Your brush with celebrity
 

Here is my old man with Jane Fonda. She's in love with my father's best friend! She was too cool. Limo waiting outside. It was too much. :D

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f304/elbee1/jane1.jpg

I am a celebrity.

dew.

The mall downtown had a kiosk where you could push a button and ask a question on a built in camera.I was there going to a Dbacks game,so I asked a question,and they put my ugly mug on the news,and the reporter answered my question.That was 5 or 6 years ago,and I think my wife still has the tape she made.
Jimmy

When I was little, my father was famous. He was the greatest samurai in the empire, and he was the shogun's decapitator. He cut off the heads of 131 lords. It was a bad time for the empire. The shogun just stayed inside his castle and he never came out. People said his brain was infected by devils. My father would come home to mother each night and he would forget the killings. He wasn't scared of the shogun, but the shogun was scared of him. Maybe that was the problem. Then, one night the shogun sent his ninja spies to our house. They were supposed to kill my father, but they didn't.

Wow...what happened next?!

I've met piles of celebrities. Actors, singers, writers, technologists, climbers, surfers, photographers, atheletes. My favorite was Julia Child. She was a crack up.

btw...on the cover of Jane Fonda's Workout Book for Pregnancy, Birth and Recovery the woman holding the baby is a friend of mine.

:D

Oooohhh... then you must be Lone wolf and Cub!!! son of... Shogun Assassin!!! Assassin with Son!!!!!!

Met the Dali Lama.

I was working international. So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

I'm in advertising and one day I was in a recording studio recording a radio spot and had to piss really bad so I leave and walk pretty fast down this hall and when I'm flying around this corner I run right into an older gentleman and I look up and see that it's Kirk Douglas and I had to pee so bad all I could think to say was "Oh, hello Kirk Douglas" and he said "oh, hello" and we both smiled and went on our way. But I could tell from this 10 second encounter that he was a really nice man.

I was in L.A. two weeks ago and as I was walking through LAX I walked past Eric McCormack [ played Will Truman on Will and Grace ]. He was shooting a scene for something in one of the terminals.

A few years ago, Monica Lewinsky cut in front of our group as we waited in line for the front seat of the Millineum Force roller coster at Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH. How rude!

Most memorable brush with celebrity was meeting Sam Kinison at the Crazy Horse II in Las Vegas two weeks before he died...a really cool, personable and approachable guy. He didn't scream at me or nothin'.

That's from a movie isn't it? Hmmm.....:scratch2:

I been to Sneedville, & none of the rest of y'all have...So there ! N'yah, N'yah...(grin)

I was sitting in sea-tac once waiting for my flight when some dude wlked up and asked "got the time?" I looked up, not very far mind you, and it was Eddie Vedder. This was after Ten had been out for a few months.

going back years ago Tammy Maida became famous at my high school for being the starting quarterback on the freshmen's football team :banana:

Other than that, I've got nothing. :dunno:

I worked for celebrities for a living for many years, so I don't count playing this game. However, this story came to mind after reading the post above:

Around 1987 I was rehearsing in Manhattan somewhere, lower West side-ish. While paying for our hour or two in the room I had to pick up something from a music store in the building (Rogue?), so I blasted out of the elevator and hooked a left and ran full-force smack into a tiny, beautiful, sweaty woman. All apologies, she was very cool, then I realize it's Patty Smyth.

"Uh, hommina hommina, big fan, REALLY sorry, love your stuff, guess you're rehearsing here, too, I'm a jerk, so sorry, duh."

She was really nice about it, and very sweaty. So, there you go- millions of calm, cool professional conversations with celebrities, and at least one blubbering idiot moment.

je

I was interviewed by Katie C on the Today Show back during the last UAW strike. We were on vacation in Puerto Rico when my wife saw a guy drop his moneyclip when she returned it to the guy it turned out to be John Elway.

I play in a band called The Mad Ants and we were signed to a small independent label about 17 years ago. We sold about 4000 albums so needless to say I neither rich nor famous. However we did tour with Molly Hatchet, Pat Travers, Foghat, and Robert Palmer. I met and partied with everyone except Robert Palmer (RIP), he was kinda egotistical!

While on temporary duty at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas I got free tickets to a Tony Orlando show at the MGM (summer of 1982),The guy that got the passes was a retired ArmyAirforce WWII vet. After the show we went backstage and had a couple beers with the old guy and TonyO :yes:But no Dawn:dunno:

1972 LA Rams on Maui when I was a kid. Roman Gabriel, Merlin & Phil Olson, Jack Snow and a handful of other guys. I had a football signed by them. Which my younger brothers played football with the dog. GRRRR.

Jerry Lopez, Mr. Pipeline. I was one ticket away from winning a raffle and a Lightning Bolt Surfboard!

Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, Bubba! Paris that is and not the other Bubba. Elvis Gerbach, his wife and kid at Costco.

Terry Nunn and Berlin in a bowling alley.

Charlie Daniels and band out in the sticks.

For a real brush...ten years ago, Ms. October 1997.

:D

Just recently...

I bumped into Noel Lee, the head monster of Monster Cables at a dinner function. At first I didn't know who he was. I guess he is good friends with George Benson. He gave us a bunch of free stuff. Cool!

Chris Sharma the world's best rock climber at a showing of his new movie. Signed my copy of the DVD. Even cooler.

Last year met Debbie Boone, her husband and dog. She was staring in play with my sister-in-law. Boy she is still hot!

Met Cheech Marin at a friend's gallery opening. At another opening met Peter Max.

Well, working in the hotel industry has it's perks, here's a few that I have met at work over the years:

Tori Amos, Billy Dean, Coolio, Tracy Byrd, Bob Eucher (spelling?), David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children), Goldie Hawn, Elizabeth Perkins, Judge Reinhold, Jeffrey Jones, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Stone, Mike Ditka, Terry Bradshaw, Tom Landry, Brooks Robinson, Tom Flores, Tim Brown, Daryl "Moose" Johnston, and others that I can't remember right now.

I was interviewing Louise Mandrell about 25 years ago, and she SAT IN MY LAP for a pic. (She has the BLUEST EYES)
Was invited aboard Willie Nelson's tour bus once. Had trouble getting off. (The bus, that is)
Seems I cross paths with John Hawkes (Perfect Storm, Deadwood, American Gangster) every time he's home for a visit. Really nice guy...always has time to chat about his work, upcoming projects, etc.
Drank numerous beers with Jeff Lynne at an ELO post-concert bash. Had a long discussion about his musical influences. (Roy Orbison, Del Shannon) Not long after he was in the studio w/Roy, George, Bob and Tom...we all know where that led.

Was in Reno in '85 and saw Barbara Eden perform. Was sitting front row and left of stage center.For whatever reason,she came over and shook my hand.
It has not been washed since

I met Todd Rudgren one night, he was playing at an NCO club in Germany.. had no clue who he was until it was too late.. :tears:

I used to work the local stage crew in Texas, so I've met a few cool people..

Met All the guys from Iron Maiden one night working in a nightclub in Texas, worked the show the next day.. really great guys..

Rat... a bunch of dicks..

Poison.. see above..

David Copperfield

Annette from Venus Hum.. talked to her for a bit.. a really sweet girl..

Carrot Top came over to me while I was waiting in line at the MGM to get into a night club and he told me he liked the Mickey Mouse tux vest I was wearing the night I got married..

I know there are more.. but can't think who.. I'm not really one that is struck by stardom.. but it was cool to be singled out by Carrot Top..

Used to run into Bruce Springsteen from time-to-time.
I was living on 2nd Ave. in Long Branch, N.J. (1973 & 1974).
He'd stop in a lot at the Ink Well (coffee house)....about 50 yards from the dump I lived in at the time.
Very nice guy to talk to!

Steve

This is on a very small scale but it's a memory I'll never forget. Please, bear with me.

I come from a small town in Ohio about an hour from Columbus. During the late 70's, early 80's there was a club just off of campus called Zachariah's Red Eye Saloon. The house band was a country rock band named McGuffey Lane.

Me and 2 or 3 of my friends would alway's head up there on a Friday or Saturday night and get there way early so we would get the best seats. It was a club that had 3 tiers with an open middle. All of us were in our late teens and early 20's. We would wait outside the door for 2 or 3 hours, no problem.

Fast forward....one of their "big songs' was Loggin's and Messina's "Danny's Song"........."Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you honey" remember it? So anyway........one of the way's that they would get the crowd going was to pull a couple of people out of the audience and help them sing the chorus.

And, since we were there early and had front row seats I just happened to be one of the two that they recruited at that moment. Myself and some girl.

An awesome experience....looking out over the crowd from their perspective, looking down and seeing my friends faces in total awe. So cool!

Yes, I sang off key, yes I was horrible but for a minute or two I was part of McGuffey Lane. The adrenaline rush was such that when one of the band members came around after the set to buy me a beer all I could do was smile!

I wish I could tell you they went on to fame but it wasn't meant to be. They had a good start opening for the Charlie Daniels band and touring the Carolinas but it just never happened. Lot's of tragic circumstances.

Their harmonica player (Stephen "Tebes" Douglas) died in a one car accident after what many say was one of their best shows in Dayton Ohio.

Their lead singer (Bobby McNelley) comitted suicide

They were great, and I'll never forget that night. And by the way, McNelley's son Rob has gone on to do some good thing's on his own, not to mention being one of Delbert McClinton's guitar player's

A claim to fame that's etched in my mind............R1

You guy's are slackers. I had my photo taken with Ed McMahon at the NAHB convention in Houston back in 1985.

Lets see you top that! :D

RC

I met Scatman Crothers ( the garbageman on Chico and the Man) in a restaurant in Disney World back in 1977 IIRC. I've also met Franco Harris, Vince Ferragamo and Tommy LaSorda.

I don't take good pictures but I have one of my daughter with Sandy Duncan. My wife with Mandy and Doralee (mom) Patinkin. I have cool one of Julia Child. The back of Ted Danson's head.

My sister-in-law and wife with Rupert. The girls hamming it up at David Letterman's desk. Video of them on the Martha Stewart show with the sister-in-law on as a guest.

:D

Pfffttt... Ed is always sending me personal letters.. never has come to see me like he keeps saying he might though...

These are pretty cool posts...
Okay..going back to my military overseas days, I was at Clark Air Base in the 80s and Chuck Norris was filming Delta Force 2 in and around Manila. A co-worker knew the local casting agent and we got parts as the "military training background" folks. Chuck being an old AF guy at Osan AB, Korea, we talked and joked between takes about AF life and partying. I tell ya, they guy can round-house all day in the hot humid tropical weather. We suffered and made 50 bucks a day over the weekend. :thmbsp:

A few months later Tom Cruise and others come over to the P.I. to film parts of "Born on the 4th of July." Missed getting over to the shooting location. Bummer...

In 1972 President Nixon visited my hometown, I was 8 and got to shake his hand. Going home on leave from the Navy in 1984, I met Bob Hope in the Cleveland airport. I was in uniform and he walked right up to me and talked with me for a few minutes, it was awesome. My squadron shared hangar space with the real "TopGun" when the movie was filmed. I saw Tom Cruise (snob) and actually met Sally Struthers, she was very nice. Sally wasn't in the movie, but she had something to do with shooting the film.

Those are my "brushes".

Brother Dave

Damn, can somebody come up with a George Gobel or a Shirley Hemphill to knock him off the top slot? Irwin Corey, maybe? Anybody?

If not, you win in my book. :thmbsp:

je (Have a good Chuck Barris story, but if I'd met Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine I'd be closer to Scatman territory...)

Met lots of celebrities, including three (almost four) US presidents. Spent a summer at a Congressman's summer house on a lake. Met plenty of famous musicians and a number of actors/actresses, and spent time with a few of them. They are just people like everybody else; many are very nice, some are not so nice, just like you find with any other group of people.

I have some sympathy for what they go through, though: back in the early/mid 1980s, I did some acting in a few TV shows here in Hong Kong. On one of them, just before Chinese New Year, I raped a woman and then killed her husband in a rigged (I cheated! :D) sword fight, and insulted the Chinese people [they never let white guys be the good guys!]. That show had the highest viewer ratings of any that year, with more than eighty percent of the population watching it. When I went out on the streets after that, EVERYBODY would look at me, point at me, whisper about me. etc... At least people made a distinction between the actor and the role, and no one was negative about it. The attention was so strong that most of my friends wouldn't go out with me for a few months afterwards, until things quieted down a bit. Gave me a little taste of what real "celebrity" must be like. Frankly, although it has its advantages (you get good seats at restaurants, discounts at shops and generally better service everywhere), I'd rather be plain old anonymous me, able to walk around in casual clothes and scratch my nose without someone staring at me and gossiping about it.

Of course, since I recently started hosting my own weekly TV show segment here, and the station seems to be plastering my face all over the screen during the week advertising the show, I might not be so anonymous for too much longer... :sigh: Fortunately, it is on the less-watched channel, so the effect isn't TOO bad, at least not yet.

You call this an island? you call this a resort? this is a swamp, morris we could've seen Tony Orlando in Miami Beach but NO!

Your name isn't Steve Gobie by any chance?

:scratch2:

Because of my job, over the years I've met a boatload of "stars" and people like that. Pre-1981, Cathy Lee (Giffford) came down to fly with my squadron. I showed up for work as she was departing after her flight. Back then she was a little hottie, and I had no idea she was a horse's ass, so I asked her if she wanted to do a double-turn and come flying with me too. She grabbed my flying suit zipper, pulled it down to my waist, stuck her finger in my belly-button, and turned around and left with the rest of the tv crew.

Another time, not working, I had to take my mom to Filthadelphia Airport. We were walking down the jetway to her departure gate when I noticed a airport employee opening a vending machine that some travelers lost money in. One of those travelers was Crystal Gayle, and all I wanted to do was chloroform her and take her down to my car. My mom would've been okay by herself.

I can't stop the memories...they're all flooding back.....

Another time in the mid-eighties the squadron commander called me up and asked me if I wanted to come to his office and meet Bobby "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" Thompson. He also told me he knew I was a big Brooklyn Dodger fan, and that if I came over to meet him, he was going to pat me down first. I went over there and he was a nice guy and a BIG boy. Squadron commander should've realized the worst I could've done was punch him in the knee or something.

In the nineties, I'm on line waiting to check in at the El Panama Hotel in downtown Panama City, Panama and Alan Alda comes strutting from the pool area and through the lobby, all the while berating this really small guy who was with him. I caught him with a greeting and he immediately went into the big smile for the public and shit. As soon as they got into the elevator he started bad-mouthing the small guy again.

I hung around with a bunch of New Jersey governors, and Christine Todd-Whitman is no fun, but the guy from the eighties Tom Kean was. His wife wouldn't get on the airplane unless she was pretty blasted. Both of them were white-knuckle flyers.

I met and "hung around" with General Chuck Yeager for a few hours and that was no fun at all.

When I was a kid I was real lucky and got to hang around with The Brooklyn Dodgers. Nothing ever meant as much to me as those times with those guys.

Nope, sorry. Who's he?

Edit: Never mind. I just Googled the name. Nope, I am most definitely NOT that guy!!! :D

Back in the 80s my brother put together a car show to be held at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia SC (inside). For the centerpiece of the show he had the same type of cars that play prominent roles in the movie "American Graffitti",
the 55 Chevy, the white T-Bird and the 32 coupe. He signed Wolfman Jack to do a live appearance for a few hours for 2 days and tied it in with a live radio broadcast on the local oldies station.

Everything was going OK until the limo to pick up Wolfman from the show and take him to dinner was in an accident on his way to pick up Wolfman. The limo company called and said it would be an hour before a replacement could be sent.

Wolfman was hungry and wanted to go to dinner, so my brother asked him if it would be allright if his brother (me) drove him in my Cadillac. I had an almost new Eldorado at the time. He said "sure" so I drove with Wolfman in the passenger seat and my brother and Wolfmans manager in the back seat.

He wanted to go to Fuddruckers for dinner!

We all went in and had a great time. He really was a nice guy!

After we finished eating, I drove him to his hotel and dropped him off.

He complimented me on how nice my car was and that I was a good driver.

Always special for me. Sad day for me when he passed. :tears:

I was Navy submariner. I was attending some pre-deployment training in Pearl Harbor. We had to use the facility after hours in order not to disrupt the regular training classes held during the day. In the hallway outside of the restroom, about 10pm, a buddy and I run into a tall Lt. Commander wearing tropical whites. Very unusual to see an officer in that uniform, in this facility at this time of day. He says "Hi guys!". Something definitely wrong, no officer addresses enlisted men like that. His hair is a bit too long, he's not a submarine officer, and the ribbons and SEAL insigna he does have are not correctly displayed on his uniform. We are thinking it's some kind of security drill - intruder alert type thing and are ready to slam this guy to the deck. Need to be sure though, we ask, "Can we help you, Commander?" He smiles and replies, "I'm not in the Navy, I'm an actor. We're shooting in the other building". We think this is just a ploy, part of the drill. We actually grabbed his arms and are starting to take him down. Just then, a couple of civillians round the corner, followed by a Senior Chief we do know as an instructor at the facility. He yells at us, "What are you guys doing!?" and runs over. "He's an intruder Senior Chief, we got him!" Of course, he turns out to be Tom Selleck, shooting one of the first episodes, of the as yet unaired, Magnum P.I. Tom was very cool about the whole thing and apologetic. He asked us how we knew he was a fake. We explained how his ribbons and SEAL pin were in the wrong order on his unform. He said thanks and corrected them.

Had my 15 minutes with Dean Rusk discussing politics while in college. Very approachable, but getting very old then. Also got to attend a seminar by the poet Stephen Spender -- back in my English Lit days.

Writing about NASCAR and other motorsports for about 20 years I've spent time with or interviewed about all the racing drivers and many crew and engine builders you can think of from John Force, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Richard Petty, Randy Dorton, Robert Yates, Junior Johnson, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, Dan Gurney, David Pearson, A.J. Foyt, Carroll Shelby (really larger than life), Earnhardt Sr. & Jr. Gordon, Yarborough, etc.

Foyt was setting a closed course record in the Olds AeroTech back in the '80s and is one of the bravest/craziest, most down to earth people I've ever met. Tough as barbed wire. Cale Yarborough the same. Richard Petty the most comfortable in his place in racing history and as real as it gets.

Followed Adam Petty from his short track ASA days and it really hurt when he was killed. The kid had his granddad's touch. Also when Randy Dorton was killed in the Hendrick plane crash. He always had time to explain engines and NASCAR politics to me.

Let's see. I played basketball with Brad Lohaus. He was at a basketball camp I attended. I'll never forget seeing that 7'2" guy trying to ride a moped up a steep hill.

Spent the weekend with Bill "Superfoot" Wallace we invited to a kickboxing/MA event I helped promote. He's a great guy.

Have met the following at autograph sessions: Ernie Banks, Dan Dierdorf, Pat Tilley, Neil O'Donahue, William the refridgerator Perry, Neil Lomax, Bubba Baker, John Andretti (great guy), OJ Anderson, Harry Gant, Juan Crocier from Ratt.

I guess the biggest was Superfoot Wallace, he's a down-to earth, funny guy who was an absolute nice guy. Fun to work with and actually was a bit annoyed that we picked him up at the airport in a limo.

This actually came up in conversation again over Thanksgiving weekend, so I've tried to list as many as I could remember. Here's what I've got so far (yeah, they're alphabetical, so I could make sure there weren't doubles):

Al Roker
Alec Baldwin
Amy Irving
Ben Vereen
Bill Cosby
Billy Crystal
Billy Joel
Billy Squier
Bob Tisch
Bruce Villanche
Bryan Trottier
Carey Lowell
Carl Icahn
Carlos Beltran
Charles Schwab
Chauncey Howell
Christie Brinkley
Chuck Barris
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Corey Glover
Deborah Roberts
Desmond Child
Donald Trump
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Eric Carr
Everything But The Girl
George Benson
George Soros
George Winston
Goo Goo Dolls
Gun Club
Husker Du
Jay Black
Jerry Seinfeld
Jimmy Buffet
Kevin Spacey
Laurence Tisch
Leona Helmsley
Les Paul
Lucille Roberts
Madonna
Matt Lauer
Michael Caine
Nina Gordon
P Diddy
Patti LuPone
Patty Smyth
Paul Schaeffer
Paul Sorvino
Ralph Lauren
Ramones
Richard Gere
Ritchie Blackmore
Robin Roberts
Ronald Perelman
Scotty Moore
Steve Martin
Steve Stoute
Steven Spielberg
Sue Simmons
The Del Vikings
The Fall
The Fixx
The Four Seasons
The Four Tops
The Mekons
The Plasmatics
The Stray Cats
The Waitresses
Tom Hulce
Tommy Victor
Twisted Sister

...so there you go, that's got to be most of them except the really big finance guys, but I'm figuring they're not really "famous". I was actually surprised at how many of them I've met in 'regular life', and not through my day jobs.

Oh, and I was on network TV twice, once on 'Eye to Eye with Connie Chung", and once on 'Eyewitness News'. I think that's it.

je