Did you ever meet a celebrity?

Arts & Sciences Arts & Entertainment
1

Grasshopper’s post about going to the same school with Tom Green gave me the idea for this new thread. (Sorry if it has been done before or recently).

I am interested in any stories anyone has to offer about meeting any well-known people and what happened when you met the person?

In my case, I met the “Doobie Brothers” in a New Jersey airport. I noticed these group of guys standing in the ticket line, and one had very long hair and I was sure I knew him from somewhere. So, I went up to him and asked him if he was in a band (he looked like a musician) and he said yes, "The “Doobie Brothers.” Man, I was in heaven to have met them! I really like their music and I couldn’t believe my luck.

Another time, many years earlier, I met Arnold Schwarzenegger when he had written an exercise book and was travelling around the states promoting it. Actually, I met him two times, both times he was promoting a book. He seemed like a nice guy but, of course, he was promoting his book.

Anyone else ever have a “brush with greatness?”

2

I knew an English teacher here who went to school in Crieff with Ewan McGregor the film star. The guy went to Australia, got a girlfriend, fell out with her, went to her house with a can of petrol, rang her doorbell, doused her and himself with petrol and struck a lighter. Both survived, though horribly disfigured. He’s now serving 20+ in an Aussie jail.

Just goes to show – stay away from celebs, they’re bad news.

3

[quote=“sandman”]I knew an English teacher here who went to school in Crieff with Ewan McGregor the film star. The guy went to Australia, got a girlfriend, fell out with her, went to her house with a can of petrol, rang her doorbell, doused her and himself with petrol and struck a lighter. Both survived, though horribly disfigured. He’s now serving 20+ in an Aussie jail.

Just goes to show – stay away from celebs, they’re bad news.[/quote]

I feel pretty lucky. All Arnold did was shake my hand.

4

How about laughably pathetic brushes with famous people like “I once knew someone whose cousin shook hands with Lady Di” for those of us who’ve never actually met one?

Bet you can’t beat these.

:laughing: Prince Charles waved at me when I was a baby.
:slight_smile: I saw Little and Large walking around Gateshead shopping centre in UK.
:frowning: Ronnie Corbet walked passed me at Gatwick airport.
:slight_smile: I saw Les Dennis eating pizza with his g’friend in a restaurant in Leeds. I was only two tables away! What a thrill. I just realized; maybe I’m a magnet for crap English comedians.
:laughing: I also went to the same school as someone out of The Pogues, but he’d already left when I was there.
:slight_smile: Oh, another pathetic one for you. Since someone mentioned Arnie, I was in Boracay when Arnold flew in for a visit. Everyone rushed to the clothes/crafts market to see if they could catch a glimpse of him. I went snorkling instead. How cool am I?

5

Sorry for the double post but now that I think about it, when I met Arnold I didn’t feel like harming anyone but after seeing “Kindergarden Cop,” I had the definite desire to kill someone.
You are right, Sandman, it’s best to keep away from celebs.

6

[quote=“Spack”]Bet you can’t beat these.

:laughing: Prince Charles waved at me when I was a baby. [/quote]
Wanna bet? How about “Prince Charles and I were both circumcised by the same surgeon” True!

7

Had a couple of beers with Kenny Loggins (when he was REAL big in Taiwan) at the old Roxy down at the corner of Hoping and Roosevelt. Went to a party with Graham Nash (The Hollies and CSNY) here in Ubud…“Gee! You used to really make some good music!” :smiling_imp: :laughing:
Met Susan Sarandon at a cremation ceremony here (she’s a bitch…lots of bodyguards and gofers. Used to drink beer backstage with REM when they were playing the “chitlin circuit” for 50 cents a nite. Went to junior and senior high school with Don Dixon* Met and drank with Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs too many times. And screwed the first Taiwanese Playboy Playmate in Chiang Ching-kuo’s bed in his villa down in Puli. :laughing: True. No shit.

*http://www.harrysimmons.com/dixon.html

8

I hail from a small state of only a couple and a half million souls. So I’m literally at least two Kevin Bacons away from nearly everybody who’s ever been famous from my state. My aunt dated Roger Clinton (and I met Hillary, very briefly, once in person - an extremely intimidating lady), one of my dad’s highschool buddies was Billy Bob Thornton, one of my teachers at uni was an old drinking buddy of Johnny Cash, I once had dinner with the guy who played ‘Herb’ from WKRP in Cincinatti while he was back home visiting his family who were friends of ours (okay, now we’re really scraping the bottom of the obscure celebrity barrel now…)

9

Man, I used to love that show. At the time, it was very hip and no woman on television looked better than Loni Anderson. :lovestruck:

10

When I was in college my girlfriend was in a Dead band that recorded a few CDs on Relix records. They used to play in Pittsburgh at several venues and when someone would come in from out-of-town to headline a gig, my girl’s band would often open. The band she sang for (named Sandoz… :laughing: ) once opened for Rick Danko and Richard Manual (formerly of the Band). I got stoned back stage with Danko and Manual that night… that was fun.

I met Fang Lizhi, the Chinese dissident physicist who was holed-up in the US Embassy in Beijing for a year a while back, at a small party at Pitt and also Zheng Nian, the Chinese author (I think that’s her name) of Life and Death in Shanghai… I think that was the name of that book… :s at a talk she gave in Pittsburgh.

I met most of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers. They were big celebrities (still are) in Pittsburgh. Used to bump into Lynn Swann at the sushi place in Shadyside and Franco Harris on the North Side at the Penn Brewery next to his offices. The Steelers were all pretty cool.

My cousin was Danny Marino’s classmate and teammate in high school (Central Catholic in Pittsburgh) and college (University of Pittsburgh) and they are friends still. I’ve had dinner with Danny many times. He’s a real good guy.

I met Mr. Rogers many times in my college psychology classes and in the neighborhood… :wink: around WQED in Pittsburgh where his show was produced. He was cool.

I met Pat Paulson years ago… he used to be on Laugh In… some of you might not know what that was…

I met and had a few beers with Todd Rungren at Studio 54 in NYC back in I think 1982… A friend knew him. He was OK.

I met Keith Richards’ house :smiley: in Connecticut two summers ago. My father’s old Air Force buddy’s son was dating KR’s daughter and we went over to pick him up… but, I didn’t get in the house nor did I get to meet Keith. Wish I could have, though.

I guess there have been some others… but I can’t remember right now…

11

I’ve met lots of people associated in popular memory with the 1960s: Abbie Hoffman (RIP), Allen Ginsberg, Jerry Rubin, Dick Gregory, Eldridge Cleaver, Timothy Leary (the man glows – it’s eerie), William S. Burroughs (although he has one of the scariest voices I’ve ever heard, he was quite polite), Ken Kesey (a real space case)…

In the music world, I’ve met Al Green, Jonathan Richman (who I was talking with so long I missed a chance to meet Donovan :cry: ), the Flaming Lips (I used to get comped at their shows, but that was a long time ago), and lots of other musicians most people have never heard of, so I guess they wouldn’t pass as celebrities. I’ve spoken briefly over the phone with two members of the Velvet Underground, which is perhaps not much to boast of but it sure made my day.

I’ve met many writers. What can I say? I was a starving student, and receptions for visiting speakers always had free food and wine. :wink:

12

Tom Green offered my girlfriend money to piss in a mop bucket in a coffee shop in Toronto :bluemad: . She declined.

13

Wow Cranky, impressive.

I do. :blush:

Before I get going on my brushes, bumps and near misses list, I believe a word from “the man behind Elton” :saywhat: is in order.

[quote=“Bernie Taupin”]I entertain by picking brains
Sell my soul by dropping names
I don’t like those, my god, what’s that
Oh it’s full of nasty habits when the bitch gets back
[/quote]

I’ve gotten small with Big Sugar, David Wilcox and Bill “The Spaceman” Lee. I’ve interviewed Didi Ramone on the phone and Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall, The Larry Sanders Show) in the booth :saywhat::saywhat:.

I worked on a train with such guests as the mother and father of Stacy and James Keach, the old man himself had a recurring role on Get Smart (I’ve recently met people who don’t know what that was :blush: :blush: ) Also Jane Seymour’s mom.

I worked the training camp for the Vancouver Canucks…met Messier, Naslund, Brashear and yes, Todd Bertuzzi. He is a really nice guy. He’d hang out and chat with me while I pushed the pipes around waiting for the Zamboni…and I bet this is the first time the word “Zamboni” has been written on this site…its such a fun word too…everybody all together

Zamboni Zamboni Zamboni

I see friends of mine on movies here all the time. I watched one with James Spader on Skinimax the other night and my Othello and Cassius were in it. Most notable spotting would be my buddy Trevor in the last Bond flik…he was on the plane that Bond and that sweet Halle rode those cool little sky-surfers out of…he even had a line.

Here’s a funny one. Upon returning to my college town for the first time some 6 years after graduation, I was really anticipating chance encounters with old friends. My friends and I were waiting for a table at this restaurant and this guy walks out…he looks familiar so I say hi as if he was someone I’d known forever…we exchange pleasantries like we do when you can’t quite place the name nor even recollect the previous association and part ways. One of my friends stares on slack-jawed and blusters out, “You know him???”. I didn’t of course. It was Aidan Quinn.

Maybe sometimes, just sometimes mind you…I shouldn’t get small. :blush: :blush: :blush:

Now, the all time greatest miss with fame: When I was a lad, I had a job that afforded me the aquaintance with a client who had the auspicious position of arranging all the security for Donald K Donald, rock concert impressario of Montreal. A top band was going to launch a tour of NA from la belle ville and was planning on rehearsing there. He invited me and as many friends as I wanted to drop around whenever we wanted to watch the building of the show.

But the tour was cancelled. John Bonham died.

14

I met Phil Collins in '83 at the Hyatt Hotel. It was the early afternoon of an evening Genesis concert and we were coming into the locker room after playing some tennis when Phil walks out of the steam room. Chatted with him for 15 minutes while we dressed and then later met the rest of the band and their families in the lobby of the tennis center.

Played tennis with Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King when I was a kid.

15

Oh yeah… I was having a pint of Rogues Mocha Porter at the Beehive in Pittsburgh (combination bar/coffeehouse/theater) one afternoon when the rock band Nazareth was setting up to play later in the evening. Shared a few pints with those guys… fame, what’s your name? They had become much less popular than they were briefly when I was in high school, and they were playing small venues and setting up by themselves.

Never cared for their music, but they were nice enough that afternoon taking a break with a few pints.

16

Yes, you reminded me. I met (no, served) Lawrence Ferlinghetti when I worked at a Kinkos :blush: San Francisco’s Financial District many years back. I certainly didn’t expect it was he whose slides we were making colour copies of and had no idea it was him until I scanned his credit card. He’d put the order in under ‘Lawrence’ wearing a big cowboy hat. I just thought he was a typical SF bizarro. I was so right! Came into the shop several times after. I think I was the only Kinkoid who got weird and obsequious when he came in though.

Also met Edie Brickell, Tammy Faye Baker (fright!), Philip Glass and kd Lang at my place of work in Charlotte. A friend and I followed the Police when in college (as groupies), and met Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland (had one of his drumsticks once but gave it to a friend of mine) and Sting was about ten feet away but was oblivious to our presence. He’s so short!

REM (Michael Stipe et al) hung around my college town and who the hell knew at the time. Also Oingo Boingo, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
My friend and I also ran into Whoopie Goldberg in a Border’s Books in Charlotte. She was with the guy who played Dracula, Frank Langella.
She was very sweet when we went up to her and introduced ourselves after having stalked her for a half hour.

Met lots of Taiwanese celebs, but who cares? :slight_smile: Main one, Ma Ying Jeou, who sat at the table adjacent to ours one Xmas at the Hilton buffet, before he became mayor. He was with his family. Seemed very serious. Just sat there drinking coffee and ignoring them while wife and daughters chatted about the China Post in English.

17

I saw his act at a nightclub. It was just after Reagan was elected. (Paulsen always ran for president.) He lost the election, but was pleased that he had “split the Anderson vote.” He also conceded that Reagan was the candidate for the 80s, the 1880s.

Leon Russell graduated from my highschool.

18

I remember seeing him dancing at Kiss. I also saw Samantha Fox at Kiss. She looked like a midget with two soccer balls tied to her chest.

Chris Eyre (director of Smoke Signals and Skins) was in my high-school journalism class. A great guy, and very smart.

Linda Evangelista had a shit-fit in the CKS customs line in front of me once. There was something wrong with her passport and they wouldn’t let her in. No one can blow their lid like a supermodel. Holy shit.

I also met Ace of Base and had coffee with Nicki French (one hit wonder, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”) here. Cheesy music, but all really nice people. When I was in college, I prank called the bass player from Katrina and the Waves.

And of course, at the top of the celebrity heap, I’ve met both Jeff Locker and Chocolate–and I’ve seen Richie Walker around town a couple of times.

19

I have slept with Kelly le Brock a couple of times. I have also held Pamela Anderson’s breasts at a modeling shoot.

Funny though. Every time I wake up with a big wet stain on my bedsheets.

20

I attended a wedding dinner at which the (former) Prime Minister of Malaysia, his deputy and a couple of Sultans from different states were invited / present, too. (My friend’s father in-law is a high level politican)
Saw Siti Nurhaliza, a famous Malaysian singer, passing by in a shopping complex (surrounded by bodyguards) and saw the famous Malaysian model / Miss Malaysia 98/99 / Miss World runner-up (Lina Teoh) shopping at IKEA in Kuala Lumpur.
BTW: If you want to meet a ‘real king’ you can do so in Malaysia during the traditional open-house event once a year.

Actually I don’t care much if someone is famous or not, I just see them as people. I may respect their achievements but I would not get too excited if they shake my hand or talk to me.