Celebrities line up to record customised phone messages
MARK KENNEDY
It may be one of the most boring lines ever: ‘‘Leave a message after the beep.’’ But what if you managed to jazz up your phone’s outgoing message with a celebrity?
The advocacy group Autism Speaks is offering just that: custom-recorded messages from Batman star Adam West, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, singer Cher, actors Jack Black, Peter Dinklage, Jim Parsons, Star Wars hero Mark Hamill, Star Trek actors Michael Dorn and Zachary Quinto and broadcaster Vin Scully.
‘‘We got a good mix and match,’’ said Ed Asner, the curmudgeonly, Emmy Award-winning actor from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant, who dreamed up the unusual fundraiser with one of his sons, Matt, who works for Autism Speaks. ‘‘They’ve all been really happy to do it. And if they’re not happy, I’ll put a hit out on them.’’
From Oct 7 to Oct 13, a limited number of 20-second-long MP3 messages you write will be recorded by each celebrity on a first-come, first-served basis for fans to do with as they wish. All requests must be of the PG variety and each costs $299 (9,330 baht).
Last year, the fundraiser created some memorable messages: Betty White warned listeners to one phone number: ‘‘If I have to tell you what to do at the beep, then you’re an idiot and shouldn’t be using a phone in the first place.’’ Callers to another number got Will Ferrell saying: ‘‘Leave Jimmy a message while we eat some meatloaf.’’ And Patrick Stewart lent his smooth English accent to one: ‘‘You could leave a message,’’ he purred, ‘‘but we both know it would be nowhere as awesome as this greeting.’’
Some 342 messages were made last year during the inaugural campaign, helping raise $100,000.
All proceeds will support autism research and advocacy efforts. An estimated one in 88 children in the US is on the autism spectrum, a developmental disorder characterised by communication difficulties, social and behavioural challenges, as well as repetitive behaviours.