I’ll tell the same story I always tell whenever one of these threads appears.
Mel Gibson. 1989. Up North in Mae Hong Son province while he was filming Air America there.
I was living in the provincial capital and one evening had just settled into my favorite restaurant, The Good Luck, to look over my mail. Floor-cushion seating, no chairs. A group of movie people came in, five or six guys. The town was full of them at that time, so I paid them no mind. I was engrossed in my mail when one of them asked me what was good. I recommended the moussaka. Lak, the owner, made a killer moussaka.
The next morning, I’m heading out of town, and I stop off to grab some breakfast. Lak is all excited. “Mel Gibson was in here last night!” she said. “Oh, that’s nice,” I said. “Yeah, you talked to him!” “I talked to him??” “Yeah, you told him the moussaka was good.” So that was Mel Gibson, I thought. Yeah, it did look like him once I thought about it.
In keeping with my uncanny ability to gain access to royalty, I sat one row behind Princess Diana on a Sabena flight to Angola. It was in early 1997 and she was headed there to promote her campaign to eliminate landmines. I had thought she would have been surrounded by some beefy SAS types but it was just her and an assistant. She chatted with us about life in Angola during a civil war and other topics. A very nice lady amongst the oil field trash.
I’ve met quite a few country-western stars while working with the Ray Price Orchestra.
Loretta Lynn, Roy Clark,and The Stonemans come to mind right now.
Roy actually came into the band bus and played a little low-ball with us. He was just as nice and friendly as you see him in his performances.
Also, (very briefly) met LBJ when we played at his Texas ranch. My first impression? He was HUGE!
He was very nice, but I was kinda awe struck and couldn’t say anything but:
“Thank You Sir.”
I was on a flight (regional jet) a few weeks ago and this big guy sat down in the seat next to me. I joked that “they had to squeeze the two biggest guys on the plane next to each other” and he laughed. We chatted for a few minutes until the flight attendant asked for someone to move to the back for “weight distribution”, so I did.
I was informed by my fellow passengers that I had been sitting next to Mike Holmes of Holmes on Homes. I’ve never seen it, don’t have cable.
As a teenager about 25 years ago, I was in DC with my mother and brother. Our trip had us eventually work our way to the Vietnam War Memorial, which I remember as being fairly new at the time. While there, I see about a half dozen older woman surrounding, hounding this poor guy who was in tears as he looked at the wall. The whole thing was a disgrace, and had I been any older or braver, I would have said something to the women. The guy, I recognized immediately as a fan of comedy, was Sid Caesar. It’s one of the things that I regret to this day, not saying anything to them as he was so distraught.
I’ve said it before, but I’ve got John Cleese’s stereo cabinet rotting away on my patio. My friend was John’s contractor and I’ve partied at his beach house while it was being remodeled. I’ve met John while sitting at a streetside table at a bar. My friend got married at John’s ranch and he made a brief appearance.
I’ve met DJ Bonebrake, drummer for X several times. He might actually recognize me. I’ve hung out with him at his wife’s art opening at a gallery in the San Fernando Valley. He is the quintessential low key unassuming friendly dude.
While I was in Iraq I saw General David Petraeus in passing. He was on his way out when I got there. One amusing thing, one day I was in the old embassy building and the light colonel comes running down the hall at a dead sprint. He runs up to me and blurts out “Have you seen GEN Petraeus???” “Er no sir?” And then he took off in a sprint again. Very rare that you see LTCs running around like privates. P4 had the reputation of being a bit of a tyrant.
A little while after that I got to shake hands with GEN Ray Odierno, now Chief of Staff of the Army. A huge man. Never heard a bad word about him. Also saw GEN Lloyd Austin who is now Vice Chief. Another huge man.
While in Iraq I met and had a picture taken with Ambassador Ryan Crocker. He was ambassador to Iraq under Bush and ambassador to Afghanistan under Obama (until recently). At the same time I met former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte (former US representative to the UN).
Only met a few entertainment celebrities. The one meeting I’m most fond of was with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Me and a friend took a road trip from Maryland to Boston when another friend got tickets. We went around back of the venue to park when Stevie and the band got off the bus. There was a small group of us that happened to be in the area and he greeted all of us. He tried to give as many autographs as he could while literally being dragged into the building by the band.
Met Penn and Teller after a show. Not unusual because they stay in the lobby and meet everyone who comes to their show. I believe they still do it.
Met Jim Breuer after a show. The best stand-up I have seen. If all you have seen is him on SNL you don’t know what you are missing. A master story teller. Very nice to the fans.
I worked a function at the Governor’s mansion for a unit returning from Afghanistan. Met and had a picture taken with Jon Corzine. Also got an earful from the staff about Jim Mcgreevey.
Met Buzz Aldrin at a book signing. Just happened to be at the Air & Space Museum on the day he was there. I was so intent on getting my daughters in a picture shaking his hand that I didn’t get a chance to shake his hand myself. One of my daughters does appreciate the fact that she met him so its worth it.
Oh and I went to a book reading by Joe Haldeman while I was at college. It was at the University of Maryland. Haldeman is an alumnus. Got to speak to him a bit after and got him to sign a book for me.
10-12 years ago, I spent a couple of hours shooting craps with Drew Barrymore at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. It was past midnight and not real crowded. She walked in with Gerald McRaney (“Major Dad”) but he went off elsewhere. Miss Barrymore came up to the craps table and I could tell she had no idea what was going on. She took up a spot next to me and said something along the lines of “what’s this all about?”
I don’t think the other folks at the table even realized it was her. At least no one made any fuss. I certainly noticed b/c she’s been one of my (few) actual celebrity crushes. Drew Barrymore! Chatting me up!
So we shot craps and passed casual conversation. I showed her the ins and outs of the game. I didn’t pull the fawning fan bit–just treated her like I would any young lady. Perhaps she appreciated the relaxed atmosphere. She seemed to be having a fun time and I wanted to keep it that way.
She wasn’t overtly flirty, but at one point she actually touched my arm in a playful manner and giggled at something I said. Whoa.
Fantasy end to story: And then we went up to my room together.
Pele came to dinner at my house when I was a kid. My dad just asked him and he happily agreed. I have absolutely no idea why he was in town (I think they were trying to restart some sort of U.S. soccer league)- I barely knew who he was. I have pictures to prove it though.
Lots of NYC encounters already, but Will Ferrell helped me carry a stroller up from the subway on the Upper West Side and Molly Shannon played with my daughter in a diner once too. Apparently SNLers are a friendly helpful bunch.
The girl who screams about the Baby Ruth in the pool in Caddyshack was in our lamaze class, but she’s not as famous as her father.
When I lived in Cambridge, England (October–June, 1976–77), I used to see Stephen Hawking quite often on one of the college campuses. He was already in a wheelchair, but could still move and speak normally. I used to attend open lectures on astronomy there, and wish now that I had at least tried to strike up a conversation with him.
I nearly was run over by Scott Hamilton, the ice skater, when he was rollerblading in the corridors at the arena where I worked. He was in town for one of those Stars on Ice shows. Met Kristi Yamaguchi at the same show.
Regularly ran into Howard Temin, Nobel Prize winning geneticist, who was a professor in my department at university.
Went scuba diving with Mary Cheney, daughter of VP Dick Cheney.
Met Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, at a book signing.
Met Al Worden, Apollo 15 astronaut, when I toured the Kennedy Space Center on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 moon landing.
Had dinner with Betty DeGeneres, Ellen’s mom, at a political fundraiser.
Borrowed an ice boat from Buddy Melges, the last American skipper to successfully defend the America’s Cup for sailboat racing.
And met and spoke with both Penn & Teller when they were filming a tv special Off the Deep End. (Yes, Teller speaks!) I won a scuba regulator from them, the top door prize for those of us who turned up to be the audience for their underwater magic trick.
…I work in Greenwich Village next to a famous recording studio. It’s a very discreet location, but the other day a bunch of paparazzi people were standing outside so my co-worker asked them what the deal was and they said they were waiting for Adam Levine. They were there for HOURS until finally a film crew, four women and a man emerged and were being filmed walking down the sidewalk multiple times. One of the women was carrying cups of coffee as her prop and the paparazzi kept running over and taking pictures of her. I couldn’t figure out who she was, so I walked right up to my store window as she was walking past which is when I realized it was Keira Knightley. I searched for the pictures online later and my bike is in a few of them. I can also be seen in the window looking like a creeper. Adam Levine never materialized.
In the same neighborhood I’ve seen Keri Russell (from Felicity**) and John Leguizamo. John Leguizamo was with this really strange looking poodle and was waving at people (friends? fans? who knows).
When I worked at a young designers’ market in SoHo Chelsea Clinton came to look around with her husband as did Leonardo DiCaprio. Leonardo was trying to be incredibly discreet with a baseball cap and hoodie and left when too many people recognized him.
In college I had an internship in the Lower East Side and one day Karl Lagerfeld was walking down the street toward me and I nodded at him (didn’t get a reaction aside from a stare). The next day he was on the street shooting a Chanel ad and I got pictures which my boss’s girlfriend who worked for PAPER** magazine put on their blog.
On Fashion’s Night Out two years ago (a big shopping night/event New York has in September) I saw Marc Jacobs being surrounded by a mob as he left one of his stores.
I’ve never seen her, but every day I ride my bike past Courtney Love’s house. I’m pretty sure she’s been evicted by this point though (I read a story about the owner suing her over how she decorated the place as well as starting an accidental fire). This didn’t happen while I was there, but according to my old boss she was banned from my place of employment. He said she’d come over after working on her album at the studio next door and would be really loud and disruptive.
I grew up outside the Washington, DC area and did a political science internship with the ACLU my senior year of high school. I got a picture with Julian Bond who was head of the NAACP at the time at an event the ACLU hosted.
On a school field trip to Capitol Hill Dennis Kucinich literally ran into me in one of the Senate cafeterias and I said hi, but he acted as if nothing had happened. He’s very short- I’m 5’1 and we were nearly eye to eye.
I met Robert Blake while he was awaiting trial for killing his wife.
John Savage asked me for directions.
I spoke with Jaimie Farr when he called into the shop I was working at. (super nice guy!)
James Doohan scolded me for parking in a handicapped parking space.
That reminds me..not interesting to most people, but I spent a week diving and hanging out with Ned DeLoach, the author of the definitive book on Reef Fish Behavior. He and his wife, Anna, spend a few weeks in Bonaire every year, and we ended up at the same resort as them. Great people..friendly, love to talk diving and about nature.
We knew they were going to be there, so we brought copies of the book for autographs. Mine says
I wrote Paula Poundstone an email and got a personal email back.
She wrote a book in which she posited the question (among others) “who used Silly Putty for earplugs and ruined it for the rest of us?” (re: the warning on the Silly Putty package not to use it as earplugs).
The answer to that question is me and I thought she’d like to know. She did!
Also I went to college with Patton Oswalt, which I discussed in this thread.
I’ve sat with Lindsay Lohan and Ben Stein on flights. (Not the same one.) Lindsay was sober and really nice, but this was years ago.
Kate Winslet nearly spilled her drink on me in LAX and apologized profusely for it, and we talked briefly and had some laughs.
I had drinks in the Air Canada lounge with Joe Clark, onetime Prime Minister of Canada and a long-serving statesman.
My best friend and I basically stumbled onto the set of the short-lived show “girls club” by accident - how security did not stop us I cannot begin to understand - and I quite literally crashed into Gretchen Mol and Chyler Leigh sitting on their foldy chairs They were pissed at first but we had a chat and I got them smiling before we got the hell out of there.
On other occasion I and two buddies, one of whom was the one noted above, were parting in Florida one spring break. We went to find a place to get a few drinks and shoot some pool and somehow (I don’t know how I keep doing this, I must be a trustworthy-looking guy) we got into the Muchmusic (Canada’s MTV) backstage party. Music stars were all over the place. We shot pool and had drinks and claimed to be on Kim Mitchell’s production crew, which they all knew was a ridiculous lie but the music stars played along because we were sober and fun.
I’ve met all the members of the Tragically Hip more than once (huge celebrities in Canada) as we’re from the same town. And being Canadian I know a number of NHL players.
Before and during my college days, i was a waiter and bartender, and i served a bunch of celebrities, ranging from entertainers to sports stars to politicians. I don’t think it would really be correct to say that i “met” any of them, although a job like that often presents the opportunity for some conversation.
Because much of my work was in Australia, many of them were people who were only really well known there. Plenty of Aussie sportsmen and women, quite a few singers, actors, celebrities, etc., and some politicians and businesspeople.
Biggest asshole by far was Kerry Packer, media owner and (at the time) Australia’s richest man. Served him a couple of times, and saw other people serve him as well, and he was always a snarling fucking jackass. Peter Garrett, lead singer of Midnight Oil, and also a politician, was invariably friendly and polite, as was Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna).
Most of the sports stars were fine, although a few got a bit rowdy after too many drinks. I did see one of my friends, also a waiter, drop a full glass of red wine over the immaculate white suit of former Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell. He swore and yelled a bit at first, but was remarkably calm about it given that it happened in the middle of a gala charity event.
I met Vera Lynn when i was working in England, and took a few photos of her for the hotel where i was working. And i (literally) ran into Tony Bennett in an elevator. He was staying at the hotel where i worked in Sydney, and i was in a bit of a hurry and rushed into an elevator without looking to see if anyone was coming out. We collided, i apologized, and he said “No problem.” My main impression was of how short he was.
