What's your brush with fame?

[KingB]

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. We are at a meeting and he came over to all the tables, shook hands and had pictures taken with him.

 

[diehard1997]

I met Jimmy Stewart in the LAX airport back in the 80's.

 

[48Fire]

We saw who we thought was a rock star in an empty concourse of Chicago airport. DW goes into the restroom with the girls, and so I asked him who he was, telling him I could not put the name to the face. DW and girls come, and I introduced DW, "This is Lou Graham from Foreigner". And DW, in an now famous response, replied, "Yeah right". Lou took it well, and we all continued to chat. He asked us to watch his guitar while he used the pay phone (pre-cell days).

 

[Rambler]

I've attended several World Economic Forum events and have even spoken at three of them. At one, I was a panelist with Laura D'Andrea Tyson, at another, I was a panelist with Gordon Brown. I've been fortunate enough to be famous in my own right, in certain business circles anyway, and due to that, I've met presidents, prime ministers, other high ranking government officials, CEOs of such companies as Nissan and Sony, actors such as Keifer Sutherland, I had lunch with Bertrand Piccard about a year ago (pilot of the solar airplane that just flew across the USA), etc.

Sounds like a charmed life, no? Well, I was happy to give all that up to live a simple, FIREd life.

R

 

[razztazz]

I shook the hands that shook the hands of many famous people .

That's a good one. The guy I hired to inspect a house a bought in the 80's was Mario Lanza's neighbor and childhood chum in the 1930's before Lanza became famous.

Waved to and got a "How ya doin, man!" from Sammy Davis Jr.

Shook Frank Rizzo's hand at my policeman uncle's funeral when Rizzo was police commish of Philadelphia.

 

[Elbata]

I remember back in the 70s hitch hiking through Southern CA. I asked the guy driving if he sees lots of movie stars.

Then we passed a car that had an Eight Is Enough bumper sticker. Man, I died and went to heaven.

 

[chilkoot]

When I first went to work for my last employer, one of our clients was Arnold Schwarznegger (this was before he was governor). My then-co-worker entered his name into the company search engine, then stared in awe when the name came up.

 

[scrabbler1]

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, I was rather active with the local chapter of The Concord Coalition, a federal fiscal watchdog group. I helped organize several events in Manhattan and on Long Island. I met several members of Congress along the way including Carolyn McCarthy (my member of Congress), Felix Grucci (the man who led the fireworks company and served one term in Congress), Gary Ackerman, Jerry Nadler, Chris Shays, and Rick Lazio. I also met former senator Warren Rudman (recently deceased), a co-founder of the Concord Coalition.

 

[ICNTR]

Met and spoke with Bo Jackson, Hershel Walker, and even wrestling legend, Lex Luger. Lex was very nice and welcoming. He even took time to introduce me to his wife.

I typically do not approach stars figuring they get too much of that. Some other close encounters include one event where I mingled amongst, but never introduced myself to, Cory Everson and Christopher Reeve.
Also used to work and walk near Busch Stadium and would see many of the Cardinal players and coaches signing autographs and talking to fans as they got to the stadium. Oh, and Ozzie Smith in the airport once.
Was also a neighbor and friend with LA Dodger, Mitch Webster. (he didn't live in LA during the off season)

 

[Kimo]

Living in Hawaii I have run into just about all the Lost and Hawaii five O characters.....of course there are a few that were in both..

 

[Mmm Rrr]

I sat next to Shirley Temple Black on a flight from SF to LA once. She was warm and charming, chatting through the whole flight.

 

[aja8888]

I played golf with Flip Wilson (he was my partner) in 1982 in California in a benefit tournament. Mickey Rooney was in the foursome behind us and hit into us all day long. What a pain in the @$$ he was.

 

[Helen]

When I worked for Digital Equipment Corporation back in the '80s, I walked into the smoking room and heard the other door close. The lone guy sitting at a table said, "Man, you just missed Grace Hopper". He said she was really fun to talk to and that they talked for 15 minutes.

I introduced myself and shook hands with Jodie Foster at a movie premiere. She didn't seem overly impressed with me.

 

[califdreamer]

I was called to jury duty in Santa Monica back in the 90s during the second OJ Simpson trial. I would regularly see the media characters and lawyers from that trial in the elevator and also in the front lawn of the courthouse when they were being interviewed by reporters. One day, we were told we were dismissed from the jury pool and I had lunch across the street at a hotel dining room. I saw some of the journalists and lawyers from the trial.

After lunch, I ended up in a line of people near the exit and OJ was going down the line shaking hands and signing autographs, which at the time I thought was macabre. When he came face to face with me I didn't do anything, didn't shake hands or anything. He looked into my eyes briefly and looked away. I didn't have anything at all to say to him.

Had other sightings mostly in LA restaurants: Clyde Drexler, Terry Bradshaw, Gov Gray Davis, comedian Kevin Neelan, Valerie Harper, "Niles" from Frazier, Wolfgang Puck, Gary Busey, Harry Hamlin, Dennis Quaid and Ellen DeGeneres. Had an interesting encounter with Bill Cosby in SF in the 80s at a restaurant. Robert Mondavi, Tom Smothers and Pat Paulsen at a Wine Spectator tasting in SF in the 80s. And Franco Harris on a sidewalk in downtown SD prior to a Super Bowl in the early 00's.

As long as I'm being silly with all of this, I remember getting autographs from the Swingin' A's of the 70s - Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter, Bert Campaneris, etc. Of course, that program got thrown out by my Mom years ago.

 

[clifp]

I posted my list of the 8 or so billionaires (or near billionaires), I've meet and assorted other back in 2007. Since then, I have meet Steve Case, AOL founder, at local technology event in Hawaii, and one of the neatest guys Bob Cole, twice. Bob Cole is the 93 year young copilot of Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Tokyo earlier in WWII. There are 5 remaining survivors of the raid.

Oh and does the author of the Military Guide to Retirement, and prolific blogger count?

 

[48Fire]

As long as I'm being silly with all of this, I remember getting autographs from the Swingin' A's of the 70s - Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter, Bert Campaneris, etc. Of course, that program got thrown out by my Mom years ago.

I met Reggie Jackson when he was with the A's in the corridor of a stadium when I was 11. Just me and him. I begged several times for his autograph, but he was in a big hurry to get out of the stadium, and he repeatedly said no. One final effort, and I got in front of him to slow him down, and he countered the last plea with, "What'd I tell you boy?!". He looked very large at that moment. Now when I see him on TV, I think he looks pretty small, old, and feeble, and I can probably kick his butt.

I was equally persistent with Joe Torre when he was Cardinals star. He politely refused an autograph several times as I followed him around the stadium. Two weeks later, in an interview, he said he never refused an autograph, especially kids.

 

[Idnar7]

Met "W" at a U of Texas basketball game when he was Gov. He sat a table court side most games. Guess he didn't have a lot to do.

 

[imoldernu]

Kate Smith
First time in 1943 0r 1944. She sang at a War bond drive in my hometown in Rhode Island, where we had to bring old pots and pans to put on the collection pile. It meant something to me at the time... 7 or 8 year old... because she was always on the radio. Seeing her in person was a big deal. She had a radio campign for Savings Bonds that totalled $39 million. I still have a $25 bond that I (my dad) paid for @ $.10/week in grammar school (cost $18.75). The ROI on Bonds was well below the going interest rates of the time, a matter of "patriotism"... Imagine that!

The second time was in 1968 at the Mirror Lake Inn at Lake Placid, in the Adirondaks. It was at breakfast, and she and Ted Collins were at the next table. (You're too young to remember him.) He was a producer, actor and owned the Boston Yanks football team, and was Kate Smith's 'companion' for 50 years.

She was having scrambled eggs, slathered with Vermont maple syrup.

 

[GSMAN]

As a musician trumpet player, Maynard Ferguson was my idol since junior high. I was a total band nerd so naturally a musician was my idol. Anyway, a buddy of mine gets into Maynard's band in the 80s and tours with him for a few years. This buddy becomes the musical director for a college nearby and has Maynard and his band in for a concert. He calls me up and asked if I could be Maynard's driver for the evening. I was able to have a one on one talk with my idol for about an hour. Most of you have probably never heard of Maynard but he was and still is the "Bruce Lee" of trumpet players. I got to meet another famous person who is my all time favorite comedian. Mister "warmth" himself Don Rickles. I was able to meet him in Las Vegas in 2008. He is a real nice guy nothing like his act. Well, he did insult me with a totally politically incorrect cut down but I was incredibly flattered!!

 

[utrecht]

I worked as an up close and personal body guard for Adam Sandler for a couple hours. He's not just "on" for the camera. He is hilarious in general and had a funny response to every question or remark I made.

 

[Walt34]

I wrote a traffic ticket to a congressman but I forgot which one.

 

[karluk]

I met with Larry Ellison once while working on a large Oracle project. Our CIO was friendly with Larry and talked him into meeting with the team to inspire the troops.

 

[Sesq]

I have had meals with James Whitmore (character actor, played Brooks in Shawshank) and Willis Reed (NBA great), not at the same time. Both were close family friends of close friends of mine.

With Whitmore it was at a malibu restaurant that was used as part of the movie "the player", outdoors with outrageous views of the coast. With Willis, the funniest part was seated he doesn't look *that* big. When a 5 foot nothin waitress came to take a picture with him, the look on her face when he stood up and towered over her was very funny.

 

[Nemo2]

I wrote a traffic ticket to a congressman but I forgot which one.

Speeding or illegal parking perhaps?

 

[harley]

My closest brush with fame (and maybe prison) was knocking VA Gov. Linwood Holton down the steps at the Mosque in Richmond when I was about 14. We'd gone there on a school field trip to see 1776 (the musical), and I was horsing around and jumping down multiple steps on the way out. Slammed right into him and he fell backwards down a couple of steps. Luckily he had some well padded lackeys to land on, so he wasn't hurt. I got grabbed by security and escorted to the school bus. Back then I didn't even get suspended. Today I'd probably have been tried as an adult.