Aa
OT for fun: any brushes with fame?
This is a game my friends and I play, comparing our brushes with fame.
We also play the 6 degrees of separationg, trying to top each other for connections to famous/infamous people.
The most famous people I've come in contact with were all when I worked at a Sheraton hotel, and all were guests I waited on: Charleton Heston, Paul Simon and Joan Baez are the big ones that stand out. I didn't even recognize Charlton Heston and asked him for ID when he wanted to charge toothpaste to his room!! so embarrassing, but he just smiled and winked. I saved the carbon copy (it was the late 80's) of his charge slip so I do have his autograph, signing for that tube of toothpaste. :)
What famous folks have you come in contact with in one way or another?
We also play the 6 degrees of separationg, trying to top each other for connections to famous/infamous people.
The most famous people I've come in contact with were all when I worked at a Sheraton hotel, and all were guests I waited on: Charleton Heston, Paul Simon and Joan Baez are the big ones that stand out. I didn't even recognize Charlton Heston and asked him for ID when he wanted to charge toothpaste to his room!! so embarrassing, but he just smiled and winked. I saved the carbon copy (it was the late 80's) of his charge slip so I do have his autograph, signing for that tube of toothpaste. :)
What famous folks have you come in contact with in one way or another?
Lessee...Personal encounters with the late George Carlin, Joan Baez, Neil Young and family, the late Kate Wolf (had her over for dinner a couple of times), numerous indie folk musicians, the late Baroness Karin de Plessen of Denmark (I used to swim in her pool as a kid), Harmony Grisman (Dave's ex - they're still great friends).
Had my own 15 minutes of fame in a full page ad in Acoustic Guitar Magazine in April 2010.
Had my own 15 minutes of fame in a full page ad in Acoustic Guitar Magazine in April 2010.
I was born in Spain and my family was close to the royalty. My godmother, who I am named after, was The Princezz Alexandra Leopoldine of Hohnelou-Laugenburg Germany. She was Queen Victoria's Grandaughter and Czar Nicholas' niece.
I marched in an ERA rally arm and arm with Shirley Chissom in 1976.
Had Thanksgiving Dinner in college with the writer Reynolds Price and his family.
Went to a party at the writer Lee Smith's house last year.
Had lunch in the president's dinning room in college with Jane Goodall. I have a large photograph of her in my house.
Last year I met Wendy Booker the woman mountain climber who has MS.
Alex
I marched in an ERA rally arm and arm with Shirley Chissom in 1976.
Had Thanksgiving Dinner in college with the writer Reynolds Price and his family.
Went to a party at the writer Lee Smith's house last year.
Had lunch in the president's dinning room in college with Jane Goodall. I have a large photograph of her in my house.
Last year I met Wendy Booker the woman mountain climber who has MS.
Alex
hmmm..this is fun!
growing up i saw quite a bit of a very young ryan gosling. my childhood best friend was his cousin and as she was an only child, i was invited to many family vacations/get togethers. he was just starting in on the mickey mouse club when i was a young teen and was a ham even back then. i remember him standing up on tables and singing songs in the middle of dinner, etc..
my uncle worked for the cbc when i was a child and as i used to do ballet, he invited me to watch the filming of the karen kain special...i met all kinds of famous canadian ballet dancers--rex harrington/kimberly glasco and karen kain and many of them signed my first pair of ballet shoes for me, that was so thrilling!!
a bunch of canadian east coast musicians (ashley macisaac) as i worked as a "cue card girl" (cheesy but very lucrative job!!) on the set of the "rita macneil celtic special" in nova scotia way back.
can't think of anyone else at the moment...love all of the grunge scene musicians mentioned...lots of interesting stories here! the mob one--omg!
xo michelle
growing up i saw quite a bit of a very young ryan gosling. my childhood best friend was his cousin and as she was an only child, i was invited to many family vacations/get togethers. he was just starting in on the mickey mouse club when i was a young teen and was a ham even back then. i remember him standing up on tables and singing songs in the middle of dinner, etc..
my uncle worked for the cbc when i was a child and as i used to do ballet, he invited me to watch the filming of the karen kain special...i met all kinds of famous canadian ballet dancers--rex harrington/kimberly glasco and karen kain and many of them signed my first pair of ballet shoes for me, that was so thrilling!!
a bunch of canadian east coast musicians (ashley macisaac) as i worked as a "cue card girl" (cheesy but very lucrative job!!) on the set of the "rita macneil celtic special" in nova scotia way back.
can't think of anyone else at the moment...love all of the grunge scene musicians mentioned...lots of interesting stories here! the mob one--omg!
xo michelle
I'm not much of a celebrity watcher, and there have been more than a few that I wouldn't cross the street to take a glympse at.
Still, pro athletes seem to like living here, and many stay after retirement. When i was a kid, it was quite common seeing Johnny Unitas or Brooks Robinson in church, or just around, supermarket or some such. Other athletes too, especially Cal Ripken and Michael Phelps.
Barry Levinson and David Simon are around quite often, and John Waters lives about 15 minutes away, so it's easy to be at an event with him. As odd as he seems, he comes from a supernormal family. His parents sent us a wedding gift, and his cousin was one of my high school classmates.
Gosh, this's got me thinking, because I know a lot more are lurking there in my subconcscious. But you can bet that if one were Paul McCartney or George Clooney I wouldn't forget, that's for sure!
ess
Still, pro athletes seem to like living here, and many stay after retirement. When i was a kid, it was quite common seeing Johnny Unitas or Brooks Robinson in church, or just around, supermarket or some such. Other athletes too, especially Cal Ripken and Michael Phelps.
Barry Levinson and David Simon are around quite often, and John Waters lives about 15 minutes away, so it's easy to be at an event with him. As odd as he seems, he comes from a supernormal family. His parents sent us a wedding gift, and his cousin was one of my high school classmates.
Gosh, this's got me thinking, because I know a lot more are lurking there in my subconcscious. But you can bet that if one were Paul McCartney or George Clooney I wouldn't forget, that's for sure!
ess
Vern Troyer (Mini-Me) was once eating in a Hooter's in Minneapolis at the same time as our family. Of course, they have no chairs, only the high bar stools. Nobody was fussing over him in particular.
My adult sons are friends with several comic writers and artists. They live in the same city as an artist who draws for DC Comics, and he frequently uses them as models. They have had recurring roles recently in what has, so far, been a five-story series. I bought the latest issue for my mother-in-law and challenged her to find her grandsons. It took only seconds.
My husband and I were in Branson after he had tendon surgery on his hand. He had Shoji Tubuchi and Jim Stafford sign his cast.
My adult sons are friends with several comic writers and artists. They live in the same city as an artist who draws for DC Comics, and he frequently uses them as models. They have had recurring roles recently in what has, so far, been a five-story series. I bought the latest issue for my mother-in-law and challenged her to find her grandsons. It took only seconds.
My husband and I were in Branson after he had tendon surgery on his hand. He had Shoji Tubuchi and Jim Stafford sign his cast.
Before my current position I worked through teacher education in a hands-on space science education program. I got to coordinate a lot of fun projects for the students that also held good times for us.
I've worked special events with somewhere between 15-20 NASA astronauts. They are all pretty normal people despite having such high jobs. Some of the most notable of the contemporary group were Kathy Sullivan, Eileen Collins (first shuttle commander) and Fred Gregory (first African-American astronaut).
The greatest thrill had to be working special projects with the guys from the early years - John Glenn and his wife Annie are both the kindest and most sincere people. Gene Krantz, was in charge of Mission Control for the Apollo XIII flight and delighted the students and adults alike with his stories from those glory days of early space exploration. James Lovell, who was aboard that flight is also on my notable list.
Lee Greenwood did a benefit concert for us.. ...I'm not a fan of his music but he was a very nice person. Homer Hickam ( author of Rocket Boys/October Skies) spun his tales of dreaming of space growing up in the coal towns of West Virginia and how he became a rocket scientist, against all odds.
In my current job I often handle travel and speaking engagements for notable literary people - Nikki Giovanni and Jimmy Santiago Baca were perhaps the most famous. We took Jimmy back to his hotel - him riding in the back seat between my sister and a friend, We laughed and sang to old songs on the radio on the drive.They both have quite a colorful history. There is no way Nikki Giovanni would have even gotten into our car, let alone ride in the back seat.
The most noteworthy celebrity I have met recently has to be Dr. Quix. What a thrill to spend time with her. She is as genuine as she appears here.
The one thing I have learned from working with this wide range of people is they are no more important that any of the rest of us and the best of them realize that and make everyone in the room feel equally significant.
Thanks for letting me stroll through these memories.
Lulu
I've worked special events with somewhere between 15-20 NASA astronauts. They are all pretty normal people despite having such high jobs. Some of the most notable of the contemporary group were Kathy Sullivan, Eileen Collins (first shuttle commander) and Fred Gregory (first African-American astronaut).
The greatest thrill had to be working special projects with the guys from the early years - John Glenn and his wife Annie are both the kindest and most sincere people. Gene Krantz, was in charge of Mission Control for the Apollo XIII flight and delighted the students and adults alike with his stories from those glory days of early space exploration. James Lovell, who was aboard that flight is also on my notable list.
Lee Greenwood did a benefit concert for us.. ...I'm not a fan of his music but he was a very nice person. Homer Hickam ( author of Rocket Boys/October Skies) spun his tales of dreaming of space growing up in the coal towns of West Virginia and how he became a rocket scientist, against all odds.
In my current job I often handle travel and speaking engagements for notable literary people - Nikki Giovanni and Jimmy Santiago Baca were perhaps the most famous. We took Jimmy back to his hotel - him riding in the back seat between my sister and a friend, We laughed and sang to old songs on the radio on the drive.They both have quite a colorful history. There is no way Nikki Giovanni would have even gotten into our car, let alone ride in the back seat.
The most noteworthy celebrity I have met recently has to be Dr. Quix. What a thrill to spend time with her. She is as genuine as she appears here.
The one thing I have learned from working with this wide range of people is they are no more important that any of the rest of us and the best of them realize that and make everyone in the room feel equally significant.
Thanks for letting me stroll through these memories.
Lulu
I went to New York for my senior band trip back in '99. We toured the NBC studios and John Goodman was there. It was his week to host SNL and he was there shooting his still shots for after the commercial breaks. I asked if we could take a picture with him to which he barked a stern "NO." I snapped a picture of him by himself anyway and boy does he look mad! It was still a cool moment though :)
Geez...I have had a pretty boring life by the looks of it! I met John Diefenbaker and The Queen when I was in the Opening Ceremonies for the Commonwealth Games back in the 70's. I was taught how to bow when meeting the Queen and she was very pleasant. John Diefenbaker is a past Prime Minister of Canada but he was pretty old and shaky at that time. Jamie Sale' of skating fame gave me a personally autographed picture a few months ago. Wayne Gretzky and Craig Simpson when they played for the Edmonton Oilers were kind enough to sign my jersey. Oh Yeah! I met Mickey Mouse in Disneyland in California years ago but he didn't say much... ha ha ha...but that is about it for me...or all I can remember anyway!
Hmmm, really very few that I can remember.
When I was 13, I stayed in the same motel for a few months as a member of the first batch of seven astronauts from Project Mercury, Scott Carpenter, who was studying living underwater in SanDiego. He and his team were called the Aquanauts. He swam with me and let me win races. This is the one I really remember and that made an impression on me.
I was jammed into the waiting area of Tony Roma's in Beverly Hills and backed into Richard Chamberlain. And stood in line with Arnold Shcwartznegger, who was single at the time and had two "babes" draped across each arm. He is short and looked like 58 scoops of man in a Polo shirt.
Came across Michael Jackson and his chauffeur in the parking lot behind some shops on Rodeo Drive. He still had the bandage on his head from the burn during the Pepsi commercial. My friend asked him for an autograph, and he was really sweet about it.
I lived on the same penthouse floor as Saul Bellows, the Pulitzer Prize writer.
Took care of a baby in the hospital nursery that was adopted by a very famous actress - confidentiality precludes naming her. That was when I was practicing in Colorado.
When I was the Pediatric AIDS Fellow at UCLA - the first one in LA - in 1985-86. I took care of a couple famous actors' kids. Since this story is public I can be more specific. I was with the family of Paul Michael Glazer (Starsky of Starsky and Hutch) immediately after they learned that his wife, Elizabeth and their two kids had HIV, but not him, from contaminated blood transfusions to the mom after the birth of the first child. It was awful, and the family was so gracious. I took care of the oldest child, Ariel, for a few months.
The import of this is that Elizabeth started the Elizabeth Glazer Foundation for Pediatric AIDS Research and was an activist for expanding research into how the infection appears and acts in children - very different from adults. . She and Ariel died from the infection, but the youngest son, Jake, apparently is alive and is also active in the AIDS field.
At that time the main cause of HIV in kids was transmission from an infected mother, usually through breastfeeding, but possible from transmission in utero. The other large cause was contaminated platelet transfusions in hemophiliacs. By the early 80's almost all hemophiliacs were infected, because the platelets were pooled from dozens of donors
I rounded on Rock Hudson when he was transported to UCLA from France before he died of AIDS.
All glancing encounters, except at UCLA.
Quix
When I was 13, I stayed in the same motel for a few months as a member of the first batch of seven astronauts from Project Mercury, Scott Carpenter, who was studying living underwater in SanDiego. He and his team were called the Aquanauts. He swam with me and let me win races. This is the one I really remember and that made an impression on me.
I was jammed into the waiting area of Tony Roma's in Beverly Hills and backed into Richard Chamberlain. And stood in line with Arnold Shcwartznegger, who was single at the time and had two "babes" draped across each arm. He is short and looked like 58 scoops of man in a Polo shirt.
Came across Michael Jackson and his chauffeur in the parking lot behind some shops on Rodeo Drive. He still had the bandage on his head from the burn during the Pepsi commercial. My friend asked him for an autograph, and he was really sweet about it.
I lived on the same penthouse floor as Saul Bellows, the Pulitzer Prize writer.
Took care of a baby in the hospital nursery that was adopted by a very famous actress - confidentiality precludes naming her. That was when I was practicing in Colorado.
When I was the Pediatric AIDS Fellow at UCLA - the first one in LA - in 1985-86. I took care of a couple famous actors' kids. Since this story is public I can be more specific. I was with the family of Paul Michael Glazer (Starsky of Starsky and Hutch) immediately after they learned that his wife, Elizabeth and their two kids had HIV, but not him, from contaminated blood transfusions to the mom after the birth of the first child. It was awful, and the family was so gracious. I took care of the oldest child, Ariel, for a few months.
The import of this is that Elizabeth started the Elizabeth Glazer Foundation for Pediatric AIDS Research and was an activist for expanding research into how the infection appears and acts in children - very different from adults. . She and Ariel died from the infection, but the youngest son, Jake, apparently is alive and is also active in the AIDS field.
At that time the main cause of HIV in kids was transmission from an infected mother, usually through breastfeeding, but possible from transmission in utero. The other large cause was contaminated platelet transfusions in hemophiliacs. By the early 80's almost all hemophiliacs were infected, because the platelets were pooled from dozens of donors
I rounded on Rock Hudson when he was transported to UCLA from France before he died of AIDS.
All glancing encounters, except at UCLA.
Quix
PS, prime ministers here tend to walk around freely in the community with only the odd minder somewhere in the background. none of your 100 police and secret service escort with screaming sirens, armed choppers and swat teams......pretty relaxed really.
Hmmmm.....the only "famous" people I've been near are Mein Former Fuhrer John Winston Howard (YUCK YUCK YUCK) who dared to set foot in MY CHURCH (YUCK YUCK YUCK) the weekend after the Iraq War debacle started.
I've never been back, he has filthied it with his presence. YUCK.
(Now you all know where I stand politically)
My oldest son has the drum sticks from a concert by Rage Against The Machine (gee, more politics!)
My father was aquainted with Rolf Harris (please google, I can't be bothered). He also sat next to Sophia Loren on a plane once.
Both my parents have been to Buckingham Palace to meet the queen, but that was because he was working in the Aus Embassy in London and EVERYONE gets to go to the palace when employed there....
Oh,. I went ot Government House in the 80s not long after Charles and Di had stayed there (my brother in law was mates with the aide-de-compe) and he showed us where 'they' had slept.
My life is dull politics and royal crud.........sigh.
I've never been back, he has filthied it with his presence. YUCK.
(Now you all know where I stand politically)
My oldest son has the drum sticks from a concert by Rage Against The Machine (gee, more politics!)
My father was aquainted with Rolf Harris (please google, I can't be bothered). He also sat next to Sophia Loren on a plane once.
Both my parents have been to Buckingham Palace to meet the queen, but that was because he was working in the Aus Embassy in London and EVERYONE gets to go to the palace when employed there....
Oh,. I went ot Government House in the 80s not long after Charles and Di had stayed there (my brother in law was mates with the aide-de-compe) and he showed us where 'they' had slept.
My life is dull politics and royal crud.........sigh.
Here's part of my list, to be followed by a story about one on the list:
Mikhail Baryshnikov, ballet dancer
Peter Benchley, author (Jaws)
Christie Brinkley, model
Tom Brokaw, news anchor
Eric Clapton, musician
Dennis Connor, yacht racing captain
James Dickey, author (Deliverance)
Geraldine Ferraro, politician
John Gotti, mob boss
Cleavon Little, actor (Blazing Saddles)
Elizabeth Mitchell, author (Three Strides before the Wire, W: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty)
Rick Ocasek, musician (The Cars)
Dennis Quaid, actor
Paul Volker, economist, former Federal Reserve Chairman
Andy Warhol, artist
Ron Wood, musician (The Rolling Stones)
I've met these people through all different means: a roommate, working on Wall Street, in restaurants and socially.
The best story has to be with meeting John Gotti. At the time, I was working at Tavern on the Green, a famous restaurant located in Central Park in New York City. It was Marathon weekend in more ways than one. We had three events for the Marathon, plus I worked some regular shifts and the Gambino wedding, putting in almost 60 hours in three days time.
I met John Gotti and a lot of other reputed mob members at the Gambino wedding, held on a Sunday night. The FBI was crawling all over the perimeter of the restaurant. I was a captain and shocked to find out that I had been assigned the tables of the Dons and family members, especially considering that I am female.
It was like a scene straight out of the movie the Godfather. The Dons and their bodyguards were all seated at one table and the wives at another. While the wedding party and guests were seated in the Crystal Room, the big guys were in the back away from glass windows and well protected.
The bodyguards were peeling off $100 bills as tips; my sister told me it was blood money and asked if I spit in their soup before it was served!!!
If you've ever been to Tavern on the Green, they used to decorate it with helium balloons, which they did on this occasion as well. I had visions of a balloon popping and starting off a blaze of gunfire!
And yes, the bride did look beautiful. The first dance was pretty to watch, yet I was hearing the theme song to the Godfather in the back of my head.
It's a night I'll never forget.
Audrey
Mikhail Baryshnikov, ballet dancer
Peter Benchley, author (Jaws)
Christie Brinkley, model
Tom Brokaw, news anchor
Eric Clapton, musician
Dennis Connor, yacht racing captain
James Dickey, author (Deliverance)
Geraldine Ferraro, politician
John Gotti, mob boss
Cleavon Little, actor (Blazing Saddles)
Elizabeth Mitchell, author (Three Strides before the Wire, W: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty)
Rick Ocasek, musician (The Cars)
Dennis Quaid, actor
Paul Volker, economist, former Federal Reserve Chairman
Andy Warhol, artist
Ron Wood, musician (The Rolling Stones)
I've met these people through all different means: a roommate, working on Wall Street, in restaurants and socially.
The best story has to be with meeting John Gotti. At the time, I was working at Tavern on the Green, a famous restaurant located in Central Park in New York City. It was Marathon weekend in more ways than one. We had three events for the Marathon, plus I worked some regular shifts and the Gambino wedding, putting in almost 60 hours in three days time.
I met John Gotti and a lot of other reputed mob members at the Gambino wedding, held on a Sunday night. The FBI was crawling all over the perimeter of the restaurant. I was a captain and shocked to find out that I had been assigned the tables of the Dons and family members, especially considering that I am female.
It was like a scene straight out of the movie the Godfather. The Dons and their bodyguards were all seated at one table and the wives at another. While the wedding party and guests were seated in the Crystal Room, the big guys were in the back away from glass windows and well protected.
The bodyguards were peeling off $100 bills as tips; my sister told me it was blood money and asked if I spit in their soup before it was served!!!
If you've ever been to Tavern on the Green, they used to decorate it with helium balloons, which they did on this occasion as well. I had visions of a balloon popping and starting off a blaze of gunfire!
And yes, the bride did look beautiful. The first dance was pretty to watch, yet I was hearing the theme song to the Godfather in the back of my head.
It's a night I'll never forget.
Audrey
How fun! I worked at place called the offramp music cafe in seattle 1991 to 1994 which was right when the grunge music scene became well known. It was a fun time. I served drinks to flea from the red hot chili peppers, kurt cobain, and his wife courtney during this time.
Chris Cornell from soundgarden who came to the bar routinely for drinks, I also grew up in his neighborhood and his younger sister was a childhood friend though I never met him during that time.
Layne Staley (from alice and chains), and Stone Gossard (from pearl jam) but no so much from the offramp as the vogue were they and their friends would hang out before they became famous. I never went out of my way to meet them so I guess it was more like ships passing in the night ;)
Chris Cornell from soundgarden who came to the bar routinely for drinks, I also grew up in his neighborhood and his younger sister was a childhood friend though I never met him during that time.
Layne Staley (from alice and chains), and Stone Gossard (from pearl jam) but no so much from the offramp as the vogue were they and their friends would hang out before they became famous. I never went out of my way to meet them so I guess it was more like ships passing in the night ;)
I have a good one I love to tell. I have worked at lots of places that involve dealing with famous people, but one time I was serving in a 5 star little Inn and Sir Anthony Hopkins and his wife stayed there.
Now there is a private Villa for the rich and famous who get a private entrance and butler, but Sir Hopkins and the Misses ate every morning in the breakfast nook in the main part of the Inn with the other guests. I was about 6 months pregnant but our Classy French Hostess cosutmes had me in a long black dress and covered with a long while cutsy apron.
Misses Hopkins said to me "We will be back around Thanksgiving, will you be here then?"
I replied "No actually I will be out on maternity leave" She cheered "I knew it...Congratulations!!!"
It was the cutest way I had ever had anyone ask if I was pregnant. It was fairly hard to tell in my lovely uniform and it was a moment I will never forget.
Oh and once Patrick Stewart called up from the Villa and our call system is just a speaker phone in the kitchen. The announcement of "This is Patrick Stewart" Was rather funny because obviously his voice is so distinct.
Fun Topic Thanks DV
Now there is a private Villa for the rich and famous who get a private entrance and butler, but Sir Hopkins and the Misses ate every morning in the breakfast nook in the main part of the Inn with the other guests. I was about 6 months pregnant but our Classy French Hostess cosutmes had me in a long black dress and covered with a long while cutsy apron.
Misses Hopkins said to me "We will be back around Thanksgiving, will you be here then?"
I replied "No actually I will be out on maternity leave" She cheered "I knew it...Congratulations!!!"
It was the cutest way I had ever had anyone ask if I was pregnant. It was fairly hard to tell in my lovely uniform and it was a moment I will never forget.
Oh and once Patrick Stewart called up from the Villa and our call system is just a speaker phone in the kitchen. The announcement of "This is Patrick Stewart" Was rather funny because obviously his voice is so distinct.
Fun Topic Thanks DV
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