Over the past few weeks I have been ‘conversing’ with a PE boy, Clayton Morar, (I can say boy can I!) who moved to Cape Town to pursue his passion for autographs.
Watching the dwarves in action at the Proteas vs India game on Friday made me think that maybe Clayton should start a school teaching the snotty little buggers a thing or two about how to collect autographs – like getting the name of the Indian cricketer right to begin with (those little okes sure did mangle a name or two in their desperation to get a scribble on a bat!) but, I digress.
Clayton Morar’s fascination with the lives of the rich and famous, Hollywood and anybody celebrity-like has brought him recognition since the age of 13.
Born and raised in PE, Clayton matriculated at Alexander Road High School in 2001 and obtained his National Diploma in Journalism from NMMU in March 2005. After working for various Port Elizabeth newspapers as well as at Skuys Communications the bright lights and fertile celebrity hunting ground of Cape Town beckoned in October 2006.
Clayton has become the man to go to for all the latest scoop and celeb news and mention of any Hollywood star as he’s sure to have either bagged their autographs or met them in person. His list of Hollywood star autographs includes Mariah Carey, Matt Damon, David Beckham, Gerard Butler, Keri Hilson, John Legend – and more! As a result, Clayton’s been featured on various TV and radio shows highlighting his quest to obtain autographs from the rich and famous.
Currently Clayton’s collection boasts over 5 250 autographs and he hopes to make it into the Guinness Book of Records one day. But while he’s conquered the South African celebrity scene and got up close and personal with many of them, it’s the glamour and lifestyle of Hollywood that he’s yearning to conquer. This self-confessed celebrity addict, Mariah Carey fan and reality TV nut is a devout blogger, and shares his personal accounts of meeting celebrities daily on his website and via Twitter.
Clayton can be heard on Heart 104.9 FM daily from Monday to Friday at 4:50 pm.
I posed a few questions of Clayton to try and get a sense of the autograph man:
MyPE: Why autograph collecting?
Clayton: I started at age 13 while I was in Grade 8, because I have always been fascinated with celebs all my life. I enjoyed the glitz and glamour side of being a celeb, and ever since I can remember, I always enjoyed going up to local celebs and asking to get autographs. It was something I really enjoyed doing. Being a huge tennis fan, and admiring German tennis star Steffi Graf, I decided to write to here after seeing her postal address in a magazine, with the hopes of getting an autograph in return. Three weeks later, I received a signed postcard in the post from her and I figured if she could do this, then let me write to more famous people to start a collection of autographs. My collection boasts a mixture of writing to celebs as well as meeting them in person.
MyPE: What / where is the most fertile celeb hunting ground?
Clayton: Having honed my autograph collecting skills in my hometown of PE, I believe the best places would be to go to the live events where celebs would actually be in person. Be it concerts, sports matches or whatever, that’s your best option of actually being guaranteed getting a photo and to autograph with that person. However, there are two rules I have when trying to get autographs: it’s timing and approach. Timing in the sense that one shouldn’t go up to a celeb when they’re eating or enjoying some private time where they don’t want to have access to the public and the approach factor Is the manner (respectful) on how you approach a celeb with your request. Fans often feel entitled to speak to celebs in whichever way they can and that’s why some celebs don’t do well with crowds or in-person fan meetings.
MyPE: Do you have a specific celebrity niche that you concentrate on?
Clayton: (Hollywood, sport, male, female) I collect autographs from all genres: Actors, actresses, sport, politics, models, TV stars, authors, reality TV, etc but my main passion is reality TV. I am a huge fan of Survivor and I’ve made it my mission to collect as many Survivor autographs as possible. I’ve collected around 70% of all the Survivors that have appeared on the US version of the reality TV shows within the past 22 seasons.
MyPE: How many autographs do you have now?
Clayton: I now have 5 250.
MyPE: The autograph you ‘sweated’ the most to get?
Clayton: It was the moment I met my idol Mariah Carey. My friend Sieraaj and I literally followed Mariah’s movements for up to 4 days because are both die-hard Mariah fans. We first met her at the airport in Cape Town where she signed my magazine cover and two days later, Sieraaj and I managed to get a photo with her (which her husband Nick Cannon took) after we dodged 7 bodyguards who pushed us aside, outside of the One&Only Hotel in Cape Town. She ended up being very sweet and not only took the photo but chatted to us for a few minutes afterwards too,
MyPE: The nicest celebrity?
Clayton: Mariah is a given, but I was also impressed with just how humble and down-to-earth Matt Damon is. I met him at the starting line of the 2009 Cape Argus Cycle Race Tour and he was so genuine and friendly.
MyPE: The nastiest?
Clayton: There have been two: Meeting John Legend and Lance Armstrong. They were both mean and rude towards me and even though my approaches were in line with my rules I apply when meeting people, they didn’t want anything to do with fans and were unapologetic about their behaviours.
MyPE: Funny story?
Clayton: Waiting 3 hours to finally get a photo with soccer legend David Beckham at his hotel in Cape Town in December 2009, even going as far as to get a reservation at the restaurant he was dining at. After 3 hours, I eventually got my picture signed and he posed for a photo with me.
MyPE: What is the record number of autographs collected by one person?
Clayton: There is no official world record listed in the Guinness Book of Records but I am aware of dedicated collectors in the US and UK who have up to 12 000 autographs in their collection.
MyPE: Have you ever valued your collection?
Clayton: I haven’t had the opportunity to value it as yet. I would love to have that happen because it would be interesting to see how much my collection is worth.
MyPE: If so, how much is it worth AND/OR what is the one that is worth the most?
Clayton: I am aware that my autograph of Mother Teresa is valuable. It can rake in a decent amount in the UK and in 2003 I once saw online an autograph dealer selling Mother Teresa for around 2000 pounds. The value of a celeb autograph will increase when the celeb dies – that makes the autograph rare to get hold of.
MyPE: What autograph do you still want to get the most?
Clayton: I would love to get the autographs of Julia Roberts, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce Knowles.
MyPE: Any tips on how ordinary people can start collecting autographs?
Clayton: Start off by writing to local celebs and asking for autograph. Even when you’re meeting them in person, also be concise, respectful and do ask them for a photo or autograph because they can’t assume what you’d like from them. When it comes to fan mail, celebs receive hundreds, if not thousands of letters and they can’t all assume that everyone wants an autograph from them. Also, be resourceful, maybe try and get your fave item signed by that celeb to show them that you’re indeed a true fan. Celebs will be more responsive when they see their fans taking the time and effort, and they are more likely to do the same.
If you have a hotline to Julia Roberts, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce Knowles then drop Clayton by visiting his web site – Clayton Morar OR @reply to him on Twitter @claymorar.
Stick around whilst we dig into Clayton’s archives and highlight his autographs of PE Celebs or Celebs with a PE connection – should be fun.
Alan Straton
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