At the time of the first WOMAD festival here in the US, all the artists stayed at the hotel where I worked as a manager. I got to meet everyone who performed that year but the three that stood out the most:
Peter Gabriel - Invited me into his suite and we chatted for about 45 minutes.
Sinead O’Conner - At a time when her popularity was quite low due to the SNL/Pope thing ,etc. She was sweet as could be and demonstrated an almost child-like joy/energy.
Stereo MC’s - Drove the two guys around town trying to find replacement drum heads.
I have more than 3 - more than 4, too, but that’s all I’ll talk about here:
JFK Jr. and his then-girlfriend Carolyn Bessette: I used to work for an organization that John had close ties to, and they attended one of the organization’s annual ceremonies. There was a whole table full of people to whom they could go to for directions to their table and they walked straight up to me! My god, TV did not do that man justice - he was, if you can believe it, far better looking in person.
Bobby Kennedy Jr.: At the same party, I was keeping an eye on things when this man, who probably realized that I worked there, comes up to me and says in a friendly manner, “Hi, I’m Bobby Kennedy.” I turned and looked at him and the first thing that popped out out of my mouth was, “oh my god, you look just like your father.” He laughed and we had a nice little chat.
David Cassidy: I used to work at a hotel that he stayed in about 10 years ago. He was very nice, and surprisingly to me, looked EXACTLY like he looked when he was on The Partridge Family. It was like being in a weird 1970s time warp - I was in love with him when I was 4, and there he was right in front of me. One of the other employees ran 4 blocks to Tower Records to get a copy of “I Think I Love You” so that he could autograph it, which he got a big kick out of.
Ralph Fiennes: I went to a play that he was in a few years ago and talked to him several times, mostly about a movie of his that was about to be released. He was trying to answer my questions about how the movie differed from the book without giving too much away.
I have lots more but since I’ve already gone over 3, I’ll stop here.
I have more than 3 - more than 4, too, but that’s all I’ll talk about here:
JFK Jr. and his then-girlfriend Carolyn Bessette: I used to work for an organization that John had close ties to, and they attended one of the organization’s annual ceremonies. There was a whole table full of people to whom they could go to for directions to their table and they walked straight up to me! My god, TV did not do that man justice - he was, if you can believe it, far better looking in person.
Bobby Kennedy Jr.: At the same party, I was keeping an eye on things when this man, who probably realized that I worked there, comes up to me and says in a friendly manner, “Hi, I’m Bobby Kennedy.” I turned and looked at him and the first thing that popped out out of my mouth was, “oh my god, you look just like your father.” He laughed and we had a nice little chat.
David Cassidy: I used to work at a hotel that he stayed in about 10 years ago. He was very nice, and surprisingly to me, looked EXACTLY like he looked when he was on The Partridge Family. It was like being in a weird 1970s time warp - I was in love with him when I was 4, and there he was right in front of me. One of the other employees ran 4 blocks to Tower Records to get a copy of “I Think I Love You” so that he could autograph it, which he got a big kick out of.
Ralph Fiennes: I went to a play that he was in a few years ago and talked to him several times, mostly about a movie of his that was about to be released. He was trying to answer my questions about how the movie differed from the book without giving too much away.
It was about a year and a half before he died that I met him. I met him at a small convention. His passing would have hit me hard anyway, but having seen what a charming quirkbox he was, it was doubly sad.
“His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard,
I wish he was mine, he’s really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.”
I met Martina McBride in 1993. She put on a concert to raise money for flood relief. (That was during the Flood of '93, obviously) She was a very sweet person.
I met Bret Michaels and C.C. DeVille when they came to town for a concert. I got to eat lunch with them. That was cool. I had a huge crush on Bret. That was back in the days of the “Hair Bands.”
I also met Van Halen when they came for a concert in 1992. It was the night after my 17th birthday and I got drunk and high before the concert. After the concert I went backstage and had a couple of drinks and hung out for awhile. That was pretty cool.
Tanya Tucker went to my high school for a day while she was in town to sing at the rodeo.
Linus Pauling came & spoke to the OU Chemistry department my freshman year (mostly about vitamin C). I went to a special reception just for undergrads & got to speak with him one on one for a minute or two. I can’t remember what about…
Linda Tripp and I had a phone conversation once.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
So far I am most impressed by the Timothy Leary meetings (Transcent the Bull&%$^ was my motto in high school), Eve’s Lillian Gish, and the Hunter S. Thompston (exactly as I would expect him, too!)
I haven’t met too many people I respect all that much, Art Alizakus (sp?) of Everclear fame, a few members of Austrian royalty (House of Hapsburg. I used to babysit for Kurt Vonnegut’s nieces and nephews, that was fun, looking at all the pictures of him holding the babies.
If I had a choice, I’d want to meet Katherine Hepburn, Bob Dylan, the Dali Lama, and Maya Angelou. Not that I’ve thought this through, or anything… (incidently, the great new apartment I started a thread for? The new landlords are Tibetan. The husband used to work for the Dali Lama in India! HOW COOL?!)
DON PEDRO: Your silence most offends me, and to be merry best becomes you; for, out of question, you were born in a merry hour.
BEATRICE: No, sure, my lord, my mother cried; but then there was a star danced, and under that was I born. -Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Sc: i
Can’t answers for the Messrs. Thompson or Leary, but Lillian Gish was a real sweetie, I still miss her. I met her in high school (me, not her) and she became a surrogate grandma to me. Encouraged me to give up acting and take up writing (afraid of the competition, no doubt!). She was also much wittier than people give her credit for—she mostly did ‘High Drammer,’ so no one really knew how funny she could be.
Al Hendrix. Jimi’s dad (in case you didn’t know). Met him a couple of years back, and he was really nice. The next best thing to meeting Jimi.
Dick Dale. Met him 3 times. Guy famous for surf guitar style music. If you have no clue who he is, he’s the guy that did the opening song in Pulp Fiction (interestingly enough, i once asked him how he liked Pulp Fiction and he told me it was the worst movie he’d ever seen. Go figure.
Nicholas Barker. Ex-drummer for Cradle of Filth. One of the nicest guys i’ve ever met.
Where Are We Going And Why Am I In This Handbasket?
