# Name Famous People You've Met **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863 "2019-06-21T21:37:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/21 "2019-06-22T03:35:09Z")
HRH Prince Edward of Wessex His Excellency Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor General of Canada ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/22 "2019-06-22T04:08:01Z")
Now that you mention it, nobody important you ever heard of. A bunch of general officers. Nobody else much. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/23 "2019-06-22T04:44:59Z")
Ran into Bob Hope at Love Field with my family when I was a kid. Chatted with him, got his autograph. When I lived in Taos I owned a shop there. Met Some celebrities when they came in to shop. Brian Dennehy, Julia Roberts and Alan Alda (of all people). Met Oliver Stone twice. Met Arnold twice. A friend of mine is a friend of a publisher in Dallas. Tom Cruise was coming to town to meet with him. The publisher invited my friend and he invited me. So I spent about 45 minutes eating lunch with Tom. Bullshitted my way backstage to see Tim Curry. Managed to get invited to a after-party with the band. Met and talked with Brandi Carlisle a couple of times. And finally ‘exchanged words’ with Dennis Hopper at a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/24 "2019-06-22T04:55:09Z")
Met, but didn’t speak to, because I didn’t know what to say; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/25 "2019-06-22T04:55:30Z")
Al Gore (twice) Aaron Copeland (had dinner with him) Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut (had breakfast with him) Mariel Hemingway (had lunch with her) Christopher Reeve (lived in the same college dorm) Jane Goodall (took her on a tour of a museum I worked on) Jared Diamond Paul Ehrlich (took birding) E.O. Wilson (had dinner with him) Frank Gehry (worked with him on a museum) Ruben Blades Omar Moreno ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/26 "2019-06-22T06:18:11Z")
Maya Angelou Isaac Asimov Leonard Bernstein Ernest Borgnine Michael Feinstein Jose Feliciano Michael Feinstein Harvey Fierstein Allen Ginsburg Alan Greenspan Joel Grey Keith Haring Sir Edmund Hillary Janis Ian Larry Kramer Kate Mulgrew “Cubby” O’Brien (original Mouseketeer/drummer) Luciano Pavarotti Bernadette Peters Ayn Rand Vito Russo Stephen Sondheim Frank Spangenberg (longtime ‘90s _Jeopardy!_ champion) Micky Spillane Barbra Streisand Lily Tomlin Garry Trudeau Some of them, I only spoke with for a few minutes. Others, I knew for months or years. My mom went out with Jerry Siegel (co-creator of Superman) a few times in high school. She also met Orville Wright. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/27 "2019-06-22T06:40:14Z")
Huh. I thought I’d have a fun answer to this thread, but on reflection, I don’t. Now, if we were talking “one degree removed,” then I am connected to lots of famous people. But actually knowing them? Nope. Not a one. I’m not as vicariously interesting as I thought I was. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_Raygun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c67d28/32.png) [@Ronald\_Raygun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_Raygun)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/28 "2019-06-22T06:40:42Z")
My wife got to flog David Bowie with a cat-o’-nine-tails in a music video. Does she win? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/29 "2019-06-22T13:21:46Z")
Not too many. The most excited I got was to see Bill Guarnere from Band of Brothers. He died a few months later. Stevie Ray Vaughn Buzz Aldrin Steve Schrippa Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (poker) Joe Piscopo Joe Klecko Dwight Gooden Joe Haldeman ODavid Petraeus A few other well known generals Bunch of stand up comics: Jim Breuer Bert Kreischer Dave Attell Ron Bennington Robert Kelly Artie Lange Rich Vos Big Jay Oakerson Dan Soder ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/30 "2019-06-22T13:46:10Z")
Dozens of old time Blues musicians including: KoKo Taylor Anson Funderburg Sam Meyers Pinetop Perkins Link Wray Son Seals Keb Mo Bill “Sauce Boss” Wharton Sonny Landreth Little Charlie Beatty Rick Estrin ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/31 "2019-06-22T13:59:52Z")
Jimmy Carter Jim Bouton Jim Beam ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/32 "2019-06-22T16:40:44Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Dozens of old time Blues musicians including: > > KoKo Taylor > Anson Funderburg > Sam Meyers > Pinetop Perkins > Link Wray > Son Seals > Keb Mo > Bill “Sauce Boss” Wharton > Sonny Landreth > Little Charlie Beatty > Rick Estrin I met Johnny Copeland and his daughter Shemeika. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/33 "2019-06-22T17:02:29Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I met Johnny Copeland and his daughter Shemeika. Aww, I should have mentioned Shemekia. I met her at Moondog’s, and her dad, Johnny Clyde was a good friend of the owner (who is a buddy of mine). Should have mentioned Jimmy Thackery, Lil Ed, etc. as well. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/34 "2019-06-22T20:26:13Z")
I met Alan Hale Jr. (“The Skipper” from Gilligan’s Island) at an appearance at a local bar. I tossed him some good straight lines, and during a break, he came over and bought me and my buddy a pitcher of beer. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/35 "2019-06-22T21:15:03Z")
Mick Jones of The Clash The members of the band, The Cramps, during their tour of France in 1980. Jesse Jackson, when he was running for president in '88. I work at the Minnesota Capitol, and so I’ve met many of the top political leaders of the state, including current and past governors. The first lady of Iceland, [Eliza Reid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Reid) Regarding Ms. Reid, our chance meeting occurred when my Icelandic friend, Arni, who works as a speechwriter for Iceland’s president, was giving us an unofficial tour of the President’s house in the summer of 2017. No one was supposed to be there at the time, and he took a great risk in sneaking Mrs. Spiff and me in to the place. But Ms. Reid surprised us all when she showed up with some American cousins to give them a tour. Well, she didn’t surprise Mrs. Spiff, because she had gone off to use the WC just before our encounter. And she was rightly pissed that she missed the whole thing. Anyway, the First Lady and I had a brief conversation, and when she learned that I was from St. Paul, Minnesota, she mentioned that she had relatives in Mankato, Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/36 "2019-06-22T21:19:59Z")
James Jesus Angleton ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/37 "2019-06-23T00:39:42Z")
All these while working a retail fine art and picture framing store in Palo Alto, CA: Steve Young, NFL quarterback I was wearing a 49ers shirt when I rang him up for replacement framing glass. He said, “nice shirt.” Michelle Pfeifer, actress Helped her with an easel, apparently she paints on the side. Steve Jobs, computer salesman Twice. We once shared a laugh after a fanboy lost his shit when trying to say hello. Kevin Gogan, NFL offensive guard Helped him with rolls of black paper to cover his hotel windows while at training camp. Biggest man I’ve ever seen at 6’7" and 320lbs. These while working at a Cisco Systems internal event hall: Steve Wozniak, computer inventor Got one of his cool, metal business cards, he autographed our team’s Apple server. Awesome guy. Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet He talked more about technology like hearing aids as he and his wife ate both nearly deaf. Awesome guy. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/38 "2019-06-23T03:16:12Z")
Had a short conversation once with Pete Seeger. Beyond that, knew a lot of well-known mathematicians, but none that anyone has heard of (possible exception: Alexandre Grothendieck, #1 mathematician of the mid 20th, sort of famous for his survivalist movement). ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/39 "2019-06-23T03:44:26Z")
Mike Farrell Dave Van Ronk Ted Lewin (Children’s author/illustrator and brother of wrasslin’ legend “Maniac” Mark Lewin) Ox Baker Angelo Poffo (50s-60s wrasslin’ star and father of Randy “Macho Man” Savage Blues Man Johnny Shines Cal Ripken, Jr. Nora Roberts Billie Jean King Dominique Dawes Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty Jimmy “Bunkhouse Buck” Golden Arthur Schlesinger John Scieszka Karen Hawkins (best-selling author, went to my high school) Emmett Kelly, Jr. Billy Carter Porter Waggoner ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863/40 "2019-06-23T03:57:34Z")
Hmm, sure I am missing some. College Radio DJ, so just about every American Hardcore and Punk band that toured in the early 1980’s. Played records on live broadcast with DOA and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (not at the same time. DOA were way cool, Chili Peppers were pretty out of control and completely lost their shit and trashed the CSU Chico college radio station a few days later during an interviews) Interviewed John Lee Hooker, and spoke with Little Milton, Gatemouth Brown, Willie Dixon and others. Envious of those of you who listed out a whole bunch of my wish list blues artists above. Hung out with George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers for a couple of innings of a college baseball game at UCD before their gig. Played pinball with Robin Williams (he sucked at pinball but was friendly and did a ID for my college radio station), at a Bo Diddley concert at a comedy club in SF. Hung out / interviewed Bo for about an hour at that show. Spent time with a couple of billionaires when at Microsoft including Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and now Taiwan Presidential candidate Terry Gou. Especially envious of those who met David Bowie, Sammo Hung and the Cramps (Lux Interior asked what the small weekday audience wanted to hear for an encore, I had just accidently split open the skin above my left eye and blood was streaming down, shouted out “The Crusher”, Lux saw me, smiled and launched into the song. But I didn’t meet him or any of the rest of the band.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863.md?page=3)