He’s a great guy with no political flaws.
I’m certain that you are correct. My point was that hating Harpo is unnatural (note that the misanthropes I cited couldn’t pull it off), and he could simply say that he doesn’t like being compared to Harpo*. He could make a joke of it and claim that Harpo stole his act. He could handle it in a lot of ways, and he chooses to say he hates Harpo. A man who would say things like that bears watching.
*I think Harpo and Teller are both superb at what they do, but they are not at all doing the same thing.
March 20th is Sweater Day for what would have been Mr. Roger’s 80th birthday.
Was Gere married when this happened?
Dolly Parton is another great choice. I believe it was Oprah who asked her whether she supported gay marriage. Her response was instant: “Of course I do. Why shouldn’t they have to suffer like the rest of us?”
The classiest person I’ve ever interviewed is Bob Sheppard, the public address voice of the Yankees. He was going on 95 when I spoke to him, once for a page-long story and another time for a quick piece about his retirement from the Giants. We had a short interview, maybe half an hour, but he was a true gentleman of the old school and a thrill to talk to. He’s lived in the same town on Long Island for a long time, and I don’t know how many other young reporters had interviewed him for the same story (Bob Sheppard lives here!) over the years. But you would have thought I was the first.
When was this? Maybe he’s trying to mend his ways. His movie “Surviving the Game” was filmed in and around my town, and I ended up spending an evening in my favorite bar hanging out with most of the grips who were working on that film. According to the grips, Busey’s nickname amongst the crew was “Gary Abusive”. They had nothing good to say about the guy.
There’s also actor Tom Wilson’s (Biff from Back to the Future) song, “Biff’s Question Song”:
Who’s the nicest famous guy you know?
Adam Sandler
Who’s the biggest jerk?
Gary Busey
I hear Otm Shank is a classy guy, too.
Sports figures count? I’m basing this on nothing other than reputation and newspaper articles, but Stan “The Man” Musial is regarded by apparently everyone as a helluva nice guy. In St. Louis, of course, he is a sort of demigod. But from what I gather, he really is charming and just loves being Stan Musial and brightening people’s lives. He reportedly always carries a few of his pictures around, pre-autographed, to give to people who want his autograph; he gives impromptu harmonica performances for people who recrognize him in restaurants; and when you ask him why he’s always smiling, he’ll often reply, “If you had a .331 average, you’d smile, too!”
Sadly, Stan is no longer a young man, and he might not have many years left. And when he leaves us, I – who never met him and never saw him play – will cry like a child.
Two I can think of, from personal experience:
George Clooney, as previously mentioned. My sister is a school teacher in N. Ky, same region that he’s from. Friends of hers got it to him that she was sick and a huge fan of his, he sent her a Get Well card with a autographed candid picture. Made her feel great.
The Amazing Jonathon. I’ve seen his show in Vegas twice, he waits and signs everything after his shows, all his merchandise sales go to charity, and will sit and chat with fans after the autographs are signed.
To go with the St Louis theme, least: Bob Gibson, miserable SOB.
Two celebrities who have always struck me as being very classy, and very humble about their success:
Weird Al Yankovic and J K Rowling
Oh, and a cousin of mine had a small part in a Will Smith movie (the hippie girl in Pursuit of Happyness) and had nothing but nice things to say about him.
Not classy: John Lennon. My husband’s a big fan of his, but as I get older, I consider how a person treats family. After he paired up w/Yoko Ono, John basically abandoned his son Jules. As the story goes, Paul McCartney “adopted” him, and the world ended up with a new song, “Hey Jude”.
Sorry, but it seems to me when the audience is gone, what you’ve got left is family.
I don’t know. But even single it is still pretty class-less to use “I’m Richard Gere, give me head” as a pickup line.
A friend was walking in back of a Detroit Theater after he went to a Bob Bylan Concert. Dylan came out the door at that time. Friend yelled ,hey Bob. He was all excited. Dylan looked back and said ,who are you. Who are you to call me Bob. ? I don’t know you. It was very uncomfortable for friend.
Not so classy = James Woods
My husband works in the TV/film industry. He said Woods kept the entire cast and crew waiting for hours while he played online poker. This was a pattern and not a one time incident. Woods is talented but very prickly.
Very VERY classy = Ron Howard
Ron creates a friendly working atmosphere in a business that usually eats it’s own.
Nobody else has suggested Johnny Carson? He’s got to at least be in the running for classiest.
I was gonna say Fred Rogers myself. That man should be nominated for Sainthood.
Least- Courtney Love
Wayne Jr, right? The installers at my last company found him warm and friendly to an annoying extent. He’d hand them beers and gab and watch sports with them until they were looking at their watches and wondering up if this counted as overtime. Installers. Not the owner or an officer of the company, but installers.
But yeah, he could be a dick.
Going back a few decades - nobody will ever beat Gregory Peck.