OK, some of these suggest stories that beg to be told. Teenage friends with Crispin Glover? What was that like?
Myself- I was on friendly terms in college with Mike Pence who is now Governor of Indiana, Woody Harrelson, Clint Allen & Leo Jeter. Clint & Leo have had small parts on TV & in movies, much more successful on stage. Clint was actually the one I thought would be a star (he was a great Bryant-character to Woody’s Darrow in a campus production of Inherit the Wind). We were all in the same production of Madwoman of Challot. Woody was somewhat active in the student Christian fellowship when I first knew him & from what I heard became more acquainted with hemp-like derivatives as the college years progressed. L Mike Pence was head of the Christian fellowship in my first year, his senio year, & getting to be active in the Campus Republicans.
I dated a guy who was friends with the guy who voiced Tails in some video game or cartoon show (of Sonic The Hedgehog fame). He said that the guy was kind of self absorbed.
That’s a real stretch of famous though, I admit!
I have never personally known anyone famous.
I am currently a close coworker of the son of the mayor of Portland, Oregon. Not the fake one on Portlandia though, the real mayor (Charlie Hales). By close coworker, I really mean it. We live and work on the same boat, in the same room, and speak on a daily basis for 28 days at a time. I had no idea he was the son of the mayor of Portland until just a month or two ago. He doesn’t throw it around much and I only found out about it from a fellow coworker.
In recent years, I got to know Bob Baun, who was a member of the 1967 Maple Leafs, who won the Stanley Cup. Bob was a guest in our home on at least one occasion, and I met up with him on many others.
i remember watching him play, both from the cheap seats at Maple Leaf Gardens, and on TV.
Now, I’ve held his 1967 Stanley Cup ring in my hand. I did not dare try it on.
If “infamous” is allowable, I’ll say Forbes Smiley.We certainly weren’t close - he was 2 years older than me - but we knew each other reasonably well because of our shared theatrical and musical activities in high school. My first make-out session ever took place at his house (not with him, though).
Several of my college classmates came from moneyed families, including the heiress of one of the largest wine and spirits companies in the world. She was both a class- and dorm-mate, so while not the closest of friends we were friendly.
I was good friends and a little extra with Kelly McGillis for years. Lisa Coleman is someone I love to this day. Aprile Millo was an impressively talented classmate, i was peripheral friends with Charlene Tilton throughout junior high and high school, my ex-brother-in-law is a director, Mare Winningham kicked our asses in the high school Shakespeare Festival, Radames Pera and I hung out a lot in junior high one year, Buddy Foster was part of our clan for a hearbeat, Mackenzie Phillips as well and I am probably forgetting a couple others…
(Not born but totally raised in Hollywood, graduate of Hollywood High.)
Not sure if there are any active, but there have been in the past at least one Internet-famous member and two notable members*. In addition, we occasionally have a notable person sign up just to answer a question, but I don’t really count that since they usually have post counts in single digits.
*Edited from one. I remember hearing a song from the second member on college radio a year or so ago, far from his home base, so I guess that counts.
Privacy is that priceless treasure chest from Blackbeard’s Hoard that disappears in the bright light of day. Its the stuff dreams are made of. I’d like to think everyone who posts here is a celebrity if only in that they speak up and share
what they honestly believe… in a world where it is increasingly personally dangerous to do so. If some people who are brave have bigger paychecks than others or have a famous face, what does it truly matter?
Some people may be more famous than others, but the point is that they are here and are welcome to be. I hope that they’d stay.
One of my closest friends from college (Dr. Paul Springer) is now a history professor of some repute who works for the US Air Force and has been on a couple of Nat. Geo. specials about aliens and the like.
He’s more infamous than anything; conspiracy nuts have taken his comments out of context and twisted them into some sort of "proof’ that the government knows about aliens and has plans to fight them. Which is absolutely NOT what he’s said- according to him, what he said was that the Pentagon wargames just about EVERYTHING under the sun, no matter how absurd, and that somewhere in some dank, dusty archive, there’s probably some plan on how to respond to an alien invasion as a result. He did NOT say that the government expects or fears an alien invasion, or even knows if they exist.
Anyway, this gives those of us who’ve known him for 20 years no end of mirth at his expense, since he’s about the most pragmatic and least prone to flights of absurdity of any of us.
I seem to recall Wil Wheaton posts (or has posted) here. I stand to be corrected on that.
Back to the OP: if you ever read Blood And Money, the story of the Hill murder case in Houston back in the 70s, the chief witness against Lilla Paulus was her own daughter. I went to high school with her.
Kept to himself, but was still creepy. He’d sit by himself in the lunchroom, and just stare at people.
You may recall that Dahmer was working at a chocolate manufacturing plant – my sister, and a friend of hers, worked there as temps. My sister and her friend would tease each other when they’d see Dahmer: “Hey, there’s your boyfriend!” “No no no, he’s your boyfriend!”
About two months after they worked there, Dahmer was arrested. My sister’s friend called her up. “Ohmygod, remember the boyfriend from the chocolate company? He’s a mass murderer!! He ate people!!!”
I played football in high school with someone who went into the NFL. I’ll refrain from naming him here since he seems the type prone to vanity searches. But if you want to google him yourself, he was a defensive end for the Detroit Lions from 1996 to 1998.
Since I was offensive line, I practiced against him daily. He liked to wait until I was walking back to the huddle after a play and hit me from behind.
NBA star Kendall Gill also went to my high school. He graduated before I started there, but his younger brother was in my class. A pretty good ball player, as well.
If famous means “someone you’ve heard of even though you have no personal or professional connection to them” then, well, no, I can’t think of a single person who qualifies.
A former roommate of mine went on to have a fairly successful NFL career, and even has a Superbowl ring. But he was not a superstar and I doubt many people would remember his name now except fans of that team.
An elementary school acquaintance went on to play goalie in the NHL for a number of years and now is in the front office for an NHL team. But again, not really a household name.
I’m friends or acquaintances with several musicians who are well-known in the Christian rock/alternative music arena. But that’s about it I think. Oh, and a couple of bishops, who have some name recognition in certain circles.
No one that you could go up to a random person on the street and they would recognize the name, probably.
I grew up down the street and went to grade school with a kid who is now a big reality TV star. He was in my younger brother’s class and his (semi-famous by extension?) brother was in my class. He didn’t register on my radar at the time, but his brother was funny.
My mom was actually in one of the early episodes of his show (or at least filmed a scene; I don’t know if it made it to air). He and his friends played some prank in a cafe, and she was one of the people getting coffee at the time. She was happy to be a part of it (the friend she was with was really pissed off) because she remembered what a cute little boy he was and how nice his mother was when they volunteered at school functions together.