Brushes with greatness?

[Hawkeye-X]

What is your brush with greatness. I'm excluding ALL politicans from this category. Ex politicans are OK. Candidates are not.

Here is my brush with greatness:

I met Mick Foley at a campus event, and for those who doesn't know who Mick Foley is, he is a retired wrestler, and a NYT bestselling author of three books, and he gave a lecture on campus, and got a picture of him afterwords. I'll post it later if I can find the CD.

Hawkeye-X

[HEyHEY]

1. I met Dick Dale

Nice guy, wouldn't sign my Hawaii shirt though cause he said it would wreck his pen.

[Wickerman]

46. I've met Dick too

He wouldn't sign your shirt because you didn't buy it from him. He has policy that he wwon't sign anything that doesn't give him royalties or cash ont he barrelhead.

[HEyHEY]

57. He signed my ticket though

And he signed another guy's DIck Dale fender.... :shrug: what gives?

[MuseRider]

2. Ran into

Michael McKeon (is that the right spelling?) and Annette O'Toole at the Bela Fleck and the Flecktones concert last May in New Orleans. My son tried to get him to pose for a pic but he was having none of it.

on edit Not that this is greatness but it was cool. Met Martin Sheen once too. He was very kind and got on his knees to speak with my boys when they were little.

[MaineDem]

3. I shared a beer with Paul Newman

And spent time with numerous race drivers at various times and places. Almost every series but NASCAR. Wait, I do have a pic of Dale Earnhardt that I took in the pits at a race and a friend of mine working for TNN got him to sign it at Daytona the next year.

Then there was that time with Bobby Orr...

[wryter2000]

11. I was an extra in Rachel, Rachel

Paul Newman has to be one of the world's finest human beings...ever.

[SoCalDem]

20. Dorothy Lamour kissed me and sang a lullaby to me onstage

I was 18 months old..We were both in Havana..

(Don't even ASK why my parents took me to a nightclub when I was that little:eyes:..)

[BurtWorm]

56. I drove in front of him in Westport, CT, for several miles.

This was June 1978. He was shirtless and driving a maroon Volvo. It was rather difficult to keep my eyes on the road in front of me, not because he was shirtless, but because he was freakin' PAUL NEWMAN! I mean he looked just exactly like freakin' Paul Newman!

[Snow]

4. Spent an afternoon and evening with Ham Sok Hon,

the great Korean philosopher, writer, Quaker, and activist who was imprisoned by every single regime he lived under - from the Japanese occupation on! I think he's the only Korean ever nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/queen_of_suffering.htm

[Beaker]

109. "...imprisoned by every single regime he lived under..."

guy sounds like a trouble-maker.

[Snow]

110. Heh! Indeed he was.....

called a spade a spade, and all that. A very gentle man, though. Not shrill, always courteous. I admired him greatly. He's written a pile of philosophy books; I believe translations aer floating around on the web, and there're numbers of Koreans who discuss his writings.

[Beaker]

113. my uncle was imprisoned under 5 different presidents.

but he was just a drunk and an asshole.

[Submariner]

5. Rob Lowe carelessly ran out in front of me

from between parked cars when I was vacationing in Maui. I locked up my brakes and just missed making him a hood ornament. He had an infant in one of those backpack carriers on at the time. Scared the hell out of me and I let him know it.

[Beaker]

106. The same thing happened to me, but it was with Gene Siskal

and it was on Clark St., not Maui.
and he didn't have an infant or a backpack carrier.
and I was on the clock driving the company truck, not vacationing.

otherwise- it was exactly the same.

[ChompySnack]

6. I met Linus Pauling

Very inspiring man, the only person to ever get a Nobel prize in science and the Nobel peace prize. I almost cried when he died. He is one of my personal heros, I met him when in college and had an unexpected opportunity to ask him a question. With all my professors looking at us I couldn't think and asked a stupid question about vitamin C (which he was a big proponent of). He corrected my misunderstanding and moved on to other people.

I wish I had that one over again.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

7. I've been poolside at Peter Frampton's home

and met his wife, too. Other celebs in my life have been Ray Stevens, Lee Greenwood (boo hiss), Alan Jackson (bleagh), and I used to cut grass with almost every member of Diamond Rio (just before they hit the heights, most of them worked at a Nashville landscape company along side me). Many others on my list, but those are the biggies.

[Wolfman 11]

8. One time

I was behind Marc-Paul Gossler at a Taco Bell drive-thru.

[jumptheshadow]

9. I kissed Bobby Sherman

His makeup came off on my lips. Being about 12, I was very disillusioned.

[wryter2000]

10. I kissed Lucianno Pavarotti

At an autographing. I went behind him and posed with my hands on his shoulders so my fiancee could get a picture. When I looked down, Lucianno was looking up at me with his mouth puckered. Nice kiss, too.

Of course, Sherrill Milnes once autographed the T-shirt I was wearing (on the back, folks!). I floated out of the store and didn't recover full consciousness for at least 15 minutes.

[Character Assassin]

12. Too damn many to count.

Having lived in LA/Hollywood/Hollywood Hills and hung out in 'that' crowd, and having been brought up in the Carmel/Big Sur area, one gets a lot of exposure to all sorts of glitterati, from top names (Richard Harris and all of his sons, Pierce Brosnan, Rosanna Arquette (a snot, btw)) to funky things like smoking pot every year at the annual Paddock christmas party with Neil Diamond's keyboardist. Really great guy. Went to high school with one of Clint Eastwood's kids and Michael Nesmith's kid.

Let's see.... Reggie Jackson is an asshole and I happen to work out at his Gold's Gym in Seaside, Ca. We've had a few run-ins, some of them quite heated.

Amongst others, the wierdest is that Ron Popeil has cooked for lunch for me three times at his house. Long story.

I've lived an interesting life.

[SoCalDem]

21. I played touch football with John Riggins..

He is a world class ASSHOLE..

[Snow]

54. Ah, Sorry to hear that. Ahman Green went to the same high school

as my son, who also played hs football. Ahman is a very nice kid, still is - saw him at football/alumni dinners occassionally

[SoCalDem]

100. This was at KU.. he may have been nice in HS, but in College

he was an asshole..

[Runesong]

23. oohh oooohhhh!!! I forgot! 2 more.

My wife worked at a health club in Paxton Mass. There is a major recording studio nearby, and bands like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Kiss, etc, are routinely seen in the area. One night she arrives at work and is given a very serious briefing, that Steve Tyler will be working out there, it's supposed to be really low profile, don't say anything to him, don't even look at him, just say yes sir, etc..

Steve Tyler arrives and joins a aerobic class wearing this really insane spandex outfit, and does his best impersonation of Richard Simmons on crack, "Wooooo!", "Yeahhh!!" So much for keeping a low profile :)


My sister, an archeology student, was living in London earlier this year. She had been an an intern at a museum, when the internship ran out, she took a job as a receptionist at a really upscale pet grooming establisment. One day, a man who looked kind of like Seal came in with his dogs. There was a bit of a wait so he wound up chatting for a while and really flirting with her. Finally when it came time to pay, the man whips out a credit card with the name SEAL.

[Runesong]

25. Sorry, replied to the wrong sub-thread

[LTR]

39. Okay, I'm impressed

Richard Harris - cool

Pierce Brosnan - cool

Clint Eastwood's kid - was it the hot daughter?

Smoked up with Neil Diamond's keyboardits - heh heh heh

Reggie Jackson - my favorite ballplayer as a kid, but I've heard he was an ass.

But Ron Popeil? And he cooked lunch? AWESOME!!!

What gadget(s) did he use?

[oxymoron]

44. did Ron Popeil make jullienne fries?

[Character Assassin]

73. He made pasta with his pasta maker

Not to many people know this (how could they?), but he's a avid collector of olive oil, and has innumerable, various bottles of the stuff all over his kitchen.

Great guy, great cook.

[Runesong]

13. My brush with greatness.

As a kid growing up in Lowell Ma. my dad used to get beat up on a regular basis by the actor Robert Tessier. You might remember him as the burly, bald bad-guy in many 70's and 80's tv shows like the A-Team, Buck Rogers, he played an Indian in "Little Big Man", and was the guy who smashed through the bathroom tiles in the Tough-Act commercials.

[Runesong]

16. Oh yeah..

and as a teenager, I once met Maria Von Trapp in person at a craft shop in Stowe Vermont. That was cool. I've always loved that movie since I was a kid. Maria Von Trapp is the person whose life, "The Sound of Music" is based on.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

14. bono, patti smith, and janeane garofalo

who are, incidently, my three heroes

also, willie nelson, chuck d, and jeff tweety

(i go to a lot of shows)

[HEyHEY]

22. I know a guy

Who went into a bar in in Japan, he saw the only other white guy there and assumed the guy spoke english...he sat down next to the guy at the bar. Talked to him for about ten minutes then realized it was Bono. He spent about an hour or so with him just rapping...he says Bono's a real nice guy.

[carpetbagger]

32. "Who's U-2?"

That's what I asked after finding out that I had met U-2 in the early 80's on the beach in Florida.

They're pretty cool, and they didn't seem pretentious.

[BurtWorm]

58. I saw Patti Smith at a rally against Bush at the UN

a year ago. She seemed to have just showed up. Lou Posner of Voter March, which was sponsoring it, saw her and called her up to the speaker's area. She gave a very moving performance of The People Have the Power.

[jumptheshadow]

15. Can I include my partner's experiences?

Back when she was the Cable Goddess, she fixed Vanessa Del Rio's cable. When the woman answered the door she thought she recognized her from somewhere.

She also installed Brad Pitt's cable (he hovered out of sight in his location trailer). Anthony Hopkins turned her down twice when she went to install his cable but someone in the production company kept on sending her back. She finally convinced him to accept the cable when she pointed out that there was a horseracing channel in the cable lineup. (Or maybe it was just her charm...)

[jokerman93]

17. I once made out with

Charlene Tilton from the old Dallas TV series!

[Runesong]

27. Nice!

She was a cutie. As a teenager, I had a poster of her topless (well, her long hair was draped across her breasts) My mother decided that was the last straw, raided my room and confescated a bunch of similar posters :)

[jokerman93]

81. True, Charlene was a hottie but...

But maybe my more significant brushes with greatness were:

When I was nine, I was in a NY off-broadway play based on "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce. For six weeks of rehearsals and three months of performance I knew and worked closely with Roy Schieder and Stephen Joyce (the grandson of James Joyce). They were both amazing, talented, brilliant artists and the whole experience became one of the most powerful spiritual influences in my life.

Tim Robbins and I were roommates junior year at UCLA.

But Charlene is still a fine memory -- and had a very nice little behind...

:9

[TrogL]

18. Keith Emerson

composer, musician and now author

Met him by standing outside in 40 below weather when his band Emerson Lake and Palmer played in Edmonton. Security said no autographs, no fans, but a few of us stood out there for an hour freezing our butts so they relented.

He's got huuuuugggge hands and all three of them are very shy.

[SoCalDem]

19. No but......................how 'bout...

so sorry..could not resist.. a cookie to whoever "gets" it first :)

[never cry wolf]

30. Oh my GOD!!

you met Brush Soup???

[chiburb]

84. Brushes Toilet Bowls?

I REALLY want a cookie...

[Beaker]

85. brushes with baked french onion soup?

nt

[SoCalDem]

98. Close......Brushes with Gratinees

pronounced grah-tin-ays

[Snow]

112. Oh, man - I was going to guess Soupy Sales!

[tridim]

24. Sonic Youth

stayed at our house (not a frat) when I was in college. They were cool, but one of their roadies stole my violin bow. That pissed me off.

[confusionisnext]

37. Kim Deal

I literally rubbed thighs with her as she was waiting for the women's bathroom. My women friends, however, got to pee in the stall next to hers.

On edit: whoops, didn't mean to put this reply here. In any case, I did give Thurston Moore donuts once.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

26. Got totally fried with Timothy Leary and Tom Savini one evening...

what a blast!

[Zero Gravitas]

28. Michael Palin

I met Palin on a plane going from Pisa to London. He's a super cool guy.
I've also met Stephen J. Gould and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Also bumped into former UK P.M. Sir Harold Wilson on the street in London, he was by himself, no security or even an assistant.

[OneBlueSky]

29. I got Jayne Mansfield's autograph . . .

on my high school bus pass . . . it was the only thing I had with me to write on . . . still have it, btw . . .

[ikojo]

31. I chatted with Ray Manzarek (of the Doors) for about 15 minutes

one day. I was eating a piece of cheesecake and he was just sitting in the area where this restaurant sold the cheesecake. We just started talking. I had no idea it was him (he was appearing at Cicero's <a bar in St Louis> and I had tix too)..

He is very nice and intelligent. I think we discussed politics. This was in the early 90s.

My other brush with "greatness" involves the author James von Praagh...I was working at a newsstand in Clayton, MO and this guy comes in to buy several copies of the Sunday New York Times..he's excited and says "I'm on the best seller's list." I had no idea who he was so he told me he was James Von Praagh and that he had friends in St Louis.

[SiobhanClancy]

33. JFK Jr,Maria Shriver,etc

Including one who I will not name but who was filming "True Lies" down in the Florida Keys,which is why they were down there.Maria and FAMILY were staying in a house owned by my attorney,right down the street from my house. I met JFK Jr. when he was taking a run past the house and my dog ran out into the road. He asked me where was the best place to get groceries on the island,and I told him to go to Publix. That's about the extent of it:)A friend of mine(his company)built the model of the old 7 Mile Bridge that was blown up in the movie and had more dealings with Maria's husband...said he was real pain in the ass,which I don't doubt.

Not exactly "greatness",but interesting.


Edited for ususal predictable typos

[UrbScotty]

34. NASCAR driver Johnny Benson

Perhaps you've heard of him?

[L.A.dweller]

35. John Doe and Exene each in seperate incidents.

Me and a friend whent to a John Doe show and before he performed we went outside to get some fresh air (actually i think we followed him out, something annoying fans would do). He was getting his instrument out of his car and we got to speak to him. He was nice to give us his time. My friend told him "You're a legend." Later, she told her mom what she said and her mom was like you did not say that. My friend played it off and said she didn't.
Met Exene too and got her autograph. She is quite the odd one.

[catzies]

74. John Doe and DJ Bonebrake in the line for valet parking at HOB Sunset

Got to give John a big hug. I think he's delicious.

:shivers with delight at the memory:

[scarlet_owl]

36. Ozzie Smith

Just about every member of my family has worked in the Cardinals Stadium Club, and when I was young, I would go up there and get to hang out. My mother used to joke with Ozzie Smith that his son and my sister (who are the same age), should be arranged to be married. I don't recall all the famous people I personally met up there (I was VERY little, like 2 years old), but my mother has met such folks as Harry Karay and Paul Prudhomme, who were regulars.

[bikebloke]

38. The Israeli Supreme Court Justice...

... who presided over the Adolf Eichmann trial. I worked for his daughter.

[LTR]

40. A few (not that exciting)

Wrestling legend Verne Gagne (waited on his table at an old job. Mentioned in the "Best wrestler of all time' thread).

Motivational guru and "Shallow Hal" star Anthony Robbins (at one of his seminars. Got his autograph. Shook his hand. Dude is WAY tall!)

A few ex-Vikings players: Corey Fuller (cool guy), Scott Studwell (stuck-up). Saw Jim McMahon at Stuart Anderson's (bar) once. He had a bunch of women swarming around him. I remembered he looked like total shit. Real fake, over-tanned lizard-like skin. A lot of old Vikings used to tear up the bars. Tommy Kramer was a riot to watch.

I was at the Twins' World Series victory parade in '87. We parked on the outskirts of Downtown St. Paul, as the parade swung into town. Not many people were around. I scoped out Kirby Puckett and yelled "Hey Kirby!". He turned around and waved. That was cool!

[demgurl]

41. I have had several brushes with greatness.

I met Burton Cummings (The Guess Who) when I was about 16. He was up on stage and I was in the third row. He noticed I was singing all of the words to his songs. I did not realize it at the time, but if he sees you doing this, he will generally sing to you through the entire concert. We had eye contact for almost 2/3 of the concert! At the end of the concert I pointed at him and then me, trying to ask if I could come back stage. He nodded yes. I went back stage and we arranged to go out the next day. I took him sightseeing. I told him I had been greatly disappointed he had not sung "These Eyes" and he sang it to me right there in the car. He gave me a ticket to his concert that night. I bought a button from a stand and the guy recognized me. He said, "You are the one Burton was singing to last night." He explained the story and that is how I came to find out about Burton noticing people singing his songs. I went back stage again that night and he noticed my button. He said that that was a cheap one and took the button off his coat and gave it to me. He was a very nice down to earth guy. I really enjoyed meeting him.

I walked back stage at an Alan Alda play once. Maybe he just had a bad night, but he was not nice. I had a M*A*S*H* script I bought at a charity auction. It was signed by him already, but I wanted a personalized signature. I noticed there were no body guards and so I just walked back stage. He pointed out that I already had his signature but I told him I wanted a personalized one. Another lady decided to follow me in and asked for an autograph as well. Alan said no. She pointed out that he was signing my script. He rebutted that it was a charity script. She begged and said what a big fan her daughter was. He said okay, but on one condition. He said we both had to pass around the word that he DOES NOT do autographs. He was very short about it and quite angry.

One time I met Michael Stipe. A friend dragged me to the concert. I like them, but had not planned on going. I knew someone working the backstage and they said if I went that night then they would give me a pass. I had no idea that Michael is a vegetarian (he was dirnking wheat grass) and I do not think he was at all impressed with my leather ouitfit. Our interaction was short, but I went away with a whole new respect for the man. He turned down so many autograph seekers. He explained he only signs things for charities!

I met Rick Dees (DJ) at a golf course once. It was The Crosby. He always gave away $100 bills at random as a promo for his radio station. Anyway, he told me that mmy pink strapless sundress earned me a $100!

Don't want to bore you all, so I will end on one of my biggest celebrity encounters. I once met Eddie Van Halen. We followed the band's limo to their hotel. They were on a secure floor and so we got a room on a different floor. We got a couple of guys to get us up to the secure floor. They were down in the lobby asking us if we had seen Eddie. They explained he was in the room next to theirs and that they were down in the lobby buying film to take pix. They brought us up and we stood outside Eddie's door and heard him play his guitar. After a while, we sat at a table down the hall next to the elevator.
After about ten minutes, Eddie came out and pushed the elevator button. I asked if he would do me a favor. He rolled his eyes and said, "Anything but an autograph." I told him my friend in Canada was a huge fanatic and how she had won first place in a Halloween contest dressed like him. I had the pic of her dressed like him and asked if he would hole it and I could get a pic of that. He smiled and said sure. He said she looked like, "My old lady." He gave me guitar picks to send to her and said the words in it were in a foreign language and meant "Pussy"!!! He took pics with everyone that was there. Real nice guy. He then said he was sorry but he had to go downstairs. We went downstairs right after him. He went in the bar and there was a bouncer there. The bouncer did not let the guys in but he did let me and my friend in. Eddie started to play with the band. It was a blues band and I have never heard any guitar player play like that. There were about ten people in the bar including about five wait staff. It was like being at a private concert for the elite. Eddie had played for several hours at the arena and then he played for about an hour or so at the bar. It was amazing. Eddie seemed like a very cool guy. There are some things I will not go into, since everyone deserves their privacy. I could have called the Enquirer about Eddie (nothing to do with my friend or myself) but that is to remain a private thing for those who were there that night.

Christina

[jenm]

42. my ex husband

peed in the urinal next to Martin Landau

[oxymoron]

43. ok, in chronological order...

(including several brushes with mediocrity)

-As a kid I shook hands with Robert Kennedy.
-I was in a movie with (extra) and met Raquel Welch
-I met and introduced Jimmy Carter when he was campaigning on campus
-I stood around a piano being played by Count Basie while Ella Fitzgerald sang "Satin Doll"
-I got Ella's autograph
-My brother gave me Ella's signed roomservice check for her hotel breakfast (Post Toasties, Skim Milk and Grapefruit)
Note: Something of an Ella fan here...
-I had a speaking part in a scene of a movie with Art Carney.
-I gave Estelle Getty lemonade at Gay Pride
-I kissed Kathy Najimy on the cheek (also at Gay Pride)
-I met Dave Brubeck
-I accidently stepped in front of Natalie Cole's car (she stopped and smiled)
-I met Dianne Schuur
-I met Harvey Fierstein
-I met Holly Woodlawn
-I discussed the pros and cons of a certain vacuum cleaner that was on sale with Martin Landau. (Actually, Landau didn't come with the vacuum...he was looking to buy one)
-I was in the frozen vegetable aisle with k.d. lang and her girlfriend
-I stood in line at Ralph's behind Weird Al Yankovich

It's been all downhill ever since...

<edit for spelling>

[Beaker]

111. Martin Landau?

you should meet jenm's ex-husband from above...you two have something in common.

[moof]

45. Shook hands with Clinton & Gore and

their wives on a campaign stop before their first election.

Got Drew Carey's autograph at Disney's Animal Kingdom before it was made clear he was RW.

Watched It's tough to be a Bug at Animal Kingdom with Michael J. Fox

Rode The Tower of Terror with Gary Sinise.

At the Star Wars Weekends at Disney World, met & got photos, video & autographs from Jake Lloyd - anikin in SW1
Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew- Chewbacca, Jeremy Bulloch- Boba Fett

[Cocoa]

47. Larry Storch

my roommate was his grandson, but with a different name.

I saw a check from Larry sitting on his bed, a $10 check for his birthday. As a joke, I asked if that was THE Larry Storch, I didn't really think it was, but he said "Dude, you know who he is? No one knows who he is, he's going to be so excited someone our age knows him." I ended up meeting him once, he's one of the funniest guys I've ever met, and so is his grandson.

[Wickerman]

48. I had dinner with the band Yo La Tengo

and once rocked Johnny Depp off a log at Liberty Lunch in Austin. The Lemonheads were playing, Johnny was in town shooting Gilbert Grape, I think. He and Mary Stuart Masterson were at the show as I understand he and Evan Dando kind of hung out. I was standing on one end of this railroad tie that was off to the stage, and Depp was standing on the other. I was taping the show with my handheld mic and Dep kept rocking the log. I got his end up in the air and stepped off. He tripped off. I had no idea it was Depp until my wife told me later, but I did think Masterson looked familiar. I think he was pissed I was taping his friend's show, actually.

[qwertyMike]

49. Van Morrison

grew up with him in Belfast. Went to all his teen talent contests at Saturday movie matinees (He sang Jimmie Rodgers mostly).
He dated, Jane, my buddy's sister for ages. She broke his heart ---> Brown Eyed Girl
His real love was '40's Big Band jazz.

Later he was with THEM <sigh>

Then he went to America. Never heard of him after that. I hope he did well and got a real job.
;)

[Fuzz]

50. Let's see, between my wife and I . .

Played poker with Jerry Orbach from Law & Order (though this was before Law and Order) and Dirty Dancing fame in Atlantic City.


Dr. J at Tropicana in Atlantic City

Tony Orlando at same place, different time.

Joe Pepitone signed a hat for us when we were at a Yankees game as guests in Steinbrenner's box or suite, or whatever it's called.

Marion Barry at Newark Airport.

David Hartman of Good Morning America fame at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

Shoshana Lowenstein (sp) Seinfeld's girlfriend at the time at the same Yankees game.

Al Roker and his wife while eating lunch in NYC.

Bill Cosby on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.

Vernon Reid, the guitarist from Living Colour, on the streets of NYC before a U2 concert.

Ian McCulloch, lead singer of Echo and the Bunnymen at a bar called The Anchor, in New Haven, before a concert next door.

Ed O'Neil from Married with Children on Redondo beach.

There was one Penthouse Pet of the year that I met during my single years, but my wife doesn't like me to talk about that.

And last but not least, Angelina Jolie, in my dreams nearly every single night.

:)

That's all I can think of.

[Catshrink]

51. I stood behind Mike Singletary in line at Walgreen's.

I was so thrilled that I named my cat Samurai Mike after him.

Samurai Mike:

[Beaker]

107. how much does that cat weigh?

oh...and I saw Otis Wilson and Dan Hampton shopping at woodfield.

[dolo amber]

52. Patrick Ewing

in an elevator in NYC in the late 80's. He is freakishly tall. :D

Also, any and every *alterna-band* from 88-92 when I worked in a club in Cincinnati. Mojo Nixon laughed really hard at me when I said my friend would "shit barnyard animals" if he autographed something for her. I felt honored. :)

[Red State Rebel]

53. Went to High School with Rusty and Mike Wallace

For the uninformed they are NASCAR Race Drivers. I used to watch them race at a local track. I've seen them race a few times in the last 5 years and enjoyed it very much!

[BigDaddyLove]

55. I've never met anyone really famous (great by not famous)...........

but I did sing in Carnegie Hall when I was 11 with the Philadelphia Boys Choir.

Oh wait, I worked with Jeremiah Chechik (he directed "Benny and Joon" and "The Avengers") on a video project he was doing. Great guy.

[Maine Mary]

59. Paul Newman wanted to rent my uncle's home

(Or at least his agent wanted to rent it for him) while Newman is in the area filming a movie called "Empire Falls" My uncle turned them down though.

[BurtWorm]

60. I interviewed Bebe Buell for a rock magazine in Portland, Maine

She's more famous as a "rock wife" and mother of Liv Tyler, but she was in a bunch of bands in Portland. She was so nice to me. I loved the article I wrote about her. It got me in to a writing class with Annie Dillard at Wesleyan. (I was much less crazy about Annie Dillard.)

I also stayed in Michael Herr's flat in London. Had lunch with him and Jack Lawrence of ABC News too. They were friends of an ex-girlfriend's father.

PS: Being from NY, I see celebrities rather frequently out of their usual contexts (i.e., in my contexts). I've passed Tommy Tune, Al Franken, Julie Hagerty, Al Roker and others on the street. Turned a corner and almost walked into Regis Philbin. Saw Jay Leno at my local Chinese restaurant when the Tonight Show was in NYC a few years ago. Stood on line with Sigourney Weaver at Symphony Space. Watched The Sheltering Sky at the Ziegfield Theatre in the same aisle as Ellen Barkin and Gabriel Byrne. One of my prize sightings, not because I liked the guy but because it was so weird, was Sam Kinison about a month before he died at a restaurant on Columbus Ave. He'd probably just done a show at the Beacon Theater. I was outside on the street. He and buddies were inside drinking beers, the restaurant was closed (even though it was probably a 24 hour place) and his eyes and mine met and we just looked at each other sardonically for a second or two.

[jumptheshadow]

61. Oh, NYC sightings count?

I've seen a few celebrities on the streets and at work-related parties. My favorite sighting came many years ago when I saw a young, handsome guy carrying a briefcase and walking on Fulton Street. The thing that stood out about this man was that he was deep in conversation with himself.

The person was JFK Jr.

A friend used to see him often in a ritzy apartment building. Said he would occasionally wear running shorts sans panties. Thought the guy had a sly humor about that.

[MaineDem]

78. I went to school with Al Franken's wife

She's from Portland, too.

[BurtWorm]

79. That's right! He mentions that in his book.

[MaineDem]

104. That I went to school with Frances?

:evilgrin:

I know what you meant. Just kidding.

[BurtWorm]

105. Yeah, didn't you read the endnotes?

;)

[VOX]

62. Had a chat with Hall-of-Famer Duke Snider in a women's clothing store...

No, we were both just sitting in there, waiting for our wives. The museum exhibit "Baseball as America" had opened that day in L.A., and I just happened to run into him. A very nice gentleman, and one of the true greats.

Have also chatted with the following in recent years: Taj Mahal in the parking lot of a guitar shop; Ry Cooder in a Tower Records store; actor Sam Neil in an Italian restaurant; John Cleese in a bookstore; and Steven Bishop, Chris Hillman and Michael Georgiades in a guitar shop -- and they all played my Gibson acoustic. Cool!

:kick:

[tsakshaug]

63. a few

Arlo Guthrie. met him a few times, went swimming once with him.

Robert Parrish in a record store. Felt like someone was standing on a ladder behind me.

Patrick Ewing-when he was in high school.

George Gervin (the iceman) had a chance to pratice basketball with the Spurs one time, they needed a body, I was avalable.

Reggie Lewis

Rameal Robinson-Short time NBAer- Was coaching indoor track where he went to high school, he was cut from the freshman team, came out for track,high jumped 6' first pratice.

[Bridget Burke]

64. Ramblin' Jack Elliot

John Lee Hooker, Lowell George, Tuli Kupferberg & the other Fugs, etc. (all passing through)

Locally, several people (mostly musicians) before they were famous....

[trof]

65. Danced with Minnie Pearl.

She was speaker at a charity event my mom organized. I was about 16. Ms. Pearl was considerably older. Out of costume and character she was a very attractive and well spoken lady.

Shot pool/drank beer with "Broadway" Joe Namath when we were both at the U. of Alabama. Ran into him in NY a few years later when he was playing for the Jets and he had no idea who I was. Ah fleeting fame.

Shook Jimmy Carter's hand and he kissed my 4 year old daughter on the cheek when he was campaigning the first time.

And last, but far from least, I dated Miss Alabama.
What a dish.

[bamademo]

93. I know a couple of former Miss Alabama's...

...Who did you date?

My famous people:

When I was 2 George Wallace kissed me. I was sick until I shook hands with Coach Paul Bear Bryant years later which canceled out the Wallace cooties. :-)

Joe Dimaggio as a very small child.

Greg Allman (he was trashed)
Dicky Betts (he wasn't trashed)
Carl Sagan
James Doohan (Scotty)

[trof]

102. We're talkin' circa 1958

I had to google it and I THINK it was Lee Thornberry.
It was a one time thing to Gov. John Patterson's inauguration.
It's a long story.

[RebelOne]

66. Let's see I had a few

All happened in Miami years ago.

Rode in a elevator with Anthony Quinn at the Gulf American building on Biscayne Blvd. Told him how much I loved all his movies.

Sat in a lunch booth next to Liza Minnelli and her then-husband Peter in Walgreens on Biscayne Blvd.

Went club-hopping with Alan King and friends in No. Miami Beach.

Had dinner with George DeWitt (probably none of you know who he was). He was the host of some TV game show back in the '60s.

Troy Donahue came into the North Bay Village beauty parlor where I was and picked up a girl.

There are probably other incidents, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.

[Loonman]

67. Met Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant

Siouxsie Sioux
Budgie
Suzanne Vega
Rick Boston
Dave Hedges
Kay Hanley(in 1991, suckahs!)
Rob Zombie

[number six]

82. I interviewed Ian McCulloch

for a student newspaper in 1995. He asked me for a light. I didn't have one. My greatest regret!

[Loonman]

87. Nice guy, huh?

If he's well rested, that is. I thought Ian and Will were a great couple of guys.

[number six]

90. He's a little antsy

and mouthy, but definitely entertaining. He's cool.

[trigz]

68. I gave directions and got a ride to St. Andrew's Stadium in Birmingham

(England) by legendary Arsenal, Tottenham and Leeds United manager George Graham. He was a great bloke.

Oh, and I met Kylie Minogue when I was 12. She came to Oslo to sing in a program, we chatted for five minutes (my English was quite decent for a 12-year old), and then she gave me a signed picture and a kiss on the cheek. My greatest moment for the first 14 years of my life :D

[MissMillie]

69. I used to work for....

Howard Raiffa, economist, one of the founders of the field of Decision Analysis, and first director (appointed by President Johnson) of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Besides all that, he's one of the sweetest, most generous human beings I have ever met.

[Red State Rebel]

70. My sister dated Rusty Young from Poco

Ohhh the tales I could tell......

[Maine Mary]

71. I touched Bill Clinton's soul

I mean... sole. :evilgrin:

Seriously though...During my 12 year shoe factory "career" I was a stitcher for most of it. However, I briefly worked in the sole dept at New Balance in 93. Anyway, my boss brought around a special order and asked me to do my best work on it because it was "for the president". I didn't know whether she meant THE President ie BC, president of NB or what, but I did it anyway. A couple of weeks later, there was a news clip with Bill jogging in those shoes. If I remember correctly they were a pair of NB 1500's. :-)

[CBHagman]

72. A mixed bag.

I waited on Julian Bond at a bookstore counter. Since then I've seen oodles of celebrities shopping, including Clarence Page, Jim Lehrer, Clark Clifford, and various other government and TV news types.

The Republicans have also been lying in wait for me. I shook Rep. Connie Morella's (R-MD) hand at the Metro stop after she won another election. We eventually put a stop to that and elected Chris Van Hollen to that seat.

Strom Thurmond showed up at freshman registration at my university and introduced himself to me. I suspect he was cruising for chicks.

I've also shaken hands with Bill Clinton, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), then-Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), and Van Hollen.

Then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher turned up at the movie theater one rainy Sunday.

I saw actors Danny Kaye and Henry Jones, on separate occasions, when they were dining out.

[Snow]

75. My daughter corresponded with Vinton Cerf -

she was writing a high school report on the beginnings of the internet - dropped him an email note and he wrote back, very helpful and friendly, and they exchanged notes coupla more times clearing up her questions. Very nice guy; I was impressed.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

76. Worked with loads, stalked others... :)

Let's see, where to start....

When I was six, spent a day on the set of a new sci-fi series NBC was broadcasting in the Fall, and watched a script reading in which sat a gentlemen with a bilious green complexion and pointy ears...

Met the cast of "Hogan's Heroes"...

Sat in on a "Lucille Ball Show" dress rehearsal...

Worked with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas on a theatre production.

Grew up to work in film production and post-production, met Thomas Dolby, Tom Waites, Neil Young, Radiohead, Meg Ryan, Joe Montana, The Thompson Twins, Taylor Hackford, George Zimmer (!), Too Much Joy...

Met on other occassions Ethan Hawke, Shirley MacLaine, Marshall Crenshaw, Timothy Hutton, Robbie Benson, Keith Gordon, The Everly Brothers, Hall & Oates, Bill Clinton, Primus, Chris Isaack, The Dead Kennedys,

Went to George Lucas' Xmas party and a private premiere of "Phantom Menace"...

Swapped spit with Keanu Reeves...

Went out on a couple of dates with G.E. Smith and Les Claypool...

That's all my perimenopausal-mind will urp at me right now. :)

[bbernardini]

77. Zappa kids, John S. Hall, Rundgren, Geoff Downes, Tenacious D, Tubes

John S. Hall, from King Missile. Geoff Downes was a member of the Buggles, Yes, and was and still is a member of Asia.

Probably many more, but these are a few.

[mykpart]

80. I had lunch with Kenny Rogers.

A friend and I went to a Long John Silver's for lunch and noticed a man next to us who was alone and looked remarkably like Kenny Rogers. When we got back to work and told someone about it, we found out that Rogers was in town to appear at a local CW Club. We were both too embarassed to speak to him at the time, and weren't really sure it was him until later.

[number six]

83. I got bullied at school by a guy from Belle and Sebastian!

[Beaker]

86. I was on Oprah

Back when Oprah was more like Jenny Jones than the Oprah of today. The topic was: "Men who date married women" I was one of the 3 guys, and we were all onstage for the full hour.
The really funny part-
my mother didn't know that I was going to be on the show, and according to my sister(she didn't know either)- she did a "spit take" with a mouthful of coffee when she saw me introduced.

[VermontDem2004]

88. I met Jake Plummer

A couple of times actually, one time I went to the Cardinals block party thing in July a few years ago and the Cardinals players were on the field getting everyones autograph, I got a rookie card autographed by him. The second time was 2 years ago at a practice in Flagstaff, Arizona he didn't remember me but I got a sheet of paper autographed with his signature. My only brush with greatness.

[Beaker]

89. I made Chuck Heston miss his plane.

I was working as a phone reservationist for UAL, and got a call from Charlton Heston that he was caught in traffic on the expressway, and could we do something to hold the flight a few minutes since he had to be on that plane. I assured him that we would do all that we could to accomodate him, then let him go and took my next call.
I checked back later and saw that he had been rebooked on another flight the next day.

[Beaker]

91. John and Joan Cusak and family were at our favourite Thai place...

on the northside of Chicago when we were there once.
"Always Thai" on Irving Park Rd.

[Beaker]

101. I also rode an elevator at O'Hare, just me & Mr. T.

in his post A-Team, deforesting Lake Forest days, and only half his normal 'bling-bling'...i gues that would make it just 'bling' then, if my math is correct.

[JVS]

92. Franco Harris held me when I was a baby

I have been held in the hands that cradled the Immaculate reception. Around hear that is like saying that you were breastfed by the virgin Mary.

[TrogL]

94. Miss Nude Canada 2001

Saw her perform at the club. Best strip show I've ever seen. She brushed against me on the way out. Does that count?

[Brewman_Jax]

95. Went to college with John Salley

That was a while ago, when Georgia Tech had the basketball team to watch. :bounce:

[jab105]

96. Not too many...

River Phoenix's sister and mom (they live in Gainesville)
Scott Hamilton (1984 ice skating gold medalist...he was practicing at our skating rink while he was in florida on a skating tour in 1985, I was 9...he was nice)
Model Niki Taylor and her sister (the sister died a while ago, Niki almost died too)
They Might Be Giants (they stopped at a restuarant that I worked at when they were in town for the Alachua Music Harvest Fest, I waited on them, and they gave me a $20 tip:))

[Bertha Venation]

97. two . . .

June Lockhart visited me in hospital when I was a baby (heart surgery -- the first infant in CA, my mother claimed...???).

I met Penny Marshall outside a theater in Huntington Beach, CA, after a pre-release screening of "The Natural." She was wearing a Yankees cap, damn her. We chatted a tiny bit. Provincial little ass that I was at the time, I asked for her autograph, and the only paper I had was my checkbook. I handed her a check, upside-down, and a pen, and she said, "What, am I endoahsing something heah?" She signed it "lovseeees, Penny Marshall." Then she asked me what I thought of the score. I thought to myself, "What? It was 3-2, they won." She prompted, "You know, the music." "Ah," I recovered, "it was wonderful." Gawd... 23 and no class whatsoever.

edit Oh yeah... went to high school with Willie Aames (real name Upton). Better yet, my mother went to high school with Beau Bridges.

And one more: I never met him, but John Denver (real name Deutchendorf ) was my cousin.

[Speck Tater]

99. Well, this probably doesn't count...

... because I worked for a small company that did work for several Hollywood studios. Met Gale Storm (anyone old enough to remember her?), Carrie Fisher, Jackie Gleason and Marlon Brando, and got to sit in the captain's chair on the bridge of the original Enterprise on set of Star Trek. Never met any of the Star Trek crew though :(

[GumboYaYa]

103. I sat in a production trailer and jammed out

with Mark Knopfler, Chet Atkins, and Earl Klugh one afternoon. It was by far the greatest musical experience I ever had.

[Beaker]

108. I bought Leon Spinks a drink.

at the former 'Hotsie-Totsie's' on Division St. in chicago. actually my friend 'bought' the drink, but he didn't have any money on him, so it went on my tab.
It was funny how "The Champ" switched from old style to Courvosier when someone else(i.e. me) was buying. I was just lucky that Gary didn't keep Louis 13th in stock.