h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Take those that are alive, for example, or those that actually exist.
Elvis Presley still gets fan mail. There are web sites out there that will help you send it.
Actor Colin Firth receives fan mail addressed to Mr Darcy. He played
Mr Darcy in BBC's adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

If the driving force behind these letter is getting an answer from the addressee, then no amount of advice on how to express oneself is going to help.

Of course there is a chance that some one else takes over should the intended recipient be unavailable. John Bayley, for example, started answering his wife's, Iris Murdoch's, fan mail when she became to ill to answer them herself. He continued to do so after her death, and still does I am sure.

What I am wondering is why? Why send these letter at all? I have rarely felt the urge to send letters to a celebrity, no matter how accomplished. I have felt tempted when reading something that touched me, but I never send anything, because I'd be sending letters to a stranger, that person would receive a letter from a stranger. The intimacy is an illusion.

If you are one of those who write, why do you do it?

rb.

Hi rb,
I've just got back online after a long hiatus. I must confess to being a little perplexed by your implied view of people who write to celebrities as completely certifiable!! We do it because we enjoy it - nothing more to it than that. When you think about it most hobbies appear strange from the outside. As to the contents of the entry, well there is enough evidence, anecdotal and otherwise, that indicates the success rate for well written fan letters. I don't think we are looking for intimacy. We are merely looking for a memento that looks good. They certainly brighten up my kitchen!!!!
Chill
SBE