Celebrity Encounters
This comment by @deathcow got me wondering about any run-ins with celebrities that other Sifters have had. With what celebrities have you been been in semi-close proximity and under what circumstances did the encounter take place?
Here's what comes to mind for me, and I'm not including any instances where I went somewhere specifically to see someone (e.g., at a stage show or a book signing):
Here's what comes to mind for me, and I'm not including any instances where I went somewhere specifically to see someone (e.g., at a stage show or a book signing):
- I walked around a t-shirt store in the Venetian casino in Las Vegas with Howie Mandel during his Deal or No Deal days.
- I was at the Beverly Center. While just my wife and I were waiting at the elevators to head back down to the garage and leave, Jimmy Kimmel and a couple of his friends stood next to us also waiting for the elevator. He was looking at me over my wife's shoulder as I whispered to her "That's the guy from that talk show," and as she turned around to look he just continued smiling at us like, "Yeah, I know you're talking about me. Go ahead and say hello." But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Finally, more people started coming to wait for the elevator (it took forever) and he walked off as not to get mobbed I guess.
- Looking for parking at South Coast Plaza I saw Kobe Bryant getting into his car after exiting the back door of a baby store with his wife and escorted by mall security.
- At Disneyland I was at the exit of the Matterhorn where Kobe Bryant was getting off the ride and putting his wife up on his shoulders surrounded by a couple dozen screaming fans.
- I've said hello face-to-face with Kobe Bryant on 3 other occasions as he was walking to or from a local cafe next to where I used to have lunch every day. (He lives nearby.) One of those three times I told him something lame like "Bring home that three-peat!" That was after the end of their last back-to-back championship season, obviously.
- I snapped a photo of my wife with Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows of CSI) at the end of a Lakers game while heading up the stairs to the exit. She made sure to tell her "You're so beautiful!" to make up for us bothering her for a picture.
- I stood next to Elizabeth Banks at Comic Con pretending not to notice her as she was standing around talking to a couple of friends.
6 Comments
chingaleraI've met a few heavyweight jazz musicians-Dizzy Gillespie, Marcus Roberts, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Mann, uhhh...Met B.B. KIng after a show (all these are in passing after shows) Partied with Ike Willis a couple times in different states (guitar player for Zappa for years)
Played 3 holes of golf onna photo shoot with Nolan Ryan when he pitched for the Astros.
Met a few rock stars, Met and spoke with Roger Daltrey when I was 11 years old atta Mall record shop in Dallas(1976 NA Tour, last with Kieth Moon) , my mom was standing in line to get her albums autographed, and then when it was her turn, she grabbed Daltrey by his head and hi-jacked him with a wet one, got a picture of that one...Daltrey looked overwhelmed and looked over at me and asked, "That your mum?!"
Most impressive star-saturation came Labor Day weekend, 1975 in Atoka Oklahoma atta 3-day outdoor concert event...camp out-I was 10, found a backstage pass onna chain, and wandered around backstage and on buses with a fuckload of country stars.
Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker, can't remember em all, I was a little kid but i remember a lotta musicians tripping on me running around backstage-Some thought I was just a roadie's kid.
Met Jerry Lee Lewis backstage there....
chingaleraI edited that last spiel for dates and added some more stuff I remembered-Gotta find that picture of my mom kissing Roger Daltrey-
OH-I got fired form a job for putting up a comic of Matt Groening's "Work Is Hell" from a book I bought attastore in the mall....PRE-Simpson's, 1980ish-I sent him a letter telling him that his cartoon cost me my job and he replied with an autographed 8 X 10 glossy of him atta marina holding a duck (duck has cartoon bubble, "HALP HALP HALP!!") and a postcard that read, "Sorry to her about your job. You know what they say, "Work is Hell"
My brush with future animating Megagod of all time just 2 years before the Simpsons popped!-Matt Groening answered my letter personally...Fuck Yeah!!
SarzyThanks to TIFF I've seen a bunch of famous actors/directors, mostly during Q&As, occasionally out and about. The most memorable time was when I was running late for a movie (it's generally a good idea to arrive at TIFF screenings at least half an hour early, if you want to get a decent seat), and there was a man and a woman standing side by side on the escalator, blocking me from running past. I was thinking "what a couple of douchebags," and I quickly turned around to get a look at them as I was finally able to run by. I did a double take when it turned out to be Joseph Gordon Levitt and Lynn Collins, the two stars of the movie I was about to see.
I was tempted to say something like "I'm about to see your movie!" but I'm way too big of a chicken for that.
dagComment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)
When I was around 9 in 1978, I met Muhammad Ali. I shook his hand in a restaurant called the Evergreen in Delta Junction, Alaska. He was in town to shoot a battery commercial.
chingaleraKickASS!
I met some roller derby girls after a show once. OH! Used to wait on A.J. Foyt in Tomball at one of hos weekly nite outs...Same bottle of wine, same dish, great tipper, loved to talk cars. Still has a race shop near his house near mine.
Quote hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)
When I was around 9 in 1978, I met Muhammad Ali. I shook his hand in a restaurant called the Evergreen in Delta Junction, Alaska. He was in town to shoot a battery commercial.
lurgeeWhile waiting for an inaugural party(Clinton's 2nd) to wind down so we could replace the removed office cubicles at a Bank of America branch just off the parade route. I was chilling outside observing all the Secret Service peeps on all the rooftops along with checking out the high class hookers being picked up by their Johns. All of a sudden I saw a familiar woman walking down the sifewalk. I looked real well and noticed her and said "Hello there" with a smile and she smiled back and said "Hi". My coworker said "Who are you talking to Joe?" I told him it was Maria Shriver. He along with the rest of the crew had no idea who she was. So I said Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife. I did work with some dumbass meatbags back then.
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