# Fictional characters who met actual famous people **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408 "2019-01-08T16:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/41 "2019-01-08T21:16:03Z")
Read the first sentence of the OP, please, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/42 "2019-01-08T21:20:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Read the first sentence of the OP, please, folks. Forget it Islidur, it’s Doperville. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/43 "2019-01-08T21:21:50Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Well ANY story where a fictional character meets a real historical person is technically an alternate history. Captain Kirk et al met Abraham Lincoln, and possibly members of the Clanton/McLaury gang on alien planets, which aren’t really alternate history… ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/44 "2019-01-08T21:28:57Z")
> [@bump](#): > > First thing I thought of- Uhtred has met pretty much every notable in England during the latter half of the 9th century. > > I had to admit that Cornwell’s device for explaining Uhtred’s lack of historicity was clever- he made enemies with Bishop Asser, the guy whose chronicle of the time period around Alfred the Great’s reign is the main source. So Asser basically wrote Uhtred out of history. Uhtred seems to make enemies with the pretty big majority of the Christians with whom he has dealings… I find rather delightful, Cornwell’s having him stubbornly sticking with the old religion of the Norse gods, at a time when militant Christianity is greatly in the ascendant in Britain – he certainly doesn’t make things easy for himself. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/45 "2019-01-08T21:29:00Z")
In the Dancing Gods series the protagonists at one point visit an evil magical kingdom ruled over by someone known as “The King of Horror”. When they meet him, it turns out the King of Horror is Stephen King. “Where do you think I get my ideas?” The Defenders from Marvel Comics appeared on the David Letterman show in-universe. Letterman got to bonk a supervillain on the head. In the Time Wars series the protagonists meet a number of famous people. One I recall was when they ran into Jules Verne, who caused problems when he figured out that they _were_ time travelers. Then he also with them was captured and taken aboard a submarine captained by a fanatic…you might say Verne got some inspiration fuel. Time travel fiction in general has plenty of that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/46 "2019-01-08T21:48:25Z")
President Obama met Spider-Man once: [http://comicseater.o.c.f.unblog.fr/files/2012/11/baracomics1.jpg](http://comicseater.o.c.f.unblog.fr/files/2012/11/baracomics1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/47 "2019-01-08T22:53:18Z")
Dickens’s Mr. Turveydrop in _Bleak House_ talks about having met the Prince Regent (or at least having been noticed by him) but the encounter isn’t actually shown. There are gazillions of British fictional characters who get presented to the current monarch(s) at court, such as Mrs. Poppit in E. F. Benson’s _Miss Mapp_. Actually, I think it’s more difficult to come up with examples of a realistic novel that has absolutely **no** fictional character ever crossing paths with a real-life famous person. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/48 "2019-01-09T00:03:18Z")
In **The In-Laws** , John F. Kennedy apparently summed things up for Vince Ricardo with a quick “Well, At Least We Tried.” > [@](#): > > “That referred to the Bay of Pigs.” > “You were involved with the Bay of Pigs?” > “Involved? That was my idea!” > > [/Peter Falk, as the pride of the CIA] Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That’s really the key to the benefit program. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/49 "2019-01-09T00:10:54Z")
Der Trihs: > [@](#): > > The Defenders from Marvel Comics appeared on the David Letterman show in-universe. Letterman got to bonk a supervillain on the head. [The Avengers, actually.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/8/8a/Avengers_Vol_1_239.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20171230191403) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/50 "2019-01-09T00:12:56Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Going really really obscure, in [The Great Brain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Brain) series, the character Tom brags a few times that he took boxing lessons from [John L Sullivan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Sullivan) I don’t think he means that he actually met Sullivan, but that he learned through some sort of Sullivan correspondence course, like the Charles Atlas body-building ones from comic book ads. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/51 "2019-01-09T00:49:07Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Wait a minute, famous people played by an actor doesn’t count?? Just some oblique reference in like a newspaper (invariably photoshopped) or a character name dropping that he met soandso? Is that right? > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Yes, that’s the kind of thing I’m going for. > > Thanks, all. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > President Obama met Spider-Man once: [http://comicseater.o.c.f.unblog.fr/files/2012/11/baracomics1.jpg](http://comicseater.o.c.f.unblog.fr/files/2012/11/baracomics1.jpg) The Obama example doesn’t seem to follow what you’re going for. Spidey doesn’t name drop meeting Obama nor do we see a newspaper cover of the two meeting one another or something similar- we actually see the two meeting. That’s the comic version of something like Granny meeting John Wayne. Lots of comic examples: > **[29 Celebrities Who Have Shown Up In Comic Books](https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrity-comic-book-cameos/coy-jandreau)** > > Famous people have made comic book cameos almost as long as comics have been on sale. Comics are a fantastic medium for a lot of things: conveying important morals to kids, spreading the word on big issues, telling larger than life stories, and, of... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/52 "2019-01-09T01:01:46Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Read the first sentence of the OP, please, folks. I’m sticking with my examples of _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, _Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23_, _Mike Tyson Mysteries_, and _Seinfeld_. You can also add _Arrested Development_ (Carl Weathers), _Episodes_ (Matt LeBlanc), _Louie_ (Louis C.K.), and _The Sarah Silverman Program_ (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/53 "2019-01-09T01:05:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m sticking with my examples of _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, _Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23_, _Mike Tyson Mysteries_, and _Seinfeld_. You can also add _Arrested Development_ (Carl Weathers), _Episodes_ (Matt LeBlanc), _Louie_ (Louis C.K.), and _The Sarah Silverman Program_ (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person. Why? The OP states the following doesn’t count: _“famous people doing cameos in movies or TV shows (like Stephen Hawking’s appearances on The Big Bang Theory)”_ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/54 "2019-01-09T01:14:19Z")
In the 1970s, Captain America punched a masked villain who was strongly implied to be Richard Nixon. And Nixon, as well as many others, show up as living heads in a jar, on Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/55 "2019-01-09T01:46:42Z")
[Superman and John F. Kennedy.](http://superman.wikia.com/wiki/John_F._Kennedy) [Spiderman and Barack Obama](https://geekologie.com/2009/01/barack-obama-to-star-in-spider.php) [Captain America and Hitler.](https://blog.midtowncomics.com/blog/great-covers-makes-great-part-13/) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/56 "2019-01-09T02:01:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m sticking with my examples of _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, _Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23_, _Mike Tyson Mysteries_, and _Seinfeld_. You can also add _Arrested Development_ (Carl Weathers), _Episodes_ (Matt LeBlanc), _Louie_ (Louis C.K.), and _The Sarah Silverman Program_ (Sarah Silverman and Laura Silverman). Those shows all depict fictional characters meeting an actual life famous person. Maybe I misunderstood. Are you saying that your examples include instances where someone like Jerry Seinfeld mentions meeting a famous person (or it happens in some other way but isn’t actually shown)? You didn’t tell us who the famous person is in Seinfeld or in any other of your examples. If the meeting is actually shown, the OP is stated it doesn’t count (except in comics 😕). ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/57 "2019-01-09T02:05:03Z")
In _Star Trek: Voyager,_ the crew met Amelia Earhart, I think. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/58 "2019-01-09T02:12:29Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > In _Star Trek: Voyager,_ the crew met Amelia Earhart, I think. Yes, and she was played by an actress. See OP. Might as well see this too: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=868590](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=868590) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/59 "2019-01-09T02:22:07Z")
Ah, got’cha. How about when the Ocean’s crew met Bruce Willis, and mistook Julia Roberts’ character for the actual Julia Roberts? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408/60 "2019-01-09T03:00:00Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > How about when the Ocean’s crew met Bruce Willis Cameo. > [@](#): > > and mistook Julia Roberts’ character for the actual Julia Roberts? Mistaken identity in the Ocean’s universe- Roberts was playing a character, not herself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-met-actual-famous-people/827408.md?page=4)