Fake letters fool famous

His name is Billy Geerhart, he's 8 years old and he lives in Los Angeles. If you happen to be rich, famous and influential, he may have sent you a cute handwritten letter, earnestly seeking expert advice.

Billy once contacted former US Defence Secretary Robert McNamara, asking him whether a moat would protect his treehouse from invasion. "It will work if you dig it deep enough, and your enemies can't swim," was the response.

His letter to bra-burning feminist Gloria Steinem wondered: "If the Six Million Dollar Man hit the Bionic Woman in a fight, would that be wrong?" Her reply: "The short answer to your question is yes ... it would only be fair if it was done in self-defence."

Billy contacted some of America's most notorious serial killers, asking if he ought to drop out of school. David Berkowitz, known as Son of Sam, told him to stay in school and not "do self-destructive things". Charles Manson sent him pages of gibberish.

They were all victims of a prank. Billy Geerhart was a bored adult, who has spent 15 years scrawling fake letters to public figures. The highlights have now been compiled in a new book, Little Billy's Letters.

Geerhart invented Little Billy in 1994, when he moved to Los Angeles hoping to become a screenwriter, but found himself unemployed.

His first letter was fake fan mail to Dan Quayle. The former US Vice-President's reply suggests he accepted, without question, the idea that an 8-year-old had ploughed through his turgid memoirs.

After that, Geerhart began sending a letter every few days. He has narrowed down the 1000 or so replies to little Billy's letters to 120 for his book. Highlights include a letter from OJ Simpson's attorney, Robert Shapiro, offering advice on how Billy might get away with having destroyed his sister's doll: he should accuse the family dog of eating it.

Geerhart said he'd had trouble pitching the book to publishers because of concerns about copyright. But William Morrow eventually took it on.

His favourite chapter, said Geerhart, sees 8-year-old Billy write to the heads of religious organisations asking if they think he should join theirs. The Mormons sent missionaries to his door, while the Church of Scientology sent him a pamphlet entitled Becoming an Operating Thetan.

"It contained a list of self-improvement courses they'd send me on," he said. "Some cost tens of thousands of dollars. It was fascinating they saw fit to send that to an 8-year-old."

- INDEPENDENT