A commonly posed question to people a generation older than me is “Where were you on the day Kennedy was shot?”  For me the headline grabber was a different kind of death.  I was consulting for a company called Lithotype in South San Francisco and I happened to be onsite when everybody gathered in the conference room and gasped, groaned or said, “I knew it”. 

That’s where I was on the day of the O.J. Simpson verdict. 

My autograph collection covers an arsenal of the characters involved in the OJ Simpson “Trial of the Century”.  But before I get into the details from the POV as a hobbyist and collector, I want to clarify something, clearly and loudly.  Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were killed.  Their lives were brutally stolen.  My commentary on autographs may be fluffy, but it doesn’t mask the reality that these two people were killed.  I am fully aligned with Denise Brown and Kim/Fred Goldman that we should not forget that the “O.J. Simpson” trial was supposed about Nicole and Ron; not Mr. Hertz or American’s racial divide.   

O.J. SIMPSON - I’ve had a couple of O.J.’s autographs in my collection for a while.  One is a forgery and the other is authentic.  Like a lot of people, I had always thought of him as the friendly, approachable, and handsome ex-football player who ran through airports for Hertz. 

AL (AC) COWLINGS – The televised frenzy started with the White Bronco chase and at that time, I had no idea who A.C. Cowlings really was.  All I knew is that he was driving the Bronco.  It’s so ironic and he and O.J. made so much money post-trial co-autographing pictures of the white Bronco chase.  O.J. ensured he was paid in cash for all autograph signings so that he wouldn’t have to turn over any of the money to the Goldmans.  Shocker, right? Cowlings’ white Bronco was bought by O.J. Simpson's manager Mike Gilbert for $75,000 and is currently on display at the Alcatraz Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. In late 2024 there were some articles about the Bronco possibly being sold privately or on public auction for up to 1.5 million.  I have a great autograph from him in my collection from the 70’s when he FIRST became famous and signed with the Buffalo Bills.  RARE signature where both his S’s in Cowlings and Bills are dollar signs $.  The indicator of a euphoric sportsman signed to his first professional team.  Now his co-signed photos with O.J. Simpson in the white bronco are on sale for a $$$. 

ROBERT SHAPIRO – O.J.’s first hire on his law team was Robert Shapiro, who mostly negotiated plea deals and wasn’t a trial lawyer of great strength.  When Johnnie Cochran was made lead of the team, it was a thorn in Robert’s side.  After O.J. was released, Shapiro went on Barbara Walters IMMEDIATELY and said: “Not only did we play the race card, but we dealt it from the bottom of the deck.” Bitter much? However, Shapiro is of extra interest to me because of his involvements with the Menendez Brothers, Marlon Brando and Phil Spector cases; all of which I was obsessed. (More about Phil Spector elsewhere - my favorite music producer, least favorite producer PERSON, ex-husband of my favorite singer). Back to Shapiro who seemingly has had nothing but plum assignments for most of his career.  I worry about his income tax bracket.  Poor guy.

JOHNNIE COCHRAN – “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”.  Done and done.  I wonder if Johnnie Cochran has that trademark.  I have the T-shirt.  It fits.  The Dream Team was in the house and Cochran’s dynamism, wise choices as lead council and self-confidence in front of a jury – and camera – were the ingredients to ensure his client’s freedom. 3 minutes of Johnnie's closing statement with the oft-repeated line. 

F. LEE BAILEY – This guy squeezed the juice out of Mark Fuhrman.  That cross-examination was uncompromising but laid the groundwork and got to the bottom of things with Fuhrman’s racism. Side note: I get a kick out of the fact that Bailey was acquitted of a 1982 drunk driving incident due to a defense handled by Robert Shapiro over a TWO-WEEK trial in San Francisco. Lawyers. 

MARK FUHRMAN – “Handsome cop takes the stand”.  America was riveted.  The tide shifted quickly. Movie star face belongs to a racist who must plead the fifth because he has lied on the stand about saying the N-word.  100% causing a reasonable doubt when he pleads the 5th to having possibly planted evidence.  Heads swiveled, opinions changed, gossip flourished, theories abounded, and Fuhrman resigned.  There was already a lot of racial tension.  But after Fuhrman, the O.J. Simpson case became a race case. Period. The LAPD were dirty and now the trial was about the bad cop with the great hair who must be representative of all cops, racist liars.  Pretty people can say ugly things.  When are people ever going to learn that you can’t judge a book by its cover? Speaking of books, I think that Fuhrman’s “Murder in Greenwich” is very well written, as is “Murder in Brentwood”.  However, the latter tries to prove O.J.’s guilt in the Simpson case, exonerate himself and place blame elsewhere for numerous bungles.  A book-reading audience can’t cross-examine the author. 

ROBERT KARDASHIAN – R.I.P. I liked that guy.  When he read O.J.’s “goodbye” letter before the Bronco chase, I thought he seemed genuine, calm and not high-priced lawyer-ish at all.  I don’t have his autograph in my collection, but I do have his daughter Kim’s and a great story about my in-person meeting with her. 

ALAN DERSHOWITZ – Dream team adviser?  With a client list like Patty Hearst, Mike Tyson, Jim Bakker, Leona Helmsley etc. I guess that he was a natural call-in for the assist.  He’s a bit disdainful about the importance of the O.J. trial, so his perspective is different.  My favorite part of Dershowitz’ career is that he successfully represented porn star, Harry Reems (yes, I have his autograph) in an appeal against charges of distributing obscenity for co-starring in the “first” porn movie “Deep Throat”.  Now THAT’S interesting.  

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN – Darden and Clark were NOT a dream team in the eyes of the public and the media.  Along with Marcia, they could come across as a bit unlikeable and charm-free.  The racial issues, optics and strategies in this case were enormous.  Christopher Darden suffered through multiple types of backlashes.  His stern and unapproachable demeanor was a direct opposite of O.J.’s personality and Darden had such a high wire to walk above the flames of public opinion, racial stereotypes, and justice.  He was accused of being a token black by the whites and a turncoat by the blacks. He just couldn’t win, no matter what he did.  And then he made O.J. try on the gloves … 

MARCIA CLARK – What a beating that woman took in the media!  Scrutinized daily on TV and in print on her appearance, her hairstyle, her clothes, her past life, her private life.  NONE of the men involved got even half the scrutiny she did.  This says a lot about our media misogyny and sexism in America.  Which, yes, still exists. She weathered the storm, the tried really hard, she made some errors in judgement.  She lost, but it wasn’t her fault.  I love, LOVE this Emmy Award acceptance speech by Sarah Paulson for "Outstanding Lead Actress" playing Marcia Clark in "The People Vs. O.J. Simpson". Sarah is beautiful, an amazing actress - always - her speech is heartfelt and touching and Marcia Clark in the audience (looking great BTW) was visibly touched.

TOM LANGE – Detective Tom Lange has 29 IMDb credits as “Self” because he has been on the fringe, in the thick or has so much commentary on so many crimes.  There is clearly a lot of rancor between Lange and Fuhrman.  Lange regarding Mark Fuhrman's comments about Detective’s Lange and Vannater not paying attention to the evidence that he pointed out to them: "Because Furman says that makes it so, right? We believe everything Mark Furman says. He wouldn't lie, would he?” Raised eyebrows and direct look into the camera as if to emphasize we already know Fuhrman lied on the stand, why should we believe anything we say. As the lead investigator on the O.J. Simpson case and being involved in so many others, Lange has created a cottage industry as a true-crime documentary go-to guy.  Maybe I watch too many murder shows, but Tom Lange is very often a talking head.  No blame or shame in a retired detective’s side hustle. 

KATO KAELIN – “House guest. Fall guy. Pretty boy. Alibi. Mooch. Airhead. Punch line.  Bleached blond himbo.” Kato Kaelin took the stand as a “hostile” witness for the prosecution and the descriptive labels flowed like wine at a Bacchanalian feast.  His testimony was alternately compelling, confusing, amusing and (can I say?) cute.  Like most of the players in the O.J. Circus, Kato was able to milk his 15 minutes with a tame Playgirl appearance (but got the cover), a book, TV appearances, acting gigs and reality shows.  If he only knew what he was getting into when Nicole and O.J. allowed him to rent their guest house and watch their kids. Do you think if he could go back in time, he would still make that arrangement?  Hmmmm. 

KATO UPDATE: I met Kato in Sepatember of 2025 at The Hollywood Show in Burbank. I was helping the lovely Constance Forslund with photos for her table, and during our pre-show chats I had mentioned that it's silly but that I'm most looking forward to meeting Kato Kaelin. She said "Oh my God! Me, too! Because he's a fellow Wisconsinite." Well, we both did get to chat with Kato separately and he really was a highlight of the show. He was like Jimmy Fallon on a lot of caffeine. He was such a cut-up, joking as he was standing and pulling people into conversation by saying " Hey, can everybody keep it down I'm talking to Bobby over here". An elderly gentleman walked by, talking on his phone and Kato said "Who are you talking to? Let me say hi!" and grabbed the man's phone and started talking to the person on the other end. The man was completely perplexed and the person on the other end of the phone probably had no idea who they were talking to. He loved that I had the original Playgirl with him on the cover and was holding it up and asking passersby to check out this great looking guy on the cover. When I asked him to inscribe "Just the tip" on his trial photo, he got the joke immediately. A great guy, he was a true comic and soooo energetic. And that says a lot coming from caffeinated me!

FAYE RESNICK – To be honest, I don’t even remember Faye Resnick’s testimony at the O.J. Trial, just that she testified O.J. was abusive towards Nicole.  I really know Faye Resnick primarily from “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and being a friend of Kyle Richards.  Specifically, the episode where Camille Grammar called her the “morally corrupt” Faye Resnick at a dinner party with the real Alison DuBois (who I do NOT like; especially since I love Patricia Arquette and her “Medium” TV series portrayal of DuBois.) I’m going to have to side with the not-always-so-bright Camille Grammar in the assessment of Faye Resnick.  Perhaps not “morally corrupt”, but Faye appears to be “morally challenged”.  None of us are perfect, but Faye’s pretensions, friendships, history, and life choices all seem to be spit-shined fakery with personal history revisions topped with Hollywood cosmetic procedures to APPEAR perfect.  I’m not buying it.  Nor any of her stories.  But I did buy her Playboy.  I’m such a hypocrite. Watch Camllle Grammer - women are most brutal to other women. In the nicest way, of course.

MARCUS ALLEN – His Wikipedia page is notably brief in any reference to being part of the Trial of the Century.  I have a signed copy of his 1998 autobiography which is also minimally referencing to the Simpson case. 

GERRY SPENCE – There were many talking heads covering the O.J. Trial for specific networks or publications.  Gerry Spence did so for NBC. Meh. I don’t remember much except that he could be fervent and insistent at times (as they all were, I guess). Of course he wrote a book (didn’t they all?) called “O.J. The Last Word – The Death of Justice”.

DOMINIC DUNNE - My favorite person covering the trial was Dominic Dunne, who did so for Vanity Fair. I found his articles addictively compelling and couldn’t wait for them each month!  He was a dinner guest at so many celebrities homes during the trial, because they got direct updates from Nick, who was in court every day (I think) of the trial. His retelling of the day's happenings were more interesting, detailed and sought after than actually watching the televised trial or seeing news recaps. Dominick lived a charmed life in Los Angeles, with many celebrity friends and a very beautiful home. He was well-connected, became a producer and wrote a fantastic book, full of pictures, called "The Way We Lived Then: Recolletions of a Well-Known Name Dropper". The father of Griffine and Dominique Dunne then suffered great family tragedy when his daughter was killed. Which was partially why he was so engrossed in the Simpson trial, hoping that justice would be served. His reaction to the verdict was plastered everywhere. He wrote a roman a'clef about the trial in his book "Another City, Not My Own". I love his writing style and have collected all of his books, starting with "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" based on the Ann and Billy Woodward murder case. Documentary of his life "Dominick Dunne: After the Party" is worth a watch - a great overview of this man's multi-faceted life.

GERALDO RIVERA– He’s still got that stache.  Geraldo was another prominent talking head during the O.J. trial.  One of the more analytical types, “Rivera Live” and his audience would mull over components of the trial in a way that was less sensationalistic in tone.  He was an attorney, so he did have a deeper approach.  But I think they still called it tabloid journalism.  We can’t blame him for following the headlines though. They always say, “If it bleeds, it leads”  

GIL GARCETTI – As the District Attorney who oversaw Los Angeles RIGHT AFTER the Rodney King Watt’s riot, there must have been part of Garcetti that was relieved with the verdict.  If America thought the Watts Riot was bad, can you imagine the riots everywhere that would have occurred if O.J. had been found guilty?  It is seriously a sliding door that could have taken us sideways if the verdict was guilty.  As for Gil Garcetti, he was able to move on to a calmer more artistic life, embracing his camera and taking beautiful photographs.  Ironically, the autograph you see here is from his book called “Iron: Erecting the Walt Disney Concert Hall”.  How do you leave behind a life ensconced in gangs, violence, police misconduct and murder?  You immerse yourself in Disney!  Ok – can we please look at the frontispiece of the Disney book and where his signature is placed.  It’s a close-up of … A GLOVE?!?! Is that a subtle sumthin-sumthin or am I just reading into things?!?! 

GOLDMAN FAMILY - Fred and Kim Goldman, along with Ron's mother, Sharon were at the trial every day. As painful as that must have been, they wanted to make sure that justice was pursued, and that Ron not be forgotten. "His Name Was Ron" is a testament to the love of a family, who were emotionally torn to shreds while in the public eye but insisted that a legacy be left behind. And the book is does just that. It reminds us that he was a person - not simply a "victim" - what his life was like and how he lived and loved his family. Too often the good ones are taken too early. All my best to the Goldman's and RIP, Ron.

SUMMATION: When O.J. was arrested in 2007 and had to serve 9 years for stealing his own signed memorabilia (photos, footballs, etc.), that struck a chord with me as a collector.  I wouldn’t say that I was amused, but I was transfixed by his obsession with his own signed collectibles.  Perhaps because he knew collectibles were valuable and one of the only ways he could make cash which he could hide from the Goldmans and Browns civil verdict.  

Being a native San Franciscan, the O.J. Simpson trial had a personal connection as well since he grew up in the city and was a San Francisco 49er. His mother still lived here during the trial and his school and other locations became “attractions”.  Like so many, I gobbled up all the books, kept the newspaper with the verdict on the front page and was engrossed on what happened to the players after the trial was over. 

Until O.J. wrote “If I Did It”.  By the time I bought that book at a thrift store, I was oversaturated with O.J. books and magazines.  I sold all the O.J. related books as a large lot.  And just recently I sold another large lot of “90’s murders” National Enquirer magazines with O.J., Jon Benet and Scott Peterson all over the front pages.  It was a good purge.  As you can tell, I still have mementos from the Trial of the Century.  And I probably have even more in boxes or drawers, but as I grow older and study Buddhism, I think it might be bad mojo to keep too much gruesome death stuff.   

So how about ending on a lighter note ...??

PHYLLIS DILLER - What's she doing on this page?!?!? When it was all over the news about the murder on 360 N. Rockingham; the address rang a bell. Then I remembered that Phyllis Diller lived on Rockingham. Her address 163 S. Rockingham. She and O.J. weren't next door neighbors, but she lived less than a 2 minute drive away. When the media coverage and lookie-loo traffic was all over their neighborhood, Phyllis joked "If a famous football player was going to off his wife, why couldn't it have been Frank Gifford?" Now that's funny. Sorry, Kathie Lee. Here's a quick compilation of Phyllis from different shows and appearances. The outfits alone!!!