Secretarial autographs can frustrate autograph collectors.  How do you know if the autograph you received was signed by a secretary?

Unless you personally witness a signature, you can't be absolutely sure that a signature is authentic.  Many Hollywood stars use secretaries to sign their name on photos and memorabilia sent to them by eager collectors.  You can't really blame them; top Hollywood stars receive thousands of autograph requests each month.  They could spend hours each day just signing autographs for their multitude of fans.

Very few Hollywood celebrities, including as Jimmy Stewart and Hazel Court Taylor, are known to have spent hours every week answering fan mail and responding to autograph requests.  However, to accommodate their many fans, many of the greatest Hollywood actors and actresses are well known to have used secretaries or family members to sign their name to photos.  Photos signed "Walt Disney" were often signed by his fellow cartoonists.  Jean Harlow's mother routinely signed her daughter's photos for fans.  Photos of Jean Harlow that are authentically signed by her are few and far between and command premium process.  Actress Janet Leigh signed autographs on behalf of her daughter Jaime Curtis.  When Ronald Reagan was an actor, his mother fulfilled many requests for his autograph.

Among other celebrities known to have employed secretarial services for signing autographs are Charles Bronson, Cher, Clint Eastwood, Farrah Fawcett, Mel Gibson, Dustin Hoffman, Bob Hope, Madonna, Eddie Murphy, Jack Nicholson, Burt Reynolds, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Frank Sinatra.  Collectors need to be suspicious about the authenticity of autographed material coming from the offices of these celebrities.

Often times, secretarial autographs are difficult to detect because the secretary has practiced the signature of her boss and is very adept at mimicking the celebrity's handwriting.  Jean Harlow's mother is a prime example of a forged secretarial signature that is difficult to distinguish from the real McCoy.  Evelyn Lincoln, secretary to President John Kennedy, signed many checks in the name of her boss.  Don't be fooled by letters that accompany signed photos stating that the celebrity was happy to personally sign the photo.  Hollywood celebrities are notorious for this accepted but well known deception.

Hollywood celebrities are signed by a secretary or by a machine called an autopen.  Collectors who judge authenticity of signatures should compare signatures with reliable examples that are seen on legal documents including checks.  Utilize websites such as this one to view a wide assortment of authentic celebrity signatures on checks that may be used to cross validate signatures.

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