Did Leo really demand money for an autograph?

By: Mariana, Napa, California

A.B. Replies: Let's just follow your logic to its conclusion.

Your question implies that Leo has something of economic value to offer the public. Or at least it implies Leo thinks he might still be a star. Do you see what you've started here?

The story to which you refer came from a July issue of London's Daily Mail. The article says that DiCaprio, during a stop at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, was approached by some Kewpie doll of a fan who asked for a signature. DiCaprio's reported reply: "I don't sign autographs for anyone anymore unless I get paid."

The Kewpie doll reportedly balked, leaving Leo to retort, "Then you're not going to get an autograph!"

Now, Leo. Nobody loves a kitty that likes to scratch.

Contacted by this B!tch, autograph collectors say such behavior is rare--at least outside of the convention circuit. In other words, they doubt this story. Most often, fans who approach stars on the street will get a signature for free if they can convince the star that they're not going to sell the chicken scrawl on eBay. But when surrounded by sweaty, nerdy mobs at, say, a convention, those same people pay up to $100 each for the honor of a star's autograph. Dizzy? So am I.

First, the street scenario. According to autographing expert Michael Hecht, only one celebrity ever made a habit of asking autograph seekers for cash, and that was Cary Grant.

"He would say, 'Sure, but only if you donate 25 cents to the Actors Benefit Fund,' " says Hecht, president of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club. "He was a gentleman. And his signature goes for $100 now."

That said, even the cutest fans can have problems getting autographs from the most random of celebrities. Autograph collector Danny Cariseo tells this B!tch he once tried to get Whoopi Goldberg's signature outside a Chicago hotel.

"When [she] got off a bus, the small mob of about a dozen yelled for her and she ran into the hotel," Cariseo recalls.

So much for that. Maybe she thought the fans were actually hard-core autograph sellers, professionals who drive around with thousands of photos in their trunks waiting for a celebrity to crawl out of its warren. Now those people, according to Hecht, are mercenaries.

The most interesting part of the autograph scene has to be the conventions. Promoters produce them all the time, paying for a star's room, food and airfare in exchange for an appearance and autograph signing. Fans then line up and pay $25 or more for a signed photo. Actual astronauts may charge $100.

"After one signing session, I once heard a celebrity say, 'Hey, I just earned a new car!' " Hecht recalls.

I'm sure it went straight to the Benefit Fund.