Who is the most famous person you ever met? What were the circumstances?
26 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Brush With Fame”
In college some fellow film students and I went to see Glenda Jackson in Hedda Gabler (she was amazing). Afterward we cheekily went backstage to see if we could meet her. She graciously spoke to us in her dressing room. Then a striking woman came in who seemed to know Miss Jackson. Several years later I would see that face again and learn her name was Angelica Huston. I slipped out of the dressing room and there was Jack, alone, waiting. I knew he was finishing up One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (one of my favorite novels) so I asked him how it was going and he gave me a wry Nicholson smile and said something funny, with a little salty language tossed in (I shan’t repeat it). He sounded just like himself.
Will have to give it some thought to see what other names come to mind, but my limited exposure to those of the acting realm comes from being a westerns groupie & having attended a few fan gatherings like WestFest circa early 2000’s. Mitch Vogel, who played Jamie Cartwright on Bonanza. A very nice man.
And though I don’t recall talking to him, James MacArthur, known best as Danno on the original Hawaii Five-0, who also did a few western guest spots, was at one of these events.
The one I always wanted to meet was Roy Rogers. Unfortunately, by the time I was finally able to visit Victorville (then home of the Roy Rogers Museum) in the mid-1990’s, he had just passed away.
I also wish I could have met Roy Rogers. He was one of my childhood heroes, and we remember him every November 5th when we celebrate our son’s birthday by singing Happy Trails rather than Happy Birthday.
Defining “most famous” is a tough one. I grew up in Los Angeles and movie stars abounded. I went to high school with the kids of many of them. Liza Minnelli attended my junior high for about three weeks and sat in front of me in science class. I was with my mom at a shoe store (I think I was around 10), and she was chatting with the woman next to me. When she left, Mom said, “That was June Allyson” (whom I’d never heard of.) France Nuyen lived (still does) across the street, so for a while Robert Culp did, too. When we visited Mom in the summers, the kids brought lettuce to feed France’s bunnies.
A childhood friend of Mom’s was an actor, and he invited us to the set when he was making a movie, and introduced us to Charlton (Chuck) Heston.
The most “fun” celebrity was when my son and I went to a Star Trek convention when he was in high school (admission: $10), and he was selected to play Spock to George Takei’s Sulu in a skit.
The list goes on, but to me, these were just “people.”
One of our dear friends was the original Phoenix Suns gorilla, Henry Rojas.
Richard Dean Anderson (Macgyver) at hockey exhibition for charity. Great guy. Love having that MacGyver Attitude.
Biggest regret: not paying $100 to have my photo with Stan Lee.
Would have Love to meet Charles Shultz & Stephen king (still time)
RDA – awesome!
Got to meet Theadore Bikel at a party. I have an autographed copy of “Fiddler on the Roof” from that day.
My part time gig is delivering pizzas. I deliver in the land of the rich and famous. Al McGinnis, Scott Mellanby, Jim Edmunds, and the Benes brothers were or are regular customers.
There was an Ex-Los Angeles Rams cheerleader who lived in the area. I missed the night she “had some of her boys over” and they had pizza. She was Georgia Frontiere and her boys were several members of the St. Louis Rams. A basement full of pro football players needs a bunch of pizza.
Former Senator Claire McCaskill orders from time to time. Boy I miss her.
Me, too, Alan. Clare McCaskill was a terrific senator.
Another pizza night I missed. Claire McCaskill had an overnight guest. Then senator from Illinois Barack Obama. He was running for president and the Secret Service detail was hungry.
A special day in pizzaland.
I was working lunch. The area manager and I were distributing flyers in a nearby office complex.
“What kind of business are in here?” he asked.
“An insurance office, a temp agency, a pager store. Why?”
“There was an office with an old guy sitting at the front desk.”
“Was he wearing a red jacket? Have a big gold ring? Smiling?”
“Yeah. How did you know.”
“That was Stan Musial. You should of said hello. His receptionist loves our pizza.”
Stan the Man productions was in that building.
Stan was a terrific guy, Alan, and much loved by St. Louisans.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting legendary athletes in person, but I’m going to share an encounter with a famous author.
When I was in college, another engineering student and I organized a week long event we called a “Colloquy on Technology”. While we brought in eminent giants such as Buckminster Fuller, Bill Lear, and Gene Roddenberry (a way cool guy), my favorite was Arthur C. Clarke. As is escort, I took him to dinner and asked him what he’d like to do before it was time for his presentation.
“Can we play ping-pong?” he asked.
We went to the Student Union basement where the tables were. I was a good player and easily 40 years younger, but he absolutely smoked me in three straight games. We bantered throughout about Space Odyssey and his interests, which included scuba diving. Such a Rennaisance man and gentleman.
The prize in my junior high school science fair was a trip to the Miami Seaquarium. I met and had a memorable chat with the main speaker…Jacques Cousteau. Years later I bought U.S. Divers scuba gear and enjoyed diving all over (under) the Caribbean,
I met Robert Plant for about ten seconds during his 1983 “Principle of Moments” tour, his first post-Led Zeppelin outing. He was being whisked into his limo with Phil Collins, who was his drummer on that tour, right outside the concert venue. It was only a brief flash in time, but I met them both.
We met Al Gore when he was a senator and spoke at a dinner at Univ of TN Memphis Medical School. There were about thirty of us standing around waiting for him to appear (he was late.) When he arrived, I remember he walked around the large room and shook hands with each person while he introduced himself. I can’t remember what he spoke about.
An even better encounter was with Dave Wottle, the winner of the 800m race in the 1972 Olympics. He spoke to a small group of us and showed the video of that famous race. Most people probably wouldn’t think of him as being famous, but most runners know who he is.
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuker. He asked me out on a date. Can’t recall where I was at the time, but we dated for a few weeks until I found out he was married. He saw nothing wrong with cheating on his wife. I disagreed and ended it. And get this. After I dumped his sorry ass, he handed me an autographed photo of himself, and said, “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He’s lucky I didn’t deck him.
😂👍
I don’t remember this, but there’s pictures and my uncle very much does. My family was at Disneyworld, and everyone but the two of us went to the bathroom. And walking around the corner was Muhammad Ali the boxer.
I also met a handful of broadway performers at stage door, though you guys probably won’t recognize them. James Schneider, Jason Tam, Derek Klena, Christie Altomare, Ramin Karimloo, shephanie Torns, NaTasha Yvette Williams, and some others I can’t recall right now.
As a newspaper reporter, I interviewed a number of famous people, including Tennessee Williams, who’d lived in St. Louis for awhile. Williams hated the city. I was so scared at meeting the legendary playwright that I blurted, “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Capote.”
Ha!
George Takei, Sulu from original STAR TREK. I shared a couch with him at a local science fiction convention during an afterparty. I was so tired and shy I didn’t say a word to him.
Thom Christopher, Broadway actor, Hawk on BUCK ROGERS, and Emmy-winning villain on various soap operas. Several science fiction conventions, and I was his personal liaison at one convention. We became good enough friends to send Christmas cards to.
Nora Roberts. I shared a meal with her and some other major romance heavy hitters at a writing convention. She seemed nice enough, but she smoked like a chimney.
No one from the national or international stage, but I met Jimmy Nolan when I was celebrating my 6th year on planet earth.
He was a local celebrity, and hosted Uncle Jimmy’s Clubhouse back in the ’50’s and ’60’s. Swell guy. If you were lucky enough to celebrate your birthday on TV with him, along with 4 or 5 other kiddos, it was a birthday to remember.
When I worked for an educational nonprofit, I met Sydney Poitier. Through work I was invited to the premier of Mandela. There was a reception after so I walked up to him and introduced myself, said how much I enjoyed the film, of course. He was very kind. I think I was only about 25 at the time. It was back in the late ‘90s.
Late to the party again. “Met” can mean various things, but interaction is probably implied. Seeing the sun glint off Ike’s head in an open limo probably doesn’t qualify. Later that semester, I positioned myself between the Bovard Auditorium doors and a limo parked at the curb on University Avenue. When a frenzy of students erupted from the doors, I held my ground and let the crowd mill past me. As it did, an arm was stuck out in my direction. I shook the hand on my end of the arm. On the other end of the arm was Nelson Rockefeller.
In college some fellow film students and I went to see Glenda Jackson in Hedda Gabler (she was amazing). Afterward we cheekily went backstage to see if we could meet her. She graciously spoke to us in her dressing room. Then a striking woman came in who seemed to know Miss Jackson. Several years later I would see that face again and learn her name was Angelica Huston. I slipped out of the dressing room and there was Jack, alone, waiting. I knew he was finishing up One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (one of my favorite novels) so I asked him how it was going and he gave me a wry Nicholson smile and said something funny, with a little salty language tossed in (I shan’t repeat it). He sounded just like himself.
Will have to give it some thought to see what other names come to mind, but my limited exposure to those of the acting realm comes from being a westerns groupie & having attended a few fan gatherings like WestFest circa early 2000’s. Mitch Vogel, who played Jamie Cartwright on Bonanza. A very nice man.
And though I don’t recall talking to him, James MacArthur, known best as Danno on the original Hawaii Five-0, who also did a few western guest spots, was at one of these events.
The one I always wanted to meet was Roy Rogers. Unfortunately, by the time I was finally able to visit Victorville (then home of the Roy Rogers Museum) in the mid-1990’s, he had just passed away.
I also wish I could have met Roy Rogers. He was one of my childhood heroes, and we remember him every November 5th when we celebrate our son’s birthday by singing Happy Trails rather than Happy Birthday.
Defining “most famous” is a tough one. I grew up in Los Angeles and movie stars abounded. I went to high school with the kids of many of them. Liza Minnelli attended my junior high for about three weeks and sat in front of me in science class. I was with my mom at a shoe store (I think I was around 10), and she was chatting with the woman next to me. When she left, Mom said, “That was June Allyson” (whom I’d never heard of.) France Nuyen lived (still does) across the street, so for a while Robert Culp did, too. When we visited Mom in the summers, the kids brought lettuce to feed France’s bunnies.
A childhood friend of Mom’s was an actor, and he invited us to the set when he was making a movie, and introduced us to Charlton (Chuck) Heston.
The most “fun” celebrity was when my son and I went to a Star Trek convention when he was in high school (admission: $10), and he was selected to play Spock to George Takei’s Sulu in a skit.
The list goes on, but to me, these were just “people.”
One of our dear friends was the original Phoenix Suns gorilla, Henry Rojas.
Richard Dean Anderson (Macgyver) at hockey exhibition for charity. Great guy. Love having that MacGyver Attitude.
Biggest regret: not paying $100 to have my photo with Stan Lee.
Would have Love to meet Charles Shultz & Stephen king (still time)
RDA – awesome!
Got to meet Theadore Bikel at a party. I have an autographed copy of “Fiddler on the Roof” from that day.
My part time gig is delivering pizzas. I deliver in the land of the rich and famous. Al McGinnis, Scott Mellanby, Jim Edmunds, and the Benes brothers were or are regular customers.
There was an Ex-Los Angeles Rams cheerleader who lived in the area. I missed the night she “had some of her boys over” and they had pizza. She was Georgia Frontiere and her boys were several members of the St. Louis Rams. A basement full of pro football players needs a bunch of pizza.
Former Senator Claire McCaskill orders from time to time. Boy I miss her.
Me, too, Alan. Clare McCaskill was a terrific senator.
Another pizza night I missed. Claire McCaskill had an overnight guest. Then senator from Illinois Barack Obama. He was running for president and the Secret Service detail was hungry.
A special day in pizzaland.
I was working lunch. The area manager and I were distributing flyers in a nearby office complex.
“What kind of business are in here?” he asked.
“An insurance office, a temp agency, a pager store. Why?”
“There was an office with an old guy sitting at the front desk.”
“Was he wearing a red jacket? Have a big gold ring? Smiling?”
“Yeah. How did you know.”
“That was Stan Musial. You should of said hello. His receptionist loves our pizza.”
Stan the Man productions was in that building.
Stan was a terrific guy, Alan, and much loved by St. Louisans.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting legendary athletes in person, but I’m going to share an encounter with a famous author.
When I was in college, another engineering student and I organized a week long event we called a “Colloquy on Technology”. While we brought in eminent giants such as Buckminster Fuller, Bill Lear, and Gene Roddenberry (a way cool guy), my favorite was Arthur C. Clarke. As is escort, I took him to dinner and asked him what he’d like to do before it was time for his presentation.
“Can we play ping-pong?” he asked.
We went to the Student Union basement where the tables were. I was a good player and easily 40 years younger, but he absolutely smoked me in three straight games. We bantered throughout about Space Odyssey and his interests, which included scuba diving. Such a Rennaisance man and gentleman.
The prize in my junior high school science fair was a trip to the Miami Seaquarium. I met and had a memorable chat with the main speaker…Jacques Cousteau. Years later I bought U.S. Divers scuba gear and enjoyed diving all over (under) the Caribbean,
I met Robert Plant for about ten seconds during his 1983 “Principle of Moments” tour, his first post-Led Zeppelin outing. He was being whisked into his limo with Phil Collins, who was his drummer on that tour, right outside the concert venue. It was only a brief flash in time, but I met them both.
We met Al Gore when he was a senator and spoke at a dinner at Univ of TN Memphis Medical School. There were about thirty of us standing around waiting for him to appear (he was late.) When he arrived, I remember he walked around the large room and shook hands with each person while he introduced himself. I can’t remember what he spoke about.
An even better encounter was with Dave Wottle, the winner of the 800m race in the 1972 Olympics. He spoke to a small group of us and showed the video of that famous race. Most people probably wouldn’t think of him as being famous, but most runners know who he is.
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuker. He asked me out on a date. Can’t recall where I was at the time, but we dated for a few weeks until I found out he was married. He saw nothing wrong with cheating on his wife. I disagreed and ended it. And get this. After I dumped his sorry ass, he handed me an autographed photo of himself, and said, “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He’s lucky I didn’t deck him.
😂👍
I don’t remember this, but there’s pictures and my uncle very much does. My family was at Disneyworld, and everyone but the two of us went to the bathroom. And walking around the corner was Muhammad Ali the boxer.
I also met a handful of broadway performers at stage door, though you guys probably won’t recognize them. James Schneider, Jason Tam, Derek Klena, Christie Altomare, Ramin Karimloo, shephanie Torns, NaTasha Yvette Williams, and some others I can’t recall right now.
As a newspaper reporter, I interviewed a number of famous people, including Tennessee Williams, who’d lived in St. Louis for awhile. Williams hated the city. I was so scared at meeting the legendary playwright that I blurted, “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Capote.”
Ha!
George Takei, Sulu from original STAR TREK. I shared a couch with him at a local science fiction convention during an afterparty. I was so tired and shy I didn’t say a word to him.
Thom Christopher, Broadway actor, Hawk on BUCK ROGERS, and Emmy-winning villain on various soap operas. Several science fiction conventions, and I was his personal liaison at one convention. We became good enough friends to send Christmas cards to.
Nora Roberts. I shared a meal with her and some other major romance heavy hitters at a writing convention. She seemed nice enough, but she smoked like a chimney.
No one from the national or international stage, but I met Jimmy Nolan when I was celebrating my 6th year on planet earth.
He was a local celebrity, and hosted Uncle Jimmy’s Clubhouse back in the ’50’s and ’60’s. Swell guy. If you were lucky enough to celebrate your birthday on TV with him, along with 4 or 5 other kiddos, it was a birthday to remember.
Here’s a link if you want to get to know him:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Nolan_Jr.
I once dated Capt. Kangaroo’s niece.
When I worked for an educational nonprofit, I met Sydney Poitier. Through work I was invited to the premier of Mandela. There was a reception after so I walked up to him and introduced myself, said how much I enjoyed the film, of course. He was very kind. I think I was only about 25 at the time. It was back in the late ‘90s.
Late to the party again. “Met” can mean various things, but interaction is probably implied. Seeing the sun glint off Ike’s head in an open limo probably doesn’t qualify. Later that semester, I positioned myself between the Bovard Auditorium doors and a limo parked at the curb on University Avenue. When a frenzy of students erupted from the doors, I held my ground and let the crowd mill past me. As it did, an arm was stuck out in my direction. I shook the hand on my end of the arm. On the other end of the arm was Nelson Rockefeller.