Celebrity Run-In Stories

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

I had a similar experience twelve or fourteen years ago. Soundgarden and a few other bands played at a local venue, and I delivered a stack of pizzas backstage. I’d heard of the band, but I wasn’t into the grunge scene. As I turned a corner, I almost bowled some guy over, who was in the process of signing the back of a girl’s shirt. “Huh,” I thought, “this guy must be in one of the bands.” I described him to a friend later on, and it turns out the guy was the singer of Soundgarden.

One of my favorite celebrity stores involves a pizza delivery again, this happened in the early '90s. I was taking a pie to the top floor at the Fairmont, where the rooms cost a million dollars a night. As I was stepping out of the elevator, there was an older couple - in their 60s or so - waiting to get on. As I walked past, I made eye contact with the man for a second, and the thought flashed through my mind: “I know who this person is.” He immediately broke the eye contact and stared hard at the floor as he and the woman got on the elevator. The wheels were turning furiously in my head, and after a couple of seconds it dawned on me who the guy was. I turned around and raised my hand to point and say “You’re Dick Clark!”, just as the elevator door slid shut.

42

I sang with Bernadette Peters.

I’ve met/known other celebrities, but am too tired to go into them now.

43

Last week I was at the local fish and chip shop. The guy next to me ordered “3 burgers with double bacon, double cheese and no beets ma’am.” Imagine my surprise when I turned around to discover that it was Elvis.

44

I literally got picked up by Hulk Hogan. I was a gate guard at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago when it had just opened up. Wrestling (or rasslin) was just getting big again and the Pavilion was the location for a WWF (I think) event.

I never followed rasslin but thought the fans were, shall we say over-enthusiastic. and again, I hadn’t heard of rasslin being popular since I was a kid in the 60s (this was early 80s).

So there is this pounding on my door that won’t stop. I open it and see this goofy looking guy standing there and he says he’s one of the performers. I tell him if that’s true, he should go around to the performers entrance. He says, "but my fans will mob me. I said, “Yeah, right, fans.” and begin to close the door. He stuck his foot in the door, grabbed me by my shirt, LIFTS ME OFF THE GROUND WITH ONE HAND (I weighed about 170 then), pushes me off to the side and walks in. I call security and while I’m doing so, one of my buddies says, “Do you know who that was?! That was Hulk Hogan. You basically told hulk hogan to fuck off” No, I tried to close the door on a guy who could have twisted my head off like a crayfish and sucked out my innards, leaving an empty husk.

In hind sight, I should have had him sign the shirt he tore, but that sould have involved me being close to him without me shitting my pants.

45

As I mentioned in the Grant Park celebration thread I met Oprah and Jesse Jackson. Oprah was very friendly that night and gave me one of the best hugs I’ve ever gotten. Jesse Jackson was very emotional that night and seemed to be overwhelmed by the night’s events. At one point I looked over at him and said, “Quite a night, isn’t it?” He looked back, tears in his eyes, and said, “Yes, it is…yes it is…” before shaking my hand and walking away.

Every summer I volunteer at a local summer festival. This year I worked main stage security and met Trace Adkins. Adkins is a great guy. He showed up in the early afternoon for a 7:30 show, watched the bands that performed before him and talked with them after their set. After his show he signed autographs for some fans and made the night of a young boy in a wheelchair. Before his bus left he walked around the area and picked up garbage that his crew left. Real down to earth and a nice guy.

The next night I was over at the second stage when Foghat (ha ha) was performing. Walking around backstage I noticed this tall, skinny guy who looked like a rocker. It took a while but I finally recognized him–Jim Peterik from Survivor and the Ides of March. I walked up to him to get an autograph and he was very gracious. My marker wasn’t working on my laminate (I asked him to sign my All Access pass) and told him not to worry about it. He told me that he had never refused an autograph and that he wouldn’t let me walk away until I got one. I found something else for him to sign and I thanked him as I walked away. He stuck out his hand and thanked me in return.

46

I played ‘quarters’ with Tom Cruise. Lost, too.

But my scariest celebrity run in was with Arnold Vosloo, who played ‘The Mummy’ (the bad guy fighting Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser). It was early December 2-3 years back and I had just taken my family to ‘Toys R Us’ in Manhattan. It was dark and I needed to get all of us and our packages into a Southbound cab to get to the PATH. The problem was, the sidewalks were so mobbed, people were walking 6-8 feet out into the streets and it was my job to flag down a cab (ie-get seen by a cabby, convince same to stop & take a fare).

My wife has both boys safely back out at the curb and I walk out into the street facing oncoming traffic and raise my right hand to start flagging. I do so and my hand hits the shoulder of a 6+ foot bald man walking by (Arnold Vosloo). I said I was sorry (he didn’t even notice)and I raised my hand to flag again, not knowing his shorter girlfriend was 4 steps behind him. And accidentally backhanded her in the face. She cried out and That got his attention.

People, film magic and makeup are legendary, but that aside I must tell you: Arnold Vosloois one Scary Mean-Looking Mother-F-er. I apologized like crazy and still I really thought there was going to be one nasty street fight. I’m not sure; maybe he saw my wife & scared kids, maybe he took pity on my ugly face. Maybe it was the 4 cops on the corner. But I most assuredly and sincerely got The Look Of Death before he put his arm around his girl and walked away with her…

47

While I was staying with my biological dad in late 2006 I had met a few peeps. I first met a guy, Kyle, a kid who edits commercials, who introduced me to an actor named Hunter Parrish, who is an actor on the show Weeds. The 3 of us hung out at a bar/restaurant called La Poubelle (I think that is how it’s spelled). It’s in LA at Hollywood and Vine IIRC. Cool little hideout. Great food and a bunch of well-knowns stop by for lunch there.

After hanging out there several times the 3 of us had a run in with Justin Chambers-who is an actor on Grey’s Anatomy. We all had some drinks and Justin invited us for a trip out on the town. The 3 of us hopped in his black Mercedez convertible and rolled up to Chateau Marmont. This is a place for A-listers but Justin had connections at the door. We all went in and had some more drinks. I was pretty drunk by the time we decided to leave. On our way out I ran into Quentin Tarantino!.. I wish I hadn’t had so much to drink. I said hello and told him I was a big fan of his movies. It was a short convo but I’ll never forget meeting that guy. I felt kind a little out of place being that the area was not designated for non-celebs but it was cool anyway. Haha… There were other popular faces but my memory is a bit faded since then.

After leaving CM we just drove around town looking for potential hotspots to raid. It was too late by then so we went back to La Poubelle to just relax. Justin offered everyone to come kick it at his pad but everyone was too tired, except me of course, but I didn’t want to ditch Kyle or Hunter, so this was the last time I saw Justin Chambers. Ended up walking over to Hunters apartment about 2 blocks away from La Poubelle and just kicking back there for a bit. Drank a few beers and what not. Ended up crashing there for the night.

The next night we all went to a few different clubs/bars but also tagged along with most of the cast from Weeds, as well as some of their friends. They were all super cool. Justin Kirk from the show ended up buying drinks all night. We all had a good night. This was the last time I had really hung out with anyone before I moved back to Honolulu.
Other celeb run-ins…

I shook hands with Tiger Woods while he was playing at the TPC in Florida 2002. I didn’t bother for an autograph since he was already swamped.

I’m friends with Robin Leach, whom is one of my mom’s best friends.

Pamela Anderson used to babysit me… Haha… (seriously) This was while my mom was doing hair and make up when we lived in LA. If I could only remember those days better… I can only remember glimpses of double D’s.

Also when I was a kid I took private tennis lessons with Jimmy Connors at his house.

Also when I was a kid while living in Marina Del Ray I would go across the harbor to hang out at Gary Coleman’s arcade near Fisherman’s Wharf. He was driving a white Hummer back then. He was a cool guy as far as I remember. Most TV shows I’m seeing are making him out to be an ass.

That’s all I can think of for now…

48

I forgot this but an old boyfriend used to work for Bill Graham Productions so I got to be backstage for lots of concerts. I don’t think it counts because I was just tagging along and there’s more than one kind of ‘backstage’. There’s the kind that everyone thinks of where you get to be cool and hang out with the band members, and then there’s the kind where you hang out in big cavernous underground unloading areas where the sound sucks and the big thrill is hauling stuff around and getting an occasional glimpse of the band. The most exciting things that happened in 5 years were when Clarence Clemons asked for us rolling papers and when Micky Hart sent someone out to get some pot from us.

49

When Alicia Keyes was 19, she was one of a group of young women who use to hang out with my office assistant. I once had a talk with her about the popularity of rap music in Japan.

50

The only run-in I’ve had of any substance was when I met Dave Brubeck (jazz musician for those who don’t know) in Moscow. I chatted with him on the lawn by the Ambassador’s residence about his old quartet members. A nice guy, very casual and not at all full of himself.

Oh, and back in 1998 I asked Hillary Clinton if she was going to run in 2000. “Only for the border” was her reply.

51

I met John O’Hurley. He came to our office Christmas party because he was dating one of our account executives (they’ve since married and she’s left the company.)

I remember standing with some friends who were utterly star-struck. They were gushing and giggling and wanted to go say hello but were afraid. Dear Ivylad rolled his eyes, marched right up to John, shook his hand, introduced himself, and brought him over to the friends to chat with them.

I’m afraid I dated myself…I told John that I remembered him not from Seinfeld, but from The Young and the Restless. He laughed…he was very charming.

52

Oh, forgot, I’ve met Neal Boortz a few times…once, I won a prize to try out a new ride at Epcot and have lunch with him (with several other people) and I’ve been to one of his book-signings. We also held a pancake breakfast before one of the FairTax rallies and he came with Royal.

If I hadn’t heard him mention this on air I would have thought he was incredibly stuck-up, but he is painfully shy in public and prefers the on-air interaction. He didn’t really say much to us at Epcot, I got the feeling he got roped into this as some PR stunt and would much rather have stayed in the studio in Atlanta.

53

I was in a cracker of a situation a few years ago. My mum, sister and I had been shopping in our nearest big city for the day and were on the train coming home.

The train was packed, to the point we all had to sit on the floor in the gap inbetween the carriages by the toilet. Opposite us were a goodlooking couple and after a bit we started talking about some sushi i had bought in the station. They were american so I asked them where they were from, she said LA, and what they were doing in England…she said she had had some work in london and they were just travelling down to Cornwall to visit some of her husbands relatives. I then asked her what kind of work she did and she said ‘‘im an actress’’.

At this point I was beginning to think both of them kind of looked familiar but I wasnt sure why. Me, my sister and this couple then started looking through a gossipy tacky magazine that has lots of pictures of celebrities like Reese Witherspoon etc coming out of clubs etc, and we were all commenting on whether they looked good, bad etc, and the guy started asking about what kind of music my sister likes because she has lots of Led Zepplin, beatles etc badges on her bag, and he had a guitar with him.

We then got to our stop and I stood up to go so I said to them, ‘‘it was really lovely to meet you, I hope you have a lovely time in Cornwall, whats your name by the way?’’

She replied ‘‘Alicia, whats yours?’’

And then suddenly it dawned on me. I just said, really loudly, ‘‘o my god’’, and went bright bright red…this was Alicia Silverstone who played Cher in Clueless…and she was one of the celebrities we had been talking about. Ooo the humiliation. I’d had no idea who she was.

I said ‘‘o my god, you’re…’’ and she laughed, grinned and nodded, and said ‘‘thank you’’.

And then I had to get off the train with my younger sister, who still hadnt realised who she was going ‘‘what what what??’’

I wasn’t sure at the time why she said thank you, but now I think its because I had no idea she was famous and we chatted like normal teenagers do. Clueless was one of my favourite films when I was about 12 so I was still really wow wow wow all the way home!!

54

Standing with my girlfriend near the elevator bank at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I saw a woman in big round glasses who looked remarkably like Jackie O conversing with a distinguished-looking gentleman. I have been nearsighted my whole life and probably should have been wearing glasses myself from the time I was in elementary school but still was without them unless behind the wheel of a car. I turned to my girlfriend and said in a “comic” (i.e. intentionally a bit too loud) mock stage whisper, “Hey, it’s Jackie O!”

And, of course, it was. Never in a million years would I have even whispered this had I comprehended she wasn’t a look-alike. She turned in my direction and smiled … radiantly.

My girlfriend (now long ex-) got into the habit of telling this story on me as if I knew it was her …

55

Let’s see. This must have been '97 or ‘98, I was with my wife at the Santa Cruz boardwalk. It’s either a weekday or late in the season as it was nearly deserted. I go to the mens’ room and note a tattooed guy changing a seriously toxic diaper. He’s wrapping things up as I go to wash my hands and without really looking at him, I make some kind of comment about the smell like, “whew!” which gets a small laugh. As we both leave, his wife is waiting for him just outside the door and I elbow past the two of them without looking as I am desperate for some fresh air. A few seconds later, some kind comes up to me and wants to know what I was talking to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee about. Not much, I guess.

56

I caddied a round of golf for Michael Jordan back in the early 90’s when he was at the peak of his Jordan-ness. He was a very nice guy and an excellent tipper.

57

Met David Letterman at an Indy car race at Portland Speedway back in 1988. He was a real butt the first encounter that day, later in the afternoon his mood was much improved and he was joking with anyone in earshot.

Stopped by a car show at a drive in restaurant while visiting the LA area in the early 90’s, Jay Leno pulled in right behind me. It’s hard to make a good impression when you are driving a Geo Metro rental car.

I also met many of the top drivers of NASCAR back when I drove race cars. Actually got to compete against a few like Mark Martin, Harry Gant and Phil Parsons.

58

I snubbed Willie Nelson at the airport once.

It wasn’t on purpose. I had just gotten a new James Patterson book, and you know how addicting those things are. I was waiting on a flight to LA, and was seated with no one else around, when this old guy came and sat down right next to me. I barely spared him a glare and got back to my book… Until someone came up and asked for his autograph. Wait a moment…

Had a short conversation with Jennifer Tilly in the bathroom at the Rio in vegas during the world series of poker. We were playing in the same event, though I didn’t play her directly.

Also saw Paris Hilton in vegas, when she came to play to poker back when she was dating that greek bazillionaire (he played too). I knew some of the people playing with her, but I didn’t have the cash to sit at that table.

And a whole crowd of famous poker players, but I don’t expect them to be known names around here.

59

I met Matt Greene (current alternate captain of the LA Kings) back in April. He’s my favorite hockey player and I was totally geeked at the prospect of meeting him, so when he acquiesced to getting his picture taken I said “Thanks, you’re a doll!” without thinking. Afterward my friend was like “Did you just call Matt Greene a doll?!” I was a little mortified, but the picture makes up for it.

60
  1. I’m visiting my best friend from university, at the apartment his girlfriend’s parents have in Toronto. We get in the elevator to go to the swimming pool. I’ve taken my contact lenses out so that they don;t get lost in the water, and I haven’t brought my glasses along so that I won’t have a chance to lose them in the pool area.

We swim. On the way back to the apartment, a man joins us in the elevator. We chitchat a bit, then we get off. My friend says, “Do you have any idea who that was?”

I say, “No. I don’t have my lenses in and everything’s a blur. How would I know?”

It was Ben Wicks, iconic British-Canadian cartoonist.