When trying to contact celebrities, it's important to know who does what. We sat down with Hank Mendheim, a producer at NBC Productions, to talk about the subject:
Know Who Does What - Know what each person does for a celebrity: the agent, the manager and the publicist.
The Agent is the money guy. He gets paid to find the talent jobs, whether it be voice-over, on-camera, films, TV, commercials, etc. He gets paid when the talent gets paid. The Manager runs all aspects of the talent’s career including hiring and firing agents, lawyers, publicists, etc. Any business decision eventually goes through the manager.
The Publicist handles all PR requests: interviews, autographs, etc. In
some cases, as with bigger celebrities, the publicist handles all
decisions regarding PR without having to go back to the manager for
approval. So depending on what you need, you may want to go to the
manager versus the publicist.
Autographs - All autograph requests should go to the publicist.
That doesn’t mean that you will necessarily get an answer. They are
dealing with so many media requests for interviews and publicity for
projects that autograph requests fall last on the list. So if you
request an autograph, don’t expect it immediately. It may take a while.
Don’t ever call to request an autograph. Write or email. Also, check
with Contact Any Celebrity
to make sure that the PR firm will accept autograph requests. Some PR
firms don’t want to deal with it in the age of chemical weapons
traveling through the mail and will not open any mail that looks
suspicious or handwritten.
Charitable Donations - If you are requesting money for your
charity, send that request to the manager of the talent. That’s a
business decision and the manager will most likely decide whether or
not the celebrity ever sees the request. If your charity or
organization is not authorized to accept tax-deductible donations,
don’t even bother. Celebrities want to know that they are helping a
legitimate organization. Also, they receive many requests for donations
so if you get a “no,” don’t take it personally.
Check the Celebrity Causes Database to see which celebrities contribute to your cause.
Also, make sure the
celebrity is a supporter of your charity. Contact Any Celebrity
is a great resource for this information. In your cover letter to the
manager, you should explain why you are contacting that particular
celebrity. Saying “John Doe is my favorite singer so I think that it
would be great if he made a donation” doesn’t cut it.” However, writing
“John Doe has been a supporter of XYZ since 19XX and therefore we
believe he will be interested in our organization” shows that you have
done your homework. And be brief. Your letter should not exceed one
page. They do not want to read a diary nor do they have time.
Forget Snail Mail - (This is for official business only, not
autograph requests.) This is the technology age. Fail and/or email. I
actually tend to do both. I’ll send an email first if I can track down
the address and then I’ll follow up with a fax. Email addresses are
actually quite easy to figure out for the big PR firms, especially if
you do a Google search.
Contact Any Celebrity
also has email addresses from time to time. Call the PR firm and get a
fax number (and there is nothing wrong with calling back to make sure
they got the fax.) I can’t tell you how many times I call the next day
to touch base only to be told that they never got my fax. So fax it and
then call them to let them know it’s there.
- Hank Mendheim, Producer, NBC Productions
When the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (pictured) was eight years old, he found himself in the San Francisco Giants’ locker room where he asked Chili Davis, a star for the team at the time, for an autograph.
