Have you met a Movie Star?

[rogerballard]

Tippi Hedren, Mayflower Hotel, Plymouth, Michigan. I was applying for a job at this hotel, I was sitting there waiting for my interview, the front desk girls are saying things like " are Tippi's bags ready to go" and then all of a sudden Tippi comes down the staircase, I jumped up and introduced myself. She was very kind and gracious. I did not get the job.

[sprinkleeninow]

1. Sort of. John Ritter. Passed in aisle of plane from NY to LA.

Smiled at me and a wink. (1970's). He was pretty good looking.

[rogerballard]

3. I will agree...

The male Lucille Ball if you will. Ton of talent. Gone to soon.

[global1]

26. Jason Ritter, John's Son Is A Favorite Of Mine....

He stars in Kevin (Probably) Saves The World, one of the best programs on TV now. He's followed in his father's footsteps and is every bit as good. If you haven't watched this show yet - take it in.

[mercuryblues]

31. I love it

He was also in "The Long Road Home" A war drama. I had just finished an ep of Kevin and my son asked me if he could watch a recording. Lo and behold there he was. He has an incredible acting range. Only it is hard to adjust seeing him in a comedy and seconds later in a war drama.

[AJT]

76. He was also in Another Period on Comedy Central.

[applegrove]

2. I run away from famous people. I assume if it was me I would want to be left alone.

[rogerballard]

4. I don't...

If it was me I would want to meet my fans, thanks for your assumption.

[applegrove]

5. I know I am assuming alot. I am just very shy and am overwhelmed when I meet people

I know on the street. So I assume. I kind of freeze too. Struck dumb by greatness.

[Yavin4]

111. I live in NY and see famous people all of the time.

You don't want to bother them esp. when they're with their kids. Think of them like animals in the wild. Admire from afar but don't get too close.

[CentralMass]

6. I literally ran into (accidentally) James Doohan, Scotty of Star Trek, at an

event in Framingham, Ma back on the 80's and ran into (not literally) Charles Bronson skiing with his kids at Mt Ascutiny in VT circa 1980 or so. I also spoke, briefly to Harry Reasoner outside of a bar in Teton Village in Jackson Hole Wy. He was drunker than a skunk

[DFW]

7. I don't meet too many of them in Germany

I have run into Curd Jürgens in Zürich, Jean-Paul Belmondo in Paris, Charles Brauer in Germany, Sidney Poitier in the USA when I was 14 or so. Tom Berenger, an actor in the States, is a casual friend. That's about it. Stan Lee is a casual friend, too, but his roles in his films are so minimal, they hardly qualify him as a movie star.

Oh, and I once ran into Groucho Marx when I was 8 years old. He told me "get lost, kid." Or some such endearing phrase.

Theo Bikel was a friend, too. I always thought of him as a singer, as that's what we did when we got together, but he was in lots of films and TV shows, so I guess I should count him as an actor as well. After all, he had a role in a film with Humphrey Bogart a year before I was born!

[rogerballard]

9. I am impressed!

[DFW]

10. He was a LOT older than that when we ran into him! n/t

[green917]

8. many of them

I've been in the restaurant industry for 30 years... everyone from movie stars, sports figures, musicians, you name it. Most of them have been exceedingly gracious. President Bill Clinton was probably my favorite though. He gave a speech at Rhein Mein air base in Germany when i was there (towards the end of our involvement ib Kosovo) and he staged out of our building. Eminently nice man!

[NanceGreggs]

11. Two.

I met Shirley MacLaine many years ago. She was in Toronto with her one-woman show (which was fantastic), and I was invited to the after-show party. We only spoke for a few minutes, but she was very gracious - took the time to talk to everyone there.

I also met another star. We were both at a party to launch a new club in Toronto, and it was ridiculously crowded. We wound up being crushed up against each other – literally – for about five minutes. We couldn’t move due to the crowd, and he said, “Well, we may as well get to know each other – looks like we’re going to be here awhile.” So we started chatting, joking about the rather embarrassing position we found ourselves in.

When we were finally able to move, I made my way to a group of friends who all asked, “So what did you talk about? What’s he like?” When I asked who they were talking about, they yelled “Donald Sutherland!”

I honestly hadn’t recognized him. But I can tell you he turned a rather awkward situation into a very funny and memorable experience.

[Sherman A1]

12. Robert Redford

when he spoke in St. Louis years ago. It was at a meet and greet after the event for just long enough to stand for a picture with my wife and myself.

[livetohike]

13. I spent two hours with Christopher Plummer giving him a private

tour of a house museum. Also Sigourney Weaver and David Conrad, but that was a group tour. I met Martin Milner and George Maharis when I was a kid. They were at a telethon and I was dropping off a collection I made. I had their 8x10 glossy photos with their signature, but my brothers tossed them when they took over my bedroom.

Saw quite a few stars at restaurants when I lived in Los Angeles, but only smiled at them. Almost knocked over John Forsythe while passing in an aisle.

[madaboutharry]

14. Barbra Streisand.

I met Barbra Streisand at a wedding. She was very nice.

[cloudbase]

15. Alan Alda

He was the commencement speaker at my son's college graduation.

The night before graduation, there was a dinner for the graduates and their families. Since the class was small (around 200, and not every student or their families attended.) the dinner was reasonably intimate. My wife was a bit smitten!

My other son was in high school, so I told him that while mom was busy with Mr. Alda, we'll go and speak with the college president, and when you go back to school and somebody asks what you did over vacation, you can tell them you spoke with a Nobel Prize winner.

[Va Lefty]

37. I met Alan Alda on an airplane in 2005

Think he was flying back east after shooting episodes for West Wing. He could not have been nicer. He was fighting a cold but still came back in the plane from his first class seat and shook hands and talked with anyone who was interested. Very nice experience!

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Not exactly a "movie star," but I did have conversations with two singer/celebrities

I once met David Cassidy at Saratoga Race Track. He was sitting in the NYRA box and I was there, sitting nearby with my parents. My mother had apparently spotted him and started a conversation. When I walked by, she introduced me so I talked with him, too. He was very pleasant and friendly, though the impression I got was that he'd had a few. This was long after his "Partridge Family" days - but before his career in Las Vegas - so I think he was pleased to be recognized. I have always had a good impression of him, felt very bad when he passed away long before his time.

The second was Bonnie Raitt. This was also in Saratoga. I was going to her concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center with a group of friends and we met up in the lobby of the local Holiday Inn. Bonnie must have been staying there and she walked right by us. I don't know what possessed me, but I caught up with her and asked for her autograph. She was also friendly and signed whatever I gave her. My impression of her was that she was a surprisingly tiny person for having such a big voice.

[Mike Nelson]

17. I spent a...

...lovely evening with her daughter!

[secondwind]

18. Ricardo Montalbans Brother saved me from a mugging.

This was in Forest Hills, NY, it was a Sunday and dusk was approaching. I will never know how this young man got so close to me so quickly. I was petrified and stepped off the curb — there was a lot of moving traffic but they were minding their own business — we kept dancing around each other on and off the curb for several minutes minutes, which felt like an eternity.

Finally! Off in the distance I see a very tall, elegantly dressed man coming our way. I continued my side stepping until he was closer. Then I bolted for this man and the mugger ran away. I pleaded with him to keep me company at the bus stop and he smiled down at me and said “I am taking the bus also”. We rode the bus together and had a nice chat. His mother was in a nursing home nearby. This was around ‘81 or ‘82.

[Aristus]

41. I met Ricardo Montalban when I was six or so.

He was playing the King in 'The King And I' at the Dorothy Chandler pavilion in LA. My parents took us kids to see the play.

My father had served in Vietnam with Montalban's son, Mark, and after the show, he sent word back to RM, asking after Mark and how he was doing.

RM invited us back stage to meet him. Now, at the age of six, I had never heard the word 'charisma', but if I had, I would have told you he had it to spare. He had a commanding presence which filled the entire room. But he was not intimidating in the least. He was kind and gracious and wonderful. My mother assures us that we behaved politely in his presence, for which I'm glad. I would not have wanted to offend him. He autographed our programs, and for the rest of his life, I considered him to be a family friend. When he died, we sent a condolence card to his son Mark. It was an incredible experience, even though I only remember it in flashes.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

19. Louis Jordan

When I lived in Charleston, SC, Wes Craven was filming "Swamp Thing." This was prior to "A Nightmare on Main Street." My wife worked as craft service (providing snacks to the cast and crew) and I got to meet Louis Jordan, who was playing a very elegant villain. He was very kind and gracious, as you might expect.

I also got to see Craven set a stunt man on fire and film him running through the woods until he plunged into the swamp. It was quite terrifying.

My favorite part was watching the dailies of scenes shot for the European market. These had a naked Adrian Barbeau bathing in the swamp. The American version had her clothed.



My favorite line: "There is much beauty in the swamp, if only you know where to look."

[longship]

20. I toured Tippi's desert wild animal preserve a few years ago.

She was quite nice and personally conducted the tour. There were wild cats all over the place. The coolest was the three legged cheetah who was like a kitty cat. Then there was the tiger that wanted to eat all of us. Tippi gave all of them homes, most of them from fucking assholes who thought wild cats should be pets, and found out that they aren't.

She had rescued a full grown male African elephant, too. Not too sure how that's worked out, though. He charged our tour. Scary. Nobody hurt; he backed off, thankfully. Tippi was notably worried.

[samnsara]

21. i met clintons dog buddy once

[shenmue]

24. Squee

[unblock]

22. somehow i've met quite a few, starting with my babysitter!

my babysitter was beverly d'angelo, best known now co-starring with chevy chase in the national lampoon's vacation movies.
of course she was just a high school kid at the time.

i went to college with brooke shields. she bumped into me once. she apologized.

i came across george clooney when he was coming out of sotheby's in manhattan. he had bought some christmas presents but declined to tell me exactly what....

mrs. unblock enrolled me in the annual new york times crossword puzzle contest once. i failed miserably but got to spend 3 hours, mostly chatting, at a table with phil donohue. not usually known as a movie star, though he has appeared in a few. being the socially inept person that i am, i did not recognize him until after we left. mrs. unblock thought i was so cool for not going gaga, lol.

i met dr. ruth westheimer (another one not known for movies but has appeared in a few) when she was visiting her son joel, who was a friend of mine in college.

i've also walked right by several, mrs. unblock is much better at spotting them. christopher plummer at a local restaurant, dan akyroyd and his wife donna dixon walking in manhattan, etc.

[DFW]

49. Ruth Westheimer has been in movies?

I've known her for almost 20 years, and didn't know that! My wife and I had lunch with her about 2½ weeks ago at her apartment in New York. She'll be 90 this year, and has just as much energy as she did half a life ago. She's still writing books, teaching courses at universities, and making TV appearances all over the place.

[unblock]

50. A few, usually as herself ;)

[DFW]

53. That doesn't surprise me

Her private personality is exactly like her public one.

My wife and I were once with her at the Frankfurt book fair, and before we left to catch a train back to Düsseldorf, she went to the stand of an Israeli publisher that had brought along some sandwiches, and packed a few of them up for us in a napkin so we wouldn't starve on the trip back north. Ever the Jewish grandmother!

[unblock]

56. Yes shes an adorable spitfire lol

Not too many former snipers you can say that about

[DFW]

61. She doesn't talk about that much (70 years ago!), but never denies it either

After all, if you're THAT small and can shoot straight, you can wiggle your way into perfect sniper's hide-outs that most other people can't scramble into!

[unblock]

60. Forgot one played poker for a few hours with James woods

We did not talk politics

I won a fair amount off him. Found him to be an easy read. Naturally expressive. Serves him well as an actor; not so much at the poker table

[smirkymonkey]

87. Wow! Pretty impressive!

I also have a habit of walking right past famous people when my friends recognize them. They aren't really on my radar so unless it's obvious, I don't notice them.

[zeusdogmom]

23. Roy Rogers - a long time ago

Cool, kind man to those of us waiting to see him. Trigger has long been stuffed so he wasn't there.😄

Not a movie star per se, but Jack Hanna. Kind of reminded me of the energizer bunny - but it was an interesting conversation.

[Ron Obvious]

25. If I had, I probably wouldn't have recognised them

I'm terrible at facial recognition anyway, and translating from 2 to 3 dimensions would almost certainly have been too much for me.

[Zoonart]

29. Paul Newman

Last edited Sun Jan 28, 2018, 11:13 AM - Edit history (1)

I was delivering a piece of art on Beekman Place in Manhattan a couple of blocks from the UN.
A cab zips up to the the curb right in front of me and a man, who's face is hidden by a pile of shirts in his arms, jumps out and thrusts the shirts into my arms
begging my forgiveness and asking me to help. It is then I see those eyes. It was Paul Newman and he was delivering his laundry to the dry cleaner on the corner. He thanked me profusely and seemed very embarrassed. We chatted for a couple of minutes... who the hell knows about what. PAUL NEWMAN.
Then he said, "You're all right, kid"... and gave the taxi driver a fifty dollar bill and said...." take her anywhere she wants to go."
Never forget it. I've met many actors over the years, being in the arts, but I'll never forget my "run in" with Mr. Newman.

[rogerballard]

101. This story gives me shivers...

In a good way ! WOW, thank you for sharing this.

[Zoonart]

110. I love having the opportunity to share.

[Fla Dem]

27. Tony Dow, remember him?

Maybe not a "Movie Star", he was Beaver's big brother on Leave it to Beaver. Can't remember exactly how I met him, was at some event, but got a personalized autographed 8x10 glossy of him. Still have it.

[Glorfindel]

58. Lucky, lucky you! I had an immense crush on him

during the "Leave It to Beaver" days. He's a few months older than I am, but as I understand it, he's a successful artist nowadays.

[rogerballard]

100. Of course I do...

I remember lots of things, thank goodness ! I am 58, never watched the original run of the show but saw plenty of syndication!

[Cary]

28. Harry Carey struck up a conversation with me on Rush Street

He was known as the mayor of Rush Street.

Being the smart ass that I am I pretended to not know who he was and I asked him how well he knew Rush Street. He stopped talking to me.

[tblue37]

30. Not a movie star, but a nice long chat about kids on a plane with Tom Hayden.

I was flying from Denver with my 1-year-old son. I said to the man next to me, "You know, you look a lot like Tom Hayden." Well, he aS Tom Hayden, and we chatted the rest of the way about kids and parenting.

He had been in Denver to give a talk.

My mother used to date Ronald Reagan, when she was a 17-year-old coffee shop waitress in Des Moines, Iowa, and he was a 26-year-old radio sportscaster called "Dutch."

[smirkymonkey]

88. I was invited to dinner at Tom Hayden's home by an ex-boyfriend w/ the two of them

and Finnoula Flannagan and a few others. I was living in SF and he was in LA but I couldn't go because I was in grad school at the time and had finals that week. Also, I have to admit, I would have been very intimidated so I didn't feel too bad about begging off.

[greatauntoftriplets]

32. Forrest Tucker.

I actually met him twice when he was celebrity spokesman for a Chicago condominium the company I worked for was representing. The first time was at a cocktail event that he attended with his wife (at the time).

The second time was a morning meeting. He was in his bathrobe (and not much else, or so it seemed because his legs were bare). While we were talking, a rather busty young woman came into the room, also wearing a bathrobe and probably not much else. The woman was not his wife.

[Eliot Rosewater]

52. Do you know what he is famous for? Along with Milton Berle?

Endowed, is the rumor.

[greatauntoftriplets]

63. Fortunately, I never saw that.

[Beartracks]

102. Thank goodness the robe was long enough!

============

[d_r]

33. do autographs count?

[procon]

34. I met Tippi Hedren, too.

She runs a wild animal preserve not to far from where I live, and my DH and I went on a safari tour back in the 90s. Hedren lives on the Shambala property and evidently she sometimes conducts monthly tours of the preserve for the public. We brought a picnic lunch to eat by the lake and she stopped by and sat down at each picnic table to chat with all us tourists. She was very charming and seemed genuinely dedicated to the big cats, and she thanked us for visiting. Nice lady.

[left-of-center2012]

35. Several TV stars, some baseball players

I worked in hotels in San Diego and L.A.
One hotel was adjacent to Balboa Park, San Diego, where the Old Globe Theater is located, and some of the performers stayed at the hotel where I worked the ‘front desk’.

Lily Tomlin, David Ogden Stiers (Major Winchester from the “M.A.S.H.” TV show), and Jayne Meadows (wife of Steve Allen) are a few I remember.

I especially remember Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen. They’d go somewhere for dinner after her evening performance at the Old Globe Theater, and then stop at the hotel’s front desk to ask me if they had any messages or mail.

Then, if it wasn’t busy, several times stayed there talking with me, chatting about everyday things (kids today, cost of groceries, etc) for about 15 minutes. They were the nicest folks you’d meet. Like talking with friendly neighbors over your backyard fence.
They acted like ‘common folks’, not celebrities.

I was polite, friendly, and respectful -- but I spoke to them in the manner they seemed to want, just as ‘normal folks’, not celebrities.

David Ogden Stiers was nice, but interactions with him were brief. He did make you aware of who he was.
He’d ask for any messages, each time saying something like “You may recognize me from TV”.
I wanted to ask “Why? Are the cops looking for you?”

Lily Tomlin was extremely difficult to deal with; very demanding and rude.

Saw Dick Van Dyke in the lobby.

[Lindsay]

36. I worked at a theatrical costume shop

in Cleveland, OH, in the 70s and 80s, so I met some local celebrities who needed stage or TV make-up. Al Roker was a local TV weatherman in Cleveland at the time, so he was one I met. Very nice man.

Ray Walston, mostly known for My Favorite Martian, was appearing at the Cleveland Playhouse and bicycled to the shop to buy make-up. He was reserved but also nice.

And I met Colm Meaney, whom I mostly know from Star Trek: The Next Generation, when he and his wife at the time, Bairbre Dowling, were working with her father, Vincent Dowling, who was director of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, and they came in to buy make-up. Both very nice people, with lovely Irish accents.

So not big stars, but kinda well-known people at the time.

[left-of-center2012]

38. I shook Sargent Shriver's hand when he ran for V.P.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargent_Shriver

During the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, George McGovern considered Shriver as a vice presidential candidate, but his campaign was unable to reach Shriver ...

McGovern then selected Senator Thomas Eagleton instead, who later resigned from the Democratic ticket following revelations of past mental health treatments.

Shriver then replaced Eagleton on the ticket.
The McGovern-Shriver ticket lost to Republican incumbents Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

39. Helen Hayes.

I worked at DCA and she was buying a ticket to fly on us. Sweet and gracious.

More recently I was working the information desk at my local hospital (I live in Santa Fe) and Ali McGraw came in, needing to know the room number of a friend she was there to visit. She was also sweet and gracious.

There have been others over the years, especially when I worked at the airport.

More recently I hang out in the science fiction world and I'm friends with lots of s-f writers. I see George RR Martin frequently (he likewise lives in Santa Fe), although he generally cannot recall that he's met me before, which I find hilarious. Some others who do recall they know me are Connie Willis, Jim Gunn, Paolo Bacigalupi, Pat Cadigan, Rob Sawyer, Steven Gould, John Barnes. I met Ray Bradbury once. Also R L Stine not too long ago. Stine was a delight.

I have met lots and lots of writers at book events over the years, especially the ones sponsored by Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kansas, just across the state line from Kansas City Missouri. Most writers, in my experience, are wonderful people. Or at least those who do book events or science fiction cons are. It probably helps that most of them are generally unrecognized by the public.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

98. I'm surprised Helen Hayes didn't stow away.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

103. Oh, trust me,

employees of both my airline and all of the others asked me why I actually made her pay for a ticket.

The best thing would have been if the gate agent simply failed to take her flight coupon, and someone made sure she knew she could have cashed it in as unused.

Sometimes it happened that a gate agent failed to do that, take the flight coupon, but still boarded the passenger. Every few months we'd have someone show up for one of our flights, and their ticket indicated they'd flown in from some other city on some other airline, but the flight coupon was still there. We'd always question the passenger to see if he'd flown that previous flight, and if he said he had, we'd take that flight coupon. Usually we'd walk it over to the airline he'd flown. Sometimes, not very often, we'd simply refund the ticket and pocket the money. Actually, we usually used the money to go out for a nice meal and drinks after work.

[ms liberty]

116. I have enjoyed Connie Willis work very much. n/t

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

117. She's not only a good writer

but she's a wonderful person. I have the pleasure of seeing her several times a year at various cons I attend: Bubonicon which is in Albuquerque in August, Mile Hi con in Denver in October, COSine in Colorado Springs in January, and the Jack Williamson Lectureship held in Portales NM in April.

She is friendly, kind and very funny.

[NightWatcher]

40. I ate hotdogs w Clint Eastwood in a craft services tent.

I was going to get something else when I heard, "Yum, hotdogs" and turned around to see Dirty Harry himself standing behind me, wearing a T-shirt and jogging shorts that were inappropriately short.

[hermetic]

45. I was a waitress in Arizona

Where he stopped in for a meal. He was not my table but wanted a cocktail and I was the only one working that night who was over 21 so I got to bring him his drinks. He tipped everyone $50 that night. He had quite a presence about him.

[Kali]

119. Oh! that reminds me

the cast from Young guns II

they filmed out here and I got to have lunch with them, got my VHS tape of Repo Man signed by Emilio Estevez

[NightWatcher]

42. I also had a Coors w Kenneth Branagh at a motel where crack whores were working.

We were filming a movie in a motel and the film co only rented three of the five buildings. Between takes and setups we watched customers come and go. It was a surreal overnight.

[Eliot Rosewater]

55. Actor? Production? Background?

[NightWatcher]

69. Robert Altman was directing The Gingerbread Man in Savannah 1996'ish

And there was a night shoot for a short scene in the movie where his kids get grabbed from a motel after he's taken them from school.

It was Altman, which meant it took forever, and between takes the extras sat around drinking beers with Branagh in the parking lot.

[Motley13]

43. Lucille Ball

In a night club in NYC, I think is was Upstairs at the Downstairs, or Downstairs at the Upstairs. She & husband #2 were at the next table & we had conversation with them, very nice.


I had dinner with Joe DiMaggio once, well he was sitting a few tables away.

[hermetic]

44. I was a theater tech

For many years and have met several great musicians. One time, though, I was stage manager for Vincent Price's touring lecture, The Villains Still Pursue Me. When he came in for a sound check we were introduced and he said, "A woman stage manager! How delightful." and he kissed my hand. I about melted into the stage. Pretty sure I didn't wash that hand for a week or more. He was a lovely man.

[First Speaker]

46. I knew Kate Hepburn when I was a kid...and met Cary Grant...

...Kate was a friend of my family in CT, so I'd occasionally hang out at her house in Saybrook. Really nice lady, just as you'd expect--down-to-earth, no BS about her. And I once discussed the Warren Report with Cary Grant on her deck...*that* was a surreal experience...LOL...he was very much down-to-earth too, and not too impressed by being "Cary Grant"...

[mchill]

64. Cool!

After my mother died, my dad partnered up with Kate's cousin (she was also a Hepburn) for a couple of decades. She had a striking resemblance to her cousin...5 years younger.

[Thirties Child]

47. Halle Berry.

She bought one of my husband's woodturnings at the Atlanta Arts Festival in the early 90s. She asked if she could visit our home/studio to buy more. She bought several pieces as Christmas gifts, wrote a check, asked if we needed to see her driver's license. A lovely, nice lady. She was married to David Justice of the Atlanta Braves then. Several years later my husband wrote about her in his woodworking column in the AJC. She was in Australia at the time, wrote him a nice thank-you note. As I said, lovely, nice lady.

[Yonnie3]

48. I thought none, but

Sissy Spacek - she's a local - at parties and restaurants.

Tommy Chong - I spoke with him multiple times on the telephone. Not sure if this would count.

There are more that I met at fund raisers. I took care of their microphones, but I don't recall any names. Some were friendly, some aloof, some pissy.

[kimbutgar]

51. Janet Lee at a security traders convention in Seminahoo, washington

She was so skinny and small. But was very nice and let us take pictures with her. It was Pre digital camera and I have no idea what happened to the picture.

[mentalsolstice]

54. Bebe Neuwirth, George Clooney....

We were at a popular breakfast spot in NOLA. I was sitting on a stool waiting for my partner to pay our check, and she was sitting next to me waiting for a takeout order. She struck up a conversation and we talked for about 15 minutes. She looked and sounded familiar, but it took me 10 minutes to realize who she was. I didn’t want to spoil the moment so I never let on that I recognized who she was. She was very nice, funny and absolutely beautiful.

The times that I have been around famous people, I generally act like they were anyone else. I once had to really dig down for restraint for about 10 minutes to keep from flinging myself at George Clooney. He was at his parents house in Augusta, KY for Thanksgiving. He and his dad were out in the yard tossing a baseball to each other, and I was across the street, no one else was around. It was right after Princess Diana was killed and he came out strongly against the paparazzi.

[Docreed2003]

57. Dan Aykroyd

I’ve met several celebrities but that was my favorite! It was a charity event for WWII vets and I was there as a”modern day” vet of Afghanistan escorting a Marine vet of Guadalcanal. Dan shook hands and talked extensively with everyone there, not to mention all the pics and autographs he gave out. The guy was larger than life and I had loved him for years, but to have such a real world interaction with someone I had loved for years and who was so appreciative of that admiration...that was special. I’ll never forget that night, or the amazing Vodka he provided that evening, lol. Love that dude!

[Tikki]

59. Worked at a popular hiway 101 restaurant between Central CA and So Cal....

Early to mid 1970’s....
Quite a few celebrities stopped by for dinner.

But, the one that got the whole dining room buzzing was a young Professional
Wrestler that went by the name GOLIATH.
Nearly everyone asked me if it was alright to go talk to him. I asked them to please
wait until he and his young family were through with their meal.
Then a line of fans snaked around the wall near his table to talk to him or get his autograph.

If you ever wonder how the children of celebrities feel about the attention; first, the oldest son around six or seven seemed scared with all the people heading toward his dad, but after a few
friendly exchanges and fans greeting this boy...He was loving it.


Tikki

[mchill]

62. Working out in a gym with

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver along with Clint Eastwood and his girlfriend at the time, Francis Fisher. Arnold and Maria kept to themselves - Maria gave me a glare as I walked into the locker room. On the other hand Clint was very friendly and Francis asked me how to use a piece of equipment. This was in Sun Valley, ID. Arnold was so full of himself, peaking into the women's aerobics class before it started...basically "I'm here." He's shorter than I thought. Was right behind him while he was doing calf raises. Nothing special. I'd see him often there, even flirting with young beautiful women.

Ran into Katharine Ross and Sam Elliot in a grocery store 70 miles north. They supposedly own a second home around here. I think at the time, he was on XMAS break from filming The Golden Compass. He caught my eye. Had long dyed black hair, dressed like an Aussie Gaucho. TALL! He looked totally out of place, but impressive. He and Katharine looked enamored with each other, which was nice to see - deciding what kind of yogurt they should buy. (Ashland, OR)

[Enoki33]

65. Once met Victor Jory while I was on vacation in Negril Ja. He was

there for the filming of Papillon. He actually bought me a beer and we chatted for a while about the movie. Also met Alex Haley, not really a movie star, twice in Pasadena just before the publishing of Roots. The wife of a friend of mine had typed the draft of his book. He was a very fascinating man in a quit sort of way who helped a lot of people.

[Glorfindel]

66. I picked up some papers Anna Wintour dropped, once

at LaGuardia Airport. She sat across from me on a flight from Atlanta. The flight attendants made a big fuss over her, probably because she's the editor of "Vogue" magazine. She seemed very gracious and thanked me for picking up her papers. I have also met President and Mrs. Carter a few times.

[dewsgirl]

67. 50 cent and bodyguards, family members. at my local Wal-Mart at 1:00am in the morning

I know it is a crazy story. I was in line with my 12 yr old son, I don't even remember why we were there so late. I was getting ready to pay, dropped my purse every thing fell out and I wasn't paying attention to the people behind me, which was his whole entourage. A man bent down to help, he was very nice. I thanked him thinking he looked so familiar. I paid, we walked away and my son said, "don't you know who that was?". He then proceeded to pull him up on Youtube, I was like OMG, to this day I feel like who is going to believe that? I also was in line next to Jean Claud Van Damme and bodyguards at Disney World on Splash Mountain this was 1995. He is very short IRL.

[shanny]

68. Several. All of them because I lived in a small resort town

where they had homes. You run into everyone eventually.

Clint Eastwood (had a beer), Bruce Willis (jerk), Demi Moore (meh), Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks (as nice and low key as he seems), Rita Wilson (hubby worked on their house), Ahnold (asshole), Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn

also too Bonnie Raitt at a concert--she is tiny!

[MFM008]

70. I've met 2 celebrities

Gloria Vanderbilt in Seattle for a morning TV show I was in the audience.
Gene Krupa(drummer) in Germany at some school .
function.
My dad drank with Johnny Ray
My mom was reunited with her mother on a 1988 Oprah show after nearly 30 years of not speaking.

[Guilded Lilly]

71. Tom Selleck, Andre Agassi and Russell Crowe...

Selleck is “as advertised “ a super nice guy. Very humble and...Gawd who am I kidding...he is drop dead gorgeous walking god of a man! Ha!
Breathtaking...but still a very sweet guy
Chatted with him for a while in the streets of Hawaii while he was filming Magnum and we were there on vacation. I actually remained calm and didn’t go weak at the knees! Next to seeing a whale totally breach about 50 yards from a boat we were on, he was the best thing about Hawaii

Andre was my favorite tennis player/sports hero for decades. I saw him play close to 80 matches and had the luck to run into him many times in hotels, lobbies and restaurants. He was such a totally polite and gracious guy. Always. And extremely sweet to my little kids!! Helped me pick out some tee shirts for them in a gift shop once
(Sampras, on the other hand was a total jerk and foul mouthed as well)

Crowe is a tad more complicated. But a very interesting human being. Not the hard ass everyone loves to label him. I communicated with him totally outside of the celebrity world for a while. He’s quite an old, very cautious, but sentimental soul.

[Corgigal]

97. Love Andre Agassi

Long hair or short. Happy to read he's a nice guy.

[Guilded Lilly]

108. It always annoyed me to no end that he was vilified...

portrayed as a little shit and condemned by the media because of his long hair (well, when he HAD it ) and bolder on court fashion statements (heh).

But yeah, long story short, he is a good guy. A really good guy.
His life’s work now is in the Agassi Academy Schools
http://dpac.democracyprep.org/

[mentalsolstice]

72. My aunt and Rock Hudson

Regarding this post in another thread, https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181023643#post17. My aunt was a phone operator in KY and caught a call between Rock Hudson and one of his protégés, who went onto a successful acting career. She and the other operators listened in which was against the rules. Someone giggled and my aunt got caught. She was suspended without pay for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I grew up knowing that Rock was gay, so it was no surprise when he died of AIDS. In fact, that’s how I learned about homosexuality.

[lunamagica]

85. Who was the protege? Sorry I don't know how to incllude the accent marks)

[mentalsolstice]

90. I wasnt going to say, however....

I didn’t want to say if it wasn’t already out there, so as to respect the actor’s privacy. However, after I posted, I googled and the info is there if you know what to look for. The actor was Lee Majors. The call occurred when he was attending Eastern KY University. The call had sexual overtones.

[lunamagica]

91. Lee Majors?!? I would have never guessed

Thanks for the reply!

[mentalsolstice]

92. Yep, the 6 Million Dollar Man.

It was common knowledge in my family. As I said it was how I first learned about homosexuality. In the 60s and 70s, my mom and her sister were big fans of Hollywood gossip mags. So whenever there was gossip about Rock Hudson, they would giggle because they knew something that most people didn’t know. Fortunately they were both very liberal, so I wasn’t ever taught that homosexuality was a bad thing.

[lunamagica]

93. I wonder if Farrah knew

[mentalsolstice]

94. Who knows?

As I said there was sexual overtones on the call on Rock’s part. At the time it was locally rumored that he would come into the Lexington area and hangout with noted gays, and there was a connection to recruiting young handsome men for Hollywood. That’s why my aunt listened in when she caught the call. However, my knowledge ends there. Why would Rock be calling a student at EKU? I don’t know if there was ever a relationship beyond getting Lee to Hollywood.....in later years Lee’s publicist denied such.

I only know what I know, and I’m not one to judge.

[Thyla]

73. Jason Momoa and the Dad from Family Ties.

I met Jason Momoa circa his time in Stargate, he came into the pub my parents used to own with the sister of one of the bar tenders who was part of a show called Mcleods Daughters.
Also when I was like 4 I spent some time in hospital and the Dad from Family Ties visited and gave me a post card, lol.

[MiniMe]

74. Was friends with Jerry Van Dyke's kid when I was young

So I met Jerry a few times, of course, he was Mr. Van Dyke to me then.

[AJT]

75. Mia Farrow

I lived in New Milford CT and she in Bridgewater. I met her in line at a local store in New Milford, and had seen her around town now and again. She is a lovely person.

[edbermac]

77. Saw James Coburn in Paris 1992

Walking in the area of the D'Orsay Museum with some lady I think was his soon to be second wife.

[Bayard]

78. Anson Williams from "Happy Days"

And Hall & Oats. Separate occasions. My first real job was at Pickwick International in Minneapolis. Big deal for a Kentucky kid right out of high school, and living with my sister. The company was a big record distributor, I was a shipping clerk.

The one thing I remember is that they were all wearing more makeup than I was. I think they were shooting album covers or something.

[bmbmd]

79. When my bride and I were newlyweds,

We went to a dinner theatre starring Hugh O'Brien. He came to our table and sat with us, joking and flirting with Tam. He was hilarious and warm and gentle-and about twice my size.

[fierywoman]

80. Had a fifteen minute very intense conversation about opera with Martin Sheen

at Charlie's second wedding( I was in the string quartet). I played Oprah's $5million 50th birthday party so the celebrity spotting was nuts... her party planner sent us a note before the gig that under no circumstances were we allowed to talk to anyone. So when Oprah walked into the dining room/tent with Stedman and said planner, she screamed and, since we were the only people there, asked, Can you believe this????? We didn't utter a word, just nodded yes or no ...

[mitch96]

81. Rip Torn, Geraldine Page,his wife

This is a fascinating thread!!
I lived with my Aunt in Greenwich Village NYC back in the '70's. She was an off broadway producer in the theater. Theater people would pop over all the time. One day Rip Torn (the boss from Men in Black) came over and we all had dinner together. Very down to earth guy and we talked about Sail Planes (gliders) and sail boats all nite. Totally un pretentious. Messed up hair, unshaven with an old army coat. After he left Lily,my aunt asked if I knew who Rip was. I said he looked familiar but I could not place him.. HA! His wife Geraldine (Gerry) Paige came over a few time to talk with Lily about shows that were cooking. Again very nice lady but very shy. Amazing how their screen persona is nothing like real life..

I did a CT scan on Joe DiMaggio and he was nothing but a card carrying ASSHOLE... Could not wait to get him out of my sight. Miserable old man.. and we will leave it at that...
m

[Ernesto]

82. Rob Reiner

He was posing for pics with fans in a Las Vegas lobby. Standing on the side lines, I just mentioned that "I loved his politics". He rushed to me and shook my hand vigorlessly and started talking about getting Gore into the WH. I was stunned, but I loved it!

[samnsara]

83. my brother in law was married to Curt Cobains aunt..they used to baby sit Curt

[LeftInTX]

84. Tommy Lee Jones, but I didn't know he was famous

Back then, I was not a person who watched movies or recognized movie stars.

This poor guy was at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens with his daughter potty trained. He kept taking her to the men's room, but the little girl didn't like it. I offered to take her to the women's room. I had my two year old son in a stroller, so I appeared to be trustworthy and not a kidnapper. He declined my offer.

I watched for awhile as father and daughter continued with their little struggle and then went on my way. I didn't think much of the exchange, except I noticed that the man was wearing fairly expensive clothes.

Later on at the gift shop, they told us that the Tommy Lee Jones was there with his daughter. He was going through a divorce.

Later on, my daughter and his daughter performed in a play together. Tommy Lee Jones showed up at the play.

[TexasBushwhacker]

86. I worked at a film festival so I shook hands with a few

Eric Stolz
Corbin Bersen
Philip Anglim
Rod Steiger
Ginger Rogers
Martin Landau

and spoke on the phone with Bud Cort (of Harold and Maude)

But here's my best (semi) celebrity story. I was in Chicago to go to a Goo Goo Dolls concert on New Years Eve in 2002. The bass player is a shirt guy with a lot of energy named Robby Takac. He happens to collect PEZ dispensers and had hundreds.

So I'm sitting in the Chocolate Cafe on Michigan Ave, sipping my chocolate chai. They had those cafe curtains that leave the upper half of the window open. Who walks by but Robby. No sooner did I notice then he was gone.

But he circled back and came in with his wife. I'm not one to pester celebrities (especially when they are with family), but I wanted to ket him know I was a fan. So as they left and he walked past my table, I smiled and said "Well I didn't expect to see you til tomorrow night".

He knodded and smiled and continued out. BUT THEN he came back through the revolving door. He put something on my table, smiled and said "Happy New Year!"

It was a PEZ dispenser - LOL.

[smirkymonkey]

89. I met Mark Wahlberg in NYC but I didn't really know it was him at the time.

He was walking a little German Shephard puppy dog and I am a dog fanatic so I went up to him and the dog and we started talking. He had a baseball cap on and I thought he looked a bit like MW, but I was so obsessed w/ the dog I wasn't really paying too much attention to him. I asked him a lot of questions about the pup and he was very gracious and kind about answering. I thought he was too short to be a film star but then I went home and googled him and found out that he was really short and that the info I got from him matched the info in the report, so it was actually him.

Living in NYC I also saw tons of people, but didn't meet them, such as Patricia Neal, Kevin Bacon, Liev Schrieber, Matt Dillon, Naomi Watts, Giovanni Ribisi, Kevin Bacon, Jeff Goldblum, Mariette Hartley, Darrell Hammond, Mick Jones, Calvin Klein, Mike Meyers, Graydon Carter, and tons more that I can't recall right now.

[COLGATE4]

95. Vincent Price. Price was an impassioned art collector.

I met him once in a New York gallery my father ran. He was being shown the latest acquisitions for possible purchase. If memory serves he bought 3 or 4 major works that dayfor a lot of money. One of the nicest, gentlest most courteous men I have ever met.

[TexasBushwhacker]

96. Did you ever hear of this?

http://searsarchives.com/history/art/index.htm

[COLGATE4]

112. No but it's very interesting. I met him in 1957, before the Sears program.

What most impressed me (a 14 year old kid) was how he bought his pictures, somewhat us buying a shirt at Sears. They would trot out an offering and he would either nod yes or no and off it went. And so on and so on. If memory serves he bought 3 works that day, for a price in excess of $300,000 (in 1957 dollars). He knew what he liked and, if he liked it he bought it.

[rogerballard]

99. Thanks for your contributions !

Great stories. I also met Pam Grier when I worked at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Littleton, Colorado, she did a special event there and then came in several times after that to watch movies. Very down to earth and also very nice. Although not a movie star but rather a TV star, I met Neil Flynn, (Janitor on Scrubs, Mike Heck in The Middle) of all places shopping at a Kmart in Littleton, Colorado, I kind of yelled out "one of the best shows on TV", he smiled, shook my hand and we went on our way. I got my shopping done, ran out to my car and grabbed a Sharpie out of my bag went back and stood by the door waiting for him to come out, he autographed my Kmart receipt, "Thanks for watching The Middle ! Neil Flynn". Thanks again everybody, I enjoyed reading the responses.

[Beartracks]

104. Mrs. Beartracks has met quite a few.

I've only seen them, while waiting tables. In my case, Brian Dennehy, Gene Hackman, and George Wallace, I think (politician, not movie star). Mr. Dennehy's shoulder's practically rubbed both walls in a hallway.

But my wife worked in a hotel and got to meet the rich and famous, or just ran into them while out and about. Keifer Sutherland, Mare Winningham, and Isabella Rossellini (who was gorgeous even while under the weather) come to mind. Billy Bob Thornton cut her off in traffic, then smiled and waved at the next stoplight. Tennis (not movie) star John McEnroe chewed out someone in front of her at a Kinko's store, and she told him to cool it; he wound up apologizing to the person and bought Mrs. Beartracks a coffee. Best encounter she told me about was sitting next to Ringo Starr at the post office, each waiting for their number to be called. She remarked to him that he looked like Ringo Starr, and he smiled and tapped the return label on his package: "Richard Starkey." They chatted for a few minutes. He asked her which Beatle was her favorite, and she apologized and told him it was Paul that she'd always had a crush on. "All the girls liked Paulie," he sighed, in his Liverpool accent. Mrs. Beartracks was like a celebrity magnet for a while.

============

[Guilded Lilly]

109. Poor Ringo (ha!). Paul was my fav, too. I never spoke to him but...

Followed him and Linda up an exit ramp at a Cleveland arena after a concert once! It was just me and my husband because we had waited to avoid the concert crowds’ departure but we just quietly basked in the awesome moment.
My take away...he was a bit smaller than I’d imagined, but, holy shit...Paul!! Sighhhh and a giddy smile.

[Binkie The Clown]

105. Long ago in a galaxy far far away...

...I worked in a computer store in Los Angeles. I sold a computer to Carrie Fisher. This was shortly after the first Star Wars was released. (Oddly, she used Debbie Reynold's credit card to buy it. Don't know why??)

In the same store I had a nice talk about how computers work, but no sale, with Kathleen Freeman (Sister Mary Stigmata "The Penguin" in Blues Brothers).

I also sold a computer to SciFi author Larry Niven and his wife (who he, oddly enough, referred to as "Fuzzy".)

A fellow computer salesman sold one to Marlon Brando, but I was on my lunch break and missed meeting him.

William Bendix (star of the old, old TV show "The Life of Riley&quot lived in my neighborhood. His daughter went to my high school and I met him a few times.

Had a close friend who went to school with Tony Dow (Leave it to Beaver) and I met him a few times too. (We were all three the same age). Beaver's (Jerry Mathers) father was the vice principal of my high school, and I met "Mr. Mathers" plenty of times! But I never met his son Jerry. (If you're a "Tartan" from the Valley in the 60s you'll remember Mr. Mathers.)

[wasupaloopa]

106. My brothers and I grew up with Martin Sheen and his brothers. My cousin married Martin Sheen's

brother. His real name is Ramon Estevez.

We went to the same high school and caddied at the same golf course. As we got older we remained friends seeing each other at weddings and funerals.

He is as genuine as he seems in all his acting rolls. He comes up gto you holds out his hand and says, "Hi my name is Martin."

[OxQQme]

107. Back in the 60's I was employed at a large motorcycle dealer

in No. Hollywood. A mile north from Universal Studios.
Michael Ansara and Barbara Eden were customers of mine.

Once I was out in the foothills of the Mojave desert for a week end of riding motorcycles with some friends.
Woke up at our camp site and observed a caravan of a limo being followed by a cargo truck
and a few pickup trucks with dirt bikes strapped into the beds raising a cloud of dust, coming our way.
Being curious we fired up our bikes and went to check it out when the caravan settled in to pitch their camp.
!!!!Steve McQueen!!! and several of the local hot shoe racers of that era.
He invited us to show him some of the trails up into the mountains.
I was puffed up for weeks after.

btw, that pic of Tippi looks like Megan Kelly.

[mnhtnbb]

113. Walter Matthau, Andie MacDowell, George Clooney, Gary Burghoff, Jamie Farr, Lindsay Wagner

Used to live in Los Angeles (1969-88) Sightings of movie stars were not uncommon, including Lucille Ball back in the
day (early 70's) at Bullock's make up counter in Westwood. I saw Harry Morgan one afternoon (Col. Potter MASH) at Baskin-Robbins Wilshire
Blvd in Santa Monica getting an ice cream cone.

Actual interactions?

I had my almost 2 year old at the bank with me one day in 1988 in Pacific Palisades. He was not standing beside me--running for the front door--
and I heard this gruff voice say as I chased after him, "he's a real Dennis the Menace, isn't he?" Looked in the direction of the voice and it was Walter Mattheau sitting in a chair by one of the bank official's desk.

My husband and I used to stay at a hotel on Central Park West which was knocked down to make room for condos. It was next to the Trump Hotel NY
which is on Columbus Circle. We were going to have breakfast before checking out and he went down first. When I came down he was sitting
at a table next to Andie MacDowell, chatting her up! They were having a "we both live in North Carolina" conversation. She was staying at
the Trump Hotel--on a trip to do some work in NY--but came over for breakfast to our hotel. Afterwards, I asked him if he knew who she was. He did.
Her hair looked nothing like the way it does in the commercials she makes for TV. She was quite down to earth and very pleasant.

A different trip to NY, we were having dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants near Lincoln Center, after a concert. All of a sudden the room
went quiet. George Clooney had walked in with another man and they were seated at the booth next to us. This was not long after his movie
Good Night, and Good Luck appeared. He was probably having a work dinner. Everybody was cool. No one asked him for an autograph. He was
extremely polite interacting with all the wait staff.

Gary Burghoff--before he landed his role on MASH--lived near our friends in a rented cottage on a cliff overlooking Malibu. They all became great friends.
After he hit with MASH, he showed up at a Halloween party at my friends' house in the Hollywood Hills--where they had moved some years later--and entertained everyone wearing an ape mask.

Some years later I was a contestant on a game show in L.A. Crosswits, I think it was. Jamie Farr (Klinger from MASH) was my celebrity partner.
We didn't win.

I used to take my oldest son for a walk in his stroller (mid-80's) with our dog, Honey, every morning to Rustic Canyon Park in Santa Monica. We lived just
around the corner from it. One morning we met a woman with a child about the same age on the swings. I was looking for opportunities to form
play groups, so I asked her if she was interested. She confessed she was just the nanny, but Mom was up at the Park meeting house and she encouraged
me to go up and ask her because she might be interested. We went up and walked in to discover that Lindsay Wagner (the Bionic Woman) was the Mom.
No, we did not form a play group!

I used to take ballet class at a studio in the San Fernando Valley in the mid-80's. It wasn't unusual to see Bonnie Bedelia or Lesley Ann Warren in a daytime class.

[Kaleva]

114. A friend's father was good friends with Chuck Connors

They met while both were playing in the minor leagues and while Chuck later went on to become a TV star, he'd often travel to Utah to visit his old friend.

That's about as close as I've ever gotten to a celebrity.

[mithnanthy]

115. Ginger Rogers...

I met her on a plane in 1958, headed from New York to L.A. I still have her autograph. She greatly influenced my clothing style and my love of dancing. Ahhh a REAL woman! I love all her movies to this day.

[Kali]

118. I probably played with Ted Danson when we were children.

Sister-in-Law had a part in Billy Jack.

Grampa bought some bulls from John Wayne (not in person but that is as close as it gets for that).

He also knew Rex Allen and his family.

[niyad]

120. Donald O'Connor, Sinatra, Dean Martin

Liberace, Rose Marie, and a few others.