Heath Ledger Autographs-Left by a legend
It’s certainly no secret that people love celebrities. Ever since the first frame of a movie failed was peered at by excited members of a crowded movie theater, the fever had struck. Everywhere you look today celebrities make an impact on our culture. They grace the cover of magazines, newspapers, appear as lead stories for the nightly news, and they are even the subject of TV shows devoted to the paparazzi who take their picture. Considering all of these facts, it's no wonder the people place such a high value on celebrity autographs.
Sometimes, a celebrity’s autograph is the only lasting proof of someone's brush with greatness. These items are cherished by their owners and sometimes even handed down to younger generations in the family. Because so many have not been fortunate enough to meet a celebrity themselves, there is a high demand for autographed items on the open market. Sometimes scribbled on the backs of napkins, or adorning movie posters or glossy 8 x 10 photos, the buying and selling of celebrity autographs have become big business. People's fascination with celebrities and historical figures usually drives the value of these autographs up over time making collecting autographs not only a fun and exciting hobby, but a potentially great investment as well. One of the things that drive the value of an autograph up is when the celebrity passes away. Quite obviously, this means that there are only a limited number of autographs available and none more will be made. We have seen this trend in awesome fashion with the addition of late movie star Heath ledger to the lists of most in demand autographs.
Maybe you were enthralled as a youth reading about the adventures of Sir Edmund Hillary and his rise to fame by becoming the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. Well, if so, you can purchase Mr. Hillary's autograph on a variety of items online. Or maybe French military figures like Napoleon Bonaparte piqued your interest; Napoleon's autograph can be obtained as well, for a fee. While great historical achievements can compliment and celebrated movie or TV career can help to establish or heighten the value of an autograph, one event that can dramatically increase the autographs worth is the untimely death of the signer. Simply put, the death of a celebrity means that new productions of autographs has stopped to the ones already on the market remains the existing limited supply. This has been the case for many valuable autographs in the past including most notably those of actor James Dean. One person whose celebrity seems to follow similar style as James Dean's is the recently departed Heath Ledger.
Heath shot to fame in the late 1990s and starred in such well-known films as 10 Things I Hate About You, a Knights Tale, The Patriot, and of course 2008's The Dark Knight. It was this last role, as the Joker in this blockbuster film, that truly secured Heath ledger's place in celebrity history. His eerily psychotic portrayal of Batman's nemesis garnered worldwide acclaim and cemented Heath to one of the most memorable roles in all of film history. But perhaps there is something more than just the fact that Heath was a fantastic actor that has caused his autograph to rise so much higher in value than those of other well-known notables such as Sir Edmund Hillary and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Perhaps part of the lure of owning a piece of Heath Ledger has something to do with the type of person he was. Aside from being an incredibly talented celebrity, Heath was a real person and he showed this to his fans all throughout his life. Many people have commented on how thoughtful and helpful he had been in their own lives and those that experienced him on a personal basis had nothing but good things to say. Many kind words were written about Heath after his passing and the stories of how he touched others' lives began to form a picture in our minds of this kind gentle soul. One person recalled the time she saw Heath teaching his young daughter Matilda her left from her right hand and said that the kindness and patience he exhibited was something that she would never forget for the rest of her life. Still another shared an exercise class with Heath and his then pregnant fiancée Michelle Williams and noticed how much attention and care that Heath paid to Michelle to make sure that she was comfortable and safe throughout the duration of the yoga class. Heath always tried to take time and acknowledge his fans when in public and it was this level of personal touch he gave to them that helped make them fans all the more.
Some people collect autographs because they are star struck. Some collect them merely for their monetary value. But I sense that others often have a deeper meaning for treasuring these seemingly insignificant scribbling, such as in the case with Heath ledger. Heath’s autograph is not merely the signature of a famous person, but a mark left behind by a wonderful and caring human being that had a positive effect on millions of people throughout his life.