# Closest You've Been To Famous Person



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

What's the closest you've ever been to a famous person? When and where? 

Me: a couple years ago I attended a Josh Groban concert in Tulsa. I wasn't close enough to feel his spit or anything but I could sort of make out his figure in the distance. That's my nearest celebrity encounter.


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## JezStrider (Jun 19, 2012)

For my day job I'm a cashier in a grocery store.  It was time for my break one day, super busy, and Calista Flockhart came up to my line.  My closed sign was up.  She asked if I was closed and I said, "Yes." It took me a second to kind of process why she looked familiar.  I knew for sure it was her the next day when someone posted a picture of her mom and Calista Flockhart.  Her parents live in my hometown which is why I saw her.


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## metal134 (Sep 2, 2010)

I've had a few. I met Dave Mustaine at a signing during the Cryptic Writings tour in 1998. 
I met Jim Kelly when he was in town for his Hall of Fame induction (The year escapes me.  Must have been about 2003).  At the time, I worked at a restaurant that was sort of a meeting place for the Hall of Fame club that meets weekly and host sports figures as speaker (most of them local, but sometimes a big name like Jim Kelly).  
I also met Romeo Crennel there when he was head coach of the Browns.  At the time, I was doing my internship with a local paper and got assigned to write about his appearance, so I got to ask him some questions.
Just a month ago or so, I got to met Joe Namath.  He was touring the plant I work  at for reasons which I still don't know.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

in my teens, I got to shake hands after a political rally with Senator and former Presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater. I was one of hundreds who did so just at this one event. This was long after his Presidential run.  Not much of a claim to fame, but it is all I have!


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Milton Berle (I was in a play, he was in the audience and he signed autographs later)
Vaughn Monroe (book signing)
Frankie Avalon (book signing)
Buffalo Bob (my kids were in the Peanut Gallery on Howdy Doody)
Johnny Depp (his sister did my nails and I worked for his father)


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## davidreichart (Mar 20, 2011)

Sitting with Ted Turner at a table in a trailer, just the two of us, for a half hour. I was interviewing him for the Mobile Register. I stuttered and stammered but he was very cordial and cooperative and the story turned out well. This was back when he liked to wear an engineer's hat and chew tobacco. He was quite a character back them but seems to have left the stage.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

At one of the presidential parades.  Not sure of the year.  It was a Bush.  My kids were in the high school band marching in the parade.  My ex husband was a photographer for the band and we were given press passes.  We got to our positions early in the day and had a nice location.  We had walkie-talkies to communicate with other counselors.  NBC set up beside us.  At some point Ann Curry arrived.  She began talking to me because I was hearing about rioting occurring in other areas over my walkie-talkie.  
She gave me her umbrella.  It had started to rain.  
deb


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I got Darryl Dawkins' autograph when he came into the store I where I was working at the time. He was currently the starting center for the Philadelphia 76ers, and was tall, big, strong -- sort of exactly like a guy you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley -- and had a contagious smile and was very friendly with everyone who approached him. (Also known as "Chocolate Thunder", he was one of the main reasons the NBA came up with the collapsible rims, so that he wouldn't shatter so many backboards.)

I once answered a question for Joe Theisman: I was in the Miami U. marching band, getting ready to go on field for the halftime show at a Washington Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals game. As the teams were coming off the field, Theisman looked in my general direction and asked, "You guys from Miami?". I rather tersely yelled, "Yeah!". He said, "You guys have a good team this year," which we did: we won the Tangerine Bowl that December. (I think this was before he became the starting quarterback for the Redskins, so he wasn't as famous then as he later became.)


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

NogDog said:


> I got Darryl Dawkins' autograph when he came into the store I where I was working at the time. He was currently the starting center for the Philadelphia 76ers, and was tall, big, strong -- sort of exactly like a guy you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley -- and had a contagious smile and was very friendly with everyone who approached him. (Also known as "Chocolate Thunder", he was one of the main reasons the NBA came up with the collapsible rims, so that he wouldn't shatter so many backboards.)
> 
> I once answered a question for Joe Theisman: I was in the Miami U. marching band, getting ready to go on field for the halftime show at a Washington Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals game. As the teams were coming off the field, Theisman looked in my general direction and asked, "You guys from Miami?". I rather tersely yelled, "Yeah!". He said, "You guys have a good team this year," which we did: we won the Tangerine Bowl that December. (I think this was before he became the starting quarterback for the Redskins, so he wasn't as famous then as he later became.)


Speaking of quarterbacks, when eldest DD was in 8th grade, they went to the Dophins training camp. A couple of the boys came back all excited.

"Dan Marino talked to us!"

"Wow! What did he say?"

"Get off my car."

I guess it's not what the celebrity says but the fact it was the celebrity that said it.


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## JETaylor (Jan 25, 2011)

Ellen Degeneres (before she was famous) and Robert Klein at a fourth of July party we put on for the advertisers when I worked at a TV station. 

Penn & Teller at a college event - we were their go-fors (not gophers) making sure their dressing room accomodations were just so and they got soda and water when they needed it. 

Bill Romonowski (49rs/Broncos/etc) - went to high school with him and did a phone interview on my blog. 

David Morrell - at a Backspace Conference - had a nice long conversation with him about him getting his pilots license.  

Mika Breshinski (Morning Joe) - Worked with her at the same TV station cited in the first one above before she went to national television. 

Mcclain Stevens (M.A.S.H.) when I worked as a intern at a local radio station. 

In all cases, I had more than a passing conversation with the person...


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Being in the first caucus state of Iowa, I have met, shaken hands with and talked with pretty much every presidential candidate for the last 20 years if we are counting politicians as famous people...

I was close enough to Michael Bolton at a concert in Charlotte, NC to get a kiss from him!

I have a picture somewhere taken with Rev. Billy Graham.

I have met and talked with several baseball players - Mark MacGuire, Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson and Albert Pujols.


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## Maxx (Feb 24, 2009)

This is a fun thread!  As I'm reading everyone else's stories, I keep remembering more of my own stories.

Julianne Moore (actress) She came to my 6th birthday party.  I was best buddies with her younger sister and they lived down the street from my family.  She is 1 year older than me.

Alexander Payne (director)  He is also 1 year older than me and he went to my elementary school.  We were both in the orchestra.

David Naughton (actor) I spotted him at a casino in Reno.  I think it was in the mid-90s and I just kind of followed him around.  I had a huge crush on him when he was the Dr. Pepper guy

Tony La Russa (baseball coach) My husband and I lived in Oakland, CA when he was the coach of the Oakland A's.  We were eating dinner at our neighborhood Italian restaurant and we spotted him a few tables away eating dinner.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

Harison Ford, visited our small town seen from across street, Santana, came to visitor center I was working, and Sherman Alexi, I spoke with at a library conference.

Most the time I like to keep famous people at a distance, my imagination is usually better😋. 
Sylvia


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I guess I should add I went to high school with Tom Arnold and had dinner with he and Roseanne Barr when they were married.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

My first experience was REO Speedwagon I guess. My then boyfriend, now husband was part of the radio station putting on a concert in Oklahoman, years ago. I don't know if they count as famous.   It was after their initial success. 

The next was when I moved to San Antonio. Mind you, I am not into many sports. I only love Tennis. Know nothing about Basketball, Baseball or football. So I moved to SA and worked at a hobby store. Some guy comes in with his kid and I help him in my department like I do anyone else. I get him to the register and some of my coworker "ladies" start screeching at me. Don't you know who that is? He is with the Spurs. Now the only spurs I knew at the time where the actual spurs I sold in the doll house miniatures.  . Told you, know nothing about those sports other than Tennis. They swarmed him, asked for autographs and all I felt was embarrassed for the guy and his kid. I can't even remember his name.  

For me they are just all people. Like anyone else.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

About 20 at book signings and autograph events. I did go to an Elvis Presley concert. Seat was back considerably in the old Chicago Stadium. Elvis was a bright speck of white in the distance. Two big names I just happened to be at the same place at the same time -- Ernest Borgnine in the airport in Madrid and Muhammad Ali in downtown Chicago. I did get their autographs. Waaaay back about '70, a co-worker told me that the previous day when I walked out of the building in downtown Chicago Hugh O'Brien was behind me on the sidewalk so I missed seeing him. (I just looked on the IMDB. He's 87 or 89 [birth year is questionable] and married for the first time in 2006?!)


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

Bruce Springsteen Charlottesville, VA in October last year. Best concert I've ever been to. Got an amazing spot in the pit and had a fantastic time. I've seen him 6 times, but that one was the best. I've also met several horror genre celebs at the few cons I've been to, like Bruce Campbell and George Romero.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

1992, Charlotte, North Carolina. Both presidential campaigns hired the store I worked for to do balloon decorations. The night of the Democratic primary our crew was done after a long day and resting in a hallway. Bill and Hillary Clinton came up the freight elevator with secret service guys. We shook their hands. Hillary went to the bathroom. Later I blew up balloons all night and dropped them from a net on Ronald Reagan after he made a speech, and fired a confetti launcher at an outdoor rally for George H.W. Bush. The secret service made me fire the gun ahead of time to make sure it didn't sound like a gunshot.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Stepped on Jim McMahon's foot in Provo.
Saw several of the Osmonds there, too.
Was at BYU the same time as Steve Young...didn't know him but saw him a lot.
Walked right past Robert Redford outside the SLC airport, close enough to almost brush shoulders...didn't click who he was until I was several steps away.
Walked right past Dan Rather in the Houston airport once. Again, didn't realize who it was until my son pointed it out.

If online counts...I was mentioned in the acknowledgments of Wil Wheaton's book "Dancing Barefoot." At least in the first edition (which I have signed WooHoo.)


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

Lots of concerts.. Willie Nelson, Alabama, Ingrid Michaelson, Joan Baez, Peter Paul and Mary, Ian & Sylvia (THAT was really close, very small venue), Juice Newton, indeed close enough for sweat , Tina Turner (alas, not close), Gordon Lightfoot, Big Mama Thornton (very small venue, and later at a Blues festival, larger), Don McClean, Men at work, Everly Bros, American Idol tour, so many more.  Last year at one of the Men Alive (Orange County's Gay Men's Chorus) concerts, Nicki Blonsky was featured and she came out to the lobby with all the guys to mingle and I got to talk to her.. she appreciated how short I am, though she is even shorter! (I'm 5').

Other celebs..  I've sat a couple of feet from Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Aranxta Sanchez' mother and dog, ran into Venus Williams in a garage and talked to her, been in an elevator with Black Eyed Peas and also Conchita Martinez.. not the same elevator or even the same city or state) , waited to get into a tennis match a foot away from Wilt Chamberlain (REALLY tall!), a couple of feet from Joan Baez at a press conference, almost knocked over by Gloria Allred at a demonstration, next table at restaurants with John Wayne and another place, Danny Thomas (John Wayne lived in the same city we did, Danny was eating there on the way to Laguna Beach, when Marlo was in a play there)..  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (lecture and talked but didn't bring a book to sign.. she thought getting signatures was a colossal waste of her time.. actually she said she would rather have time to smoke a cigarette!  

Book signing, Mary Engelbreight, Jon Archabault (he was the fantastic illustrator for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.. and he drew a coconut palm with his signature.. very nice guy), Ozzy Osbourne, quite a few writers of books on trauma and abuse, also labrador books, and talked to those authors.

I went to high school with Paul Le Mat who was in American Grafitti, Melvin and Howard and other movies, and Greg MacGillivray who was half of MacGillivray-Freeman (IMAX film process)

Almost forgot the Nixons!  I was working at my first job as a programmer trainee and one of the older programmers was all excited because the Nixons were all coming to the courthouse nearby (Santa Ana, CA) to register to vote and she was really hot to go over, and dragged me along.  So we were mere feet from Dick, Pat, Trisha and I think Julie was there too. Pat and Trisha were so tiny.  The other person with me got to shake his hand.  She was excited.  I was interested, but not that excited.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

LOVE the pic of Springsteen!!!  I saw him at the Colosseum in LA but I was in the top row not close to the stage..  With the Simon & Garfunkel reunion at Dodger Stadium.. same.. not close at all but they had big screens.  But that close up is great!  I've been kind of far for Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers and many others.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

I've had run in with "famous people" a few times, but I don't know if they are famous outside of my state...well, minus a few people that is.

I nearly got trampled to death when I was 8 years old by people wanting to see our local weather forecaster.

I met Sen. John McCain when he was first campaigning for the presidency.  One of my profs was a leading republican in my area, and got some of his freshman students to be at Boeing Field when he landed.  McCain's background on stages were suppose to be local school children, but they were running really late.  So a group of us, 10 VERY tired college freshmen, were being lined up to be there in their place for his press conference (he was to announce his bid for presidency).  The little kids got there at the VERY last minute, and all we got was a handshake from the Senator and his wife, and he signed the campaign poster that was handed out (we had to shake them and cheer in the audience).

I've worked at Capitol Hill and the Senate offices, so you meet many senators and representatives.  Some of them are Clinton, Kennedy, Byrd, Murray, Cantwell, Nighthorse, Corzine, Edwards, Kerry, etc.  Unfortunately, most of them weren't in a cool way, but I would be in such a rush (I ran everywhere, I think I gave the security guards a good laugh as I flung my ID badges running past them) that I literally SMACKED right into them.  Once I ran into an elevator in a rush that I asked Clinton and Kennedy to hold the elevator...which is a big 'no-no'.  Also being able to work on the Hill, I got to see Colin Powell speak in a packed room, and some random representatives.  Giving some people tours of the Capitol (sometimes both sides of the House and Senate) you see many people by hanging out in the gallery area above the Floor. 

I had a coworker who's stepmother is a local TV celebrity, and she came to our office Halloween party where family can bring their kiddos to trick-or-treat at our desks.  My group all got to say "hi".

Some of you might know Rick Steves on PBS, "Europe Through The Back Door".  Well, he's another local celebrity, and lives/works outside of Seattle.  He's very approachable, and if you take one of his tours, he's present at the tour reunion which is held in January.  I always seem (not intentionally) sit at the table which is right where he is in the front.  I'm not a person to rush and ask for a photo or autograph, so all we did was have direct eye contact and a shared smile.  Today would make it the second time we've seen each other.

My cousin used to work at the UN's press dept.  So my family members and I got to meet the Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon at least once.  He's a good guy, very personable.  We got a photo, my brother gave him a gift of high quality fair trade coffee beans, and we all had a chat with him.  He gave my family his condolences when he found out that my cousin was missing some work due to a death in the family, and sent us a LARGE traditional floral display/bouquet on behalf of his family and some of my cousin's coworkers at the UN.

Those are the ones I can remember right now...

Tris


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Husband of my attorney boss in '89 - '90 (so of course I met him) was appointed Commissioner of the IRS by W. in '03. He resigned after a few years and became President and CEO of the American Red Cross. That came to an end after six months when he couldn't keep his pants zipped. No secret -- it all made the national news.

In the early '80s I worked at a prestigious law firm in Chicago. There met one of the Styx (don't remember which?), Ron Popeil, Abe Fortas (U.S Supreme Court Justice '65 - '69).

So I'll name book signings and other events: Norm Abram (This Old House), Rex Allen, Jr., Sarah Ban Breathnach, Erma Bombeck, Kris Carr (Crazy Sexy Cancer), Jimmy Carter, Richard Dent (Super Bowl Bears), Roger Ebert, Jamie Farr, Gary Fencik (Super Bowl Bears), Mel Fisher (discovered Spanish treasure ship Atocha), Willie Gault (Super Bowl Bears), Howie Mandel (more impressive in person than hyper as he often is on TV), Barry Manilow, Deana Martin (Dean Martin's daughter), Marlee Matlin, Greg Mortenson (I'm related), Lisa Rinna, Richard Roeper, Debi Thomas (Olympic silver figure skater), Bob Vila (on This Old House in the beginning).

In '70 spent Labor Day weekend in NYC. Ate at Sardi's. Jack Weston was at a nearby table.

And last but not least (or least?) . . . OPRAH! In January '96 (or was it '94?), I was on a show. I was assigned a front row seat. It was planned that she would talk to me in the audience, which she did. After the show shook hands and exchanged just a few words. Off camera . . . she is a cold fish. There was a paper on my chair seat with "Oprah Show" and my name. Asked if I could take it as a souvenir. *NO.*


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Need to add Ernest Borgnine when he was talking to a group at UofM, Raymond Burr at the airport, Jerry Lewis at the Airport, Pat Boone at the airport. I don't think I can count The Beatles at the airport in 1964 because there were about 100K other people there.

On a plane to Vegas I sat with some of the musicians and singers in Tina Turner's group. We had a nice conversation especially when the plane hit an air pocket which it did about 100 times.

F. Lee Bailey when I worked at the law firm.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> F. Lee Bailey when I worked at the law firm.


F. Lee Bailey is here in Maine now and was just denied a license to practice law.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/F-Lee-Bailey-denied-bid-to-practice-law-in-Maine.html?searchterm=f.+lee+bailey

Glenn Close lives in Scarborough. I bumped into her at the shoe repair shop. She glared at me (after taking off her sunglasses) like she wanted me to say, "Oh, are you Glenn Close?" I didn't though.

The Survivor guy, Jeff Probst, dated one of his former contestants who lives up the road in Gorham. I ran into both of them in Target.

When I was picking up my sister at the airport, Paul Simon came off the plane right ahead of her. Apparently they sat across from each other on the plane (each in an aisle seat).

My daughter met Adrien Brody her freshman year in college in New York City.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Leslie said:


> F. Lee Bailey is here in Maine now and was just denied a license to practice law.
> 
> http://www.pressherald.com/news/F-Lee-Bailey-denied-bid-to-practice-law-in-Maine.html?searchterm=f.+lee+bailey


Interesting. Considering the other disbarments, it sounds like Maine made the right decision. The case he had with my firm involved a yacht that broke loose in a marina and ended up sinking or severely damaging several other yachts. It was never proved how the first yacht got loose.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

I was flying home from Spain a few years back, and turned around in my seat to see Jonathan Pryce sitting directly behind me. This was a cheapo Easyjet flight, and my first thought was: "What, you've spent all the money from _The World is Not Enough_ already?"


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

I was stranded in Brussels two years ago with a six-hour wait after my original flight got cancelled. While killing time in my boredom, I started people-watching. Two rows of chairs away from me in the gate area was Simon Baker from The Mentalist. At first I thought it was Michael Flatley, but I had to stare harder to figure it out. I must have made him uncomfortable, even though I was trying to be sly about it, because he got up and left.










At least I think it was Simon Baker. If it wasn't, it was his doppleganger/double.


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## yogini2 (Oct 27, 2008)

Tom Selleck drove by in his Farrai once when I lived in Hawaii.  Sorry, best I can do.  This was his Magnum P.I. days.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Not me, but the family story goes . . . years ago my cousin was a United flight attendant based in Honolulu.  (She lived a charmed life.)  Back in the Magnum P.I. days, she was walking on the beach there and met Tom Selleck.  He asked her out.  She said no?


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Lessee, some famous authors:

Went to a Noam Chomsky lecture during grad school and asked him to sign a book. He refused. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

Saw Stephen Hawking give a talk during college. Only got to about thirty feet of him. Did not ask him to sign a book  

Met Laurie Garrett (Pulitzer Prize winning author of "The Coming Plague") in college. Got her autograph in her book.

One Academy Award winning actor:

Went to high school with Philip Seymour Hoffman and acted in my senior play with him. We'd go to Perkins after rehearsals with a bunch of other kids and sit around and smoke (this was back before the no smoking in restaurants laws).

But the best one:

While traveling in Egypt in 1999, heard Hillary Clinton was coming to dedicate a new museum in Aswan. Went and stood for about an hour across the street from the entrance before her Secret Service entourage arrived. Both she and Chelsea got out, waved to us and went inside. We were, maybe, twenty-five feet away?


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I stood next to Al Pacino in a bar in Las Vegas years ago. I am a cousin of Alex O'Loughlin of the current Hawaii 5-0 cast. When I was very young I was  in the company of Andy Clyde, movie actor, very often. He was my grandfather's best friend. My grandfather was also an actor, mostly in silent movies with Mack Sennet studios. Andy moved on to Lassie, The Real McCoys, Hopalong Cassidy. I guess the most famous "person" I met was Lassie, a whole lot of Lassie's. When we visited Andy in Hollywood, sometimes he would take me to the kennel where Lassies and Lassies-to-be lived. Even to a young child, it was obvious to me that many (probably most) of the Lassies were actually Laddies.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

When I was five my dad and uncles were playing music and opening for George Jones. (Country music).  He stayed at our house a couple of times.  
deb


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Through a whole host of bizarre circumstances, I ended up eating lunch with St. Louis Cardinals short-stop and baseball legend Ozzie Smith.  That's probably the most famous - well, unless you count the time I was promoting a book on a morning radio show and Dave Coulier from Full House was there.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Ooh, I thought of another one. I've met senator Tom Coburn several times. He lives in my hometown and, although he didn't deliver my baby (another doctor at his practice did), he came by the next day to check on me in the hospital. For some reason, during the first twenty-four hours after giving birth, doctors and nurses keep waking you up to press on your belly - I forget what they're checking for. So anyway, I can say a senator squished my belly. And I can't remember whether I've actually shaken Coburn's hand but I swam in his pool and patted his dog once while some mutual friends were housesitting. One of the friends with me spilled a soda on his armchair but we cleaned it up, so hopefully he never knew. He's a nice man and let us fish in his pond once too.

Also, I don't know whether anyone here remembers the Lawrence Welk show, but I used to watch it with my grandpa when I was little and, as a teen, I got to meet the Lennon sisters and have my pic taken with them after attending their show in Branson, MO.


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## Routhwick (Apr 1, 2012)

I actually remember meeting Lennox Honychurch (!) in person at least twice during my youth, once in front of Roseau's Public Library and another time at a Fort Young Hotel conference.

If you're not from Dominica, I should point out that Honychurch is well-known among that country's populace; he wrote our perennial history book, _The Dominica Story_. (As a native of that island, I own a copy.)


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm not positive about this, but I seem to remember my mom saying that Charles Coburn held me when I was a baby??


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Paul Newman, driving by at a small race track in West Virginia.  The window was down and he looked right at me (lots of racegoers stepping into the dirt road that led to the pits, he was trying not to run over anyone).

Scott Pelley, of CBS News, a friend of a friend.  Hubby gave Scott's teenage son a ride in the Ferrari owned by our friend and didn't come back for the longest time.  Scott was getting nervous by the time they got back.  

Author James Bamford (Puzzle Palace, NYT Bestseller).  Attended his wedding.  My sister-in-law performed the ceremony.  The man has been in China and eaten things that no white man ever ate before, according to his Chinese guides but was so nervous he could hardly stand up.

Shook then-Senator Hillary Clinton's hand at a rally on the national mall in DC several years ago.  I was just standing there and she and the mob surrounding her were wallking down the mall.  I was trying to get out of the way of the mob and I got trapped by a light pole without anywhere to go.  She stuck out her hand, said "I'm Hillary Clinton, thanks for coming" and kept on going.  Bill Clinton, separate mob, was there and was shaking everyone's hand.

My husband helped push racer Phil Hill's car in Italy during a re-enactment of the Mille Miglia, the Italian road race and then walked with him to buy a battery for the car.  I have pictures.  We actually met Phil a couple more times.  Been quite close to other race car drivers like Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt.  (Watched Foyt light the newspaper of a fellow driver on fire at the 24 Hours of Daytona.  That AJ...)

Shook hands with Patrick Swayze after seeing him in Guys and Dolls in London not long before his death.

Fun thread.

Betsy


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Dara England said:


> ...during the first twenty-four hours after giving birth, doctors and nurses keep waking you up to press on your belly - I forget what they're checking for.


Clots and hemorrhage.

Since we are talking about celebrity doctors, T. Berry Brazelton took voice lessons from my grandmother. While my dad was getting out of the Navy, I was in Massachusetts with my mom and grandmom for about a year (I was about year old) so I got many of my baby vaccinations from Dr. Brazelton. Years later, I met him at a conference and introduced myself. He didn't remember me but he did remember my grandmom and had some lovely memories of her.

http://www.brazelton-institute.com/berrybio.html

L


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

well, i was 10 feet from katie holmes while she screamed for 2 hours last week.....


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

My girlfriends and I were flying home from a convention in Utah and we sat near Robert Urich in an Ohio airport. It was the first famous person I had seen in an airport, in Ohio no less! One of my friends went over and got his autograph, but the rest of us chickened out.

Other than a few concerts, that's the only one that stands out in my mind.


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## teashopgirl (Dec 8, 2011)

I walked by Mary Louise Parker in NYC and saw Dr. Ruth at the airport. I also saw Michael Caine in Chicago. He's very tall!


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

I sat next to Michelle Obama on a small plane between Chicago and Springfield, IL.  Her husband was at the time a state senator.  I remember being quite impressed with her.  We mostly talked about our kids - hers were quite small at the time and she mentioned how her mother helped out so much.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

tipsy telstar said:


> well, i was 10 feet from katie holmes while she screamed for 2 hours last week.....


Elaborate please.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

drenee said:


> Elaborate please.


since you said please....

we had second row seats for Katie's most recent attempt at being on Broadway. The show was poorly written and Katie can't seem to project without screaming.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Assuming non-relative status: (which would be George Herman Ruth (Babe Ruth))
My uncle once rode cross-country on a train next to John Wayne.
Husband played blackjack at the same table as Clint Black for a few hours in Vegas. (I was asleep in our room)
As we love stand-up comedy, we've seen MANY comedians from right below stage.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

tipsy telstar said:


> well, i was 10 feet from katie holmes while she screamed for 2 hours last week.....


Oh, yeah, I was about four feet from Katie Holmes when she got into a car when we were in New York this summer....

Betsy


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Thank you.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

During a visit to Rome in the 1990s, I happened to cross St. Peter's Square, while Pope John Paul II was holding mass. I'm not Catholic, but I stayed to listen for a while. When he started singing, I left. His singing voice wasn't all that great.

I used to frequent the same café as soccer coach Otto Rehagel, who would later win the European Cup with Greece. Back then he was the coach of the local team. I've seen the current coach of that team at school events, because his kids attend the school where I teach. I've also seen a bunch of other local soccer stars around town. 

I saw Booker Prize winner DBC Pierre at a reading and had a book signed. Oh yes, and I've seen a couple of German actors at cafés, restaurants, airports, etc... whom nobody here knows anyway.

Oh yes, and I once asked Bernd Neumann, the current German secretary of culture, to turn his voice down. It was in a restaurant and Neumann was talking loud enough to bother everybody else. That was more than twenty years ago, when he was just a local politico and I a brash teenager determined to be unimpressed by politicians.


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

Hmm, let's see:
- A few days after the (New Zealand) Prime-Minister-before-last was first elected, she arrived at a concert we were at and sat a couple of rows away.
- Have met Richard Taylor, co-founder of Weta (Lord of the Rings and other movies). Even got to hold one of the Oscars. 
- Various LOTR actors passed by just a metre or two away at the Two Towers premiere. Back then hardly anyone recognised Karl Urban.
- Sat at the front table (very close to what would have been the stage had there been a stage) at an early gig by Flight of the Conchords in a small club - maybe twenty people in the audience.
- Front row seats and very close to the stage when Sir Ian McKellen played Lear.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Adding another one. The Rhodes Brothers. They were a local Miami group who regularly appeared on the Mike Douglas Show. I went to see them as often as possible and chatted with them several times. I have one of their albums.

Gosh, I'm beginning to feel like a celebrity magnet.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I forgot that I went to the same high school as Kevin Costner, though he was a few years younger. He was just a young kid running the streets when I was in high school. Went to college with author Elizabeth George.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I forgot my very first brush with fame and maybe that is because I completely blew it!..

Sometime in the fifties we took one of our road trips from our home in Detroit (we covered 48 states over several years) and we were in NYC.  My dad had worked there for Arthur Anderson and wanted to show us everything.  So we stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria.  Mom said we probably looked like a band of gypsies since she had a small ironing board she and my grandmothers would use each night to iron shirts, blouses and dresses (probably pants too.. she even ironed Dad's shorts back then) each night.  But we settled in to a suite and explored the city.  In the morning we were lined up for breakfast in a huge ballroom and along came Leo Carillo, Pancho from The Cisco Kid.  He zoomed in on us and talked about how he loved kids, etc.  My brother was stoked (though we didn't pick up that term until  the sixties living in Newport Beach, CA) since he watched anything that included horses and cowboys on tv.  (in the limited viewing time on the three channels, of course).

So we are seated at a big round table in the middle of a big ballroom and waiters are swooping around.    The waiters brought over cards so people could go get Leo Carillo's autograph.  My Dad thinks this would be a dandy souvenier for my little brother and chooses ME to take him over to their table.  Well I was shy, and I don't think I'd yet had my eyes checked, but I clearly already needed glasses, and I have NO idea where to go, even when Dad aimed us..  

So, in front of the whole ballroom of breakfasters, I lead my brother to a table of nice men in suits, and they very nicely sign the card.  Heh.  We get back to our table and my dad is NOT happy, throws down the card!  What?  I had gone to the wrong table.  My mom and her mom are almost literally ROFL but trying not to show it.  Dad's mom is oblivious, since she had her hearing aid (that he paid for) turned off.  Mom says Leo was glaring at us.

Next, a waiter asked grandma with hearing aid turned off if she wants jam or jelly.  She gives her stock answer "I believe I will!", so he comes back with a giant silver platter of jams and jellies.  She surveys the platter and says she doesn't want any!  Dad is freaking out.  I'm happy that someone else has the attention.  Mom and her mom are totally bursting at the seams trying not to laugh too much.  The waiter stalks off.  The room watches.

Then Leo Carillio and his entourage get up and  walk by, pointedly not looking our way, which sends mom and her mom into even more laughter.

Needless to say, Leo wasn't patting us on the head at that point.  And my little brother?  He still thinks he has an autograph.

Loving all the stories!!  
'


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## Ruby296 (Nov 1, 2008)

I grew up in Cooperstown, NY & it was sort of a rite of passage to work at the Baseball Hall of Fame in high school and/or summer break from college. I met John Belushi & Bill Murray when they came through the museum one summer day. They were really nice, approachable & told funny jokes. Mike Farrell from MASH was eating lunch in a diner that my friend waitressed at while we were there & she said he was a lousy tipper. I've also seen a lot of inductees & other athletes like Bjorn Borg in town. Donald Sutherland hosted & narrated a documentary about baseball so we got to watch him filming outside the main entrance to the museum.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I saw Robert Redford from the second floor balcony in Union Station in Chicago when they were filming The Sting.  Didn't see Paul Newman.  Must not have been in that scene.


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

Shook hands with Bill Clinton more than once when he was governor of AR.  You couldn't be in the area he was in without shaking his hand - even if it was a political rally in my employer's parking lot.  I walked around a boy scout expo with Hillary when she was the official representing the governor's office that day.

Although most of the time I am not allowed to interact with performers at the arena I work for, there have been two shows I ended up being the person seated outside the dressing rooms.  The first was for an ice skating show with live music from REO Speedwagon and Rick Springfield.  It was fun interacting with band members from both groups.  Peggy Fleming came in to narrate the show.  I had a nice conversation with her and was able to help her navigate around the arena.  I don't remember the names of any of the skaters other than Brian Boitano.  

Another show I manned the dressing rooms for was a women's exposition with Paula Deen as the attraction.  She commented on my Kindle as she walked past.  Her husband and I visited for a longer time about Kindles.  I guess because I don't watch much TV, I didn't really know the two fashion experts that were there for the same show.  I did unlock their dressing room for them once and made sure they had what they needed to be comfortable.  I did learn their names at the time, but don't remember them now.

I do occasionally catch glimpses of the different acts as they go by the window of the office I sit in during concerts.  But we are discouraged from making any kind of contact.  I pretty much obey the rules.


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## Eltanin Publishing (Mar 24, 2011)

I shook hands with *Obama *in September 2007. My husband and I were at a hotel in Nashua, NH, for a chess tournament, and Obama was having a rally across the street in a park. We ran over there quickly between games to see him. After his speech, I was in the hotel lobby when he came in with a group of people and started shaking hands of hotel staff and whoever else was around (including me!).

Then, almost a year later, my sister-in-law and I decided to go to Obama's rally in Unity, NH, after Hillary dropped out and endorsed him. It was SO different than the year before. In 2007, we literally jogged from the hotel into the park and got pretty close to the stage. In 2008, we couldn't even drive into Unity - we had to park in the next town over and get a shuttle bus. And we needed tickets, and there were metal detectors and security bag searches. While waiting in line, we were invited to sit in the bleachers behind Obama while he was speaking - apparently those people are hand-picked. So that was cool. My husband was at the gym, and saw clips of the speech on the TV, and saw me.

We also saw *Manute Bol* (basketball player) in front of us in line at the Newark airport in 2008. He was so tall, he sat on the counter, as we would sit on a bar stool.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Decades ago, my high school band was rehearsing for a band competiton at the old Capital Center, where the then-Washington Bullets practiced and played.  The team came on the floor while we were there and I was standing next to Wes Unseld.  He was one really big guy!!!

Betsy


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Back in the early 80's, I ran into Robert Redford in a western clothing store in Jackson Hole, WY.  I looked over the clothing rack and he was on the opposite side. He spoke first and said hello.

In the late 90's my husband and I were rushing through our local Walmart. We owned a nightclub at the time and were running late getting it open for the evening. I was trying to get into the music section to pick up some new music that our DJ had requested.  For some reason the electronics section was really crowded so I was zipping through people like I did at the club. Next thing I know I'm bouncing of some guys chest. I hit him so hard that he took two steps back! I apologized and kept on going but my husband was extremely excited. I had ran over Smokin' Joe Frazier! I always wondered if he fired his security guards the next day since I managed to dart right between them.

Sugar Hill Gang (sang the 1st top 40 rap song - Rappers Delight in '79), Ziggy Marley, George Thorogood and Firehouse all partied at our club after local concerts. 

I saw Tommy Tutone (sang 867-5309/ Jenny) loping through the MGM casino in Vegas trying to get to his dressing room without anyone seeing him.  We were on a collision course so I froze in place and followed him with my eyes. As he passed he smiled and thanked me for not drawing everyone's attention to him.

I shook Jimmy Carter's hand while he was still in office.


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman are the ones I recall.  Bend it like Beckem star is a personal friend.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Timothy Hutton when he was basically unknown. He was filming 'Ordinary People' in my hometown and I lurked outside the bowling alley where they were filming. He was kind of pacing the parking lot. Elizabeth McGovern was there too. I didn't pay much attention to  them because I was trying to see Robert Redford, who was directing the movie. I finally did get to see him when he came out of the bowling alley, and had to walk between me and some parked cars. I flattened against the wall to let him pass, but either he bumped my purse out from beneath my arm or I just dropped it in shock, I'll never know.  

In the nineties, I saw Scott Bakula at a Planet Hollywood in Chicago. My son who was 9 at the time, and had made his first commercial, weasled his way to the front of the crowd. (Bakula was promoting a movie he was in.) My son proceeded to tell him that he does commercials. Bakula laughed and said he wasn't an agent. Just this past summer, my son saw Bakula at a Comic Con or something. My son is now 26, and nobody was at Bakula's table at that moment, so my son spoke to him and told him about their prior encounter. They both laughed about it. 

My most favorite encounter was with Kyle Chandler. He went out of his way to stop and talk to us, told us a joke, and then had to go back to taping.


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## Tam (Jan 7, 2010)

As a school board member, I was able to attend an awards ceremony in Harrisburg, along with the superintendent of Schools & the high school principal, in which our school district was one of 50 to be recognized for best improvement on state testing. We got to hear then-Governor Ed Rendell speak, followed by the featured speaker, Bill Cosby, who spoke about his support for public education. 

The superintendent took us out to lunch afterwards in a nice little restaurant near the Capitol. As we were eating, Ed Rendell, Bill Cosby, and several staffers walked in. They recognized us from the ceremony and the governor led the group right over to our table to say hello! Then Ed took our photos with Bill Cosby on our cell phones. It was pretty cool - Ed is definitely a people person, and Bill Cosby could not have been more gratious.


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## strath (Dec 31, 2012)

Back when the world was young (winter 1968 I think) and I was wild and living dangerous a buddy and I were picked up hitchhiking. in Louisiana of all places, by Marvin Gay. Wouldn't have believed it but he had 3 of his tapes (with pictures) and he played and sang as we drifted down the road. He even bought us some burgers and went passed his turn 30 miles to get us home.

Wonderfully good day.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Here's another one: I went to school with three brothers, the oldest of whom went on to become a pretty well-known singer of 1920s Weimar Republic style chansons in Germany. Meanwhile, the youngest brother became a theatre actor, though he's not quite as famous as his older brother. The whole family was acting and making music even back in school. I had a huge crush on the oldest brother, which I find funny in retrospect, because whenever I see him on TV, it's really obvious that he's gay. No wonder he never noticed me.

My cousin is a local politician. He's very annoyed that I rank higher on Google and Amazon than he does, when you enter our mutual surname. However, I let him rule Twitter.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Years ago saw Dana Carvey when he was filming Opportunity Knocks on a street in downtown Chicago.

Also years ago saw Eddie Mekka (The Great Ragoo from Laverne and Shirley) on the street in downtown Chicago.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

Back when I was traveling frequently enough on business trips to have a platinum American Airlines frequent flyer card, I was upgraded to first class on a full flight where I sat next to Congressman Jim Kolbe. He was flying back to Washington, D.C. He recognized the flight attendant and they had a short conversation. He and I had a brief conversation before working the rest of the flight. I was reading specifications, he read a massive amount of paperwork of various types. I was impressed by how much he got done during the flight.


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## Martel47 (Jun 14, 2010)

I used to work at a place that saw lots of local Indianapolis athletes...Colts and Pacers.  I was gone the night Ashley Judd and Dario Franchitti came in during the 500, though.  The coolest to meet were Rik Smits and Ron Artest (pre-Meta World Peace or whatever).  

In college, I was about 10 rows back during a lecture by James Earl Jones.  I also got to meet Tom Arnold, once during college.


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## TRGoodman (Jul 9, 2012)

I met Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson at UW when they released House Atreides and House Harkonnen.


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## Steve Silkin (Sep 15, 2010)

New Year's Eve, 73/74: Driving up Sunset from the beach to Hollywood ... wait, that stunning raven-haired woman in the yellow Lamborghini on the next lane, is that ...? I stepped on the gas to try to keep up, then she pulled ahead and I saw the personalized license plate ... yes it was: CHER.

One night in 1991, Kate Mantilini's in Beverly Hills. Friends and I walked in, waiting for a table. Man in the booth facing us looked at me, I nodded, he nodded back. When we sat down, a friend said: "See Richard Pryor over there?" I hadn't recognized him, but we had just said hi to each other.

One afternoon in Malibu, 1991. Sitting with a friend on the patio of the Corral Beach Cantina as Sam Kinison gets out of his sports car and walks past us into the restaurant with his two girlfriends, one on each arm. People in passing cars were shouting "Sammy!! Sammy!!" and he waved back at them. Another guy on the patio was sitting behind us. "Look at the big fat slob!" he told us (using more colorful language, but ...) "The only reason that big fat slob has two babes is that he's got money!" And so on. My friend and I laughed at his routine. To this day we don't know if he was doing Sam's shtick or if he was sincerely resentful. Sam died the next spring.

A few years ago, same patio. I'm with two friends at a table. A woman in a tie-dye top sits down with her boyfriend at the table next to us. One of my friends turns and silently mouths to me: "That's Holly Hunter!" She was careful not to make eye contact with us so we wouldn't try to engage a conversation. (I still play the music from "The Piano," I was going to ask her if she did!)

I live in Los Angeles; I've got dozens of these.

Another favorite from my teen years in the mid-70s: I shook Herbie Hancock's hand after a show at the Troubadour. 

Oh, and shook the hands of two Nobels: Kenzaburo Oe, after a speech he gave at UCLA in 1992; and Lech Walesa, while I was covering his visit to the Reagan Library one day in the late '90s. I got to chat with him about my visit to Poland before Solidarity.


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## swcleveland (Jun 6, 2010)

I saw Billy Idol's cowboy boot up in First Class when the plane I was on landed in Gulfport, Mississippi in 1987.  I'm pretty sure it was actually on his foot at the time, but I won't swear to it.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

We used to see Buddy Ebsen at the supermarket.. and he always spoke at the sports banquets at my brother's high school.  Buddy had daughters and they went to that HS.

I was a foot away from Bo Derek at the Santa Barbara KC dog show once (whern it was on the polo grounds.. a beautiful show.. and Bo, quite something herself.. especially her eyes..  she did have a show dog but wasn't always at the shows  herself.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Shayne Parkinson said:


> - Have met Richard Taylor, co-founder of Weta (Lord of the Rings and other movies). Even got to hold one of the Oscars.
> - Various LOTR actors passed by just a metre or two away at the Two Towers premiere. Back then hardly anyone recognised Karl Urban.


Reading the Weta part made me envious enough, so by the time I got to "Karl Urban" I was green. Sir Ian McKellan is just icing on the cake. I think you win for coolest celebrities, Shayne.


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

Dara England said:


> Reading the Weta part made me envious enough, so by the time I got to "Karl Urban" I was green. Sir Ian McKellan is just icing on the cake. I think you win for coolest celebrities, Shayne.


Wow, thanks, Dara! I'm not used to being the coolest for anything.


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## Stephen_Melling (Jun 26, 2011)

Great Stories! I once shook hands with Henry Cooper, the guy who knocked Ali down. A policeman once told me to get out of the way when the Queen's Mother was approaching. I met Tom Baker, Richard Kiel, David Bradley who played Billy in Kes. Kenny Baker I've met a few times(lives - or lived - in my home town) Nick Park (Wallace and Grommit) attended my wife's school. Clive Barker answered one of my questions at a Q&A once. I met Ron Moody and Mark Lester and shook hands with David Carradine. Most Famous, though...not sure. Probably Richard Kiel. Oh, met Don Calfa, too. He looked younger than he did twenty years ago!


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

-Had dinner at a restaurant with a group of friends right next to Christina Aguilera's table (about ten years ago).  

-Was asked out on a date by Steve Sax (when he was playing for the Yankees).  I would like to mention that at the time, I was 17 and he was married with two kids.  Yuck.  I said "no" to the date, by the way.

-Hung out backstage after a show with Inner Circle (the reggae group that sings "Bad Boys--which was used as the theme song to "Cops").  My boyfriend at the time was friends with the guy that did their promotions/advertising, which is how we got backstage. This was in the early 90s.

-Met D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels of Run D.M.C) at the MGM Grand in Vegas in 2010.  Really nice guy.

-Saw Scott Forstall (former SVP of iOS software at Apple) after the show Love at the Mirage in Vegas a few years ago.  My DH kept pushing me to go over and ask him for a photo with me (I am a big Apple geek), but I was too embarrassed to ask.  In retrospect, I'm sure he would have obliged.


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

Years ago I worked ate casino in Atlantic City on the coat check on the 12am to 8 am shift.  One night I heard some hollering in the elavator and heard her say she was stuck in the elevator and had to pee.  I called security and notified them that someone might need help and might be drunk.  About fifteen minutes later Phyis Dyller comes over to my coat heck and said hi,I am the drunk in the elevator and let loose that famous laugh.  We developed a longtime friendship and I was very sad to read that she passed away last year.  For over 20 years I received a Christmas Card from her.  She was a very nice person.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I forgot I am good friends with NYT best selling author Jo Goodman.  I tend to forget she is an author.  Shhhh.  I don't really read her books.  Lol.  
She is very interesting and funny.


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## PatrickWalts (Jul 22, 2011)

I've hung out with tons of metal bands, Cannibal Corpse being one, and met a couple Star Trek actors at Star Trek conventions.  My wife is the celebrity magnet of our house, though.  She has met:  Sandra Bullock(sat and had drinks with her at a club), George Bush Jr, Matthew Mconoughey(sp?) James Gandolfini, Charlie Gibson(on an airplane), Russell Crowe, Motley Crue(in the parking lot of her job, they were staying at the hotel nextdoor), and tons of others.  And these are just random encounters. Most of them took place when she lived in Austin.


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## PatrickWalts (Jul 22, 2011)

Stephen_Melling said:


> Great Stories! I once shook hands with Henry Cooper, the guy who knocked Ali down. A policeman once told me to get out of the way when the Queen's Mother was approaching. I met Tom Baker, Richard Kiel, David Bradley who played Billy in Kes. Kenny Baker I've met a few times(lives - or lived - in my home town) Nick Park (Wallace and Grommit) attended my wife's school. Clive Barker answered one of my questions at a Q&A once. I met Ron Moody and Mark Lester and shook hands with David Carradine. Most Famous, though...not sure. Probably Richard Kiel. Oh, met Don Calfa, too. He looked younger than he did twenty years ago!


Tom Baker? I'm jealous. I love him.


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

Just rembered years ago at a new years eve concert,I was in line to use the rest room.  Got to say hi to Jerry Garcia when he left the men's room.  He was by himself without any security. This was at the Madison Square Garden in N.Y.City.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I worked at WCBS-TV and later CBS Radio News during the 1980s, so all the on-air people at Channel 2 (probably only known to NY, NJ and CT people who watched back then . . . Jim Jensen, Roland Smith, Michele Marsh, Carol Martin, Warner Wolf, Irv Gikofsky and others . . . memory fails me on some names), Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite and others on the network news, Andy Rooney, Diane Sawyer, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley from 60 Minutes.  Bess Myerson and Dr. Ruth had their own spots on Ch. 2 News for a while.  I was working as secretary to the VPGM of Channel 2.

Recently I've seen Lewis Black twice at the same spot -- walking on 9th Ave. near 43rd St.  Saw JFK Jr. skating in Central Park and later on passed him on Broadway in the 50s (his magazine George was on Bway and I worked at a law firm on Broadway/56th).  Also on the street:  Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Jerry Orbach (also saw Orbach eating in restaurant on 10th Ave.-- I was outside), Warren Beatty (very long time ago! on Columbus Ave.), Gwyneth Paltrow (she was getting out of a car outside of the Essex House).


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## Natasha Holme (May 26, 2012)

I had a dream come true: I actually spoke with Byron Katie. Nearly passed out.


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## MayoSoda (Jan 12, 2013)

Talked to Michael Cera at a SXSW party for a little bit...


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

I met and had dinner with Frank Capra (director of It's a Wonderful Life, among others) at a Columbus Film Association event in the early 80s.  He was very gracious....and short.....and wearing lime green pants.

Met Sue Grafton at a book signing.  She said she liked my name.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

My previous post about the Presidential candidates in 1992 was about the biggest names I have been close to, but smaller ones include:

Gave Jaleel White a balloon animal in Charlotte, NC.
Dick Clark walked past me at a taping he was producing in L.A.
Clark's show was hosted by the real Erin Brokovich (sp?) (It never made it to a series on TV)
Bruce Villanch rode the airport shuttle I drove on two different occasions.
Edward James Olmos was at a Mexican restaurant I went to in L.A.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> I worked at WCBS-TV and later CBS Radio News during the 1980s, so all the on-air people at Channel 2 (probably only known to NY, NJ and CT people who watched back then . . . Jim Jensen, Roland Smith, Michele Marsh, Carol Martin, Warner Wolf, Irv Gikofsky and others . . . memory fails me on some names), Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite and others on the network news, Andy Rooney, Diane Sawyer, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley from 60 Minutes. Bess Myerson and Dr. Ruth had their own spots on Ch. 2 News for a while. I was working as secretary to the VPGM of Channel 2.
> 
> Recently I've seen Lewis Black twice at the same spot -- walking on 9th Ave. near 43rd St. Saw JFK Jr. skating in Central Park and later on passed him on Broadway in the 50s (his magazine George was on Bway and I worked at a law firm on Broadway/56th). Also on the street: Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Jerry Orbach (also saw Orbach eating in restaurant on 10th Ave.-- I was outside), Warren Beatty (very long time ago! on Columbus Ave.), Gwyneth Paltrow (she was getting out of a car outside of the Essex House).


Recalled later that, in early 1980s, Bill O'Reilly was a reporter/weekend anchor at WCBS-TV/Ch. 2. Danced with him at a party the station had at Windows on the World. Had no idea in those days what his views were or that he would later have his own Fox News show and talk crazy.

John Tesh was also at Ch. 2 and soon went on to CBS Sports (before he became better known for his music).


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## Starfire (Jun 25, 2012)

I briefly met David Prowse when I worked security at a signing he did in Berkeley in the late 70s (at the Federation Trading Post, IIRC   ).


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

I was privileged to meet two famous people in the '80s:

*Isaac Asimov* - I chanced to meet him in historic Williamsburg, VA, while walking through the gardens behind the Governor's Palace. I babbled something inane about having read every book he had ever written... Sigh.

*Eleanor Clift* (The McLaughlin Group) - I was sitting at the gate at National Airport (before they changed the name) in Washington, DC, when Ms. Clift placed her bag next to me and asked me to watch it for her for a few minutes. I think she only asked me because I said, "Aren't you..." She probably figured that anyone who watched The McLaughlin Group had to be honest. LOL Anyway, I said, "Sure." Obviously, that was before all the airport restrictions, etc, although frankly, if she asked me to watch her bag today, I'd probably still say, "Sure."

That's pretty much it for me. Not exactly earth-shattering, but fun.


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## Joyce DeBacco (Apr 24, 2010)

I think I'm going to date myself on this one. It was at a teen dance hall near where I lived. The performers were Don and Phil Everly. For those of you wondering who they are, they sang "Wake up Little Suzy", "All I have to do is Dream", and other hits at the time. I was with a group of girls standing slightly offstage and they had to pass right by us. They were so close, I could see the pancake stage makeup they wore. That was the highlight of my teen years.

Joyce


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

I've exchanged PMs with an author Jeff Hepple. Other than that, I guess my life has been pretty ordinary. Oh yes, I once shook hands with George Wallace. He was running for president and made a stop where I happened to be. I once got to tell then president Bush's Marine One pilot that he couldn't fly the president to Camp David because the weather was below flight minimums.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Just remembered another one:

Early '90s, got a vinyl album cover autographed by Barry Manilow.  He was at Rose Records in downtown Chicago.


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## HarryK (Oct 20, 2011)

Many, many years ago, a friend of mine met Ozzy Osbourne several times while working at a movie theater (Ozzy was apparently quite coherent except during one visit). This was long before they got into the whole reality show thing. My friend told me that Ozzy was just as cool as expected.

Another friend of mine met Magic Johnson--or more accurately, walked passed him when his table at a club was cleared so Magic and his buddies could claim it. So yeah, my friend was not a fan of his after that.

I did once meet Gilad Janklowicz (of Bodies in Motion) when I worked at an electronics store. He had apparently bought a camcorder from us, and it had been giving him trouble.  I remember being surprised to see that he was much smaller in person than I would have expected. Seemed like a nice enough guy.

Hmmm...I did also once meet a former governor who was apparently a personal friend of the store's owner too.


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

When we were teenagers, Sonia Sotomayor asked me to join the Extemporaneous group she belonged to.  I declined because public speaking is not my thing and just her asking instilled fear in me.  I remember how adult-like she was even at that time.  I felt like I was speaking to a Supreme Court Justice even then!  She was born for the job.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I remember when I was a kid - at the Cleveland airport - I literally ran into Jimmy Piersall -  and then the rest of the Cleveland Indians walked by including my hero - Rocky Colavito.. I was spellbound..  

I also went to college (Oberlin) with Iris Von Braun.   I recall one day seeing her walk arm in arm with her dad - Wernher.   That was quite a surprise!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

i got to be five feet from chita rivera (and stephanie j. block and jessie mueller and jim norton and 12 other cast members) on stage at Mystery of Edwin Drood tonight.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

I've had brief conversation and face to face encounters with a few celebs that wandered on down to Costa Rica, where I was born and raised.


Mike Love of the Beach Boys, he was super cool, and very nice. 
Herve Villechaize (Tattoo of the Fantasy Island), he was a jerk. 
C. Thomas Howell during his 80's heyday. A bit aloof, but was friendly enough to give a head nod.
My biggest brush with fame, ha-ha... was with Jonathan Winters, he was so awesome. He was down with a friend who was a client of my parents, so I showed up to meet them for dinner at a resturant, and I was like, what the heck, that's Jonathan Winters. I had no idea there was going to be anyone famous. He was so cool, funny, and told all these great stories from his career, and about Robin Williams (who credited Winters as his hero and had him on Mork and Mindy).
I also saw Rick Aguilera (Minnesota Twins pitcher) in passing at the Atlanta airport. It was 1992, the year after the Twins won the world series, so I was excited. He's been the only one I asked for an autograph, and I still have it on my boarding pass.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Alan Petersen said:


> Herve Villechaize (Tattoo of the Fantasy Island), he was a jerk.


Not sure why, but this doesn't surprise me at all.


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

Dustin Hoffman is one of the people that comes to my mind.


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

I was baby-sat once by the last queen of Egypt. Worked as an associate producer on a BBC drama with Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins. He was very down to the earth. Nice guy. He's really tall, too. She scared the living daylights out of me. Sternly admonished me once about putting warm food (steamed broccoli) and cold food (salmon) on the same plate (and then sent me back with her lunch). Also got a pretty nasty lecture by then-Speaker of the House Denny Hastert at a luncheon when I asked him (what he obviously thought was an impertinent) question about why there was so much pork in a transportation bill (the one containing the infamous bridge to nowhere in Alaska). He said, "Young man, there's no such thing as pork. It's all necessary!"


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## Adrian Howell (Feb 24, 2013)

Madeleine L'Engle visited my school when I was in the 5th grade. She spoke to us about her childhood and what parts of it made it into A Wrinkle in Time.

As a college student, I briefly met and spoke with the painter Christian Riese Lassen at an art exhibit in Tokyo. We were the only two there (aside from the translator) that could speak English, so that was kind of fun. I used to doodle whales and dolphins during boring school classes.


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## AmsterdamAssassin (Oct 21, 2011)

I live in the center of Amsterdam and I 'meet' famous people almost every day. The laid-back atmosphere and the Dutch 'You're Famous, So What?'-attitude causes a lot of celebrities to frequent Amsterdam, where they can walk the street without being accosted, since the Dutch think it's uncool to bother celebrities.

A few funny ones - I used to smoke doobie in a place called Katsu, where I spoke an American called Brad who complained that someone stole his secondhand bicycle. I told him to buy a lock that's ten times as expensive as the bike. Two years later I saw Brad again, brandishing a hair dryer in some chick movie...

In a bar on the Nieuwmarkt, my (then) three-year old son told a couple of Englishmen that he'd be playing the piano at the public library. The guys came over to me to ask me what the funny little chap was telling them, and I translated. One of them, a thin dude with a beak nose, told me they were in a band. I nodded and told him his disguise was not very convincing. My brother was a big Jamiroquay fan and couldn't believe I talked with Jay Kay.

Daniel Craig bumped into me in the Red Light District and apologised. I told him to watch out for pickpockets, he didn't seem very alert.

My son, about three years old, walked up to a pretty lady, bypassing her bodyguards and told her he liked her boots. She didn't understand, so he hugged her legs and smiled up at her. One day I'll tell him he hugged Angelina Jolie and didn't get his ass kicked by her bodyguards.

My daughter, one and a half year old, called Charlie Watts 'opa', when I grinned and told him she called him grandpa, he took her on his lap and admired her little pink coat, while she was obsessed with the buttons on his jacket.

I won't bore you with the more mediocre encounters.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

Me and Michael Imperioli of 'Goodfellas' and 'The Sopranos' fame. I co-starred in episode six 'Lost Child' of ABC'S DETROIT 187 back in October 2010. Michael was the star of our scene and short lived series. Here we are at the wrap party for season 1, in Detroit, which was our first and last. He was so laid back, personable and focused. Watch our scene together on hulu or Netflix.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Briefly met two billionaires!

Oprah after one of her shows.

Sara Blakely at a Spanx trunk show locally in a store.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I have met several celebrities but the one encounter that stands out is country music singer Eddie Raven.  My mom had won tickets to his show and had to go to the radio station to pick them up.  She picked me up at school first but I stayed in the car because I was not feeling well.  Eddie came out to the car to meet me.  That was in 1979 and I still remember it.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

SEAN H. ROBERTSON said:


> Me and Michael Imperioli of 'Goodfellas' and 'The Sopranos' fame. I co-starred in episode six 'Lost Child' of ABC'S DETROIT 187 back in October 2010. Michael was the star of our scene and short lived series. Here we are at the wrap party for season 1, in Detroit, which was our first and last. He was so laid back, personable and focused. Watch our scene together on hulu or Netflix.


I watched it on Hulu last night! You were the cop on the first scene when they arrive at the car and find the lost child? Pretty cool! Of course the role Spider of Goodfellas was awesome, but I really became an Imperioli fan when he did a guest spot on Law and Order back in the 90's. He played a limo driver and his performance was just amazing. So I was happy to see him on The Sopranos and then see his career take off. I'm glad to hear is laid back in real life.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

Alan Petersen said:


> I watched it on Hulu last night! You were the cop on the first scene when they arrive at the car and find the lost child? Pretty cool! Of course the role Spider of Goodfellas was awesome, but I really became an Imperioli fan when he did a guest spot on Law and Order back in the 90's. He played a limo driver and his performance was just amazing. So I was happy to see him on The Sopranos and then see his career take off. I'm glad to hear is laid back in real life.


Yep, Alan, that was me in that t.v. scene...forever grateful for it. Yes, I happened to catch Michael is that LAO episode that you referenced and was pleased with his performance too. Thanks for watching Detroit 187 for me!!!


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

This is a very entertaining thread. 

I've had a few jobs that brought me close to some famous people. I worked as Pulitzer Prize-winner David Halberstam's assistant at Harper's Magazine during the time of Willie Morris and had a close encounter with Norman Mailer at a party. 

When I was a reporter/researcher at TIME magazine, I spoke with Ted Kennedy and Henry Kissinger at a Washington party, met Mike Farrell (from M.A.S.H.), interviewed Charlton Heston (by phone...does that count?) and met a lot of TV news people (John Chancellor, Walter Cronkite) at the 1972 Dem and GOP conventions in Miami.

More recently, I chatted with Sen. Olympia Snowe as we both perused the ice cream case at our local market. She bought vanilla Ben & Jerry's.


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## Jimblob (Jan 15, 2013)

Probably a couple of feet away from the queen during VE Day celebrations at the palace when I was a kid. Other than that Rolf Harris when I went on stage at panto when I was little, lol.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

SEAN H. ROBERTSON said:


> Yep, Alan, that was me in that t.v. scene...forever grateful for it. Yes, I happened to catch Michael is that LAO episode that you referenced and was pleased with his performance too. Thanks for watching Detroit 187 for me!!!


I did end up watching the whole show, it was good!


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

Many may not recognize all of these these people, especially if you're not into blues or rock music; but besides being a writer of fiction, I've been a music journalist for years. I've met many famous guitarists, face-to-face, for interesting conversation. They include:

Andy Powell, Arlen Roth, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson, Gary Hoey, Gary Moore, Jimmy Herring, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani, John Mayall, John Petrucci, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Kerry Livgren, Mark Farner, Ronnie Earl, Robben Ford, Robin Trower, Sonny Landreth, Steve Cropper, Steve Lukather, Vivian Campbell, Warren Haynes, Zakk Wylde, and many more. Here's a complete list, with links: http://www.briandholland.com/


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

Alan Petersen said:


> I did end up watching the whole show, it was good!


Thanks, Alan, I appreciate that. Here's me with Erin L. Cummings, who was the medical examiner on Detroit 187, as well as Sura on Spartacus:Blood & Sand, among other tv roles. We met on the show and have been friends since.








Me presenting Erin (October 2010) with a signed copy of my first paperback, The Cries of Vampira.



http://imgur.com/WsRRLH6

 Erin and I at her Mittens for Detroit Charity comedy event night at MGM Grand Casino in Detroit (March 2013).


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## Tyler Cook (May 11, 2013)

I met the band Edens Edge when they performed with Randy Travis in Franklin, NC.  That was before they released their first single.  So I get to say I knew them before they were famous!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

The famous people I've met mostly seem to be guitarists. I met Chet Atkins several times, and once spent some time talking to him in his office in Nashville. I met Les Paul only once, but did get to chat with him. I spent a half hour or so talking with legendary jazz icon Johnny Smith at his place in Colorado Springs, we were the only people in his guitar shop at an early hour. Exchanged a few words after guitar concerts with Muriel Anderson, Richard Cobo, and Franco Platino. I met Fred Gretsch, who owns the Gretsch guitar business and he signed one of my guitars.

Chatted briefly with Richard Garriott (AKA Lord British) creator of the _Ultima_ series of computer games while out geocaching one day.

I've been told that I've talked with Werner von Braun when my mom and I lived in El Paso after the war. He and some of his crew were amateur musicians and somehow I got to listen to a few of their practice sessions. I must have been seven or eight years old.

Mike


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I just went to a book signing with author Joe Hill.


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

balaspa said:


> I just went to a book signing with author Joe Hill.


He looks a lot like his dad.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

SEAN H. ROBERTSON said:


> Me and Michael Imperioli of 'Goodfellas' and 'The Sopranos' fame. I co-starred in episode six 'Lost Child' of ABC'S DETROIT 187 back in October 2010. Michael was the star of our scene and short lived series. Here we are at the wrap party for season 1, in Detroit, which was our first and last. He was so laid back, personable and focused. Watch our scene together on hulu or Netflix.


I just added the disc this episode is on to my netflix list. I still get the discs.


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## Bec (Aug 24, 2012)

I almost literally bumped into Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark when I was at the airport leaving Australia last time in 2011. I was walking backwards for some reason and my sister grabbed me and pulled me away. We didn't get much attention from her after that. Seeing how quickly he got through passport control and security made me wish I was royalty.

The rest are all Aussies... got to meet all of the members of The Jezabels the first time they were here in Vancouver in 2010.

I used to work at a liquor store near where they shoot _Neighbours_... used to get quite a few of them come into the shop. And one time Tony Barber (old wheel of fortune guy) came in and asked me for directions to a nearby restaurant. I knew he looked familiar, and just assumed he was a regular until someone else came up all excited...

Authors... met Bryce Courtney, Paul Jennings, Morris Glietzman at various writers events.

I feel like I'm forgetting someone.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

mlewis78 said:


> I just added the disc this episode is on to my netflix list. I still get the discs.


Sweet...thanks much. Do you like the series?


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

As I had mentioned, I'm also a music journalist:

Here I am with Viv Campbell of Def Leppard. We actually played guitar together that night too:


Andy Powell (and Muddy Manninen) of Wishbone Ash:


bluesrocker Chris Duarte:


John Ashton (Psychedelic Furs)


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

repeat, sorry.


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## Liz Davis (Dec 10, 2011)

I shook Michael Jackson's hand when he visited Namibia in 1998. 

In 2001 or 2002 (not quite sure), i acted as an extra in the film Joe and Max (in Germany) and met 
Leonard Roberts and Til Schweiger. Why in the world didn't I take photos with them? I guess I was too excited to think straight.

I shook Queen Elizabeth's hand in 2004 when she visited Berlin. The catering company i worked for (waitress) at the time catered her banquet. She thanked us personally.


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## lukemallory (May 13, 2013)

I've met Bono walking down Grafton Street, Dublin at Christmas about 2 years ago. Ireland is a bit like that - it's a small place, so you often see people walking around. They're usually happy to have a chat.
Met the President of Ireland a couple of weeks ago. He's like something from Lord of the Rings lol.
Damon Hill (ex Formula 1 driver)
Ronan Keating (local pop star)
Brian O'Driscoll (one of the world's best rugby players)
From the top deck of the bus I saw Tom Cruise at the opening of Oblivion a few weeks back. Also saw those actors from American Pie reunion in the same spot last year - not sure of their names lol.
Met Andrea Corr walking down Grafton Street too.
Colm Meaney I've seen multiple times.
And finally, I sat a few rows behind Colin Farrell on a flight to the US a few years back


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

Awesome meets and near meets, peeps!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

SEAN H. ROBERTSON said:


> Sweet...thanks much. Do you like the series?


Hi Sean. I haven't seen this series at all yet. Were you in any other episodes?


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

mlewis78 said:


> Hi Sean. I haven't seen this series at all yet. Were you in any other episodes?


No, just episode six. I was expecting to recur as a Detroit cop, but the series was canceled.


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## That Weird Guy.... (Apr 16, 2012)

I do not wish to sound like an insufferable name dropper, but due to all the shows/concerts I see, I meet a lot of famous people including:
Michael York, Megan Mullally, Rosie O'Donnell, Frankie Avalon, Debbie Gibson, Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, Harvey Fierstein, Matthew Morrison, Roger Bart, David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry, Stephen Lynch
And then having gone to the Tony Awards in 2005 I was in the same room as: Sally Field, Hugh Jackman, Tim Curry, Sarah Ramirez, Christina Applegate, Tim Curry, Robert Goulet (met him and got his autograph) and many many others. 

I am kind of a Stage Door Stalker when I go see shows.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

That Weird Guy.... said:


> I am kind of a Stage Door Stalker when I go see shows.


"kind of"? no, dear, you are a full on stage door stalker, except when with me...


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I found a pic today of my Grandfather driving Father Flannigan of Boy's Town around Hiroshima in 1948.


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## Valerie Alexander (Feb 15, 2013)

During Academy Awards "season" here in LA, all of the stars do Q&As to promote their movies, and I am often hired to moderate, which is an awesome side gig. The list of famous people I've been on stage and hung out backstage with is pretty long, and would get really name-droppy, so I'll just say that Ben Affleck is every bit as nice and down-to-earth as he seems (we did a WGA Foundation evening that was just me interviewing him for an hour and a half, and he was a doll), and Sean Penn is the most gentlemanly, soft-spoken, decent celebrity I've ever met.  On the same stage with Sean Penn that night was Michael Moore, and if I never have to spend another minute with him, that would be fine.


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## Valerie Alexander (Feb 15, 2013)

Sean, 
My friend Jason created Detroit 187.  Very sorry to see it go off the air!  Keep us all posted on where to see you next.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

Valerie Alexander said:


> Sean,
> My friend Jason created Detroit 187. Very sorry to see it go off the air! Keep us all posted on where to see you next.


Hi, Valerie! I met Jason at the d187 wrap party and we chatted for sec & took this pic. Great guy. Awesome writer!







Please tell him I said hello and thank you again for the show....it changed my life! 

I'm producing my own t.v. show in Michigan now. You can see clips of it on my Amazon profile.


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## Valerie Alexander (Feb 15, 2013)

Huge congrats on your show!  Jason is in my writers dinner group, so next time I see him, I'll give him your best.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

Valerie Alexander said:


> Huge congrats on your show! Jason is in my writers dinner group, so next time I see him, I'll give him your best.


Thanks and thanks! I followed you on Twitter. Congratulations on your career!


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

Valerie Alexander said:


> During Academy Awards "season" here in LA, all of the stars do Q&As to promote their movies, and I am often hired to moderate, which is an awesome side gig. The list of famous people I've been on stage and hung out backstage with is pretty long, and would get really name-droppy, so I'll just say that Ben Affleck is every bit as nice and down-to-earth as he seems (we did a WGA Foundation evening that was just me interviewing him for an hour and a half, and he was a doll), and Sean Penn is the most gentlemanly, soft-spoken, decent celebrity I've ever met. On the same stage with Sean Penn that night was Michael Moore, and if I never have to spend another minute with him, that would be fine.


Valerie--It's nice to know that Ben Affleck and Sean Penn's public and private personas mesh. How much fun (and a lot of work, I'm sure) these gigs must be! I once saw Michael Moore on a street in Greenwich Village and ignored him. Something about his body language/facial expression said, "stay away."


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## Valerie Alexander (Feb 15, 2013)

Harriett,
So many of them are really wonderful, and I can't imagine living that life (being approached or photographed every time you leave your home).  Also, the women are GORGEOUS in person.  I am not kidding -- they are so much more beautiful in real life than they are on the screen that it makes you understand just how rare and hard it is for an actress to become a star.  What was most stunning to me was how many of them remembered me the next time we did a Q&A, sometimes even the following year.  Among the nicest of the nice are James Cromwell, Missy Pyle and Kenneth Brannagh.  Also, Omar Sy; he is truly a treasure and I hope he gets to have a long, fun career.  If you haven't seen "The Intouchables," make it the next movie on your list.


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## lukemallory (May 13, 2013)

BTackitt said:


> I found a pic today of my Grandfather driving Father Flannigan of Boy's Town around Hiroshima in 1948.


There's no such thing as a bad boy!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I met author Joe Hill at a book singing and told him a joke that nearly made him spit his Altoid on my copy of his book.  Since it was a book signing, I almost feel like that doesn't count for this thread but...there it is!


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

lukemallory said:


> There's no such thing as a bad boy!


 says the man without a shirt. 

The closest I've been was back to back sitting on a couch with Leonardo DiCaprio. We leaned on each other for support in the busy club in LA. Nice guy and very handsome in person. I'm an actress, too and I'm in an episode of the upcoming 1950's period piece about Masters and Johnson called "Masters of Sex," on Showtime. Worked with Lizzy Caplan that day and she's very cool. I expect to see a lot more of her. Funny, down to earth, and talented chick. Michael Sheen wasn't there that day but I hope to work on the show again and meet him. He's so great - I admire his work very much.


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## penrefe (Nov 30, 2011)

I came across Jonathan Ross (British talk-show host) at San Diego Comic Con in 2011. He had a sales table. I walked straight past him at first then doubled back, pointed at him, as in right at his face, and said, "You're Jonathan Ross!"

One of my prouder moments.

He was lovely, though.


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## lukemallory (May 13, 2013)

F.M.Hopkins said:


> says the man without a shirt.
> 
> The closest I've been was back to back sitting on a couch with* Leonardo DiCaprio*. We leaned on each other for support in the busy club in LA. Nice guy and very handsome in person. I'm an actress, too and I'm in an episode of the upcoming 1950's period piece about Masters and Johnson called "Masters of Sex," on Showtime. Worked with Lizzy Caplan that day and she's very cool. I expect to see a lot more of her. Funny, down to earth, and talented chick. Michael Sheen wasn't there that day but I hope to work on the show again and meet him. He's so great - I admire his work very much.


When shirt prices go down and my book sales go up, I shall rethink my situation 

But more importantly, how and why does Leo not have an Oscar yet? He just about my favourite actor. And a dreamboat!


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

lukemallory said:


> When shirt prices go down and my book sales go up, I shall rethink my situation
> 
> But more importantly, how and why does Leo not have an Oscar yet? He just about my favourite actor. And a dreamboat!


Luke. Seriously. You are an instigator.

lol

You have no ironed shirts?


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

CatherineM said:


> Luke. Seriously. You are an instigator.
> 
> lol
> 
> You have no ironed shirts?


And no face.  And Leo should get an Oscar. He's very talented.


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## ER Pierce (Jun 4, 2013)

I've met a few - Kevin Millar, Derek Lowe, and Todd Walker (Boston Red Sox players in 2003) at an airport, they were nice and signed my dh and my plane tickets. I've met Thurman Thomas (football player) Diana Gabaldon, Sylvia Day, Jonathon Mayberry.


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## lukemallory (May 13, 2013)

CatherineM said:


> Luke. Seriously. You are an instigator.
> 
> lol
> 
> You have no ironed shirts?


It's too warm for ironed shirts! It's 21C here - for an Irishman, that's like 549F!!!

I have no face, however, I do have some aviator shades 

Keeping with the thread, I saw an actor from a local tv show called Fair City the other day, for any other Irish people here.


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## Artista (Jul 22, 2011)

Happy to say, quite a few times. Years and years ago I shook the hand of Little Richard when he came to our church.  I've gotten autographs of some singers/ band members at the NYS Fairgrounds too. John Cusack and Emma Roberts made a movie here last year, but I didn't see them, though. Also Viggo Mortensen 'just showed up' one time to come and see a play in the theater. Unfortunately, I wasn't around to see him either,LoL.


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## lukemallory (May 13, 2013)

Artista said:


> I shook the hand of Little Richard when he came to our church.


I totally read that alllllllllllllll wrong


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

lukemallory said:


> I totally read that alllllllllllllll wrong


....... open your hands and see all the people!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

In March of 1967, I travelled to NYC and Washington, D.C. with about 80 other high school kids from area churches. While in Washington, some of us went into the Capitol, and Bobby Kennedy actually ran into me as I was entering the building and he was exiting. He stopped to ask if I was ok, and apologized. I was surprised to see that he had bobby pins in his hair, as it was a windy day, and he was known for his recognizable head of hair. Having grown up in a pro-JFK household, seeing and saying a few words to Bobby was a really big deal.

I've been to book signings with Ina Garten, Giada DeLaurentiis, and President Bush ("W"). Although our books were already signed, we were quite close to each of the featured authors.  I was also at a campaign event for Lynne and Dick Cheney, and was close to them.

My brother, a herpetologist and botanist, sat in Robert Redford's office (in his Santa Fe home) for over an hour. After they concluded their business, Roger and "Bob" (as he told my brother to call him) sat and talked for a long time. My brother said that Robert Redford was everything that he had thought he would be, and that he was very cordial and laid back.


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

Cindy416 said:


> In March of 1967, I travelled to NYC and Washington, D.C. with about 80 other high school kids from area churches. While in Washington, some of us went into the Capitol, and Bobby Kennedy actually ran into me as I was entering the building and he was exiting. He stopped to ask if I was ok, and apologized. I was surprised to see that he had bobby pins in his hair, as it was a windy day, and he was known for his recognizable head of hair. Having grown up in a pro-JFK household, seeing and saying a few words to Bobby was a really big deal.
> 
> I've been to book signings with Ina Garten, Giada DeLaurentiis, and President Bush ("W"). Although our books were already signed, we were quite close to each of the featured authors. I was also at a campaign event for Lynne and Dick Cheney, and was close to them.
> 
> My brother, a herpetologist and botanist, sat in Robert Redford's office (in his Santa Fe home) for over an hour. After they concluded their business, Roger and "Bob" (as he told my brother to call him) sat and talked for a long time. My brother said that Robert Redford was everything that he had thought he would be, and that he was very cordial and laid back.


I hope to meet Robert Redford one day. He seems like a very classy man.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Met the Queen of The Netherlands many years ago; she was one of the richest women in the world, but acted like someone's grandma.  Then again, she was someone's grandma...

We saw George Kennedy walking down the street in London - he was tall (just checked IMDB - he's 6'4") and stood out in the crowd on the sidewalk.

We saw and spoke to Sheena Easton in an ice cream shop in Rome.  

Met Mark Richt, head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, a couple of years ago.

Saw Wayne Rogers at Ruth's Chris here a few years ago.

Met Fred Haise, one of the Apollo 13 astronauts.  It was not long after the movie came out.  He said the movie was pretty accurate, except for some cursing - said they'd listened to the tapes and they didn't curse (hard to believe from a bunch of fighter pilots!) - guess they were trying to be professional, at least on tape.

Met the golfer Tom Watson and went dancing with him - he & I actually learned the two-step together at a country/western bar.  He was one of the VIPs at the "Quail Hunt" in Enid OK at the time - my husband had given him a tour of the base there.  He was very nice.  Have been up close to a lot of pro golfers, been to a couple of tournaments and also volunteered at the President's Cup near D.C. back in the 90's.  But Watson's the only one I've met.  

Knew a former Miss USA - her husband worked for mine.  She really was lovely - during  conversation one time she said "Oh, it's all makeup."  I told her "I wear makeup too - clearly there's something under your makeup that is not under mine!"  She was also a very nice person, and talented (Miss USA actually has no talent competition, but she had  lovely singing voice).

Barry Goldwater presented my husband with a couple of awards many, many years ago - one of the awards was named for Goldwater so it was especially meaningful.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

I live in an area of Missouri where hunting (esp. birds and deer) is a main attraction. Tom Watson is here often, so running into him is to be expected. He's one of the classiest and friendly people you'll ever meet.  Tom and his dad were/are longtime friends with a family here, so he's occasionally seen golfing here. He has also brought other sports figures here to golf at our little 9-hole golf course. My dad got to golf a couple of holes with Otis Taylor (one of my favorite KC Chiefs players) a few years ago,  and then sat with Taylor and Tom for an hour or so in the clubhouse. Dad was never starstruck in the least, but he thoroughly enjoyed that morning at the golf course.  Years ago, Chuck Connors and Ted Williams were frequently spotted at our local supper club.


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