# Do You Know Anyone Famous? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2002, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530 "2002-09-15T08:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4bbf92/32.png) [@neisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neisha)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/21 "2002-09-16T05:15:44Z")
Oh yeah, my boyfriend used to clean the pools for Bette Midler and Patty Duke. Gossip time…Patty Duke was having financial problems and my boyfriend had to keep calling her for payment. I agree with Iteki. Spill the beans! ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/22 "2002-09-16T05:54:51Z")
I’m weird about revealing personal information on the Board, for some reason. And I’ve always felt weird about telling my friends about this, because my ex was quite a bit older than me, and she was older than him. She lied about her age to him. Anyway, it’s Mercedes Ruehl, whose name you might not recognize, but you’ve probably seen her in something (The Fisher King, Married to the Mob, Frasier). I wish she were more famous, because I’ve got dirt to sell to the tabloids. 🙂 Oh, and I knew Rebecca Romijn in high school. She was a real bitch, in a pathetic way - she was really jealous of my friends and me. I can’t figure out what she’s done to herself, because she certainly wasn’t especially attrative ten years ago. I knew some Greek celebrities, but none of you would be impressed by that. The funny part is that I appeared on a “What’s Hot” segment on a hip Greek TV show with one of them, as well as a magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/23 "2002-09-16T06:06:53Z")
I don’t know anyone famous (although I know one or two people who might be considered _infamous_); my mother used to know Ed Broadbent. I know somebody who knows Judy Rebick, but I’ve never met her. I once ran into Ben Wicks in an elevator… I was with my friend, we’d been swimming, and I didn’t have my contact lenses in. This guy gets on the elevator, we stand there, then he gets off the elevator, and my friend turns to me and says, “Do you have any idea who that _was_?” And I say “No…” Who is Beverlie D’Angelo? [sub]Now, if someone’d mentioned that they supplied drawing paper to Jean Giraud or been in Bertilo Wennergren’s road crew or something, I’d be more likely to freak out. [/sup] Obviously we have differing ideas of who is a celebrity, depending on our locations, nationalities, languages, and interests …or is this board’s working definition of ‘celebrity’ only someone drawn from that hyper-level of Hollywood entertainment people who get mentioned worldwide? ---
**Author:** ![neisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4bbf92/32.png) [@neisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neisha)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/24 "2002-09-16T06:09:08Z")
Chula, your info is safe with me. Never heard of her. P.S. Rebecca Romijn ain’t too cute now, either. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/25 "2002-09-20T10:55:01Z")
Er… the best I can come up with is that Stephen Hawking once ran over my foot… ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/26 "2002-09-20T11:26:37Z")
Damn, now that _is_ cool **Angua**! Did he appologise or had he not noticed? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/27 "2002-09-20T12:24:38Z")
Okay, I’ll name some names of people who know me: Rudolph & Elaine Isley (Isley Brothers), Brenda Blackmon (local newscaster), Ray Simpson (Village People), Bruce Harper (ex-Jet), Al Sharpton (activist) and his lovely wife Kathy Jordan Two years ago I met a young singer and we had a nice talk about music in Japan and Chine. Said singer is huge now. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/28 "2002-09-20T13:37:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Iteki \* > \*\*Damn, now that _is_ cool **Angua**! > Did he appologise or had he not noticed? \*\* He didn’t notice… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/29 "2002-09-20T13:40:05Z")
I also had to book flights from Belfast to Stanstead for Martin McGuiness once… scary stuff, having a rather prominent politician knowing your mobile number :eek: ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/30 "2002-09-20T13:58:41Z")
My grandfather dealt cards for John dillinger. I ran into Dan Fogelberg in a little store in the Colorado mountains. My brother sat in on drums with Styx. My dad had lunch with Frazier Thomas. I partied backstage with the Talking Heads. My husband’s neice partied backstage with MICK JAGGER fercrissakes! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/31 "2002-09-20T14:03:17Z")
I know a few authors that probably you’ve never heard of. I know a couple of famous people who are dead now, so that’s no help. Probably the most famous person I know (he’d probably recall my name, if prompted. And I haven’t spoken to him in eons) is playwright Albert R. “Pete” Gurney ( **Love Letters** , among many others). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/32 "2002-09-20T14:19:49Z")
For the F/SF crowd out there, I’ve met Steve Brust, and I used to train at the dojo where he got his black belt. I also used to game with Diana Paxson’s son & daughter, and I’ve been to Greyhaven. For the gaming geeks, I was a playtester for some Hero Games modules & the 4th edition rules. For the TV fans, our neighbor had a guest appearance on one episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/33 "2002-09-20T14:29:28Z")
I’ve _met_ a lot of famous people, because I’ve written about show biz for the past 15 years or so. So I’ve spoken to, lunched with, interviewed, scads of movie and TV stars and directors. Wouldn’t actually say I “know” them, as I’m sure none of them would remember me (“faceless member of the press”). The only famous people I’m actually _friends_ with are John Waters (I hung around with that crowd when I lived in B’more in the '70s), historian and documentarian [Kevin Brownlow](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Brownlow,+Kevin), and early-film stars [Anita Page](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Page,+Anita) and the late Lillian Gish. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/34 "2002-09-20T15:06:20Z")
I know Adrian Cronauer of “Good Morning Vietnam” fame. My wife knows David Ignatius, editor of the International Herald Tribune. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/35 "2002-09-20T15:06:51Z")
My GF is a low rung celebrity (hey, we’re still working on that), but we know lots film people and a batch of music and threatre people too. For the OP, does it count if you work in the entertainment industry? 'Cause that’s kind of an unfair advantage (as opposed to, say, being an old summer camp buddy of Jennifer Aniston who still gets invited to visit, or something like that.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/36 "2002-09-20T15:17:32Z")
Again, if you prompted him, **Arthur Kantrowicz** would probably remember me. He’s a professor at Dartmouth, founder of Avco Everett labs, and founder of the L-5 Society. ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/37 "2002-09-20T15:31:01Z")
Eve, SHUT UP! You know John Waters? I may never wash my keyboard again! So, do tell…what’s he like in real life? (please say he’s the same…please say he’s the same). ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/38 "2002-09-20T15:44:41Z")
I know (or knew) the following people on a fairly informal basis: The late Lewis Powell (Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to encounter). William Webster (former head of both the FBI and the CIA) Charles Robb (former Gov. of VA and US Senator) Doug Wilder (former Gov. of VA and the first and only African American to be elected Gov. of any state) Gerald Baliles (former Gov. fo VA) Alan Simpson (former Sen. from Wyoming - I taught him how to eat hardshell crabs - he was a little reluctant at first). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/39 "2002-09-20T15:45:37Z")
Rather quiet and low-key, and _much_ better looking (he photographs horribly). (You wash your keyboard?) ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530/40 "2002-09-20T16:14:34Z")
I tried to get the hamster to regurigitate my post, but it got ugly fast. From college: Jay Bilas - talking head on ESPN Billy King - GM of the Philadelphia 76ers Danny Ferry - NBA veteran player, now with the Spurs [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-famous/128530.md?page=3)