Famous People You Know Second Hand.

So, was your mother Lois Lane? Or Lucy Lane, at least? Or Lana Lang?

I went to high school with the second banana (out of two and a half) on a long-running sitcom. If I’d known that Kevin Bacon numbers would become such a thing, I’d definitely have gone out for the school play to improve mine.

I also sort of knew a high school classmate of Cameron Diaz’s. He had an interesting job himself, working as a guinea pig.

Also, I have a number of friends who were Karen Allen’s classmates for about a month, in seventh grade, before she left to become a famous actress.

The cousin of a good friend of mine is Greta Scacchi.

Not sure that counts though as I may have disqualified myself as I did meet Greta once, at the same friends wedding.

Given that two relatives are quite involved into politics, I “know” second hand all major French politicians, including the French president, and as a result third hand probably all major heads of state/government of the planet.

I forgot- back in the Sixties, two of my uncles were members of the Irish Christian Brothers, and were teachers at (now closed) Power Memorial High School in Manhattan. At one time or another, both of them had Lew Alcindor in their Religion classes.

Of course, Alcindor grew up to become an NBA star, converted to Islam, and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

They must have been WONDERFUL religion teachers!!!

Courtney Cox was one year behind me in high school. Did not know her, but we must have had at least one teacher in common–the school wasn’t that big.

My uncle-by-marriage works in character modeling for animated films, and knows Brad Bird from working on The Incredibles. He and my aunt, who works at Disney animation, know a few working character actors.

We have a friend with a Nobel in Physics. That doesn’t make him widely famous, but I’m pretty sure he knows some pretty famous people.

Edward G Robinson was my great-grandmother’s first cousin, if family legend is to be believed.

I have a second-cousin (who I met once when he was a kid), who is a State Department Protocol Officer in the White House. I understand he is on the President’s advance team for international trips, so I assume he’s at least shaken hands with Obama.

Another second cousin is married to a man whose family is Catholic (we are Jewish). His aunt is a nun highly-placed in her order. She left a meeting with Pope Benedict to attend my cousin’s son’s bar mitzvah (which I also attended), and Benedict said a blessing for the bar mitzvah boy before she left. She had worked with the current Pope when he was a cardinal, and tried his cell number after he was elevated to Pontiff. He answered right away and told her to call any time, but not to give out the number. So, only a couple of degrees of separation from the 2 living Popes.

An aunt of mine has been on Mike Huckabee’s political team. Shudder

I know a guy who is in a model train club with Roger Daltrey.

My wife’s aunt was one of about eight women Allan Jay Lerner married during his storied career (she having originated the role of Fiona in Brigadoon on Broadway). He dumped her well before my wife was born, but our daughter calls him Great-Uncle Allan, anyway. My wife’s aunt later went to Hollywood, where one fine day, she was dragooned into a walk-on in the stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera.

Back in the Seventies, I was in a church choir with the half-brother of Paul Moyer (news anchor on the local NBC affiliate).

Today, the keyboardist at our church is the touring pianist for legendary chanteuse Nancy Wilson (NOT half of Heart; the other one). Well he was, until she retired last year.

P. S. I didn’t look up Lerner’s first name, and predictably, got it wrong. It’s Alan.

Oh well. He was a prick who behaved abominably toward my wife’s aunt. Having his name misspelled is far from the worst retribution his legacy deserves.

A couple I forgot.

My brother in law was in the same high school when Teller was teaching Latin. Didn’t have him as a teacher though.

My brother went to the same Catholic High School as Jon Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi was a freshman or sophomore when my brother was a senior. He went back to public school and graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School.

I knew a girl (not as well as I had hoped) when I was in college who was good friends with Mike Tyson when he was sent upstate by Cus D’Amato. Glens Falls NY maybe? I knew her right when Tyson was getting huge but before he won the title. Right around the time of the Marvis Frazier fight. She thought he was a really sweet guy.

My probably future mother in law taught Chelsea Handler in high school. She is not a fan.

My dad flies a lot as part of his job, and the airline has promoted him to some special status that gives him various perks. One perk is that he sometimes gets bumped up to first class if there happens to be an empty seat (because someone cancelled or whatever).

On one flight – can’t remember where to or where from – he was offered a first class seat, next to a lady who was leaning against the window, perhaps asleep. My dad sat down, took out his laptop and began to work. A little while later, when the plane was in flight, the lady woke up and they struck up a conversation. My dad talked a little about his work, and then asked the lady what she did for a living. She said she was an actor.

Him: Oh, what kind of an actor? TV, stage, movies?

Her: Movies.

Now, my dad at this point was still assuming she was some bit-part actor, not anybody famous. I don’t know why, since they were sitting in first class, but I guess the idea of meeting an Actual Famous Person on a plane just seemed too far out.

Him: What movies have you been in?

Her: The Fifth Element.

Him: Oh, I think I’ve heard of that one. That was a Bruce Willis movie, right? What part did you play?

Her: I was the fifth element.

Yeah, it was Milla Jovovich. And he had no clue who she was, which seemed to annoy her a little.

When my dad got home, he rented The Fifth Element and we all watched it. As you know if you’ve seen the movie, the first time Jovovich appears onscreen she’s completely nude except for a few strategically-placed strips of tape. When my dad saw her, he said, “Yeah, that’s definitely the woman I met. Only I didn’t see so much of her on the plane!”

I grew up in the next town over from the one where Bon Jovi grew up. In high school, I played in a band with his cousin, who used the original spelling – Bongiovi. My sister lives across the street from another relative.

In the yearbook my brother has with him in it the name is spelled Bongiovi. In fact I’m not sure if he ever legally changed his name.

It was first hand, not second hand, but I had a very similar experience coming back United direct from Newark to Edinburgh in business class back in August 2012.

Nile Rogers was sat next to me, going to the Edinburgh Book Festival to promote his autobiography. I had no idea who he was, which seemed to irritate him slightly and amuse the air stewardesses hugely.

I asked him whether it was his first time (“at the Festival” I meant, which it was, but somehow he got the idea I meant “in Europe”) and he got a bit shitty with me after that. So I put my shades on and got some kip.

The following spring “Get Lucky” entered the UK Charts and I recognized who the fella was. :o

My wife went to highschool with both Josh Bidwell and Troy Polomalu.

A close family member and his wife are good friends with former Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski. Weekend hiking trips, BBQ dinners together, etc. Apparently they were good friends before Ted became governor.

Forgot about high school.
I went to Grosse Pointe South because my mother worked for the school district. A whole slew of my classmates were the kids of Detroit’s gentry, including automotive big wigs and local TV celebs. I can’t remember who they all were at this point though. I know one kid in my gym class was the son a the news anchor of a major Detroit TV station, back when that meant something. I think the kids of a couple of the Tigers players went there as well.

Do you know Wayne Allyn Root? I ask because in 2008 he wrote all these columns about how since he didn’t know Obama personally, and no one he knows knew Obama either, that Obama didn’t really go to school. or something.

I know a number of people who know Prince - they either worked on Purple Rain or went to high school with him or worked at Paisley Park.

I know a lot of people who know Neil Gaiman, but I’ve met him, so I probably disqualify myself. But then Neil is married to Amanda Palmer, who I haven’t met, so that would open up another avenue of people.

Penn and Teller did Minnesota Renaissance Festival - long before I did - but when a ton of friends I know did it - several of them hawked their stage and knew them.

I’m going to have to see your long-form college transcript before I believe you.:dubious:

My cousin is a well-known composer of classical music.