Fan mail
Encyclopedia
Fan mail is mail
sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity
, by their admirers or "fans".
In return celebrities may send a poster (autographed) or picture and usually a return letter.
. People send fan mail to athletes, actors, artists, writers, singers, bands, and coaches of teams. Responses can take a great deal of time to come, or never come at all.
may receive thousands of pieces of fan mail every day, it is usually impossible for him/her to reply to or read them all; his/her managers often have the duty of canvassing the incoming mail. Normally fan mail should be sent to the office of the celebrity's management. Some celebrities may also charge a small fee for a signed photo.
, have incorporated answering such mail as part of their routine. This gimmick has also been used with fictional character
s; special episodes of Beavis and Butt-head
featured mail sent to the two, and the Homestar Runner
website
regularly features E-mail
s sent to and answered by the cartoon's main antagonist
, Strong Bad
. Public reading and answering of fan mail was a common recurring element of the cult television program
Mystery Science Theater 3000
.
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, by their admirers or "fans".
In return celebrities may send a poster (autographed) or picture and usually a return letter.
Overview
Fan mail may be in the form of letters, cards, artworks, gifts, and so on; depending on the recipient, it may also be possible to send fan mail via E-mailE-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
. People send fan mail to athletes, actors, artists, writers, singers, bands, and coaches of teams. Responses can take a great deal of time to come, or never come at all.
Etiquette
Since a major celebrityCelebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
may receive thousands of pieces of fan mail every day, it is usually impossible for him/her to reply to or read them all; his/her managers often have the duty of canvassing the incoming mail. Normally fan mail should be sent to the office of the celebrity's management. Some celebrities may also charge a small fee for a signed photo.
Public answering
Many celebrities, such as David LettermanDavid Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, have incorporated answering such mail as part of their routine. This gimmick has also been used with fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s; special episodes of Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
featured mail sent to the two, and the Homestar Runner
Homestar Runner
Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes surreal humor with references to retro pop culture, notably video games, classic television, and popular music.The cartoons are nominally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
regularly features E-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
s sent to and answered by the cartoon's main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
, Strong Bad
Strong Bad
Strong Bad is one of the major characters of the Homestar Runner series of animated Flash web cartoons. He is portrayed by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-founder of the series. Strong Bad enjoys pranking the other characters of the series, along with his ever-diligent lackey pet...
. Public reading and answering of fan mail was a common recurring element of the cult television program
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
.