Yes, Eve. I wash my keyboard…I’m a smoker and there’s always ashes and funk getting between the keys.
Low-key, huh? Whodathunkit?
My aunt is friends with Brett Favre and my b/f used to hang out with Matthew McCounaghey (sp??) at baseball games in Texas.
I met “Skippy” from family ties once, and chatted with him for awhile, one of the funniest people I’ve met. I was star struck with him, so Gad knows what would happen if I met someone really famous…
(my “name dropping” has no appeal, does it…)
Let’s see. Dominique Dunn and Peter Benchley regularly come into the little cafe I go to in the mornings. I spoke to Peter Benchley about his newest non-fiction work 3 or so months ago.
Meryl Streep’s parents live close by and I often see them walking around town.
Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Chevy Chase, and Julia Roberts all have homes around here. And can be seen – very rarely – walking around town. Nobody bothers them very much because they respect their privacy.
The chicken man ** Frank Purdue ** and the founder of Kelloges also have homes around here.
I’ve met a few famous people, mostly at sci-fi conventions, and/or book signings. (Nichelle Nichols, Rene Auberjonois, Ray Park, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew). Met 10/11 of The State at a book signing.
I’ve met Sam Kieth and he remembered me (or at least claimed to 
) from his email mailing list, so that’s probably the closest I come to “knowing” someone famous.
I’ve passed by a few famous people on the street: 2/11 of the State, at a different times. Paula Poundstone. Rudy Guilliani (twice!)
Been real close to some at public appearances/performances (like within 20’) Jeanine Garafolo, Arnold Shwartzeneger, Lou Ferrigno, David Carridine, Colm Meany, Rudy Guilliani (again!), Patrick Stewart.
My fiancee went to school with Liv Tyler, and a few other famous children.
My uncle talks to Howard Stern every now and then, and knows Debbie Gibson and Dee Snyder.
When I was 5 years old or so, I met Myron Cohen in a deli. (obviously my parent’s recognized him, not me.) He said he’d perform at my Bar Mitzvah. But I think he died before that. (not that he gave us a phone number or anything.)
Went to middle school and HS with John Cusack. We didn’t get along; I’m sure he doesn’t remember, but as an 8th grader, he made me tie his shoes, because I was a lowly, shy, and geeky 6th grader.
One of my 1st cousins is a TV reporter for CBS, and spent the first few weeks of the war in Afghanistan. As he is a nice Jewish boy from NJ, the Daniel Pearl affair hit a little close to home in our family. I got to pass within a few feet of Dan Rather at my uncle’s funeral; he is the aforementioned cousin’s boss, so he came to pay his respects.
“Dominique Dunn . . . regularly come[s] into the little cafe I go to in the mornings.”
—Yikes! She can’t be looking very good these days.
I come from the same town as Dan Aykroyd and have friends in common. He might remember me to see me, which I think counts. He is, incidentally, a colossal jackass. My sister once snubbed him on Princess St. so badly he was yelling about it.
I once flirted with Alanis Morrisette, who, at least then, was less of a jackass than Dan Aykroyd.
I went to high school with a few NHL players.
Yeah, I know someone kinda famous. A friend I went to high school with has been getting guest shots in Hollyood for a while. She was on 90210 and Buffy, and some commercials. Other stuff, too.
If you’re a Buffy fan: remember the episode where the rock singer girl turned out to be a werewolf, and seduced Seth Green’s character out from under Willow? That’s her.
I’ll echo Eve’s description of John Waters; soft-spoken, very intelligent and wry, with gorgeousdeep dark eyes. I can’t say he’s a friend, but I did have the pleasure of a few post- speaking appearance drinks with him inthe 80’s.I think the term “gentleman” very much applies to him. Oh, and Eve knew Edie the Egg Lady-- that always wows me!
Around that same time, Harlan Ellison had a funny crush on me during a speaking appearance. He told me so, and we had some good conversations. It was a nice ego boost! Kinda weird and embarrassing too, tho.
Bing Crosby saw me at birth in Los Angeles. His last son was born at exactly the same time I was, and my grandfather played in his band for many years, so they both oohed over their new arrivals.
Like Eve, most of my celebrity meetings were in the course of work; I was a photographer and journalist in the music biz for 12 years, specifically for blues music. I’ve met, photographed, and driven around on tour many musicians, and am known in the blues community. Musicians I count as part of my family are RL Burnside, Jr Kimbrough (now gone on yond) Hasil Adkins, Southern Culture on the Skids, etc some…
Makes me feel weird to talk about it on a big message board, so I’ll just stop now.:o
I roomed with, was friendly with/partied with and worked at the college daily newspaper with a certain current primetime sports anchor at CNN Headline News.
My uncle is in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for his exploits of leading the 1950 Madison Cubs (27-2) as a sophomore to their only state title. He was also named the “star of stars” in the annual Indiana vs Kentucky All-Star game, scoring 31 points off the bench.
He’s certainly not a household name, but I am a photographer for a singer/songwriter universally known among the Evangelical Christian Worship Songwriting Community.
Yes. Several well known authors (I even have dony morning excercise with one of them, of course many peopel can claim this as he teached Tai-Chi, or leads it, at conventions).
Quite a number of musicians, bluegrass primarily but since I DJ I communicate with a number of other DJ’s who have become somewhat famous.
Actors, yes a number. Three very famous actors and a pretty good number of lesser-known actors.
I have also met with and been freint to a couple of local politicans. I nearly ran for a city-council position about ten years back with the backing of the then-mayor as well as a promise of the govenor’s support as well. Met Jesse Jachson too (handed out rainbow buttons in the mid 80’s).
I have weird connections to some famous (and infamous) people. Actor Dennis Farina’s sister Bernadette and brother Roland are very good friends of my aunt, but I have no idea how they know one another. They just always seem to be at our family gatherings. I did get to meet Dennis a long time ago, but that was back when he was a cop. My mother went to school with John Gacy, and was a bridesmaid for his sister, and I met him just about two weeks before he was arrested. Anton LeVay, who wrote the Satanic Bible, was my cousin. My uncle Mike was a locally well-known musician in the 70s and through him I met a number of other musicians, some of whom went on to at least marginal fame. (Music runs in the family - my great-grandfather was an orchestra leader and was famous for inventing some mute thingamabob for a cornet.)
I’ve met James Garner (at the Indy 500), Meat Loaf, George Thorogood, Boy George, one of the guys who played Dr Who (the one with the scarf), Patty Smythe (who is now married to John McEnroe), and a couple authors, none of whom would have any clue who I was, since I met them in public venues. I know a number of artists fairly well, but I’d be very surprised if anyone here ever heard of them. Ditto for musicians - most of the “famous” ones I know are either only well-known locally or only well-known among other musicians. Oh, and a country singer named Chely Wright once bought a lot of my handmade jewelry.
One of my mates used to coach Madonna’s husband, but that’s a bit secondhand.
I’ve met both Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.
well i don’t know any famous people, but what’s with that guy who claims to know someone so famous that this mysterious person’s name must be held in ultra strict confidence? masonite can’t say the name on a message board? mmm, a place where no one even knows who this mason guy is? interesting indeed.
Oh for heaven’s sake. You are a mean old lady indeed, apparently.
I’m not tellin’, so put that right out of your heads - anybody who cares, that is. Most people don’t, which is good of them and good for me.
I posted what I did precisely because this is a message board - I am anonymous here, so I could share my slightly unusual story in an appropriate context. Who knows, maybe I influenced an opinion or two, which is rare for me. Also, it was nice to get it off my chest that I live in this somewhat strange, unusual situation.
But to reveal the identity - no. It’s a “household name”, at least if there’s someone over about 45 in your household, and I don’t care to have that association as part of my future identity on the SDMB. (I figure by leaving the name out, my post will be forgotten soon, but if I gave the name, it probably wouldn’t be.)
He’s just an entertainment figure anyway. Not a world-shaker or anything.
Carry on; I’m sinking back into obscurity here.
:: Ahhhh, obscurity. ::
Forgot one:
I knew Joe Waldholtz back when nobody had figured out his con. He later went on to ruin his wife’s congressional career and be a fugitive, before imprisonment.
He goes to trial in a few days again for raiding his father’s estate.
He had a lot of folks fooled.
ha! well all righty, masonite (if that is your real name). we’ll allow u to keep your anonymity if it helps you sleep better at night. zzzzz… oh yeah, but you’d still be anonymous if you named the mystery guy. aaaaaanyway, do what u like. 
I don’t really know any, but I am related to Daniel Boone through blood and John Jay through marriage.
Well, Mean Old Lady, think of it this way - if this famous person is famous enough that he’s a household name, and Masonite’s mom went through a very publicized divorce with that person, it stands to reason that the rest of us would think, “Oh, yeeeeeah! I remember when Mr. X and that lady got divorced, it was all over the tabloids, I remember reading that she had to fight for alimony and he ended up having to give her a million bucks and WHOA! Masonite’s mom has a million bucks and now we know who she is! And wait a minute, wasn’t Mr. X’s ex-wife’s daughter (or son) that kid who was in that school and she/he got suspended, and WHOA AGAIN! Now we know who Masonite is!”
Or something like that. I say let it go. Although I confess, I would love to know too, because I have that same voyeuristic thing most of us do with famous people. The only thing stopping me from being a drooling idiot here is that the famous people I have known/met were so… normal. I expect most of 'em are.
In my very small way, I can understand masonite attitude. And when I mean small, I mean small.
When I worked for a newspaper in South Carolina, I wrangled my way onto the set of “The Patriot,” serving as an extra for all of 3 1/2 days and writing a story about it. The story contained no embarrassing material, but being there meant that I worked with Mel Gibson.
The day after publication, I was fawned over, both at the newspaper, and at the cable TV station that invited me for an on-camera interview. People who recognized my byline wanted to know everything I could tell them about Mel. For a few days, I felt taller, stronger, sexier and my ego began to swallow galaxies whole.
Then I went back to work on the copy desk and the feeling subsided, but I can understand how serious attention being paid to you, day after day, for something that was not about you or what you did at all can cause some serious problems.