Frank Sinatra's very PO'd 1976 letter to Dad was on Antiques Road Show in February, 2010. The letter, the reaction to the appraisal, and the great column Dad got from it are all worth seeing
Frank Sinatra's letter to Mike"The Pimp" Royko May 4, 1976
In 1976, Dad wrote a column critical of the Chicago Police protection Frank Sinatra was receiving while in town. Sinatra responded with a cranky (like referring to Dad as a pimp, for example) letter which Dad, of course, turned into a great column (later re-published in two collections: Sez Who? Sez Me, and One More Time: The Best of Mike Royko). After writing the column, Dad auctioned the letter and donated the money--$400--to charity. In October, 2009, the letter reappeared, put back on the auction block by Rockford resident, and the 1976 winning bidder, Vie Carlson. According to a story in Time Out Chicago, Carlson took the letter to a taping of Antiques Road Show, an episode which ran on February 15, 2010. And Vie's reaction to the appraisal ($15000.00!) was among the best I've ever seen on the program. Dad's column reproduced the letter's contents in full (as Sinatra insisted), and the result was one of his classics. (And a bit of trivia: Vie Carlson's son is Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos.)