basically, don't feel guilty about your Bob autographs, but if you missed the chance to chat to this legend of the sporting and cinematic world, that really is something to feel guilty about.

 

Graham

[chimmykins]

I had the pleasure of meeting him and really glad I did.

[Marky242]

It was a pleasure to meet Bob over the weekend. As was said above, if you interacted with him then the experience was all the better as you could see he appreciated the interaction. I was at him a couple of times over the weekend and each time he was great with me.

 

Absolute legend - thank you Showmasters for getting him to this event!

 

[Drebble Darkwing]

Bob was one of my main folks to meet for Star Wars. I have seen him talk about his experiences in the DVD "Reclaiming the Blade". What I saw at the con was a man whom is getting old.

 

I am very glad I got a chance to meet him this weekend. Yes at times he did seem confused and not always aware of his surroundings. His talk (That Robert Watts - helped with) was difficult to follow.

 

Thanks for the opportunity to meet this legend.

[DIDS]

I missed the talk that Bob gave,but I am real pleased to have met Bob before.

[Liessa]

I had the honour of meeting him too, and it was really enjoyable. I told him my parents are big Robin Hood fans, and he gave me a lovely smile for the memories of working with Errol Flynn. We brought his "Tackle Fencing: an Introduction to the Foil" which we unearthed after a search on the internet, and again, that lovely smile at recognising the book was worth more than the signature he put in.

 

I am very sorry to have missed the talk though, I hope it was good for those who were there!

[XLcatloveress]

I had the honour of meeting him too, and it was really enjoyable. I told him my parents are big Robin Hood fans, and he gave me a lovely smile for the memories of working with Errol Flynn. We brought his "Tackle Fencing: an Introduction to the Foil" which we unearthed after a search on the internet, and again, that lovely smile at recognising the book was worth more than the signature he put in.

 

I am very sorry to have missed the talk though, I hope it was good for those who were there!

 

He was sweet, a little addled but that's to be expected, I think. It was great seeing such a legend, hearing him talk, and he was just a very nice man. I was a bit annoyed with people because they mumbled their questions for him at high speed - that's no way to talk with or to an elderly person who, after the first question, clearly indicated that he had problems understanding. Also, questions were trickling in fairly .. reluctantly, but I got to say, the guy who was on stage with him (was that Robert Watts? I feel kinda .. dumb not remembering *chuckles*) made sure people snapped to it *chuckles*

[Sian_Raven]

I got the chance to meet Bob and got him to sign one of my Highlander swords as he worked on that as well.

 

I agree that he did seem a little confused and he said that anyone could write his name and get away with it!

 

As it may be the last time he'll ever do a signing I just had to meet him.

[Count Fooku]

I had the honour of meeting him too, and it was really enjoyable. I told him my parents are big Robin Hood fans, and he gave me a lovely smile for the memories of working with Errol Flynn. We brought his "Tackle Fencing: an Introduction to the Foil" which we unearthed after a search on the internet, and again, that lovely smile at recognising the book was worth more than the signature he put in.

 

I am very sorry to have missed the talk though, I hope it was good for those who were there!

 

He was sweet, a little addled but that's to be expected, I think. It was great seeing such a legend, hearing him talk, and he was just a very nice man. I was a bit annoyed with people because they mumbled their questions for him at high speed - that's no way to talk with or to an elderly person who, after the first question, clearly indicated that he had problems understanding. Also, questions were trickling in fairly .. reluctantly, but I got to say, the guy who was on stage with him (was that Robert Watts? I feel kinda .. dumb not remembering *chuckles*) made sure people snapped to it *chuckles*

 

I don't think people were mumbling as such, its hard to put into words but I think people maybe felt a bit awkward trying the phrase the questions so they were easier for him to understand but by putting too much thought into it they almost tripped over their own words. The more he was struggling to answer questions I think people became more uncomfortable asking them. It was no ones fault, just an unfortunate set of circumstances in my view.

[nvirtue]

I thought it was fantastic of Showmasters to get a guest like Bob Anderson and I had the great pleasure of meeting him, although I'm annoyed that I missed his talk.

 

When I met him there was a lovely lady sitting with him who I just assumed was a family member even though she referred to him as 'Bob' rather than Dad or Grandad. When I met him I was saddened by the fact that he seemed very unaware of what was going on and I hoped he enjoyed himself at the event and that it wasn't too much for him. I got my three Star Wars posters signed and when he signed the first poster (Star Wars: A New Hope) he had great difficulty holding the pen and even almost spelt his name incorrectly, then the nice lady with him had to prompt him to sign the other two posters; I felt quite guilty.

 

I guess he must have had a reasonable experience though because he was scheduled for the Autographica 16 and I hope he continues to do these events as he is such a great guest for any Star Wars fan in particular.