Encounters with the famous

[REWahoo]

I've met a number of the Apollo astronauts...

I've only met one.

A few months after the Apollo 13 mission I met Jim Lovell (played by Tom Hanks in the movie ). Lovell landed his NASA T-38 a couple of minutes behind us at Warner Robbins AFB in Georgia and parked next to us on the ramp. When his staff car pulled up he gave me and my instructor a ride to the base operations building.

 

[Idnar7]

Waiting to check out in a clothing store the guy in front of me was Pete Townshend (The Who) he asked the clerk if they had any black shirts. The clerk said no but check at Nate's, another store just up the street. Pete said he wasn't from there and asked directions. I said I could show him (it was just up the street). Walked out of the store and pointed to it. He said thanks and I said "see you tonight" (they were in town for a concert and we had tickets). Had a big smile and said "fabulous".
John Denver at same clothing store.
Saw Morgan Freeman in a coffeeshop near Central Park. He was sitting alone enjoying a coffee.
Saw Fran Tarkenton (QB) sitting on a bench with me at a mall at Christmas time. "Two guys waiting on their wives".
Saw Paul Kantner (Starship) outside a diner in San Francisco.

 

[timbervest]

Sat next to Ed Bradley (60 Minutes) on a plane once. We chatted but I never acknowledged who he was.

Another plane flight -- Henry Winkler in a seat near me. People around him were talking to him about his show etc. I exchanged pleasantries but never actually indicated I recognized him which seemed to put him off.

 

[foxcreek9]

John Anderson when he was running for President in 1980 - made the one of the network news broadcasts that night, me shaking his hand.

Talked for a few minutes with the "Mad Hungarian" in St. Louis back in the mid 90s.

 

[CO-guy]

In the 90s, I was waiting in baggage claim for my GF at the time to get through immigration, when I saw a guy that looked just like David Hasselhoff. Without thinking, I walked right over and said, "Oh my gosh! You look just like David Hasselhoff! Hurry up Kit! The bad guy's getting away!" and then proceeded to do my best slow-mo Baywatch run. None of my schtick registered even a smile with him.

Turns out, it was actually David Hasselhoff.

 

[Steeler75]

Won a contest about 20 years ago that gave me and DW (and 4 other couples) a chance to meet Joe Montana at Cuvaison Winery in Napa for a meet and greet and bbq demonstration.

After the cooking demo, lunch was provided in the winery caves. Before entering the caves each couple was invited to take a picture with Joe. We were the last couple entering the cave after the pics and noticed the other couples completely filled up two of the three tables, so my wife and I sat down at the last vacant table. A minute later Joe comes up behind and asked if we mind if he joins us for lunch! So we were entertained by his stories about his personal life while enjoying lunch with him exclusively.

Great down to earth guy. DW huge 49er fan; me not so much.. Admitted to Joe that I was a big Steelers fan from way back and to my surprise he said me too, having been born in Pennsylvania.


Back in the early 90’s, another celebrity I encountered was Keith Richards. Escorted him and his entourage at SFO to keep him away from public. He chatted with me for a while and asked me to do him a favor. He said he sends his daughter a postcard from every city he goes to and asked me if I’d mail his postcard from San Francisco. I of course said sure then he asked me to guess what image was on the post card. He turns it over and with his best bad boy laugh, says Alcatraz! Too funny.

Good memories.

 

[Lorenzo]

At a wedding, someone pointed to another guest and said, "That's so-and-so who played (I forgot which character) in Leave it to Beaver. Wally maybe? Later, I was in the restroom standing at a urinal and I noticed it was that guy at the next urinal. I said nothing, of course. A guy does not break urinal etiquette even for a celebrity.

My parents liked to remind me that when I was around 5 years old I got to shake the hand of Joe Louis the boxer. It was in a hotel lobby, and my dad was never one to be shy about walking up to a stranger and introducing himself (and in this case, his young son). I don't really remember.

This last one is not all that uncommon for anyone who flies a lot from or through Atlanta: Jimmy Carter. Until just a few years ago he was known for walking down the aisle the entire length of the plane and shaking hands.

 

[aja8888]

One more for me:

When I was a young (late 30's) Superintendent of a non-ferrous metals rolling mill in Detroit, Michigan in 1975 or so, my second shift lead Foreman was Fred Ross, Diana Ross's father. He worked at the mill for about 20 years at that time and really didn't care to join his daughter's success "on the road" like his wife did. Fred elected to live a low key life alone and had a grown son, I believe who had a good career in Detroit (lawyer, I think).

One day, Fred told me that Diana and the Supremes we're going to come back to Detroit to put on a show, and that they had not been back since going out on tour (long time). Fred asked me and a few other management folks if we wanted tickets, which of course we did.

We ended up in the first row of the concert hall (about 10 of us) and during half time, Fred brought us and our wives backstage to meet Diana in person. What a great time we had. I still have the program that Diana and the other gals signed for us.

I got transferred back to Connecticut to run a bigger plant in 1978 and Fred stayed on until the plant in Detroit was eventually closed and he retired. What a true gentleman he was and it was a privilege for me to know him.

 

[CO-guy]

One more I remember:
I was flying out of DCA in the early 2000s, shortly after the "shoe bomber" scare, when everyone first started having to take off their shoes at security.

While waiting for my shoes to go through the x-ray, I looked over and saw Jesse Jackson standing next to me. We made eye contact and I said, "Well, if they're making you take off your shoes, then I have no complaints!" He reached out and shook my hand. His hand was so huge it was like trying to shake a catchers mitt.

 

[Sunset]

I was on a cruise (probably carnival), saw some famous politician folks from Chicago area, taking a cruise before serving their jail time. I ignored them.

As a teenager, I was lifeguarding, Some quarterback from the football team (see I don't follow football, as what other sport has quarterbacks ) came to swim. I refused him entry as he didn't have a pass. He was really pissed I didn't recognize him. The old "Don't you know who I am"!
Rules applied to all, so off he went.

Did sit and chat with Tom Green, while we were all waiting for a flight from Ottawa, he is an actor that I think is a lousy actor, but he came across in our conversation as a regular nice person, which made me think better of him. I didn't let on that I recognized him.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Love all these encounters. Here are mine:

Norman Mailer in a post-talk gab session at my university in 1974. Someone handed him a joint and he put it in his shirt pocket to, as he said, "enjoy later." I sat at his feet and had stars in my young aspiring novelist eyes. He talked a lot about creating a fifth estate in American Society or something. I don't, ahem, remember much about it.

Three Nobel prize winners (Economics, Medicine/Physiology, and Economics again). Two of them were my professors in graduate school Economics classes! The third was at a party I attended and I danced next to him with a bunch of drunken grad students.

Peter Fonda, on a college campus--random encounter in a deserted quad. He was alone, as was I. I recognized him and smiled, he nodded the "Yeah, it's me" signal as we passed each other. Lucky for me he didn't stop to tell me that he knows what it's like to be dead! (obscure Beatles reference).

All the members of the prog rock group, Yes, after a large venue concert in the 1990s at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. My good friend was the co-founder of the Yes fan club in the US and took me back stage. They signed my program. I later lost it in a move.

Author Philip Roth, after a talk in Philadelphia in the 1990s. My wife was his former student and a longtime friend and she introduced me. He was funny and engaging.

Bishop Desmond Tutu at a small group dinner in 2000. I was introduced to him and remember that he looked me in the eyes and held my gaze, while he smiled and asked me some question. He seemed very kind and gentle.

The founders of Burt's Bees, Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz. Before and after a talk that I organized on a college campus in the 2000s. We also had a dinner with some students and two of them had started their own small company making a lip balm in their dorm room. Roxanne gave them good advice about how to grow their company and even offered to put them into contact with her "lanolin guy" to get a better price on that key ingredient. Now they were the ones who had stars in their young eyes. Burt stayed overnight and I showed him the TV in his room in the campus guest house. He said, "No need for that, I brought along my book of Icelandic Sagas."

Mike Dukakis at a local business event in the early 2000s. He came without his tank

Finally, I once shared an elevator in a hotel in LA's Sunset Strip in the 2000s with someone who I think must have been a famous rapper. No idea of who he was but he was dressed to the max! I remember looking at his shoes and thinking that they probably cost more than my entire wardrobe at home.

-BB

 

[jollystomper]

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.

While I never met an astronaut up close and personal, DW and I did meet Gene Kranz, who directed the efforts to save the Apollo 13 crew, at the event. This was in the 1990s at a family corporate event. After his talk he waited at a desk to say hello and sign things. DW asked him if he would mind her taking his picture with me, and he said "Wait, let's do this right!" He got up from the table and had another person use her camera to take his picture with both of us. Very nice.

 

[omni550]

Random folks I've met/bumped into over the years:
Jay Leno at a car show in Las Vegas. We chatted briefly.
James Earl Jones as we both grabbed our (adjacent) carry-on bags off the TSA conveyor belt, I glanced up and saw this huge man with a Darth Vader voice. Turns out he was on my flight, too. It was interesting to see everyone's reactions. Some people bugged him for autographs in the pre-boarding waiting area.
Martin Mull was filming a commercial in the lobby at LAX. I had a long layover, so watched him for a bit.
Paul Lynde on an airport shuttle bus.
Years ago, walking down the hallway in a Holiday Inn (or some such) in LA, I ran into an actor (Charles Dierkop*) the guy who always wore a cap on Angie Dickinson's 'Police Woman' series.
Gene Hackman having lunch in a dive fish restaurant somewhere in the Florida Keys.
The band DEVO on an airplane flight to Akron.
And travelover (a long-time E-R forum member) while shopping at a Harbor Freight store in Metro Detroit. I walked up and asked him if he was "travelover". He said yes, and, in true LBYM fashion, he offered me a bunch of Harbor Freight coupons.

* Charles Dierkop on the right in photo below

 

[Gumby]

I have not watched TV or followed popular culture for a very long time, so it is highly unlikely that I would even recognize otherwise famous people. I also think what it would be like for a famous person constantly to be pestered in public. I wouldn't want that to happen to me, so I certainly wouldn't do it to them, even if I did recognize them.

 

[Dash man]

Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter went to my high school and lived a short distance from me. This was before his fame, but was well known and liked in school, and outstanding in three sports.
DW and I went to NYC to see Cabaret and Barbara Eden was sitting nearby us. Probably about 70 at the time, but still gorgeous.
During that same trip we saw Peter Falk in a coffee shop and Betty White walking on the sidewalk after the shows let out.
Eve Plumb (Jan of the Brady Bunch) visited her best friend in our college dorm regularly. So she was seen around regularly and friendly.

 

[marko]

Literally, physically ran into Kareem Abdul Jabbar at Minneapolis airport.
Sat next to Rene Zellweger on a plane and had a (very) brief economic discussion on another flight sitting with Robert Reich.
Sat on a 14 hour flight from Tokyo with the drummer from the band Slipknot.
Met Michael Jackson in Tokyo at 2am in the almost empty hotel lobby... he sort of snuck up behind me and I was too starstruck to say anything more than "...you're Michael Jackson!" He smiled and said "How are you? " (I was jet lagged and went down to the lobby just to walk around. They opened a lobby store for him so that he could do some shopping)
Howard Cosell in the lobby of the Fairmont San Francisco.
I was sitting in a slopeside bar couch in Deer Valley Utah, in walked Cheech Marin along with Linda Evangelista and her boyfriend. There was nowhere else to sit so Linda sat next to me on the couch and Cheech sat facing me.
Another hotel lobby in Tokyo and Herbie Hancock and his entourage were all just standing there waiting for their limos.
Handed Neal Sedaca some coffee creamer in the Honolulu Airport club room.
Dustin Hoffman was walking into my hotel lobby, still in make-up from some outdoor shoot, as I was walking out.
Sat opposite Al Jarreau in a conversation pit in Charles DeGaulle airport club room.

I'm sure there are more....I spent 200 days a year for 30 years traveling internationally so I ran into a lot of people, a lot of airplanes and a lot of hotels. With few exceptions, I pretended that I didn't know who they were.

 

[Rustward]

I was in a BBQ place (Sonny Bryans) in Macy's in the Dallas Galleria (no longer there) one typical day in the mid '90s. We officed in an adjoining building so it was convenient for lunch. The guy that I was behind in line was wearing a nice leather jacket with "John Tesh" on the back. Ahead of him was a really tall guy that could have been John Tesh. I kinda mumbled something like "I wonder if I am in line behind John Tesh in Sonny Bryan's BBQ". The guy in front of me taps the tall guy in front of him on the shoulder and says something I was not able to understand. Then the tall guy steps back and says "Hi I am John Tesh, and who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?" I introduced myself. Then he pointed to the dining room and said "Connie (Sellecca) (his wife) is right over there at the table". It was obviously a family outing for them so I just thanked him for acknowledging me and that was that.

Early Eighties, I was traveling from Dallas to Los Angeles one Sunday afternoon on a Boeing 720.
As the flight attendants were making their way through the cabin with beverages, one stopped to tell me that Ken Curtis, who played the character Festus on the Gunsmoke TV series was sitting two rows in front of me, and that he had an empty seat next to him and welcomes visitors. Well, I went and said Hi and told him I remembered Gunsmoke, and also the Ripcord tv series. Ripcord might have had a little to do with me getting into sport skydiving, which is waay in my past. French Pappilion, if anybody knows what that is. French Pap, parachute, not a dog.

 

[motley]

I was in a BBQ place (Sonny Bryans) in Macy's in the Dallas Galleria (no longer there) one typical day in the mid '90s. We officed in an adjoining building so it was convenient for lunch. The guy that I was behind in line was wearing a nice leather jacket with "John Tesh" on the back. Ahead of him was a really tall guy that could have been John Tesh. I kinda mumbled something like "I wonder if I am in line behind John Tesh in Sonny Bryan's BBQ". The guy in front of me taps the tall guy in front of him on the shoulder and says something I was not able to understand. Then the tall guy steps back and says "Hi I am John Tesh, and who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?" I introduced myself. Then he pointed to the dining room and said "Connie (Sellecca) (his wife) is right over there at the table". It was obviously a family outing for them so I just thanked him for acknowledging me and that was that.

That was cool of him. I get celebs getting tired of everyone wanting a piece of them, but they should realize that's the price of fame sometimes and would they rather have been unsuccessful and nobody knows/cares who they are? I think they should make some effort to be graceful (within reason, fans need to have a clue as well).

 

[MBAustin]

If you (as I did) worked in downtown Wilmington DE in the 1980s, you almost certainly shook hands with Senators Bill Roth (Roth IRA) and/or Joe Biden as they were there before and after every election. I think Delaware has punched above its weight in terms of governmental impact.

 

[luckydude]

Fun thread!

My encounters:

About 12 years ago I was at Disneyland with family on a Friday night waiting for a ride. Up walked Kobe Bryant, his wife and their girls. They had a handler who let the girls onto to the ride without having to wait. Nice perk.

Was taking the escalator down to the parking garage in Century City Mall back in the mid 90s, and up came George Hamilton on the ascending escalator. He looked like he just stepped out of a tanning machine (but of course) and was immaculately dressed.

DW and I were staying at a hotel in Newport Beach in the late 90s. We were in the reception area when in walked a group of very tall, very large men. It took me a bit to realize they were LA Clippers basketball players there for training camp (I am ashamed to admit that I was a fan of the team back in those days).

Saw Charles Barkeley once in the early 90s at LAX when he was playing for the Suns.

Saw actress Catherine Hicks at Universal City when DW and I were there on a Friday night. For those of you who don't know her, she was in Star Trek IV: Voyage Home and the TV series 7th Heaven.

One more. When I was in business school many years ago, I was among a small group of students invited to have a Sunday morning breakfast arranged by school with Charles Schwab, and I ended up sitting next to him for an hour. Later I found out his son was attending the school (I won't give out the name but let's just say it's a SoCal school noted for its famous football program).

 

[gcgang]

Played in THE poker game on Maui at Willie Nelson’s with NBA Coach Don Nelson, Woody and Owen.

Poker story (skip if not interested in poker). Early on, playing HoldEm, I’m dealt 8c9c. Woody raises from the dealer position. Flop comes AJT. I call Woodys bet. Turn is another Ten, but now the Ten and Jack are both clubs, giving me a straight flush draw. Woody bets. I start thinking, he might have Aces. What a story if I hit the 7 or Queen of clubs and beat him with a straight flush! I call. River is 4h. I fold. Woody wins, turns over his hand, 7-2. I about fall out of my chair, everyone is howling, Willie says we all gotta pay him $5 for winning with 7-2 (common rule in games to induce gambling). I say. I didn’t know we were playing 7-2 (not that I’d of been smart enough to call with 9 high). Willie says, we ALWAYS play 7-2.

 

[Valid not Invalid]

Travelled a lot so similar to others, ran into a lot of folks that way. In Philly, I had dinner next to Scottie Pippen who was dining with a gorgeous woman-I stared at her much more than I looked at him.

Walked by Willie Nelson while boarding a plane to my coach seat. He was in first class seated at the window, he smelled and needed a bath.

Ate lunch at the CNN center in Atlanta next to Ted Turner. Saw him several times as I ate lunch there often.

I worked for Fran Tarkenton in Atlanta when he had a Software and Insurance company so I attended a few company meetings led by him. I recall one day when we were looking for a window repair company-his second wife had locked herself out of the house and solved the problem by breaking a window at the front door.

Was at a fancy hotel in St. Petersburg, Fl attending a meeting where Dan Quayle was speaking. He was taking individual pictures with every single person. I left way before it was my turn.

Spent several hours in prison with Lou Pearlman, conducting interviews. He was the boy band manager for The Backsteet Boys and *NSYNC. Ultimately he pleaded guilty to a number of crimes. At his sentencing hearing, the judge said “I’ll give you a month off for every million you can recover” as he had caused $300 million in losses and the judge had sentenced him to 300 months (25 years) in prison. Poor guy died about four years later in a federal jail in Atlanta.

Attended a lunch with Chris Wray, the current FBI Director. Myself and another co-worker got our picture taken with him.

Also met a number of NASCAR drivers in person. They are usually on their best behavior as fans equal income.

Also saw Troy Aikman in Dallas eating dinner. I recall his hands were so big it looked like he was wearing gloves. I can’t help notice them when I see him on MNF.

 

[timbervest]

A few more I remember:

• On a high school civics class field trip to Sacramento I met George Moscone when he was in the legislature and a few years before he was assassinated along with Harvey Milk in San Francisco.
• I was on Jeopardy! in the 1980s and met Alex Trebek. Very nice guy
• Met and chatted with actors Joe Spano and Morgan Fairchild at a work related fundraiser. Very down to earth and pleasant people to talk with.
• At a school auction for my kids, someone donated a visit to Dodger Stadium pressbox and a meet and greet with Vin Scully. I bid and won it so DW, DD, DS, and I got to meet him. Truly a gentlemenly and warm human being (even when I told him I was a Giants fan).
  

 

[Route246]

Let's see....

• Willie Mays at Marsh Manor Market in Menlo Park, CA
• Sat next to Ronnie Lott in first class flying SJC-LAX where he was flying down before a Super Bowl to have his knee checked out
• Played poker with Gabe Kaplan in a side game at the Super Bowl of Poker in the 80s
• Joe Montana was in line in front of me at Fry's Electronics in Palo Alto, made some small talk, shy guy
• Jack Nicklaus at Pebble Beach at a Crosby tournament was eating in the same restaurant next to our table
• Sat on the shuttle bus at Disneyland next to Tracy Austin (tennis player) and her family
• Met John Brodie (SF QB) at a school event as his kids were classmates growing up

 

[SecondAttempt]

I spent about 5 minutes chatting with Franco Harris at the Pittsburgh airport without realizing who he was. After I boarded the flight I was sitting next to James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence. He's the one who asked me if I knew who I had been talking with.

Dennis Weaver was a fairly frequent guest at my grandparents home when I was very young. My mom says I met him a few times but I have no recollection.

Linda Ronstadt used to go to the same small gym as we did in Tucson. I talked to her numerous times and met her when I was about 17 at the home of some friends of my parents who knew her from old Tucson days.

I've met numerous members of Congress and the senate, governors, and so forth, mostly professionally.