"Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader"

I'm not a "Star Wars" cult fan, but I do like the movies, particularly the first.

I wanted autographed photos of the four stars, and wrote to Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford first, to addresses that were given me by other collectors. Ms. Fisher and Mr. Ford must have been deluged with requests, and I never did receive anything from either.

With Mark Hamill, I tried a different approach. Some time in the early 1980s, Mr. Hamill was in a Broadway play. I sent my request, along with two photos, to him at the theater. Within a few days, he returned both, signed to me, this portrait from "The Empire Strikes Back" and a scene still from "Star Wars", with a cool inscription.

As for Alec Guinness, I had his home address in England, and sent him a portrait photo. He, too, replied quickly. He signed the photo and wrote this note on the back: "It's a pretty ancient photograph! ?1950?".

A few years earlier, before "Star Wars", I'd written to James Earl Jones, requesting a photo. Mr. Jones was the voice of 'Darth Vader' (the on-screen actor was played by David Prowse). I wrote to him at his NYC residence. He sent me this portrait.