Recently, the Evil Dead franchise returned in a big way at the box office. Truly, you cannot kill the Deadites, but, you can shut down a fan’s dreams as series fixture Bruce Campbell did with a fan who believed he had gotten an Ash Williams autograph.
The 64-year-old posted the above to Twitter yesterday in response to a genre fan YouTube channel which believed they had gotten their hands on some signed memorabilia from the Ash vs Evil Dead series which ran from 2015-18. In response, people are posting gifs from shows like The Office to express their pain over people likely being scammed and others are showing what Campbell’s signature actually looks like on things of theirs they have gotten him to sign through various appearances over time.
Prior local news reports have found the bulk of autographs you can buy online through sites like eBay are bogus and in San Diego 23 years ago, a fake memorabilia ring was busted and found to have been making over $100 million yearly off of unsuspecting members of the public. Experts from organizations like Professional Sports Authenticator say the only true autograph you can put your faith in are the ones you get yourself, and ultimately the study of signatures is not an exact science and is prone to bad takes. The people possibly duped have not responded to Campbell as of this story’s filing, but, some are scorching them for the mistake.
Here’s hoping Campbell pulls a Mark Hamill and sends the fans something authentic. The Star Wars actor has said in the past he has sought out people who were duped and given them the real thing and he has also lobbied for laws to protect collectors and fans. One now in place in California can qualify those cheated for up to 10 times what they originally paid in a liability refund.