Straight Dope Message Board

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by Ashtura

Wait a minute, famous people played by an actor doesn't count?? Just some oblique reference in like a newspaper (invariably photoshopped) or a character name dropping that he met soandso? Is that right?

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

Yes, that's the kind of thing I'm going for.

Thanks, all.

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

President Obama met Spider-Man once: http://comicseater.o.c.f.unblog.fr/f...aracomics1.jpg

The Obama example doesn't seem to follow what you're going for. Spidey doesn't name drop meeting Obama nor do we see a newspaper cover of the two meeting one another or something similar- we actually see the two meeting. That's the comic version of something like Granny meeting John Wayne.

Lots of comic examples:

https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrit...s/coy-jandreau

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

Read the first sentence of the OP, please, folks.

I'm sticking with my examples of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and Seinfeld. You can also add Arrested Development (Carl Weathers), Episodes (Matt LeBlanc), Louie (Louis C.K.), and The Sarah Silverman Program (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person.

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

I'm sticking with my examples of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and Seinfeld. You can also add Arrested Development (Carl Weathers), Episodes (Matt LeBlanc), Louie (Louis C.K.), and The Sarah Silverman Program (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person.

Why? The OP states the following doesn't count:

"famous people doing cameos in movies or TV shows (like Stephen Hawking's appearances on The Big Bang Theory)"

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

In the 1970s, Captain America punched a masked villain who was strongly implied to be Richard Nixon.

And Nixon, as well as many others, show up as living heads in a jar, on Futurama.

[kunilou]

Superman and John F. Kennedy.

Spiderman and Barack Obama

Captain America and Hitler.

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

I'm sticking with my examples of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and Seinfeld. You can also add Arrested Development (Carl Weathers), Episodes (Matt LeBlanc), Louie (Louis C.K.), and The Sarah Silverman Program (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person.

Maybe I misunderstood. Are you saying that your examples include instances where someone like Jerry Seinfeld mentions meeting a famous person (or it happens in some other way but isn't actually shown)? You didn't tell us who the famous person is in Seinfeld or in any other of your examples. If the meeting is actually shown, the OP is stated it doesn't count (except in comics ).

[ekedolphin]

In Star Trek: Voyager, the crew met Amelia Earhart, I think.

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by ekedolphin

In Star Trek: Voyager, the crew met Amelia Earhart, I think.

Yes, and she was played by an actress. See OP.

Might as well see this too:

https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...d.php?t=868590

[ekedolphin]

Ah, got'cha.

How about when the Ocean's crew met Bruce Willis, and mistook Julia Roberts' character for the actual Julia Roberts?

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by ekedolphin

How about when the Ocean's crew met Bruce Willis

Cameo.

and mistook Julia Roberts' character for the actual Julia Roberts?

Mistaken identity in the Ocean's universe- Roberts was playing a character, not herself.

[Son of a Rich]

Superman met various real people, including a couple of presidents and also Steve Allen.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by x-ray vision

Maybe I misunderstood. Are you saying that your examples include instances where someone like Jerry Seinfeld mentions meeting a famous person (or it happens in some other way but isn't actually shown)? You didn't tell us who the famous person is in Seinfeld or in any other of your examples. If the meeting is actually shown, the OP is stated it doesn't count (except in comics ).

Yes, you are clearly missing my point. I pointed out who the famous person was on each show.

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

In a weird reversal of this, you have series where real life people are characters in the show; Baa Baa Black Sheep (Pappy Boyington), Curb Your Enthusiasm (Larry David), Dave's World (Dave Barry), Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (James Van Der Beek), Mike Tyson Mysteries (Mike Tyson), Scorpion (Walter O'Brien), Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld), The Untouchables (Eliot Ness), and others. On these shows, all of the fictional characters in the series have met a famous real life person.

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

I'm sticking with my examples of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and Seinfeld. You can also add Arrested Development (Carl Weathers), Episodes (Matt LeBlanc), Louie (Louis C.K.), and The Sarah Silverman Program (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person.

All of these are real people. So when, for example, Newman or Susan Ross or Jackie Chiles or Crazy Joe Davola interacts with Jerry Seinfeld in the show, it's a fictional character meeting a famous real person.

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

All of these are real people. So when, for example, Newman or Susan Ross or Jackie Chiles or Crazy Joe Davola interacts with Jerry Seinfeld in the show, it's a fictional character meeting a famous real person.

No, because the Jerry Seinfeld character is not Jerry Seinfeld the actual person. He plays a fictionalized version of himself, somewhat based on the real-life Larry David. Likewise, Larry David on Curb is a fictionalized version of himself- married to a different person, getting a divorce, etc.

But even if they are considered to be their actual selves, it's not what the OP is going for. The examples in the OP only include examples of meetings that aren't shown to take place, unless faked like in Forest Gump. It's reiterated in this exchange:

Originally Posted by Ashtura

Just some oblique reference in like a newspaper (invariably photoshopped) or a character name dropping that he met soandso? Is that right?

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

Yes, that's the kind of thing I'm going for.

Thanks, all.

[P-man]

Originally Posted by Ynnad

Daisy Moses ("Granny") meets John Wayne on the Beverly Hillbillies, Season 5, Episode 20, The Indians are Coming.

The Clampetts also met Gloria Swanson. I think she was so touched that they showed her films at
The Bijou in Bugtussle that she made an appearance there.

[Darren Garrison]

Originally Posted by P-man

The Clampetts also met Gloria Swanson.

Also Leo Durocher. And of course Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

[CelticKnot]

Quantum Leap had a number of famous people, most before they were famous. Sam gave many the inspiration they used to become famous, or helped their career somehow.

I've been reading James R Benn's Billy Boyle WWII mysteries, and he has interacted with many real famous people, both historical for their roles in WWII (Uncle Ike) and those who were famous or became famous for other things.

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by Darren Garrison

Also Leo Durocher. And of course Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

Yet you started this thread?

[mbh]

In You Only Live Twice (the novel, not the movie), Kissy Suzuki mentions having worked with Westerners before, on a film set. She did not care for most of them, but she liked David Niven.

[Maus Magill]

Going really obscure. In Peter David's Artful, the Artful Dodger teams up with a young Queen Victoria pulling a Roman Holiday to be vampire hunters.

It was an... unusual read.

[notfrommensa]

Samantha Stevens met a lot famous people due to hi-jinks from Aunt Clara and their ditsy maid Esmeralda (and maybe some others)

Ben Franklin, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, George Washington among others.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by x-ray vision

No, because the Jerry Seinfeld character is not Jerry Seinfeld the actual person. He plays a fictionalized version of himself, somewhat based on the real-life Larry David.

No, the basis for the character of Jerry Seinfeld was the real Jerry Seinfeld. Larry David was the basis for the character of George Costanza.

[Peter Morris]

Jack Slater met Arnold Schwarzenegger. They didn't get on too well.

Daredevil met Uri Geller.

[x-ray vision]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

No, the basis for the character of Jerry Seinfeld was the real Jerry Seinfeld. Larry David was the basis for the character of George Costanza.

Are you arguing that Jerry on the show is not a fictionalized character and defending your earlier stance, or are you just nit-picking that George is based on Larry David? I know that's who George is based on. However, what I claimed is also true- the Jerry character is somewhat based on Larry, even living next to a Kramer.

[Horatio Hellpop]

Two of my favorite movies--ALMOST FAMOUS and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS--are jam-packed with such meetings.

In the comics, Dr. Strange explored "The Occult History of America" with his girlfriend, Clea. They met Ben Franklin (who put the moves on Clea) and Francis Bacon (who never went to America, but wrote NEW ATLANTIS, viewed as a prototype of the American experiment). The writer, Steve Englehart, had planned for this to be a long storyline, but quit/was fired from the book when the editor pulled the plug on it. The Fantastic Four met Thomas Jefferson; Valeria was not impressed with him. Captain America and Dr. Doom both met Henry Kissinger circa 1975. Coyote (Epic Comics) met Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling, the pandas at the Washington Zoo. Howard the Duck met KISS and Anita Bryant. Superman and Jimmy Olsen met Don Rickles, or some 4th-dimensional imp version of him, I'm not real sure what was going on with that story.

[gkster]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

What I'm thinking of is more like:
. . . .
Jack Aubrey in the Napoleonic naval adventures of Patrick O'Brian is proud to have once shared a meal with Lord Nelson (who at the time uttered that deathless phrase, "May I trouble you for the salt, sir?").

Apart from the meeting with Lord Nelson (which is reported by Aubrey but doesn't form part of the series narrative action), many other historical characters appear. Here are just a few:

Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty, in several of the books https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert...count_Melville
Lt. Governor Stamford Raffles, known for founding Singapore, in The Thirteen Gun Salute and The Nutmeg of Consolation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford_Raffles
Elizabeth Macquarie, wife of Governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie, in The Nutmeg of Consolation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Macquarie
Dr. Redfern of New South Wales in The Nutmeg of Consolation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Redfern

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by x-ray vision

Are you arguing that Jerry on the show is not a fictionalized character and defending your earlier stance, or are you just nit-picking that George is based on Larry David? I know that's who George is based on. However, what I claimed is also true- the Jerry character is somewhat based on Larry, even living next to a Kramer.

I'm arguing that any real life person is fictionalized to some degree when they appear as a character in a work of fiction. The real life Jerry Seinfeld doesn't live next door to a guy named Cosmo Kramer. The real life Queen Elizabeth never met Paul Sheldon.

[MrKnowItAll]

Weird concept for a thread. Excluding real people portrayed on TV or the movies, but allowing appearances in comic books?

Well, whatever. Luckily I've read a lot of comics.

Reed Richards and Johnny Storm once met George Washington.
Any number of comic characters have met Hitler.
Death of the Endless has technically met every person ever, even in our own world, including Emperor Norton I. (Of course it's debatable whether she qualifies as "fictional".)
Superman has boxed Mohammed Ali.
He has also met Ronald Reagan.
Prez Rickard met Richard Nixon, at least in one reality. Also John Belushi.

I could probably come up with a lot more with some thought.

[Superdude]

Stuart Redman tells Frannie Goldsmith about an encounter he had with Jim Morrison after the latter's death in "The Stand" by Stephen King.

[Horatio Hellpop]

The Thing and the Torch once met the Beatles.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by MrKnowItAll

Weird concept for a thread. Excluding real people portrayed on TV or the movies, but allowing appearances in comic books?



Well, whatever. Luckily I've read a lot of comics.



Reed Richards and Johnny Storm once met George Washington.

Any number of comic characters have met Hitler.

Death of the Endless has technically met every person ever, even in our own world, including Emperor Norton I. (Of course it's debatable whether she qualifies as "fictional".)

Superman has boxed Mohammed Ali.

He has also met Ronald Reagan.

Prez Rickard met Richard Nixon, at least in one reality. Also John Belushi.



I could probably come up with a lot more with some thought.

Don't forget about the Avengers meeting David Letterman back in 1984.

https://nerdist.com/that-time-the-av...vid-letterman/

[Superdude]

Are we counting Scooby Doo cartoons? Cuz there were the Globetrotters, Cass Elliott, Don Knotts, Batman and Robin, and everyone else I'm forgetting.

[P-man]

Originally Posted by Superdude

Are we counting Scooby Doo cartoons? Cuz there were the Globetrotters, Cass Elliott, Don Knotts, Batman and Robin, and everyone else I'm forgetting.

Jonathan Winters, Sandy Duncan, The Three Stooges...

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by Superdude

Are we counting Scooby Doo cartoons? Cuz there were the Globetrotters, Cass Elliott, Don Knotts, Batman and Robin, and everyone else I'm forgetting.

Whoosh?

[TheMysteryWriter]

I know it doesn't count, but I still don't understand the actual parameters after reading both threads, and this one was cool. In Supernatural, Dean Winchester killed Hitler.

[Omar Little]

Midge Maisel, from the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, meets Lenny Bruce.

[dasmoocher]

In Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, many real life historical figures appear and interact with the fictional characters:

Historical figures

Fictionalized versions of several historical figures appear in the World War II storyline:

• Alan Turing, the cryptographer and computer scientist, is a colleague and friend of Lawrence Waterhouse and sometime lover of Rudy von Hacklheber.
  
• Douglas MacArthur, the famed U.S. Army general, who takes a central role toward the end of the World War II timeline.
  
• Karl Dönitz, Großadmiral of the Kriegsmarine, is never actually seen as a character but issues orders to his U-Boats, including the one captained by Bischoff. Bischoff threatens to reveal information about hidden war gold unless Dönitz rescinds an order to sink his submarine.
  
• Hermann Göring, who appears extensively in the recollections of Rudy von Hacklheber as Rudy recounts how Göring tried recruiting him as a cryptographer for the Nazis: Rudy delivers an intentionally weakened system, reserving the full system for the use of the conspiracy among the characters to locate hidden gold.
  
• Future United States President Ronald Reagan is depicted during his wartime service as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Public Relations branch's 1st Motion Picture Unit. He attempts to film an interview with the recuperating and morphine-addled Bobby Shaftoe, who spoils the production with his account of a giant lizard attack and his harsh criticism of General MacArthur.
  
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's 1943 death at the hands of U.S. Army fighter aircraft during Operation Vengeance over Bougainville Island fills an entire chapter. During his fateful flight, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Imperial Navy's Combined Fleet reflects upon the failures and hubris of his Imperial Army counterparts, who persistently underestimate the cunning and ferocity of their Allied opponents in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. As his damaged transport plane completes its terminal descent, Yamamoto realizes that all of the Japanese military codes have been broken, which explains why he is "on fire and hurtling through the jungle at a hundred miles per hour in a chair, closely pursued by tons of flaming junk."
  
• Albert Einstein brushes off a young Lawrence Waterhouse's request for advice. During his year of undergraduate study at Princeton, Waterhouse periodically wanders the halls of the Institute for Advanced Study, randomly asking mathematicians (whose names he never remembers) for advice on how to make intricate calculations for his "sprocket question," which is how he eventually meets Turing.
• Harvest, an early supercomputer built by IBM (known as "ETC" or "Electrical Till Corp." in the novel) for the National Security Agency for cryptanalysis. The fictionalized Harvest became operational in the early 1950s, under the supervision of Earl Comstock, while the actual system was installed in 1962.

[Wallaby]

Jesus met Herod.

[Uncle Jocko]

Originally Posted by Ashtura

Wait a minute, famous people played by an actor doesn't count?? Just some oblique reference in like a newspaper (invariably photoshopped) or a character name dropping that he met soandso? Is that right?

So I think I’ve got something that fits the OP’s parameters.

In The West Wing, if you’re sharp-eyed, you can catch (photoshopped) pictures in the background that sometimes show characters with real-life politicians. In Season 1 alone, I saw a picture in Sam Seaborn’s office that showed Martin Sheen (as fictional politician Jed Bartlet) standing next to Tip O’Neill at a campaign event, and another that showed a (significantly younger than he was during the series) Sheen with a young Ted Kennedy.

[Elendil's Heir]

Originally Posted by Uncle Jocko

So I think I’ve got something that fits the OP’s parameters.

In The West Wing, if you’re sharp-eyed, you can catch (photoshopped) pictures in the background that sometimes show characters with real-life politicians. In Season 1 alone, I saw a picture in Sam Seaborn’s office that showed Martin Sheen (as fictional politician Jed Bartlet) standing next to Tip O’Neill at a campaign event, and another that showed a (significantly younger than he was during the series) Sheen with a young Ted Kennedy.

Yup, those'll do. Thanks!

[Chronos]

[Moderating]

Wallaby, Herod isn't a fictional character.

Oh, wait... You meant Jesus? That would be witnessing, which is not allowed in this forum. You'll want Great Debates for that.

[dorvann]

Originally Posted by Wallaby

Jesus met Herod.

Ghost Rider may or may not have met Jesus Christ. More info here:

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/thefriend.htm

[hogarth]

The TV show "30 Rock" is full of off-hand references to celebrity friends.

Here's a video full of Jenna referring to her former lover, Mickey Rourke