There’s collecting celebrity autographs, and then there’s spending more than a decade mailing deliberately ridiculous drawings to famous people in the hope that they’ll sign them. Artist and writer Alex Leeds chose the second approach, turning what might sound like a completely absurd idea into a project involving thousands of drawings, countless envelopes, and some surprisingly cooperative celebrities.
The results of this unusual experiment have now been collected in “Dumb Drawings Autographed By Celebrities,” a humor book released by Library Tales Publishing on October 20, 2026. The concept is simple: Leeds creates intentionally silly illustrations, sends them to celebrities, and waits to see whether they’ll autograph them and mail them back. Over the years, he’s spent more than $5,000 on postage alone, proving that even the most ridiculous artistic endeavors can require some serious dedication. What makes the project particularly entertaining is the connection, or sometimes complete lack thereof, between the drawings and the people signing them.
Below, we’ve gathered a selection of Leeds’ amusing creations to give you a closer look at his unusual artistic experiment. Scroll down to explore the drawings, and don’t forget to let us know in the comments which celebrity and illustration pairing you found the funniest!
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#1 Guy Fieri Signed Drawing Of Shrek
Comment from the book: “Guy Fieri is a chef, restauranteur, and television host best known for Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
The list of people who responded to Leeds’ requests is surprisingly varied. Actress Jennifer Lawrence signed an illustration of a Hungry-Man frozen dinner, skateboarder Rodney Mullen autographed a drawing of Disney’s Mulan, and musician “Weird Al” Yankovic signed a picture of Big Gay Al from South Park. Even filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola got involved, signing a drawing of the professional wrestler known as The Godfather. In another memorable exchange, Tiger King star Joe Exotic returned a signed photocopy of Leeds’ drawing of Tiger Woods, along with a letter asking the artist for help securing a presidential pardon.
#2 Ken Burns Signed Drawing Of Mr. Burns
Comment from the book: “Ken Burns is a filmmaker best known for his PBS documentaries The Civil War, Baseball, and The Vietnam War.
He wasn’t a fan of the first drawing I sent him (the Super Size Me DVD cover).”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#3 Jay Leno
Image source: Alex Leeds
But behind all these amusing illustrations is an equally unconventional origin story. In the book’s introduction, Leeds explains that his original motivation was actually to support the United States Postal Service. He wanted to celebrate the simple pleasure of receiving physical mail while highlighting the challenges facing the postal system. What better way to do that than to send thousands of drawings across the country and hope some would eventually return with famous signatures attached?
#4 Amanda Bynes
Comment from the book: “Amanda Bynes is an actress best known for starring in The Amanda Show on Nickelodeon in the late ’90s and early 2000s.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#5 Dr. Anthony Fauci Signed Drawing Of The Mask
Comment from the book: “Dr. Fauci is an immunologist and former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He was the face of reason during the coronavirus pandemic. After over a year of chaos the vaccine was finally released, but I decided not to get it because I don’t want the government to be able to track me. This isn’t a conspiracy theory, just look at the evidence: on December 19, 2020, Dr. Fauci told a group of children during a press conference that the personally vaccinated Santa Claus. A week later on December 24, 2020, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (aka NORAD aka the deep state) announced that you could visit their website to track Santa as he delivered presents.”
By The Numbers: “The 1994 film the Mask starring Jim Carrey generated $351 million at the box office, or about how much Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos makes in one day.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
However, according to Leeds, the project eventually became something of a personal quest for revenge against Benjamin Franklin. As he explains in the book, his ancestor, Titan Leeds, was involved in a centuries-old publishing rivalry with Franklin, who famously predicted Titan would pass away in an edition of “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” When Titan failed to pass away as predicted, Franklin continued the joke by publishing his obituary anyway. Alex revived this family feud nearly 300 years later with a humorous prediction of his own about the future of the Postal Service.
#6 Sean Bean Signed Drawing Of Mr. Bean
Comment from the book: “Sean Bean is an actor who has passed away 23 times on screen, so it only makes sense that he would pass away in this art project too thanks to the Post Office.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#7 Zach Galifinakis
Image source: Alex Leeds
That same offbeat humor runs throughout “Dumb Drawings Autographed By Celebrities.” Rather than simply presenting a gallery of signed artwork, Leeds includes amusing commentary, stories about his correspondence, absurd trivia, and occasional glimpses into the responses he received. Even the book’s supposed foreword by former Florida governor Jeb Bush is part of the joke: Bush’s brief email declining the author’s request to write one.
#8 Danny Trejo
Image source: Alex Leeds
#9 John Grisham
Image source: Alex Leeds
Of course, readers shouldn’t take everything written alongside these drawings at face value. As the publisher makes clear in the book’s preface, the entire collection is a work of satire. While the celebrity autographs themselves are genuine, plenty of the accompanying facts, statistics, and anecdotes are deliberately fabricated for comedic effect. Some of the most ridiculous claims are actually true, while others that sound surprisingly believable are completely made up. The publisher also emphasizes that the celebrities who signed the drawings haven’t necessarily read or approved the humorous commentary accompanying their signatures.
#10 Jon Hamm
Image source: Alex Leeds
#11 Clay Aiken Signed Drawing Of Henry Clay
Comment from the book: “Clay Aiken is a singer who finished second place on American Idol in 2003.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
Ultimately, the collection is as much about the strange value we place on celebrity signatures as it is about the drawings themselves. After all, an intentionally crude sketch might not attract much attention on its own, but add the autograph of a Hollywood star, famous musician, or television personality, and suddenly it becomes a rather unusual collectible. And if nothing else, Leeds has demonstrated just how far a little creativity, persistence, and an impressive postage budget can take a seemingly ridiculous idea.
#12 Francis Ford Coppola Signed Drawing Of The Wwe’s Godfather
Comment from the book: “Francis Ford Coppola is the director of the Godfather, the Godfather Part II, and the Godfather Part III.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#13 Jeb Bush
Comment from the book: “Please clap.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#14 Jeniffer Lawrence Signed Drawing Of A Hungry-Man TV Dinner
Comment from the book: “Jennifer Lawrence is an Academy Award nominated actress best known for her role in the Hunger Games film series.”
Did You Know?: “Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s step-mother is Patricia Caroline Swanson, heiress to the Swanson frozen food fortune. One could argue that Tucker’s show does more damage to America than a Hungry-Man TV dinner does to your heart. His ratings are higher than a Swanson TV dinner’s sodium content.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#15 Joe Exotic Sent Back A Signed Photocopy Of My Drawing Of Tiger Woods
Comment from the book: “Joe Exotic is the former owner and operator of the G.W. Zoo and star of the Netflix series Tiger King.
I also received this letter from Joe Exotic asking for my help getting a pardon from President Trump. Unfortunately, I had far less influence in the Trump administration than Joe Exotic thought.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#16 John Wayne Bobbitt Signed Drawing Of The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
Comment from the book: “John Wayne Bobbit rose to fame in 1993 after his wife Lorena cut of his manhood with a knife.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#17 Marla Maples Signed Drawing Of Number 2 From Austin Powers
Comment from the book: “Marla Maples is an actress, model, and the second wife of President Donald Trump.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#18 Reed Hastings Signed Drawing Of Blockbuster Video Tape
Comment from the book: “Reed Hastings is the co-founder and former CEO of Netflix. Mr. Hastings signed and returned this drawing in just three weeks, which, if it were a real Blockbuster tape, would have cost him two weeks and two days’ worth of late fees.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#19 Rodney Mullen Signed Drawing Of Mulan
Comment from the book: “Rodney Mullen is a professional skateboarder and is widely considered one of the most influential skaters in the history of the sport. I mean, Rodney invented the kickflip. That puts him up there with da Vinci and Thomas Edison.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#20 Steve Doocy Signed Drawing Of Barney & Friends
Comment from the book: “Steve Doocy is a co-host of the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#21 Wilford Brimley Signed Drawing Of My Parents’ Diabetic Cat Stewie
Comment from the book: “Wilford Brimley was an actor most famous for his promotion of diabetes education by appearing in Liberty Medical commercials.
Stewie was a very sweet girl who suffered from feline diabetes.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#22 Jackie Chan
Image source: Alex Leeds
#23 Snooki
Image source: Alex Leeds
#24 Eric Andre
Image source: Alex Leeds
#25 Jenna Fischer
Image source: Alex Leeds
#26 Will Wright
Comment from the book: “Will Wright is a video game designer and creator of the Sims. I want to say thank you to Mr. Wright for writing that I might have a great future as an artist. Unfortunately, artists in the Sims 2 only make $392/day, which isn’t nearly enough to support my 4 kids, my in-laws, and my deceased wife that’s been haunting me ever since I trapped her in the bathroom and removed all of the doors.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#27 Gary Busey Singed Drawing Of A Pair Of Chattering Teeth
Comment from the book: “Gary Busey is an actor who was nominated for the Academy Award for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story.”
Did You Know?: “Dan McLean wrote his iconic song American Pie about Busey’s December 1988 motorcycle crash.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#28 Joey Chestnut Signed Drawing Of The Snapchat Dancing Hotdog
Comment from the book: “Joey Chestnut is a competitive eater and 16x Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#29 Katie Couric Signed Drawing Of Bono From South Park
Comment from the book: “Katie Couric is a television journalist who has worked for ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#30 John “Papa John” Schnatter
Comment from the book: “Papa, can you hear me? I’d like a large pepperoni.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#31 Weird Al Yankovich Signed Drawing Of Big Gay Al From South Park
Comment from the book: “Weird Al” Yankovich is a musician famous for his parody songs. Al’s 2014 album Mandatory Fun debuted at number one on the Billboard charts upon its release. My stand-up comedy album, 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong Again, has yet to be released.”
Image source: Alex Leeds
#32 Billie Eilish
Image source: Alex Leeds
#33 Bob Newhart
Image source: Alex Leeds
#34 Dick Van Dyke
Image source: Alex Leeds
#35 Dr. Pimplepopper
Image source: Alex Leeds
#36 Emeril Lagasse
Image source: Alex Leeds
#37 Gene Wilder
Image source: Alex Leeds
#38 Henry Winkler
Image source: Alex Leeds
#39 Jerry Springer
Image source: Alex Leeds
#40 Kat Von D
Image source: Alex Leeds
#41 Ken Jennings
Image source: Alex Leeds
#42 Kevin Smith
Image source: Alex Leeds
#43 Latoya Jackson
Image source: Alex Leeds
#44 Levar Burton
Image source: Alex Leeds
#45 The Most Interesting Man In The World
Image source: Alex Leeds
#46 Mr. Mcfeeley
Image source: Alex Leeds
#47 Frank Stallone
Image source: Alex Leeds
#48 Nicolas Cage
Image source: Alex Leeds
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