Director Judd Aptow tells how he got hero's autograph.

The Huffington Post ran this hilarious story about the time Judd Aptow met Steve Martin when he was a kid:

NEW YORK — Judd Apatow, writer and director of comedy hits "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," is doubtless already a hero to kids who want to break into film or comedy. But once, he was just a kid dying for the autograph of his own hero, Steve Martin.

Apatow regaled an audience at the New Yorker Festival this weekend with the tale of how, on vacation in California as a boy, he had spotted Martin washing his car in front of his home.

The young Apatow jumped out of the car and asked for an autograph, but Martin said he didn't give autographs at his home. "Please, we won't tell anyone," Apatow begged. Sorry, Martin said, but no.

So Apatow went home and wrote Martin a nasty letter, in which he gave an early glimpse of his now well-documented talent for profanity. Three months later, he received a package from Martin that contained a copy of his book "Cruel Shoes."

"I'm sorry," read Martin's inscription. "I didn't realize I was speaking to THE Judd Apatow.

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Hmmm, maybe if Steve Martin had been nicer to THE Judd Aptow, he could have possibly been written into one of his movies. Lord knows it would have helped Martin's career - it's been over a decade since he appeared in anything remotely funny.

I've never understood this kind of behavior from celebrities. It reminds me of a time my brother's friend worked at a golf course in Raleigh when Michael Jordan showed up. Jordan refused to shake this kid's hand, and would not give him an autograph even though my brother's friend was wearing Jodan shoes, a t-shirt, and cologne. That's probably more than $300 in merchandise all sold on the basis of Mr. Space Jam himself, and the dude would not endorse a piece of paper with his signature. So long as there was a pen and paper, it really shouldn't be a problem, if you asked me. Celebrities like Martin typically avoid soul-crushing jobs (unless you count Martin's sequel to Cheaper By the Dozen), and if that means their greatest hassle in life is to be asked for autographs, so be it. Beats working at McDonald's.