The Shannen Doherty “Badass” Book Signing

This past Tuesday night, the Grim Cheaper, fellow stalker Erika, and I all headed out to the Grove Shopping Center in Los Angeles to attend the Shannen Doherty Badass book signing and, as you can probably well imagine, I could NOT have been more excited about it!  As I was telling the GC on our drive over there, I can count the number of celebrities that I would absolutely DIE to meet on one hand and Shannen is in the top three of that list – and has been for the past twenty years.  Number one and number two are, of course, Jennifer Aniston and Michael Buble.  And while I know that Beverly Hills, 90210 has been off the air for more than a decade now and that Shannen left the show way back in 1994,for whatever reason, Brenda Walsh has left a permanent footprint on my heart and she is still my very favorite television character of all time.  I’m sure that when I’m in my nineties, I’ll still be watching my DVDs of the series and shaking my cane at the television set in anger every time Kelly Taylor does something mean to Brenda.     So, when I found out that I would have the opportunity to meet my teenage idol, it was almost more than I could bear!  As you can see in the above photograph, I even made a “Team Brenda” shirt for the occasion. 

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When we arrived at the signing, we were given the informational sheet pictured above and I just about had a heart attack upon reading the words, “Posed photography WILL BE allowed.”  I absolutely could NOT believe it as I am quickly discovering that the vast majority of celebrities, sadly, do not pose for photographs at signings.  I was also floored when I found out that Shannen would be personalizing books because Raquel Welch had refused to do so when I went to her book signing back in April and I’m still kind of ticked off about it.  So, needless to say, once I found out that I would be able to get a photograph with my girl AND a personalized autograph, I was beyond, BEYOND excited.  I literally had butterflies in my stomach the entire time I was waiting in line!

 

 

And then when Shannen came out I just about died!!  She looked absolutely STUNNING!  She’s tiny in person, probably about 5’2”, and in FABULOUS shape – her arms are to die for!  It’s amazing to me that she is almost forty years old ‘cause she definitely does not look it.  I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED her outfit, too.  It was classy, simple, and understated.  Very Jen Aniston!    Oh, and she was also wearing Christian Louboutin high heels!  Love it!

 

           

Shannen started out the signing by posing for a few minutes for the paparazzi who had been invited to the event.  I am not sure f it was Barnes & Noble or Shannen’s people who actually invited the paparazzi, but I would like to go on the record here and state that it was a FABULOUS idea!  Because they were allowed to stand at the front and take pictures for the first five minutes of the signing, the photogs were not pushy or obnoxious and once they got their shots, they left.  It was all pretty painless and, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, the perfect way to handle things.  When I went to the Tori Spelling book signing at Vroman’s back in July, the paparazzi were chasing Tori through the parking lot and absolutely swarming her and the fans.  It was all very chaotic and after seeing how differently the paparazzi behaved at Shannen’s signing, I am convinced that allowing them inside is the way to go.

 

Because Erika, the GC, and I were in the middle section of the line, we got to watch Shannen interact with quite a few people while we waited and – and I honestly cannot say this enough! – she was SO incredibly nice!  She took her time with people, engaged them in conversation, and seemed genuinely happy to be speaking with her fans.  I know there are those out there who will say that she’s an actress and that the whole thing was simply an act, but I did not get that impression AT ALL.  Shannen seemed INCREDIBLY genuine.  I know that SD got a bad rap while on 90210, but in my heart of hearts (and after my bad experience meeting Jennie Garth a few years back), I just do not believe the hype.  Something in my gut told me she was going to be a sweetheart and, as it turned out, she was!  I’ve read in countless interviews that Shannen is a very honest, upfront person and that she doesn’t take any guff off of anyone (which also describes me to a T, actually), and while there are those who equate honesty and strength with meanness, I can honestly say that, in person, Shannen came across as bubbly, warm, and genuine.  If it’s at all possible I love her even more now than I did before.   

 

When I finally got up to the front of the line, I was literally shaking I was so darn excited!  And Shannen noticed my “Team Brenda” shirt immediately which was so incredibly cool. 

  

When she started signing my book, I told her how much I had adored her for the past twenty years and that she was in my top three list of celebrities that I’d do just about anything to meet.

The picture above is her reaction to that statement.  She was truly shocked and touched that she was in my top three and promptly asked who the other two were.  When I told her Jen Aniston and Michael Buble, she said that she was happy she was in good company.  Then I told her that I had been to the MB concert the previous night (which I will be blogging about soon, I am just waiting on some pictures from my dad) and she asked if I had gotten to meet him.  When I told her no, she said jokingly, “That bastard!”    She then asked if I had ever met Jen before and when I told her that I had, she said, “Isn’t she such a sweetheart?”    LOVE IT!  Shannen then told me that I should have played Kelly Taylor on 90210 since I kind of have the same hair as Jennie Garth, to which I said, “And then we could have become best friends!”   

 

And here you have it!  The photograph that I’ve been waiting over twenty years to take!  Me and Shannen Doherty!  Sigh!   

 

Pictured above is what Shannen signed in my book.  It reads, “Lindsay, So honored I’m in your top 3!  <3 Shannen Doherty”  So cute!

Fellow stalker Erika was actually lucky enough to have met and taken a picture with Shannen last year while at a restaurant in Malibu, so she printed up an 8 x 10 copy of the photograph they had taken together in the hopes that Shannen would sign it.  Shannen’s reaction upon being shown the photo, which you can see above, was absolutely priceless.  So incredibly cute!  She even remembered meeting Erika and taking the picture with her!  And not only did she sign the picture, but Erika had actually printed out three copies of it just in case one got ruined while en route to the signing and Shannen signed ALL THREE! 

Erika’s pic with Shannen also turned out fabulous. 

All in all it was an ABSOLUTELY fabulous night and Shannen could NOT have been nicer!  She and David Caruso are without a doubt the two nicest, friendliest celebrities I have EVER met in my ENTIRE life! 

 

On a Brenda Walsh side note – Jack, the owner of the real life Walsh house, recently gave me the 90210 keepsake to end all 90210 keepsakes!  When it was originally decided that filming would take place at his house, producers came around and changed a few things on the property, most notably adding the famous Walsh basketball hoop to the front of the garage.  Another change they made, though, was to swap out many of the home’s windows with new ones, including three in the room that was supposed to belong to Brenda.  Those windows remained on Jack’s house for the following twenty years, until this past Fall when he had some of them replaced, including all of the ones in Brenda’s room.  He subsequently gave the former windows to his brother to use for scrap wood, which I just about died upon hearing.  Scrap wood?????  Really??????  As fate would have it, though, one window got left behind in his garage and he offered it to me!  As you can imagine I just about had a heart attack over that one!  As you can also imagine, because it is a rather large window, the GC was not AT ALL happy when I came walking in our front door with it!  We ended up hanging it behind our bed, though, and it looks fabulous!  Even the GC now loves it as he thinks it gives our bedroom a “New York” feel.  Every time I walk into my bedroom now, I can’t help but pinch myself upon seeing it!  I mean, I’ve got Brenda Walsh’s window hanging in my bedroom!  I honestly think I can die a happy woman now! 

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: You can purchase “Badass” by clicking here.  You can find out about upcoming events at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at the Grove by clicking here or on my Upcoming Celebrity Events page here.