Encounters with the famous

[14thMed]

For the Bikers here, meet Bob Roll on a Ride the Rockies bike ride and Jens Voight at a local LBS years ago.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

At my summer job at a convenience store just off the interstate, I once sold a carton of Lucky Strikes to Charles Kuralt.

I took a leak next to Teller of Penn and Teller fame. I observed the man code of the restroom and didn't say anything.

 

[ERD50]

....

• Christie Brinkley probably in her 30's at the time, ... Otherworldly beautiful close up, even with no makeup after a workout, and extremely pleasant demeanor.
  • My sister in law worked a summer on Block Island and served breakfast to Billy Joel, Christie Brinkley and their daughter Alexa who was a baby at the time. She told us 'Christie was radiant, Alexa was a beautiful baby, but Billy looked like an old basset hound.'

Whenever I hear the Billy Joel song "I Love You Just The Way You Are" and the line "Don't go changin' " I always laugh. Yea, he's married to Christie Brinkley, who the heck would want her to 'change'!

Though you can't really take away the fact that Billy Joel is a real talent. I think "New York State of Mind" is a real showcase of his musical talent (not the biggest hit, a very different thing).

 

[motley]

Whenever I hear the Billy Joel song "I Love You Just The Way You Are" and the line "Don't go changin' " I always laugh. Yea, he's married to Christie Brinkley, who the heck would want her to 'change'!

You realize they hadn't even met when he wrote that song, right

Though you can't really take away the fact that Billy Joel is a real talent. I think "New York State of Mind" is a real showcase of his musical talent (not the biggest hit, a very different thing).

Of course. One of the all timers

 

[ERD50]

You realize they hadn't even met when he wrote that song, right


Of course. One of the all timers

No, I didn't know that! This is one of those cases where I will carry on anyhow - why wreck a good story!

 

[Ronstar]

Lots of close encounters in Las Vegas. A few feet away from Elizabeth Taylor, Larry Holmes, Celine Deion, Susan Lucci on separate occasions - Don Rickles and Bob Newhart at the dinner table next to us.

Breakfast with George H. W. Bush when he was VP, (along with about 100 other people)
Breakfast with the Village People, Country singer Gretchen Wilson at an airport bar in Phoenix, Oprah and Stedman at a political function, some beers with some former Chicago Bears players.

 

[aja8888]

I played golf with Flip Wilson when I lived in Thousand Oaks, CA. He walked up to us (threesome) on the first tee and asked if he could play with us. He said they wouldn't let him play at the Hollywood course.

Sat next to Mel Brooks in the 1980's frying First Class from LA to NYC. He kept the cabin in stitches the whole 4 hour flight.

Ran into Yogi Berra in the Sheridan Hotel in LA one morning. He was sitting at the table next to me. As a LONG TIME YANKEE FAN, I couldn't resist and introduced myself as a fan and chatted with him for a good 10 minutes. I was a kid again!

 

[motley]

Don Rickles and Bob Newhart at the dinner table next to us.

Wow now that would have been one where I'm not sure I could have resisted the urge to be an idiot and interrupt them to say hi, huge fan, so sorry, that's it, bye. Honestly huge, huge fan of both.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow now that would have been one where I'm not sure I could have resisted the urge to be an idiot and interrupt them to say hi, huge fan, so sorry, that's it, bye. Honestly huge, huge fan of both.

Well my buddy was that idiot. He approached their table after dinner. (IIRC, Don and Bob were dining with their wives) . Buddy said he was a big fan and asked for a picture with them. Mr. Rickles was not happy, but said ok. Mr. Newhart was ok with it. Buddy's wife took a quick pic of my buddy, Don, and Bob, and we left.

 

[homestead]

At a Buc-ee’s I saw Zach and Amy Roloff (Little People, Big World) but didn’t stop them or try to say hi.

Was in a business meeting with Matt Roloff, he was a rep for inventory tracking software.
Also went to his farm, kind of a fantasy land creation.

Ran into Redd Foxx at LAX he was a flashy dresser compared to his tv character.

 

[motley]

My dog was a flashy dresser compared to his TV character.

 

[REWahoo]

Sometime in the 80's I rounded a corner in the Miami airport terminal and came within inches of bumping into a guy dressed entirely in black wearing knee-length boots - Johnny Cash.

Around that same time a guy I worked with a guy who claimed to be friends with Larry Gatlin (of the Gatlin Brothers). He claimed to have been Gatlin's roomate in college, but since he was in sales and known to exaggerate a bit I was convinced he was joking. When Gatlin and Kenny Rogers did a local concert the sales guy got DW and I tickets to join he and his girlfriend - great seats. Larry Gatlin perfomed first and after Kenny Rogers had been on stage for only a couple of songs, he said "Let's go". He took us to a restaurant where Larry Gatlin joined the four of us for a late night dinner.

I was shopping in a local Lowe's one morning when I walked past a couple looking at Christmas decorations. The guy was talking to a Lowe's employee about something and his voice sounded familiar. I wondered if I knew him from work but didn't recognize him as he was wearing a pair of large sunglasses. As he continued his conversation, I suddenly realized why the voice was so familiar - I had recently heard it in the movie Men in Black. It was Tommy Lee Jones, who owns a ranch nearby and was obviously taking a personal interest in holiday decorations for his spread.

 

[jollystomper]

In 1984 I was at a technical conference in Las Vegas. I was with people I knew from other companies from my area, and staying in Ceasars Palace. Diana Ross was performing there, and one evening two of us decided to attend her conference. It was open seating and we were among the first in line, so we sat at the front of long tables near the stage.

She gave a great concert. At one point, while singing the song "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand", she goes into the audience - and sticks the microphone in my face! So I had brief duet with her on the main chorus line. I remember her smiling at me and saying "that's good!"

Afterwards, the guy who went with me to the show would kid me and ask how much would I pay him to confirm to others that I briefly sang with Diana Ross .

In college I knew several current (through their family names) and future "celebrities". Most at the time were friendly and serious students. Then all my job traveling and activities (some of my assignments included being involved in organizing corporate events with various speakers/entertainers) put me in touch with more.

 

[FlaGator]

-Was on the stage directly behind President Jimmy Carter when he addressed the national FFA convention in 1978.

-Shared a flight with then-Senator John McCain from Phoenix to DC in the mid-90's. Acknowledged him as he walked past me to his regular seat in the in the last row.

-Indy racer Johnny Rutherford was just a few tables away at a Mexican restaurant after a race in AZ. Caught his eye, smiled and nodded, he did the same. No need to disrupt his dinner looking for an autograph.

-Did a home loan for a guy who later bought the Village Voice.

-Kids went to school with a few children of current and former Dolphin players when we lived in SoFLA. The guys were normal (I made a point of not talking about their "work"), and their wives were among the most gracious ladies I've ever met.

And if you'd told me when I was a kid growing up that any of those things would happen, I would have said you were crazy, and my parents would have too. Lucky life

 

[old medic]

Don't know anyone who made it to the news in a small town newspaper.
"WHO IN HELL BRINGS A GUITAR ON A CANOE TRIP?

I have been in the local paper many times.... Front page picture twice.
I always brought a Banjo on our kayak trips.

As for a big celebrity, took care of Patrick Swayze in the ER when he was filming Dirty Dancing...
Had no clue who he was at the time.

 

[Dtail]

Robert De Niro coming out of his Tribeca restaurant.

 

[Winemaker]

My family rode an elevator with Roy Clark while we in Williamsburg VA about 30 years ago. He was in corner with a 9x12 card holding it up to hide his face. Me, being 6'5" and wary about someone hiding their face on an elevator, saw who it was and laughed. I said Hi and he said Hi to my family we all had a good laugh on that one.

 

[DrRoy]

I've met a number of the Apollo astronauts - Walt Cunningham, Jim Lovell, Mike Collins, Dick Gordon, Al Bean, Fred Haise, Al Worden, Gene Cernan. Had a beer, a good chat, and a tour of Kennedy Space Center with moonwalker Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot.

 

[braumeister]

Any number of politicians, but the saddest encounter was in the late 80s when I was in the lobby of a hotel near DC when Muhammad Ali checked in. He had advanced Parkinsons and just felt so sorry for him. Had three or four staff helping him, and I didn't think they were doing him a lot of good. At one point they all went off and left him standing at the front desk trying to talk to the clerk on duty. Almost made me cry to see how the mighty had fallen.

 

[mystang52]

I live in New Jersey, about 20 minutes north of Giants/now-MetLife Stadium. Many athletes live in my County. And I'm a Giants fan, so I recognize them in street clothes. Over the years I've seen quite a few Giants players, a.nd NJ Nets players (when they played at nearby Izod Arena). I'm sure some Yankee and Jets players are here, too, but I wouldn't recognize most of them.
In years past, I'd also go into NYC to run some races, and would occasionally see a celebrity on the streets.

 

[Plantman]

Have been on flights with Chaka Khan, sat across the aisle from Matthew McConaughey, and have been greeted by Terry Bradshaw while boarding in Hawaii. While in college I was friends with Rick Aiello and spent a weekend at his father's (Danny Aiello) home in the Bronx. Danny was a gracious host and supplied us with free tickets to "Grease" on Broadway.

 

[Fotodog]

Years ago when I was living in Mill Valley north of San Francisco, I stopped for breakfast at a non-descript cafe. I noticed a couple in a nearby booth; he was an average looking guy with long hair, and she had a natural beauty just wearing jeans and a tee shirt, baseball cap, and no makeup. When they left my waitress excitedly told me that was Jackson Brown and Daryl Hannah.

Last year, I was invited to play golf at the Olympic Club in SF for the first time. As I was warming up on the practice putting green, excited to play such a great course, an attractive Asian girl walked by and smiled. I thought she looked familiar, and when I walked by her golf bag I saw her name. It was Lydia Ko, my favorite LPGA player. As much as I wanted to say hello, I thought it best to let her practice without any interruptions. But she must have inspired me because I shot 76 with 4 birdies for my best round of the year considering the course.

 

[Car-Guy]

Let's see, back in the days when I worked, my in-person encounters with famous people were "mostly" political types.

Kay Bailey Hutchison - US Senator
Michael Chertoff Secretary of Homeland Security
Colin Powell - US Secretary of State
George HW Bush - US President
Bill Gates - (yes the Microsoft guy)

And recently at a fund raiser: (Meet and Greet)

Greg Abbott - Texas Governor

And sports types that I encountered (decades ago) and got to talk too "briefly" were:

Darryl Strawberry (Baseball player)
Bum Phillips (Houston Oilers head coach)

 

[Teacher Terry]

Since moving to Reno I have seen a few stars up at Lake Tahoe and in Vegas. One was Rodney dangerfield and I can see the faces but can’t remember the names of the others.

 

[pacergal]

*Jesse Jackson came to work during his Presidential campaign run, shook hands and said a few words with him.
*Jimmy Dean, multiple times, family connection via employment
*Back stage meet and greet with pictures, with LeAnn Rimes with my daughter, who was in her fan club at age 10, I think LeAnn was still a teen herself.
*Took young kids to meet and greet Lassie when they were in grade school (K and 3rd). Now, that was cool Such a well behaved dog. And they let kids hang out for quite a long time.
*Walked by Scott Caan one time in Waikiki, they were filming Hawaii 5-0. He was jogging one way, I was walking the other. He Smiled and said Hi, how's it going?