I went to high school with Speed Skater Olympian Eric Heiden
I lived in a house designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.
My step father was a member of the World Bank and met many famous people, Richard Nixon when he was VP, Alan Greenspan.
When my mum was 16 years old she sang for Dizzy Gillespie and his band. He said come back when she was 18. But fate put my father in her path instead.
I wouldn’t know where to start. My cousin is a sports talk show host on WFAN in New York City. He knows all kinds of famous sports people.
One of the guys I work with used to be the Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and held other posts in the Reagan, (H. W.) Bush, Ford, and Nixon administrations.
Another co-worker used to be the Executive Secretary in the US Treasury Department.
These guys are seriously, insanely well connected. I haven’t met anyone cool through them, but they have some good stories.
I apparently know a good handful of people who went to school, at one point or another, with Amanda Palmer. Never met her, or her husband, whom I half expect to run into – probably literally – at Porter Square Books.
My first boss out of school was a member of the citizens space initiative group favoring SDI, and so he knew Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. But he wasn’t a science fiction fan, so it didn’t mean much to him.
One of my professors was Emil Wolf, who rewrote Max Born’s Optik into Primciples of Optics, better known as “Born and Wolf” in the optics community. Max Born’s granddaughter is Olivia Newton-John, and Emil Wolf definitely knew her. In fact, he was rumored to be her godfather (not true, apparently).
My mom’s boss for a long time, a sociologist and editor, was friends with composer Lalo Schifrin (he wrote the themes for the TV shows Mannix and * Mission: Impossible*, as well as the music for Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, Kelly’s Heroes, The Amityville Horror and Enter the Dragon) But he was also a sociologist (!) (he also studied law), which is how my mom’s boss knew him.
My father-in-law was a friend of writer John McPhee.
My younger brother is a set dresser in New York, and he’s worked on a lot of TV and movie sets.
He worked on*** 30 Rock ***for several years, so he knows Tina Fey and Jane Krakowski pretty well (and has met Alec Baldwin and everyone else in the regular cast). Beyond that, he got to be very friendly with Paul Giamatti, and has met everyone from Nicolas Cage to Dennis Quaid to Hugh Jackman to Samuel L. Jackson.
As I’ve noted before, Barack Obama and I were in the same graduating class at Columbia College. I don’t think I ever met him, but it stands to reason SOMEBODY I knew there was friends with him then.
I went to high school with Denise Richards. Same class and everything —and I have no memory of her, and am not sure if I even spoke to her. However, I’m in touch with another classmate from those days who does occasionally hear from her, so there’s a pseudo-secondhand connection for you.
My wife used to work at Pepsi Center and Red Rocks in Denver and met lots of musicians in her time there, among them the Eagles and Radiohead. She once told Bob Dylan’s manager he couldn’t go backstage without a pass, and sent him away.
My former counselor is good friends with the Doublemint Twins. (I’m not sure which ones, as I gather there have been many.)
My best friend is married to a member of the Austin City Limits staff. After a taping, he will work on the shows at home. She said it’s rather surreal to answer the phone and have Bonnie Raitt or Willie Nelson or Lyle Lovett at the other end.
He’s been with the show for 30+ years, so listing all the artists is difficult.
Weird Al-Lame Claim To Fame.
I know the sixth-grade teacher of our current governor. Said he was a good kid.
My brother-in-law’s nephew’s wife is an extra in Hollywood. She’s been in the background of several scenes on The Big Bang Theory.
Speaking of former Pittsburgh Pirates, my late grandmother’s now-deceased second husband was a regular golfing partner of Bill Mazeroski for many years.
My ex from my time in Paris negotiated with Gerard Depardieu the use of a building he owned for an art exhibition, and she attended a dinner party with Damon Albarn of Blur, one time.
My sister and her man last year published a memoir/cook book by a former White House chef that has made a bit of a splash.
And that’s about it. In 59 years, the only time I can think of having directly spoken to or otherwise interacted with anyone most people would recognize as famous, was when Nancy Wilson of Heart thanked me personally for buying ticket to one of their concerts. A former co-worker has a 14-year-old daughter who I used to see running all over their house when she was a little kid and who’s now trying like hell to become a pop star, but she’s not quite there yet.
My mother worked as a baby sitter for Fred Meijer as a girl in Greenville Michigan.
My mom went to High School with Buddy Holly in Happy Texas.
My ex claims to have had meaningless sex with Dr. Dre.
I lived next to Danny Marino’s parents in Pittsburgh and met and talked to him several times. He liked to park in my spot and was very nice about asking permission each time or waving to me.
Met Jack Lambert at a bar in Pittsburgh after spending a couple of hours drinking with his wife. She was crazy fun to hang with. He is huge and has a sense of humor thank god.
I worked with an electronics type guy in the State Department. In his pre-DOS life, he worked in Nashville setting up TV broadcasts and met people like Johnny Cash and Elvis. He roomed with Ronnie Milsap for a time.
Worked for an ambassador who was friends with Bill Clinton. Other ambassadors knew other presidents, I’m sure.
Rather than list people whom I know second hand, I would refer you to
Famous people you’ve seen in person
03-27-2009
#130 04-04-2009
My cousin (my mom’s first cousin) was friends with Denzel Washington’s mother, and knew him as a child.
Buddy Holly attended Lubbock High School in Lubbock, Texas, the city he was born and raised in. I knew his shop teacher.
EDIT: From Buddy’s Wikipedia entry: “Hutchinson Junior High School now has a mural honoring Holly, and Lubbock High School, where he sang in the school choir, also honors the musician.” (Hutchinson Junior High School is also in Lubbock.)
Possibly mom got her Buddys mixed up.
Most assuredly.
For some unknown reason, my parents knew Alan Alda’s parents and Joel Grey’s parents. They also knew politician Tim Hagan, who’s married to ST-VOY’s Kate Mulgrew. And in high school, my mother dated Jerry Siegel, created of *Superman.
*
I actually know more celebrities first-hand than second-hand.