Yesterday we did private signings with two recently deceased Sopranos characters. Steve Schirripa (Bobby Bacala) and Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) came up to our office at about 11:00 and signed for about an hour. I have not always been a big fan of the show but over the past three seasons have really gotten into it. When the show first came out I was in school at Maryland (Go Terps!) and on Sunday nights my house was divided by people who watched Sopranos and people who watched The X-Files. I was part of the group that watched X-Files. (the best show ever...the truth is out there) Recently I have been catching up on the old Sopranos episodes and cannot wait to see the finale on Sunday. Anyway, both guys were awesome. Schirripa is hysterical. He is probably the funniest person to ever take a seat in our conference room. (I am not sure if any of you have seen his bits on The Tonight Show - if you haven't check them out online.) After Steve and Michael finished signing they toured our warehouse and fell in the love with the place. They could not get over all the great product that we have and both went home with a few strong items for themselves. The coolest thing about the whole experience was that (when the signing was complete) both Michael and Steve took the time to take photos with practically everyone in my office. Most of the time athletes are in and out and, unfortunately, my co-workers are sometimes disappointed that they aren't able to meet the them. It showed me a lot about Schirripa and Imperioli that they hung out and talked with everyone. Aside from all that we did get some great product signed including two amazing images of both guys (in 8x10 and 16x20). My favorite (by far) is the photo of Steve in the train conductor's hat. Overall it was one of my most enjoyable signings in quite some time. I am so used to spending time with athletes so it always refreshing to work with actors or wrestlers. Unfortunately neither guy would divulge any information about the final episode so I will just have to wait and see what happens like everyone else.
Tonight I am flying out to St. Louis for signings with both Yadier Molina (my arch-nemesis from October) and Tony LaRussa. Check back for an update from Missouri.
Have a great weekend!