Famous People You've Met!

[HugoHackenbush]

Got this idea from the "Bands You'd Wish You'd Seen" thread where pierrelm recounted having a few pints with Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy in a pub.

So share your 'Brush with Fame" story and fill in any interesting details.

So for me:

William Brennan, US Supreme Court Justice, at an awards banquet, Washington, DC.
Dan Marino, NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback, at the concierge lounge in a hotel at Walt Disney World
Charles Haid, Actor, best known for playing "Renko" on "Hill Street Blues", first class section on a flight back from LA.
Jaco Pastorius, jazz musician, backstage at a music festival where my band warmed up and he was headlining.
Johnny Depp, though I'm not sure this counts, as he was probably 18 at the time and very pre-fame. In a club where both our bands were playing.
and
Pele'. I seriously hope I don't have to explain who he is. In a restaurant in Sydney Australia.

[tygrkhat40]

Probably the most famous person I've met is Alex Trebek when I was on Jeopardy! in 1994.

[HugoHackenbush]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

Probably the most famous person I've met is Alex Trebek when I was on Jeopardy! in 1994.

Tygrkhat40....You were on Jeopardy! And all you care to share is this one sentence? This begs for more info...


Also, I forgot one....Mike Tirico, Sportscaster for ESPN and current announcer of Monday Night Football (the kind America plays, not the rest of the world). In of all places... the railroad train that circles the Magic Kingdom park at Disney World.

[tygrkhat40]

Originally Posted by HugoHackenbush

Tygrkhat40....You were on Jeopardy! And all you care to share is this one sentence? This begs for more info...

There isn't really much to say. I won my first show (won $15,500, about $12,000 after all the taxes) and lost my second show. And Alex is truly a nice guy. If he seems aloof, he has to be. As the host of the show, he can't play favorites.

What I really learned from the whole experience, is that if you're going to visit somewhere, go after a natural disaster. I went out to California 2 weeks after the Northridge quake. My older sister went with me and we flew into LAX (one of the busiest airports in the world) at 10:30PM on a Saturday and it was like flying into Buffalo at 3:00AM on a Sunday. At our hotel on the Sunset Strip, we were upgraded to a mini-suite. We had a bigger kitchen in our suite than my aunt had in her luxury condo here in Buffalo. It was my first time in California and we had a great time.

Oh yeah, I almost met the late William Windom during the taping of the shows. At that time, Jepoardy! was taped on the old Desilu lot. We were on lunch break, and Mr. Windom happend to be on the lot (he may have been on a break for the taping of Murder She Wrote) and he came in to where we were and talked to a few of the contestants. He was politely asked to leave since we weren't allowed outside contact during the taping.

I would guess that it's the same way on all game shows. They don't want the appearance of cheating as that's a federal offense.

[rustler]

Whilst working the the film, TV and theatre industry, I was a member of a club just off Leicester Square which was for people in the entertainment industry. It used to open at 12.00 noon, and closed god knows when, but it was really for the theatre people, most of whom didn't finish until the pubs were closed anyway. It was a great place to go and relax, meet people and unwind for a while. Naturally, many actors and actress' would meet up there too after their show.
For those of use in the industry who were used to seeing and meeting celebrities, it was no big deal, so everybody left them alone, which they obviously appreciated. They could relax and have a bit of fun without being bothered by the usual autograph hunters etc all the time.
It was, however, a great place to take a girl if you wanted to impress them! A girlfriend of mine at the time was an Eastenders addict, and couldn't get over the fact that about half the cast usually seemed to be in there whenever we went there!

[winebeavis]

There are too many musicians to name that I've met. I was briefly in that business at one point. I differentiate from those that I've met and those that I know.

I went to high school with Darrell Abbott and Rex Brown from Pantera back when they played pool parties in the neighborhood and hung out at the skating rink. Vince always was around because he was older and could drive. They a different signer then and played Kiss and Van Halen covers back then --poorly. I'm still friends with Rex's family and see him every now and then.

I've met a few athletes. Terry Bradshaw, when he lived around here, used to go to the same Mexican bar/restaurant that I would go to in Grapevine, Texas. He would hold court there. He's a physically big guy and nothing like how he is on television when he plays a stupid bumpkin. Haven't seen him in the in years though.

I've bumped into Mel Renfro countless times. Always at the terminal E Continental President's Club in the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. We both flew the very early morning flight to Houston about 3-4 days per week for a while. We'd drink coffee together sometimes and say hello to each other regularly. A small guy. Not what I pictured an NFL Hall of Famer to look like. He'd talk anything but football. Was always happy to stop for a picture or autograph. I asked him if he ever got beaten down by that and simply said "nope."

Ki-Jana Carter. He was a first overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals back in the mid 1990s. This was an awkward meeting. Mrs. Winebeavis's cousin was getting married in July 2009 in central Pennsylvania. Mrs. Winebeavis is also a Penn State alumnus so she wanted to take me there and show me around. Being July the place was almost deserted. Around 1:00 a.m. we stop into a place right across from the campus grounds and get some drinks. After about 10 minutes she and I are the only customers in the bar. We're enjoying that it's quiet in there and just having a nice time. In walk about 10 guys who are loud as hell. And of all the places to sit, the loudest and most blustery sit down at the bar right next to me. He's friendly enough but his group has killed my buzz. He occasionally says small comments, like "is that beer any good?" So he orders what I'm drinking. After he's finished he asks me if I like scotch and I confirm. But I decline to order one. He tells the bartender that he's like a double of Glenfiddich and the bartender pulls out a plastic cup and fills it to the brim and says "$3.00." That gets my attention. So, I tell the bartender, whoa I'll take one of those too. I confirm I want a double in a plastic cup. I get about half of what my neighbor gets. He shrugs and say he receives "friends pours." So things are going fine until this guy starts telling me that I am drinking my scotch incorrectly. Things get a teeny weeny bit heated. Mrs. Winebeavis oddly tells me to let it go and starts speaking to me in some code that I can't decipher. We end up agreeing that it's good to just drink scotch. But I finish my scotch go to the restroom return to pay up and leave. The other guys have left. The bartender tells me that "Mr. Carter paid for our drinks." I shrug and leave a tip and leave. I tell Mrs. Winebeavis that it was nice of that asshole Mr. Carter to buy our drinks. She smacks me upside the head and says that was Ki-Jana Carter and he's a big deal there. Apparently that was what she was trying to tell me in code. So, I got into an argument with Ki-Jana Carter over how to drink scotch at Penn State without having a clue to his identity.

Met David Copperfield at the MGM in Las Vegas. He made me and 12 others disappear.

[richardoe]

Met William G Stewart when I was on 15-1. also Philip Lowrie whos in Coronation Street. Met Fatima Whitbread when she presented me with a trophy. I worked with a Red Arrows team leader and also with some pilots who went on to join the arrows. Stuart Pearce once walked past me at a football match. Ive met quite a few cricketers.

[rlg118]

Bill and Hillary Clinton at the New York State Fair. She autographed a New York Yankees hat for me. (Running for the Senate at the time, she commented that she would become the biggest Yankees fan, and I remember thinking, "Lady, you're going to have to kill an awful lot of people, including me, in order to do that.")

[pierrelm]

Coo! Seeing as how a couple of pints of Guiness with Phil Lynott started this I'll chuck a few more in:

Robert Plant: found myself sat next to him at Cropredy Festival many years ago one Saturday afternoon where we mainly talked about football (it was the start of the new season) and how good Robin Williamson had been earlier in the day. Nice bloke, who had to scarper once he was 'recognised'.

Tom Sharpe: humourous author probably best known for his Wilt, Porterhouse Blue, Blott and South African books; one of my ex girlfriends used to lodge with his former landlady. A very nice, quiet, almost shy man, with a dry wit and not the obvious person to have written such raucous books.

As a Leeds fan I've met a number of the (ex) players - Jack Charlton is the one who stands out as always having time for everyone, a generous, down to earth man with a ready twinkle in his eye and loved a chat with anyone with time to listen (as long as you agreed with him ). Always happy to spend time with the fans and always worth listening to.

When I was a youngster at school, the best teacher we ever had was a renowned amateur astronomer. His wife was unfortunately wheelchair bound so they couldn't have kids of their own but we we all treated like part of a big family - he used to invite some of us round for tea after school. One afternoon, there was another guest - the famous astronomer and host of 'The Sky at Night', (Sir) Patrick Moore, who was as wonderfully entertaining and enthusiastic in person as he was on the telly. An unforgettable encounter with someone who was really larger than life.

Last but not least, I used to play and watch a lot of cricket and met a number of the top players, but the one who stands out for sheer class and genuine modesty was David Gower - a genuinely polite, unassuming gentleman who at the time had just been made England captain but had all the time in the world to sit and chat whilst watching a game and listen to anyone who wanted to approach him. Cricket produced a lot of really nice blokes - the great Lancashire side under Jackie Bond was full of characters - Clive Lloyd was a lovely man and 'Flat' Jack Simmons was magnificent - on a quiet day, I've seen him wander around the boundary in his carpet slippers, making a point of chatting with anyone watching on their own, ensuring that they were having a good day at the match.

Oh and I've encountered Jeffrey Archer - exactly what you think he's going to be like .

[mizlaplan]

Back in the 90s I walked right past Robert Plant at the famed Wadsworth bar at the Cropredy Festival.
A lovely pint of bitter and I've got vague memories of Robert being very polite while walking away rapidly.