Celebrities You Saw Before They Made it Big

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Originally Posted by TreacherousCretin

If you were at UCSD with Nathan, did you by any chance know Rob Norberg?

Dunno. The name sounds vaguely familiar, but I could just be imagining it.

[freckafree]

I saw Kathy Bates at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theater of Louisville in 1985. She gave an absolutely riveting performance in which she did not move from her seat on a couch for the entire play, "Rain of Terror," which is part of a longer work called Two Masters. Her photo in that role is on the cover of this collection of Frank Manley plays. It's probably from the very production I saw.

[blondebear]

Does seeing "big name bands" when they were opening acts count? I saw Aerosmith open for The Kinks and Tom Petty open for Be Bop Deluxe.

[jeepus]

I saw kd lang and the Reclines in a Folklorama venue in Winnipeg around '81 or so. We were at long tables that seated maybe 40 people. Every person at our table, at least as far as I could see, appeared to be half of a lesbian couple. Well, other than me and my boyfriend. The whole table of people seemed to know each other. I guess they already knew who kd was too. She was great! Dressed in cowgirl outfit, did a screaming roaring lying on the floor rendition of the old song "Johnny get Angry," called the crowd "Bobs and Bettys" all night. "How're ya doin tonight, Bobs and Bettys??"

[Krokodil]

Circa 1970, my folksinger sister shared a bill with an up-and-coming singer-comedian named Butch Gallagher. This was before he went by "Gallagher" and smashed melons with hammers. He was actually quite engaging, kind of a low-rent George Carlin hippie character whose signature piece was a song called "My Apartment," describing his residency in an urban phone booth.

I saw Richard Belzer in a comedy club in DC around 1987. Not sure when he can be said to have "hit it big," probably around the time of Ghost or Law and Order SVU, but the guy's been nationally known at least since The Groove Tube (plus, he was the warm-up act for SNL's studio audience and was a background character in a lot of early sketches circa 1975-76), though not quite a household name. He made fun of my clothes.

I saw Moxy Früvous at the 9:30 Club in DC (Old location; this would've been around 1993). I was unfamiliar with them and am not sure if this was before or after their peak of fame, but they were opening for a reggae band, Eek-a-Mouse, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't at their peak of fame. Their set list was mostly songs off of Bargainville.

[The Other Jeffrey Lebowski]

In the late 90's, I was bartending at a tourist trap restaurant at the South St Seaport in lower Manhattan. One rainy January day, this family comes in and sits in my station. I immediately recognize one of the kids, because just a week or so before, I had seen her picture in the NY Post - there was a blurb about this fresh faced 11 year old who had been playing Annie on Broadway had just been cast in a remake of The Parent Trap. I distinctly remember thinking that day, I wonder how big of a career this Lindsay Lohan will have.
It might have been around the same time that I went to a showcase at this acting school at Union Square. I was going to see my ex-girlfriend perform. She did well, but after the show, she was raving about her scene partner, an unknown named Melissa McCarthy. Sidenote about that show was that I sat behind Louise Lasser.
Last one - I was working on the set of a movie a few years ago and I must have spent an hour talking with the mother of a girl who had a bit part. They were from Atlanta and my sister had just moved there. When I saw Kick Ass, I thought, that girl looks familiar.

[Colibri]

I was in the same dorm as Christopher Reeve as an undergraduate in college. He was in the Drama Society at the time, but I never went to see him in anything.

I dated a future astronaut about 8 years before she entered the space program. She made 3 shuttle flights.

[Spoke]

I frequented Atlanta's many comedy clubs in the late 80s, early 90s. Saw Jerry Seinfeld before he got his TV show, and Chris Rock before he was even on Saturday Night Live. Also caught Bill Hicks.

As for musical acts, I saw R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs, The Pogues, Widespread Panic, Green Day, Live, The Avett Brothers, The Lemonheads, Radiohead, and Drive-By Truckers in small venues.

[dnooman]

Originally Posted by koeeoaddi

Oh, and John Oates (Hall and Oates) was my guitar teacher when I was 14. Does that count?

Awesome. Did he have the 'stache at the time?


My parents have much cooler celeb connections. My Mom grew up with Bill Murray, his sister was her good friend. My Dad's roomie in prep school was kind of a "Nature Boy", his name was Ric Flair.

[MissSwitac]

I was waiting tables back at my uncles restaurant in surburban Detroit in the early 80's. one of my table had 4 or 5 guys with English accents who had great hair for the time and cool clothes. They were very attractive and friendly. I chatted with them awhile and they said they were a band from the UK who was the opening act at a concert that night. They were hoping to make a name for themselves in the US. They gave me some stickers and buttons with their band name on it. I wished them luck and hoped I'd see them soon enough on MTV. I thought the band name was weird having no idea what Duran Duran meant, but as you know, they did eventually end up on MTV.

[The Other Jeffrey Lebowski]

Another one that I have is that I ran in a couple of races in high school against Cory Booker, the Mayor of Newark, NJ. He was a decent high hurdler, but not so great in the quarter, and we were both anchoring in a mile relay, so he wasn't too close to me in the race.

[Lord Mondegreen]

I saw Russell Crowe in The Rocky Horror Show in the '80s. Of course since he was a nobody at the time, I didn't realize it until I found the program many years later while moving house.

[I-VI-ii-V]

In 2000 I played in the band for a play featuring Jenna Fischer. She can sing.

A couple years later I did another play with Silas Weir Mitchell.

I also played a cabaret show with Simon Helberg right before he got his Mad TV gig (he was subbing on piano). Years before Big Bang Theory.

The other celebs I've played with had already "made it big" and don't fit the criteria of the OP.

I saw the second gig of Dave Grohl's new band (Foo Fighters) at a small club.

[Tibby or Not Tibby]

Well, he wasn't exactly an unknown at the time, but when I met Richard Nixon during his 1960 campaign for President of the United States, he was destined to become even “bigger."

I was just a small tyke at the time, brought by my dad to an outdoor venue to hear Nixon speak when he was in our town during the campaign trail. After the speech, encouraged by dad, I put my hand out to shake Nixon's hand, as he approached. It was cold and snowing that day, so I was wearing mittens. Nixon bent down and shook my hand heartily, then (I assume accidentally...but, who knows?), he pulled away with my mitten still in his hand.

I said, “gimme back my mitten, mister.” My dad and I forgot exactly what he said when he handed back my mitten, but it was something like, “I am not a crook.”

[Superhal]

I haven't met anybody before they were famous.

The only celebrity I met in person was Marc Dacascos, but this was well after his big break in Only the Strong.

Well, I guess it's a possibly interesting story:

I was at a small fast food restaurant, and I noticed the guy sitting at a bench looked vaguely familiar. He didn't seem big or tall, but something about him clicked something in my memory, and then I realized it was Mark Dacascos. While he might not be a household name, for collectors of martial arts movies he was huge. He starred in the first capoeira themed Hollywood film, Only the Strong, and he was in a couple of little known films that were hot in the martial arts community, Drive and Crying Freeman.

A couple of teenage girls came up to him and tried to get him to say who he was, but he very politely distracted them and returned to the bench. I noticed he was with a woman and a baby, so I tried not to gush as he was with his family, but after a minute or two, I leaned over, and said, "Are you planning on making a part 2 for Drive?"

He looked at me, obviously startled that I had even seen it. It was never released in the states and was only shown once on Showtime or HBO. We talked about his films for a while, and he asked me why I wanted to see Drive 2, so I told him that the first one didn't have an ending, you just drove off and didn't fight the final bad guy. He told me that the cable TV version was cut, and in the longer European version there is a final confrontation. After some small talk, he got his food and left.

He is a really nice guy and I'm happy for his success, but it's just too bad he never really hit the mainstream after he did the Crow tv show.

[lawoot]

Went to college with Sandra Bullock, so I saw her in The Three Sisters, Stage Door, and Peter Pan (as Tiger Lily).

I acted with Kevin Williamson (creator of Dawson's Creek, writer of Scream) in the children's show Ozma of Oz.

[DonLogan]

Originally Posted by Morbo

In High School I dated Erin Daniels, does that count as nig enough? We dated for a summer or so when I was a senior and she was a freshman. She grew up down the street.

Dude, you turned her gay.

[EmilyG]

Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the superstar conductor.

I've worked with him twice before he was internationally known.

[salinqmind]

Originally Posted by astorian

Was the show called Over Here?

Yes! "Over Here!" (and yeah, JT was in Welcome Back Kotter).

I've seen a couple other Broadway musicals (a long time ago and I can't remember which ones) so I may have seen other pre-celebrities performing in them.

[Fiddle Peghead]

Originally Posted by WordMan

Saw Rob Schneider - he is petite, and his fancy cowboy boots made him look like the letter L...

Saw Counting Crows...Adam Duritz came across as an incredibly talented douchebag.

I saw them at Wetlands in NYC, just before or after (can't remember which) "August and Everything After" came out. The buzz outside while waiting to get in was that they were going to be huge. It never quite worked out that way, did it? Although "huge" is of course a relative term.

[Krokodil]

Originally Posted by Fiddle Peghead

I saw them at Wetlands in NYC, just before or after (can't remember which) "August and Everything After" came out. The buzz outside while waiting to get in was that they were going to be huge. It never quite worked out that way, did it? Although "huge" is of course a relative term.

It sure is. I saw them open for the Stones on the Voodoo Lounge tour, back in...92? The Stones are who they are, of course, but it struck me as funny that Counting Crows' album at the time was outselling the Stones' at about ten to one.

[DMark]

All mentioned elsewhere on these boards before, but here goes again:

I was going to the legal department at MGM on the 8th floor, and on the elevator with me was a good looking blond dude with a script. Casting was also on the 8th floor and I saw the script was "Thelma and Louise" and I said something like, "I hear that is going to be a good film. You auditioning?"
He answered, "Yeah, I think I got the part!"
"Congrats!" i said, wishing I had the guts to give this guy my number.
I doubt Brad Pitt would have ever called me back, but I am always able to say I met him on the way up - both figuratively and literally.

Also, in the late 70's, I was at the Gay Pride Festival on Christopher Street in NYC and there was a flatbed truck used as a stage at the end of the street. It was early and hot and only about 20 (if that) people were listening to the band. I though they were good and said to my friend, "Who are they? They are really good!"
He answered, "The band is called Blondie and that is Deborah Harry singing."
(BTW, fast forward a decade later and a good friend of mine bought an apartment that had just turned condo - and the previous tenant was Deborah Harry.)

Hardly anybody in the US (except Annie Xmas here on the boards) has ever heard of the German musical theater/pop singer star Angelika Milster - but my SO and I used to hang out with her all the time in Berlin long before she hit it big, and even after she become super famous there - her first step into German superstar territory was starring in the Vienna production of CATS (which I hate that show, but had to politely go see it as Angelika gave us tickets many times...)
She has since done many movies/TV shows/specials and has sold tons of CD's and performed in concerts throughout Europe. We have sort of lost touch over the years, but get the occasional phone call.

A minor regret: I was visiting the hometown and grandma called from the retirement home, "You like movies and plays and stuff. One of the women here is having her grandson visit tomorrow and he is interested in making films. Do you want to come over and meet him?"
I politely declined and said I was busy.
Sort of wish I had gone to meet the unknown Terry Malick that day.

Oops - as long as I am mentioning film directors, might as well brad that I had dinner with Gus Van Sant and spent a day hanging out with Pedro Almodovar when I was reviewing films at the Berlin FilmFest - both were there with their first films, before they were famous.

[Maserschmidt]

Originally Posted by Speak to me Maddie!

Jeff Dunham performed for my boy scout troop in the early 80's. It was a room of maybe 50 kids and parents. I remember it well, he was still in college at the time.

I went to high school with Dunham. I didn't know him (it was a big school and he was a year ahead of me), but I did once stop him in the hall to compliment him, and he did once read my name out over the intercom.

That's all I've got.

[Crafter_Man]

A buddy of mine was raised in Maple Heights, Ohio, which is a suburb of Cleveland. He's 46 now. He said Rush used to play at his high school.

[Esox Lucius]

I was visting Vancouver with some friends in the early 80's and went to a comedy club one night. Turned out to be amateur night, with a professional comedian at the end. The amateurs ranged from embarrassing to pretty good. One of the good ones popped up years later on the Drew Carey Show--Ryan Stiles.

The professional turned out to be some guy named Jim Carrey. He was clearly another league above even the best amateurs, but it struck me at one point that as good as he was, it must be a lousy life playing little, no-name clubs like that his whole career. I wonder where he is now and if he ever regrets trying to make a go of it in comedy...

[BeeDubU2]

My cousin played basketball for the Sacramento Kings some years ago. He would often get us tickets to our local game, and then passes to come the the family waiting area after the game, where the away team players would come out after the game to speak with their guests prior to heading back on the bus.
This specific time, a young kid (middle school aged) was waiting with us. Jason Williams played for the Kings then, and this kid had clearly saved all his allowance for like his entire life to show his appreciation for "White Chocolate". I mean, he had on the jersey, the shoes, and he had a "backstage pass". He was just so excited to see his idol and get an autograph! Jason walks through without stopping, the kid screams his name a million times. He's crushed, we all get in on it. We're all calling out to him, we're asking our cousin to go ont he bus and get this kid an autograph, Jason's not having it. He's a big star, he doesn't have to deal with this crap! That poor kid was crushed. It was hard to watch.

That kid? I've never seen him turn down ANY autograph requests. I'm sure Kevin Durant gets lots of them now...

[oreally]

Back in the 80s went to see REO Speedwagon. Their opening act was Stevie Ray Vaughn (I'll spare you the dramatic build up ). He was kinda known but not "big" by any means. The idiot crowd seemed underwhelmed but I was absolutely blown away. Big fan ever since.

[koeeoaddi]

Originally Posted by dnooman

Awesome. Did he have the 'stache at the time?

Yep. He was also an acoustic solo act back then. Excellent guitarist.

[notfrommensa]

B52s, performing at Frat Party back in the late 70s.

[Ibanez]

Tom Green came into the hobby shop I worked at in Ottawa while he's was starting off with his "street theatre" bit. He worked for CKCU radio at the time, and asked me all sorts of off the wall questions about stuff in the store while recording it.

"Dude is fucked in the head" was what I thought after he left.

Slut Mobile

[SeldomSeen]

Do "celebrity" (or perhaps "notorious") politicians count? I got to know former Senator Larry (Wide Stance) Craig back when he was a freshman congresscritter from Idaho's 1st district. In fact, we're distantly related (by marriage, not by blood).

Back then, when he was home from D.C. he would drive around his district holding informal "meet your rep" affairs in small-town coffee shops and grange halls. I was also working around the state at that time and it was surprising how often we'd end up in the same town. The meetings were frequent enough that my standard greeting was "hi cousin!", and he would usually respond in kind. At the time, he was generally well-liked....a home-town boy who'd done well, and in fact a very congenial and likeable fellow.
SS

[Winnie]

I was on vacation with a few of my friends at the Outer Banks of North Carolina sometime in the early 1990's and we decided one night to go to a little comedy club. There were 3 comics, 2 were fairly forgettable, the third was insanely funny. It was Darrell Hammond. I clearly remember trying hard to remember his name as I was sure he'd be big in the future.

[pohjonen]

There used to be a gay bar in Pasadena back in the seventies that featured a singer that played guitar and sang lots of Joplin - Melissa Etheridge. Also saw a wild psychedelic bus on the 10 freeway on the way to work once in SoCal before the Partridge Family came out but didn't notice who was in it.

[Harvey The Heavy]

On my 21st birthday in 1990, my family took me to the Improv in San Diego, and saw Rick Rockwell perform. He had already co-written Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and some of it's sequels, and was known as a local goofball in SD, but all that Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire idiocy was still ten years away.

In 1995 just before KISS: Unplugged was released, I went to a listening party for it at a small club in North Hollywood and noticed a guy dressed up as Ace Frehley circa 1975, and found out that he was in a local tribute band. Turned out to be Tommy Thayer, who ended up replacing Ace in 2002.

Speaking of KISS, I saw Judas Priest open for them in 1979, just before they hit big in the U.S.

I almost went to high school with Tony Hawk, but he moved away before I moved into the neighborhood. A lot of people had middle school yearbooks with him in it.

[gaffa]

Seen a number of female singer/songwriters early in their career, but that's because my wife and I tend to see a lot of them, and some percentage are successful. One particularly lucky club for us is Chicago's beloved Schuba's. A very small room that could hold 200 people if they're all standing and don't have any major issues with personal space.

We've seen Tori Amos there touring Little Earthquakes, Sarah McLachlan touring Touch, Imogene Heap touring Speak for Yourself, KT Tunstell touring Eye to the Telescope and many others.

It's great to see someone in a venue small enough that you can talk to them afterwards, or even buy them a drink at the bar (like the late, great Kirsty MacColl who we also saw at Schuba's. It really is a wonderful place.)

[bobot]

Hugh Laurie was Lord Monty on a Young Ones episode. ( bambi)...
This episode also features Motorhead...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysG96dUtGh4

[gaffa]

Originally Posted by bobot

Hugh Laurie was Lord Monty on a Young Ones episode. ( bambi)...
This episode also features Motorhead...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysG96dUtGh4

"Guys, guys I'm just going to have to wee on Lord Snot's head!"

[CalMeacham]

Oh, yeah -- I've mentioned it on the Board before, but didn't above:

I was in two different musical theater productioons with Erland van Lidthe de Jeude, who played the leader of the fordham Baldies (Terror) in Philip Kaufman's The Wanderers and the Big Bald Guy that Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor got put in a cell with in Stir Crazy (Grossberger). Erland was a helluva singer, but when Grossberger sang in that film, I knew it wasn't Erland -- it wasn't his voice. Evidently there was some union restriction, and , since erland wasn't a member of the appropriate union, he couldn't sing in that film. He did get to sing when he played Dynamo opposite Arnold Schwarzeneggar in The vRunning Man, but there's so much noise you can't hear him very well. Sadly, Erland died before that film was released. he was only 34:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erland_Van_Lidth_De_Jeude


If you look close, you can see him wearing his MIT "Brass Rat" in Stir Crazy. Erland was coaxed out of his "retirement" to play Miles Gloriosus ion A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He was the best Miles Gloriosus I ever saw. when he said lines line "Everyone stand back -- I take large steps!" it made perfect sense.

[Hypno-Toad]

I also saw Jeff Dunham before he was big. He was giving a free show in the student union at UNC-Greensboro in '88 or '89. I wandered by, saw a guy holding his woozle and sat down to watch him perform. Very funny.

[Snickers]

I saw Dave Chapelle at a small comedy club in Madison, WI, before he really hit it huge. I don't remember the timing (so he might have already been a comic of some renown somewhere), but it was definitely before his show on Comedy Central. He commented on the fact that he and my friend were the only black guys in the place during his set. Very funny guy.

My second year at Marquette University, big local Milwaukee band The Gufs were giving a free concert so long as you stood in line for tickets. I was near the back, and one of the last few that scored some. Opening for them was this up-and-coming band, Matchbox 20. They went on to bigger and better things, obviously, while The Gufs? Not so much.

[Morbo]

Originally Posted by TreacherousCretin

Can't you see that man's a big?

GAH! Yes, obviously a typo. A brutal typo.

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by Morbo

GAH! Yes, obviously a typo. A brutal typo.

Of course. But I couldn't resist.

[JoelUpchurch]

I remember the Pointer Sisters came to perform at my high school in Nashville, Tennessee in the early 70's. As I remember, that was the old gym, which would be like 70-71.

[GreenElf]

I knew american gladiators' Siren.

[osme]

I saw Bette Midler and her piano player was a guy whos claim to fame
was writing "you Deserve A Break Today" and "I'm Stuck on Bandaids, 'Cus
Bandaids Stuck on Me." Name was Barry Manilow.

[eenerms]

Saw REM, Stray Cats, X, GoGo s all in a small club (held ..maybe 250-300 people)

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

Many years ago, I was an undergrad at the University of Georgia. A friend callled me up to ask if I wanted to go to the chapel and blow two bucks on a duo of indie folksingers. I thought about it, and decided to just stay in and read.

Years later, I would join a conversation in an online forum and relate the tale of how I passed up the chance to see the Indigo Girls.

[Leaffan]

I knew the bride, when she used to rock and roll.

[panache45]

I saw Bette Middler when she was performing in the gay bath houses in NYC.

I saw Barbra Streisand in I Can Get It for You Wholesale (pre-Funny Girl).

I saw Jose Feliciano in a Cleveland folk-music club in the early 60s.

I saw Leslie Gore in another club, around the same time.

I saw Bernadette Peters singing "Raining in My Heart," in Dames at Sea.

I met Madonna a couple of times (her brother lived in my building).

And I accidentally walked in on Alan Greenspan, in Ayn Rand's bathroom.

I'm sure there are more, that I can't think of.

[Saintly Loser]

Originally Posted by eenerms

Saw REM, Stray Cats, X, GoGo s all in a small club (held ..maybe 250-300 people)

I saw the Stray Cats about a zillion times in a small club. More like a bar. And they were known as the Tomcats back then, or sometimes Brian and the Tomcats. They were a local (Long Island) band, and a good one. They never really clicked outside their town -- couldn't land gigs in Manhattan clubs. Then they took off for London, and the rest is history.