Has anyone here ever known someone who later became a celebrity?

[drumwolf]

And I mean any kind of celebrity, whether in sports, movies, music, politics, or just infamous tabloid fodder like Scott Peterson.

Did you know them before they became famous or infamous? And if so, what do you remember them being like? Were they like the persona that they're known for or were they totally different?

[Bouncy Ball]

1. Henry Thomas.

The kid who was in ET. Knew him when I was very young, then I went to college with him (well, he went to the local junior college in the same town as my university--he was trying to get into the university but apparently didn't have the grades). Went to a couple of parties he threw. He's very quiet, low key, unassuming.

[hollywood926]

43. No, but I know a few B-listers now...

Chris Harrison, host of The Bachelor; John Schneider; and Howie Mandel, who has some sort of germophobia and won't shake anybody's hand without gloves. :-)

[Emops]

2. The closest I've come

is that I graduated from the same high school as Woody Harrelson. About a decade later, though.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

36. lol! The closest I've come was Harvey Weinstein of Miramax films.

He graduated with me in HS, and although I knew lots and lots of people, I can't remember him to save my life.

[mitchum]

3. The nice guys remained nice guys

[Cadence]

4. Yeah. Ryan Sutter from the bachelorette.

As in Trista and Ryan.

[LibDemAlways]

59. I went to high school with

George Allen, who is now a repuke Sen. from Virginia. He was an asshole then and he's an asshole now. His claim to fame in school was spraypainting racist graffiti on the walls and having to publically apologize for it.

[DFLforever]

5. Bob Dylan, Jessica Lange, and Garrison Keillor

I'm a Minnesotan. Bob Dylan played at my wedding.

[maveric]

10. Bob Dylan played at your wedding??? COOL!

How did you manage that?

[DFLforever]

16. A close friend of my husband's!

[buddysmellgood]

26. I hate you. I want to be able to say that. I'm going to lie from this day

forward.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

37. Dylan? That is so totally neat! n/t

[smbolisnch]

62. Wow! That's awesome!

:crazy:

[auburngrad82]

135. Do you have any photos of Dylan playing at your wedding???

I'm a big Dylan fan. I'd love to see any photos you have. If you have one or two how 'bout scanning them in so we can enjoy them with you???

[EC]

6. Knew Jeff Cesario and

my Dad used to have card games and Al Ameche used to play, sat on his lap when I was a little girl watching them play.

Orsen Wells is from my town and so is Daniel J. Travanti - literally ran into him in a restaurant here on my way to bathroom...kinda stammered Hello Mr. Travanti...

[AngryLizard]

7. D.L. Hugley

Before he hit it big as a comic, before the tv show and he hit it even bigger, used to run a telephone sales crew for the Los Angeles Times. Being part of said crew was my first job when I was 15.

Also the guy that plays Darryl on Charmed was a good friend of the son of a good friend of my grandmother's. Sounds remote, but I used to see him all the time when I was a kid.

I also had an amazing dinner about 10 years ago with Daniel Handler, i.e. Lemony Snicket, and a bunch of other people, in San Francisco one night. He went to high school with one of my best friends.

[drumwolf]

8. funny you should mention Lemony Snicket

Dan Handler and I were both Class of 1992 at Wesleyan University. I didn't know him at all, though.

[AngryLizard]

9. From what I know from that night and have heard from my friend

He's a great guy. I have never laughed so hard as I did that night.

[Floogeldy]

11. Yes

I used to know someone who is now a huge star. But I haven't talked to the person since they became so famous.

[drumwolf]

12. Well, don't leave us hanging. Who was it?

And what was s/he like BEFORE they became famous?

[Floogeldy]

13. Sorry. I won't tell.

Someone might think I'm special because I knew the person. But I'm not.

[Floogeldy]

14. Oh

A great person. Very nice, and humble.

I felt up his sister.

[mark414]

15. my grandpa was good friends with elroy 'crazy legs' hirsch

and longtime wisconsin athletic director pat richter

and my great grandfather played football with jim thorpe and was best friends with oscar winning actor frederich march, who starred as dr. jekyll/mr. hyde and in 'the best years of our lives'

and um...a buddy of mine is the 2nd string quarterback for the dallas cowboys...do those count?

[imenja]

17. Bob Mould from Husker Du

not a popular of enough band to count as a celebrity, but that's as close as I get.

[PittPoliSci]

27. well i'm still awe struck.

i love Husker Du.

[drumwolf]

40. Does he count as a celebrity? Well, I love Husker Du, so yes.

What do you remember about Bob? Was he a nice guy, was he an asshole, what was he like?

[imenja]

54. I went to college with him

at Macalester College, in St. Paul, MN. One
of my best friends then had a huge crush on him. I guess they'd dated for a while.
I only spent time with him in groups of people. He struck me as a cold person and fairly quiet. I didn't know him well, however. I don't recall having any extended personal conversations with him. He was just the sort of thing when you hang out with someone in a group of people. You don't get to know them very well as a person.

He had already started Husker Du back then, but it became better known after graduation.

[no name no slogan]

93. That's cool! One of my college roomies worked w/ Greg Norton

After the Huskers broke up, one of my college roommates worked with Greg Norton at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing, MN. They were both cooks there.

Interestingly enough, Greg and his wife recently opened a really great seafood restaurant somewhere near Lake Pepin. I forget the name, but they had a nice write-up on it in the Mpls Strib not too long ago.

[imenja]

96. delete

delete

[tigereye]

120. I had some friends who went to that college

sounded pretty interesting. I'd say Mould would count as a celebrity to a lot of folks.

[imenja]

133. Kofi Annan

is a Macalester graduate, though from many years earlier, sometime in the late 1960s.

[tigereye]

156. that's pretty cool!

[AngryAmish]

50. I played basketball with Bob Mould once

Does that count?

[Floogeldy]

109. He is awesome. Sugar is one of my fave bands ever!

[tigerbeat]

130. whoa!!!

i'm a total fan of bob mould. (in fact, i've got workbook on the playlist today here at work)

got to see him play solo last year. terrific show.

[grace0418]

18. My brother is a regular on a TV show

Does that count?

[imenja]

20. yeah! which one?

[grace0418]

22. He plays Dr. Harold Abbott on Everwood

on the WB.

[Lorien]

57. So is he a conservative like his character

because he's pretty convincing!

I've seen him in other things too, but I can't remember what specifically.

[grace0418]

111. Not at all

he's as liberal as I am.

[PennyK]

71. Wow!

My family watches that show religiously...they would be very impressed. I have to say, that looks like a very funny role to play...it's a very charicatured part. He looks like a Republican Mister Rogers.

[GRLMGC]

19. No one anyone here would know but it's a pretty weird story nevertheless

My mom was dating some guy whose neighbors had a pool so we went swimming. The people who owned the house w/ the pool had a son. They were American which is important. So a few years later, we're watching Spanish tv when we see the son. He's become a huge singing sensation in Mexico. This fool doesn't even speak Spanish and has no Latin American background whatsoever. His star apparently faded after awhile because we haven't heard from him since. It was very, very strange.

[Biased Liberal Media]

21. It may not count...but I went to college

with Cybil Shepard's daughter, Clementine Ford. We lived in the same dorm-hall. She was very low-key, very sweet. I didn't find out til about 4 months after knowing her that she was Cybil's daughter- and that weekend I found out she was on the Golden Globes as Miss Golden Globe.

She is now an actress. I lost touch with her a long time ago.

[jdots]

23. yes but i am gonna tell a celebrity joke first

I went to a celebrity's house and he had all these pictures of dry cleaners on his walls. HA ! okay I played music with lots of people who are now very famous,alot of them can actually play pretty well too. Do they change ? yes they hang in richer circles and us under or unemplyed people can't go to alot of those places unless we borrow money. I miss some of the people but they aren't the same people they used to be.

[Little Wing]

24. Yeah, I guy I dated in college went on to get several

bit parts in bad movies and a few guest roles on television programs. I don't think most people know his name or anything, but they see old photos with his face and go "hey...isn't that the guy who....?"

[WCGreen]

25. Two, Trent Reznor and Steve Richetti

Trent worked at a music store in Cleveland in the mid to late 80's and he sold me my first Midi hook-up. Spent over a half an hour on the phone with me expllaining how to get the thing working...

SR was an assitant Chief of Staff for Clinton in his second Term. Went to high school with him....

He was fake freindly back in the 70's and remianed so while serving with Bill....

[MercutioATC]

34. Hey! I met Trent in high school, too!

I went to Lake Ridge Academy and he came to a couple of our parties.

[WCGreen]

108. A lot of my inlaws went to Lake Ridge....

[MercutioATC]

138. Hmmm. It's a small school. Would I have known them?

I graduated in '85.

[buddysmellgood]

28. The program assistant in my office used to play with Kurt Russel as a kid.

[Bok_Tukalo]

29. Went to school with a guy who is now a Vice President

at Wal-Mart and his wife is the main individual responsible for keeping the union out. Not so much famous as a notorious professional position.

Same class, a guy who was in the cast of the show "Chicago" on Broadway. I think he went on the national tour as well. He played Mary Sunshine.

[Kire]

30. He was already in the Guiness Book, but then he became a movie star.

I went to college with Matthew McGrory.

From "Big Fish":


From "House of 1,000 Corpses":



In High School, he got in the Guiness Book of World Records for the biggest feet in the world at size 23. Now, they're size 29.

[Kire]

103. I saw him on Carnivale again tonight.

He was in the pilot episode, and I haven't seen him since, but he was back on tonight. It was another montage of performers just to let everyone know that the show is back in business, which is what his function was in the first episode. He was playing some kind of trick on a kid. This time he put his hat on the kid and everyone laughed.

But he had two scenes in the pilot. He was standing at Hawkins mother's funeral then. Which is the third time I've seen him stand at a funeral in film. In Big Fish and House of 1,000 Corpses, he stood reverentially -- but in House, it was kind of a mock funeral because the body wasn't dead yet. Can't wait for Devil's Rejects!

[flygal]

31. Tonya Harding

I used to skate in competitions with her. She was nice but totally dissed by the "ice princesses" who hated her ability to do triple jumps.

[Lorien]

64. Hey, did you ever know anyone named Baker

Bloodworth? He's a former skater (and Linda Bloodworth Thompson's brother) who use to hang out at the rink with a number of other professional skaters and dissed Tonya at every opportunity. I had the misfortune of having him as my boss for a number of years (he's a film producer now). I could understand why Tonya might snap after years of being hounded by someone like Baker.

[ikojo]

99. I think people also hated Tonya Harding because

she was from a working class family and competed in a sport populated primarily by kids of the well to do.

[MercutioATC]

32. Trent Reznor (of NIN)

He came to a couple of our parties in high school.

[Runcible Spoon]

134. was he a nice guy or an asshole?

I hear varying reports.

[MercutioATC]

137. He was nice. Kinda quiet, in fact.

I talked to him for a bit one night. Very intelligent...very introspective.

[HamdenRice]

33. The president of South Africa and ...

the premier of the Free State province. I knew them when the ANC and UDF were considered long shots for taking power any time soon. Actually I just had a couple of meetings with Thabo Mbeki. He was based in Zambia but occasionally came to NYC. I thought he was a brainy and modest technocrat. I would never have expected him to have these delusions of imperial grandeur that characterize his presidency.

The Free State premier, Patrick "Terror" Lekota I knew better. He was a very friendly outgoing guy who like to joke around and drink beer. I first met him by visiting him in prison. When he was released, any time I met him he seemed so grateful for the visit and we would drink and joke. He was also extremely politically astute. A perfect politician, but I never expected him to become a "governor."

[Sgent]

35. My brother

was the best man in Pete Fountain's grandson's wedding, so I know a lot of Jazz musicians.

One of the 1994 class of congress, was my neighbor for years. My brother used to beat up his daughter on a regular basis during grade school...

[nytemare]

38. Wayne Brady and Johnny Damon

I was in a lot of classes with Wayne, and was in the pit orchestra when he was in Bye Bye Birdie in High School. Very nice guy!

As for Johnny Damon, I was I think a year ahead of him, and knew his brother James, only knew Johnny in passing.

[AngryAmish]

51. Was Wayne Brady like he was on the Chappelle show?

[nytemare]

53. LOL, no

Wayne was really a nice, affable guy. He was the one everyone said would make it. He was, and is, very talented, but he always remained down to earth. He was funny as hell on Chapelle though. :)

[Z_I_Peevey]

39. Went to grade school with a guy

who later became semi-famous as an Olympic boxer. Had a high school job with a guy who had a brief Hollywood career as a movie reviewer.
Had a nodding acquaintance with a gal who is now a country music superstar.

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

41. Does Reality TV count? I went to homecoming with Scott from Paradise Hotel

Very odd...



http://www.bigbtv.com/RealityTV/ParadiseHotel/Cast/Scott.html

[NeoTraitors]

42. Trev Alberts- College Football

blowhard. My hometown, Cedar Falls, Iowa, just isn't a celebrity hotbed. I'd trade him and the other 3 or 4 d-list celebrities from here for one Bob Mould. Husker Du was one of the 4-5 best bands of the '80's.

[hollywood926]

47. Oh, I almost forgot - Kirk Herbstreit (also college football)

We went to Ohio State at the same time, but I didn't know him that way. I delivered pizza to his house in Hilliard early in his ESPN career. He always asked for light cheese. :-)

[trof]

44. Sarah Silverman

High school chum of my daughter.
Has stayed at our house.
Wonder if I'll get an invitation to the wedding?

[smbolisnch]

65. Oh I love her...she's so funny!

I love when she does "crank yankers" :P

[loudestchick]

45. I was at Mizzou at the same time as Brad Pitt...I went to several parties

at his frat, but I don't recall ever meeting him. Funny though, I was in the theatre dept., he wasn't...he makes his living as an actor, I don't. Weird? I also met Bill Clinton while he was governor of Arkansas, we talked for about 5 min...truly a great man!

[EstimatedProphet]

56. Hey, when were you at Mizzou? I graduated 1990

[loudestchick]

95. '85-'88 then I transferred to UMKC...tried to get attached to the Rep.

I was also a sorority chick (A-phi), we know how to party!

[jdonaldball]

46. AFTER Jim Croce died, I lived the same house where he lived

I lived in the old farmhouse in Pennsylvania - built in 1750 - where Jim Croce lived in his last years, where he wrote all of his best songs. It is the place where the cover photo of the LP "Don't Mess Around With Jim" was taken.
Woodie Guthrie and James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot sometimes came to that old farmhouse, when Jim Croce lived there, and I found some old rusty beer bottle caps under the floorboards... :-)

[JohnKleeb]

48. Well this hasn't happened yet

and I don't know the guy but if you hear about a really good college basketball player and later pro named Scotty Reynolds, he goes to my school and is a grade younger.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

49. Deborah Secco, Brazilian soap opera actress --- as a little kid.

Look her up in Google and click on Images. :wow:

[GRLMGC]

58. She's not very fond of clothing is she?

;)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

69. Not much actually.

:evilgrin:

[XNASA]

52. The most famous name would be Al Jourgensen.

I knew him before he hit the big time, more or less.

[RetroLounge]

94. I met Al once in the studio back in 1984 or so.

He bumped our band as his session went longer. We said we didn't mind and he said we could hang and watch if we wanted.

Very quiet guy, seemed nice.

RL

[sakabatou]

55. That annoying kid from Bicentenial Man

He's was in my English class.

[Lorien]

60. My young cousin played opposite the Gropenfuhrer in

that crappy film "the last action hero" (no, he hasn't done much since). Another cousin played Rose Kelly on General Hospital.My grandfather used to run against Jesse Owens in track (he said he knew him really well-from the back ;-) ). A friend went to High School with Jennifer Aniston, and good friend of mine is poised to become the next J.K. Rowling-but we won't know how that's really going to turn out for another year (he's already famous in the comics community).

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

77. It wasn't crappy at all. Nice mix of fantasy, humor, and satire.

Tell your cousin Austin he did a hell of a good job in that movie.

[Tom_Foolery]

61. My dad told the Beach Boys to turn their music down...

when we lived in Hawthorne, CA just before they hit it big. The house they used to practice in was right behind ours.

[smbolisnch]

63. Yes

The lead singer from the rock band "Roses are Red" They are a new band that is "up and coming" and they are great. :P

[DebinTx]

66. George Clooney

Rosemary and George Clooney were my neighbors in Lexington, Ky when I was very young (I was around 10 and George was around 4 or 5). Rosemary got a radio job in Cincinnati and they moved but my family knew them well. They came back for visits often. We visited them in Cinn. several times over the years.

[Lorien]

67. Nice people then?

George has been a lot more politically active lately, which is good to see.

Heheh-I named two of my backyard raccoons after them; George and Rosemary Cooney. ;-)

[progmom]

92. I thought Rosie was his aunt

...not his mom.

[barb162]

68. a friend of mine owned a restaurant shrub went to before he

became pres. Friend says shrub was always drunk and a loudmouth.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

70. My grandfather was a high school teacher, and among his students were

all three of the Andrews Sisters. He used to go backstage and see them when they performed in Minneapolis. Their uncle belonged to the church of which my father was pastor.

Another member of our church was the Sorbo family. Their second-youngest son was named Kevin. I remember him as a little kid running up and down the hallway in the church.

One boy who was halfway in age between my two brothers grew up to become a high profile rightwing attorney, a favorite point man when rightwing organizations take cases to the Supreme Court. (Ugh). He was obnoxious even as a kid, so it's galling to see him on the front page of the New York Times.

Someone I was in theater with in college turned up in the cast of the last episode of ER that I watched (which was a while ago).

I was in a singing group at Yale with the woman who played the angel in the original production of Angels in America.

I knew a number of people at Yale who are now highly regarded in their academic fields, including someone who won a McArthur Genius Grant, but their names wouldn't mean anything to the general public.

[Orsino]

72. Stephen Colbert

Went to college with him for two years, and acted with him in college and community theater. then he took off for Northwestern and Second City.

Sure was cool to came back to the States in '95 (courtesy of Uncle Sam), turn on a TV, and see him in the cast of EXIT 57. I just love watching THE DAILY SHOW, and hearing the wild applause when he appears.

[zann725]

107. Yeah, he's truly talented. I enjoy him on Daily Show, too.

n/t

[warrens]

136. I just look at Colbert now and start laughing

You can just tell something funny's coming.

[medeak]

73. dad was orchestra leader

met tons... only nice ones were Andy Williams (used to stay at his house - he would carry me to bed when I fell asleep on the couch) and Johnny Carson with his trumpet player Doc Severinson..must be Midwest thing. Have a charm bracelet from Pearl Bailey, teddy bear from Red Buttons.

Liza Minelli was darling but a little needy. (met her with nothing but a towel on)

Osmonds were ok as we were all kids back then.

LOTS of yucky types... nice to the "right" people...had too many sycophants around them. We all celebrated when Frank Sinatra got his teeth knocked out by casino boss (hood)

Dad had a thing for Billie Holiday in the old days..would always find her a place to stay and eat as no coloreds allowed in places she played at.

Bette Midler was ok but paranoid as she thought the band was using drugs (she was probably correct in her judgment)

Hoping to get my Dad's stories on tape.. Richard Pryor, Little Richard..too many funny stories.

[yellowdogintexas]

113. thanks for telling me that Andy Williams is as nice a guy as I always

suspected he was. I used to love his variety show, where he used to scream at the bear!

And I still love to hear him sing!

[EC]

153. You just reminded me of a story my Dad used to tell

He almost slugged Sammy Davis Jr. in Atlantic City, (back in the early 60's) because he thought he was hitting on my Mom. When he saw who it was he went crazy, he just loves Sammy and couldn't tell him enough...




I also had dinner with Judy Bloom...with my daughter when she was a little girl and read her books...I worked as a Reference Librarian then...

[MuseRider]

74. The band Kansas

used to practice down the street from my house when we were in High School. One of them lived there and I knew one of the others. In these later years I have gotten semi aquainted with one of the others who is no longer with them, hasn't been for a long time.

[NNadir]

75. A very good friend went to college (Marist) with Bill O'Reilly.

According to her he was a dickhead even then.

[Skittles]

79. my boyfriend's dad worked with O'Reilly's dad in Long Island

said he was a dick too

[NNadir]

81. Not surprising. I'm disgusted to think of O'Reilly growing up where I

did, on Long Island.

But, although I now have a certain nostalgia for it, I have to admit that there were an inordinate number of dickheads there.

[Skittles]

84. said O'Reilly Sr was a major bully

big surprise there

[barackmyworld]

76. Quentin Richardson and the MATRIX

Quentin went to my high school while I was there, I didn't know him though. He plays on the clippers :(

My high school's greatest claim to fame is the Wachowski brothers, who wrote the matrix. There is a crazy physics teacher who always tells his students that planes can't fly, and you're just on really fast secret roads and looking at videos out the window. When planes crash they are killing people that "know too much." On the first quiz of the year, there is some velocity question about how fast a plane is flying, and you can either answer by calculating the velocity, or by writing "planes can't fly." The Wachowski brothers took that class, and THAT crazy theory was their inspiration for the matrix.

[LizW]

78. Went to the same law school as Mike Pappantonio

But he graduated before I got there.

Robert Aderholt (Alabama Repuke Congressman) was a year ahead of me. I only knew him vaguely.

[Corgigal]

80. Martha Quinn-original MTV DJ

We were both in the same drama class in high school. I was even better then she was, alas.

[rox63]

82. My Dad used to interview jazz musicians

He was a free-lance music journalist. When I was a kid, he would sometimes take me along with him when he did interviews. So I met Stephane Grappelli, Marian McPartland, Roy Eldridge, and a bunch of other jazz greats.

[Skittles]

83. I went to high school in Illinois with Brett Butler (ball player)

he was a nice guy

[Magrittes Pipe]

147. He would also get on base by any means necessary.

Rap a hit, take a walk, bunt for a base hit.

Next to Rickey and Tim Raines, he was the best leadoff hitter of his generation.

[Fifth of Five]

85. Jim Varney

of the Ernest movies. A few years older than me - graduated from high school with my brother.

[HeyManThatsCool]

86. A bunch actually

I grew up in LA so... here's the list




(1) Corin Nemic- star of Parker Lewis Cant Lose (Nice Guy)

(2) Staci Keanen- star of My Two Dads (Nice girl- nice family)

(3) Drew Barrymore - nice, a bit shy. Low self esteem

(4) Brandi Brandt (Playboy Model) & Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue)
He was alot of fun- she was very pretty but kind of annoying... fake babydoll voice etc. Very uptight. He was alot easier to deal with.

(5) Ringo Starr & his son Jason Starkey- (Very nice people)


(6) Chris Isaak - (the nicest guy of the bunch. So down to earth & fun to talk to)

(7) Sammy Hagar (He was ok-huge flirt. Kind of gross)

(8) Mickey Rourke..... TOTAL S.O.B

(9) Billy Idol - Way, way nicer than you would think.

(10) Stuart Townsend (Drummer, The Police. So funny!)

(11) Oliver Stone (Director) He was nice, but quiet

(12) Ricky Schroeder. What a jerk! I know he is nicer now but... eck

(13) Corey Haim - Kind of blah

(14) Corey Feldman... WHAT. A. JERK!!!!!!!!!! Sooooooo obnoxious.


I used to see Celebs around town alot too. John Aniston of Day of our Lives, Marcy Walker from Santa Barbra, Vince Neil, Slash from Guns n Roses, Don Johnson, Cher, Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block... . It was a good place to live.

[HeyManThatsCool]

89. I 4got my fav- Keanu Reeves

Now there was a nice guy. very very sweet. Conisderate & so funny. Had no concept of the whole celebrity thing. Hated being called a celebrity. So normal, you'd think he was your neighbor

[ikojo]

100. A co-worker who is half Hawaiin told me that Keanu

is very active in Hawaii issues and really helps out his family.

Is that true? If so, he is a real mensch as well as hot.

[NewJeffCT]

129. I've heard good things about him, too

Not through any connection to Keanu, but just celebrity gossip stuff - but, he's supposedly given a lot of very generous gifts to the crew / support staff on some of his movies.

[CarpeVeritas]

87. Quentin Tarrantino used to sleep on my cousin's couch...

when he was working at a video store.

[Longgrain]

88. Not personally...

But Hadasha Lieberman (Holy Joe's wife) is from my home town, and once worked for my father...

[WyLoochka]

90. Gilda Radner

Went to school with Gilda - elementary and part of high school. She was always very kind, thoughtful and funny. Very smart too. Good grades. Everyone loved Gilda.

[HEyHEY]

91. My friend was the kid on Beans Baxter and Encyclopedia brown

[Joe Chi Minh]

97. There's a folk singer over here,

called Charlie Lansborough. He seems to be famous now, over here, as I've often seen advertisements for his concerts with a photo of him (now with a longish beard), in the evening paper.

We worked together in the clothing store of 21 Regiment, Royal Artillery, at Fallingbostel, Germany in the early sixties. We had the same billet and used to toast bread on a fork in the window of the stove in our room.

He did have a great voice, and used to sing to the accompaniment of his guitar. One he used to sing particularly well was about a "little old lady with silvery sitting alone in an old rocking chair...".

He once told me he was struck by the way a priest he knew seemed to float over the ground as he walked! An amusing stunt he did was to call out to another lad in the corridor walking away from him, imitating an officer's public school accent and tone. It was funny to see them turn round, puzzled.

Old boys at my school, somewhat before my time, were Boris Karloff (John Pratt), a Tory cabinet minister called MacLean, and after my time, a taxi driver who won the final of the quiz show, Mastermind, and a lad who became a multi-millionaire, working as a commodities trader, I believe. He bought a string of race-horses and, eventually betting large sums, lost a fortune to the bookies and was imprisoned on some charge or other.

After a spell in prison, he went to America, "got back on track" in every way (positive, at least), and I think is now back here - with some promising race horses to his name.

[Maestro]

98. I played bass

and this guy, known as Steve when I knew him, played guitar. We argued over girls, he stole my girlfriend, and over who was a better progressive rock band, Rush or Pink Floyd. He did better musically than I and he was much happier when I knew him.

Elliot Smith

[SmokingJacket]

119. Wow... I'm a fan of his.

Really a sad story.

[Maestro]

121. Yeah

I don't know what happened. I lost track of him when he moved when I was in high school. Then a buddy of mine saw an article about him in Spin. I was shocked. We went to church together when he lived in Texas.

[mark414]

122. you knew elliott smith?

R.I.P. good buddy...

[Maestro]

124. Sure did.

He stole my girlfriend when I was a freshman in high school. Seriously, he was normal fun-loving dude. We went to church together and argued over music all the time. He was in to Pink Floyd type stuff and I was into arena rock and heavy into Rush. :)

[democracyindanger]

146. Did we go to high school together?

I knew him as Steve, too. Although I think he went to MLC for a year...

[Maestro]

149. I doubt it.

I knew him when he was in Jr. High and I was in high school. Did you know him when he moved to Oregon or somewhere in the Northwest? I knew him when he was in Texas.

[democracyindanger]

150. Ah

Yeah, I went to HS with him in Oregon. Jr. high schooler stealing your girl? That must've sucked. ;)

I bumped into him years later, at random in New York. Just before he hit it big. I was walking into a bar, he was walking out--we gave each other a long look, but couldn't place the faces. Wasn't until an hour later that I realized who he was.

Small world.

[Maestro]

154. Yes, losing out to an eighth grader

was hard, but she dumped him soon after as well so I think the problem was her. :)

[5thGenDemocrat]

101. My good friend Annie's father

Was Capt. (later Lt. Col) John GW Finke, company commander of F Co, 16th Inf Regt, 1st Inf Div at D-Day. He and Capt. Edward Wozenski, commanding E Company, were the first two American officers on Omaha Beach.
He was hit by shrapnel from a mortar round around 11:30 am (every officer in F Co went down before the day was out), but survived and stayed in the Army until 1962.
John
He'd previously been shot clean through the shoulder in North Africa in 1942 and clipped in the head by a German machine gun bullet in Sicily in '43. The helmet and liner are still in the First Infantry Division's museum today.
He also earned a Distiguished Service Cross during the Rohr River campaign in Nov. 1944, too. Not famous, maybe, but heroic.

[Godspeed_Democrats]

102. Growing up in very rural S.C. we had a field rat get in the house

my mother had a friend come over to trap and kill it. When it was over my mom`s friend was walking through the house with the deceased and my aunt was sitting in the living room with her date. His name was Peabo Bryson!!

[jmowreader]

104. One of my print-shop customers was Private Whitehorse

His name is Roger Willie, and he had us print reproductions of his pen-and-ink sketches.

We hadn't seen Roger in quite some time, so it was a surprise when he walked through the door.

"Whatcha been up to?"
'I'm a movie star now.'

Yeah, right.

'No, really.'

Roger splits his time between Arizona and North Carolina. Once when he was in Arizona, he saw an ad in the paper looking for Navajo children to be extras in a movie about the codetalkers. Roger took his kids down to try out and waited on the front step for them to come out because it's a madhouse in there.

Well anyway, up the steps comes this guy. Roger told the guy that "you don't even want to go in there, man." So they start shooting the shit...he asked if Roger spoke Navajo (he does) and then told him to come in, maybe they can find a part in the movie for him. The guy was John Woo, the director of Windtalkers.

One thing led to another and Roger's got one of the major parts in the movie.

Roger says he liked being in the movie, they feed you and everything.

[zann725]

105. Michael Keaton...when his name was still "Michael Douglas."

He was part of a group (in our 20's) I hung around with back East, before he moved to L.A. and became famous.

Two things I note/remember: He was always very respectful of Women, really listened to them, and encouraged their every goal. I thought of him more as a friend, than a hunk. So was surprised when he became so lusted after in the 80's-90's.

On a matter of talent: Of everyone in our "group," I felt there were several who had more talent than Michael, So I was both surprised (and NOT) when he did "make it"...because he was willing to leave the safety of his hometown, and risk moving to L.A. (which most weren't), and also he was an extremely diligent detail person/hard worker. I think that's truly what pulled him 'over the top.'

Though I think he made a truly big mistake not marrying Courtney Cox, who finally grew tired of waiting for him to commit...and finally moved on.

[Cadence]

110. I saw him on Letterman the other night

and he was soooo funny I laughed my ass off! He had great stories. I kept thinking I didn't want the segment to end because I wanted to hear more stories. He seems like a cool guy to meet.
I have a fascination with good storytellers.

[zann725]

106. Chicago Bear player (from '80's) -- Keith Van Horn -- who

later married Mondale's daughter.

Keith was in one of my plays in college. Although he was not trained as an actor, he was a hard-working 'good sport.' Very polite. He was also a football star in college, and I remember him telling me that women expected him to be a jerk (since he was a 'star athlete'), and that bothered him.

[yellowdogintexas]

112. OK, I used to go to church camp with Walker Railey

Indiana, Kentucky, and Texas DU 'ers may know who he is. I think there may have been a 60 Minutes or 20/20 profile on him. But I know there was a lot of newspaper stuff in Indiana where I lived at the time, then it all surfaced again about 2 yrs after I came to Texas.

He was senior minister of First United Methodist in Dallas; accused of trying to kill his wife, who now is in a vegetative state in a care facility.


Big Scandal around 1986 or 1987, as I recall. Of course now it would have been Tabloid Fodder, INternet fodder, every kind of fodder imaginable now....


But I knew him when we were in high school and college.

[Maestro]

123. Now that is a blast from the past

So do you think he did it? Sure looks like he did.

[yellowdogintexas]

152. I think he probably did. I always remembered him as arrogant

but he never seemed to me to be the violent or bully type. Guess he got desperate enough... who knows?

[Maestro]

155. Yeah, he was wierd

and always seemed to me to be a bit surly.

[DelawareValleyDem]

114. I was introduced to a

Thomas Maypother at a party right around 1979-1980. He later changed his name to Cruise.

[Worst Username Ever]

115. "Kimber," from Nip/Tuck (Kelly Carlson)

went to highschool with her. She was one year older. I also went to high school with Meghan Haney'Greier, the woman's freedive champion and also a model (she was on a slimfast commercial and a couple TV movies, I am sure she would show up on Google under "free diving" if you tried). I would like to add I went to a catholic school where women wore the uniforms. Those were good days.

[Burma Jones]

116. A Few.........

Mary Chapin Carpenter - Lived in my neighborhood. Didn't know her all that well, said hi, stuff like that. Had her hand me a flyer, talked about the weather on my front porch type of stuff.

Dave Grohl - Sensible guy, ran his group house well.

Jonathan Turley - Now a talking head on CNN, knew him as an undergrad at Knox College, he was wonky and a serious student......

Root Booy Slim - He lived on my block near the end of his life. He was a real study in dissipation then. I got him stoned a few times. He used to sell his albums in front of the 7-11 at the corner of Sligo Avenue and Fenton Street in Silver Spring, MD.

Rhea Seehorn - Actress I appeared with at the Source Theatre in DC and I directed her as well there. She's cool, good actress and interesting person always knew her to be kind and thoughtful.

[HeyManThatsCool]

139. I love Dave Grohl

I always wondered if he was "down to earth"

[TO Kid]

117. Went to school with a couple of actors

I lived around the corner from Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me), he was in my class in grade 3. Was in grade 7 with Valerie Buhagiar (sp?), she's been in a lot of indie films the best being Highway 61.

[WMliberal]

118. my parents had better luck with this sort of thing than I have.

My dad played high school baseball with Robin Yount. My mom went to high school with Meg Ryan.

When my parents lived in Pasadena in the early 80's, they lived in the apartment below two guys from REO Speedwagon. Partied with them several times.

Only "famous" person I've known is some guy on the 49ers. I sat behind him in Algebra II and later that year he got in a head-on collision in the school parking lot (his fault; he tried to do a U-Turn from one aisle to the next at 25 m.p.h.).

[musette_sf]

125. Kasim Sultan from Todd Rundgren's band

He was a high-schooler who hung out at my college with some musician-types there. A very nice young man.

[SiouxJ]

161. I used to have a huge crush on Kasim!

Nice to know he was a nice guy. I've seen him dozens of times in concert and he always seemed very nice.

[fudge stripe cookays]

164. Me too!

I love later Utopia-- from about 1980 on. Some of the early stuff was a little too experimental for me.

FSC

[SiouxJ]

166. I think the first time I saw Utopia was in 1980

so I am partial to later Utopia, but the older stuff grew on me eventually.

I also saw Kasim when he was playing bass for Joan Jett. Oh, and I also possess his solo album :-) .

[fudge stripe cookays]

167. That's right. I forgot he was playing with her for awhile.

I had the chance to meet Joan in Iowa volunteering for Dean (she and Janeane came out to our campground), but was so utterly and completely exhausted from an 18 hour bus ride up from Texas with very little sleep, and I'd already dressed for bed when we got the news.

I was in my bunk. NOTHING was getting me out...especially nothing that required pulling on a coat, hat, gloves and heavy boots and plodding through 8 degrees to get to another cabin.

FSC

[musette_sf]

126. Also Angela Boffil

I was one year ahead of her in high school, we sang in the school chorus together for several years. She was a featured soloist then and it was no surprise to anyone that she achieved what she did.

A nice person. We used to run into each other at the Big Girls clothing store, me because I was a bit chunky and she because she was so tall.

[msgadget]

143. Hey, I remember when she made the regional nightly news

for signing a record deal or something else related to her singing!

[musette_sf]

144. oooh, you're dating yourself!

but re Angie, it couldn't have happened to a nicer person, at least from what I knew of her.

[greatauntoftriplets]

127. Bruce Vilanch.

Back in the days when he was a features reporter for the long-gone newspaper, Chicago Today.

[NewJeffCT]

128. I casually knew some future NBA stars in high school

And, this was before the big trend of jumping straight to the NBA started... Lamar Odom (nice kid when I met him) & Stephon Marbury are probably the two biggest. I covered high school basketball as a hobby in the late 80s through the mid 90s. I even put my foot in my mouth once in regards to Marbury once... I was watching him play and somebody came up to me and asked me what I thought of him. I said something like, "Well, he's pretty good, but if you read the press, you'd think he walks on water, and he's not all that. Needs to work on making his teammates better." Oops, I was talking to a relative of Stephon's. At least he laughed it off. I still hold to that opinion - talented player, but doesn't make his team better.

[mark414]

131. heh

my school was in the same conference as caron butler and nick van exel...my school also played against d wade once...that's about it though, never really talked to the guys or anything

brent moss used to tear apart our football team when he was in high school

[kwassa]

132. Talking Heads (3), Gus Van Sant, Mary Boone

all classmates of mine in art school

David Byrne and Chris Frantz were in a band called The Artistics at school, Tina Weymouth was Chris's girlfriend. David reminded me of Neil Young at that stage, the Talking Heads was formed after they moved to New York after graduation, with Jerry Harrison.

Mary Boone was the hottest art dealer in New York by age 28 or so.

Gus is well-known. I thought back then that he might go far.

[Midlodemocrat]

140. Henry Simmons (NYPD Blue), John Popper, (Blues Traveler)

were both my students in Stamford, CT.

[Ramsey]

141. Tom Cruise

He dated a friend of mine in high school, back when he was known as Tom Mapother.

I was also friends with (actully, still know), Steve Gaghan, who wrote the screenpaly for the movie "Traffic".

[dog_lovin_dem]

142. Ever heard of Cali

Cox? I went to college with her before the name change, plastic surgery, and fame. Sweet, innocent, CURIOUS little girl.

[pink-o]

145. My friend Vanessa went to San Carlos High School

with Dana Carvey. They both graduated in 1974, a year after I did, and I went to a party in 73 and he was there. I don't really remember him, but of course, everyone had embellished their experience with him.

I also played the circuit in San Francisco with Chris Isaak when he first started. His band was called Silvertone, and we played on the same bill at the Mabuhay gardens. He hit on my friend who was our lead singer, a story she loves to tell.

And finally, I know a future celebrity. My friend's son Nathan Schierholtz signed on with the San Francisco Giants last year and is rising thru the ranks. He was training with Barry Bonds, but they pulled him out just before the BALCO scandal hit. (Lucky boy!) I've known Nathan since he was 7 years old; he'll be 21 in a few weeks, so I guess he wins my celeb poll!

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

148. Marty Roe (Diamond Rio)

I cut grass with him and others from the band before they got big in Nashville. Now they're at the Grand Ole Opry.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

151. James Franco.

[pagerbear]

157. Several people I went to music school with are well known now

At least in opera circles.

Mark Baker, tenor
Kristine Jepson, mezzo
Christopher Schaldenbrand, baritone
Janet Williams, soprano

etc.

[WritersBlock]

158. Well, I won't say who, but someone who later became famous

called me a "commie" for an entire year because I wore a McGovern button to school one day.

[July]

159. Not hugely famous, but known in some circles, I think --

I dated a member of Mission of Burma in college. Don't know if he's changed, but he was smart, fun, witty.

[smitty]

160. famous acquaintances

Please don't hold this against me but it is true and I can prove it. I went to parochial school (St. Brigid's, Westbury, NY) with Bill O'Reilly. I didn't know well him as we were several grades apart but we did ride on the same school bus. His obnoxious TV personality is exactly as I remember him from school 45 years ago.

[fudge stripe cookays]

163. Ugh! I'm sorry!

What a trauma to carry through your life!

Here, have a cookie.
FSC

[fudge stripe cookays]

162. A few very minor ones....

My first major boyfriend in college was Michael Lark, who is a pretty well known comic book artist ("Terminal City" and "Gotham Central").

The guy who helped me "get over" Mike #1 was Mike Malinin, who now plays drums for the Goo-Goo Dolls.

I used to work at a Sound Warehouse in Austin, and was the warehouse manager for awhile. Alejandro Escovedo worked at one of the other locations, and was also good friends with my friend Helen. We had to call back and forth for merchandise and ran into each other out at shows.

If any of you are older and remember a torch singer from the 1940s named "The Incomparable Hildegarde" (aka "The Dear that Made Milwaukee Famous"), she's my grandmother's first cousin.

[SiouxJ]

165. Marshall Faulk was at SDSU at the same time I was

I think it was his first or second semester and my last. I didn't know him personally though.

[SCDem]

168. Julie Foudy (US womens soccer) and Ben Harper (musician)

Julie Foudy is a distant step-cousin. Julie and her whole family are such great people. Of money but do not flaunt or talk about it in the least. They are truely great people.

Then went to same high school as Ben Harper and was in same class as his younger brother.