OT: Who is the biggest celebrity that you've met?
To keep OT season alive and well, I'd like to hear any humorous or intriguing stories from you all on who've you met, where, and how did it all go down.
For me, I have a few:
1. Pee'd next to Jeff Daniels at the Midland County Civic Arena when his son was on my counsin's Domino Farms hockey team. It was the mid-90's but even as a kid, all I could do is vision his scene in Dumb and Dumber when he was on the toilet. I really wanted him to reenact it.
2. Met Mr. T at a bar in Bay City when I was really young. Not sure why he was there, but he kept telling me to be respectful to my mother. Pretty sure he was drunk.
3. Wife and I met Joe Girardi outside Trump International in Chicago at a Starbucks. His daughter and my daughter played for like 3 minutes. I played it off like what was happening was competely normal.
Share away...
I usually respond to the "Most famous person you've ever met" with "I have the trump card." Which is Neil Armstrong, who I consider to be one of the top ten most famous people of all time...but being a space geek, I may be biased. He was a consultant to our team at Rockwell International in the late '80s, and was one of the most modest, genuine people I've encountered, especially given his scale of celebrity. I've actually met half the people who walked on the moon (including Neil's crewmate Buzz Aldrin), but Armstrong's in another galaxy. So to speak...
On a more grounded note...Gerald Ford (he was a lecturer for my History of the Presidency class at Michigan in the late '70s); Gordie Howe (who I met at our neighbor Alex Delvecchio's house); and more recently, Bruce Springsteen (met a bunch of other musicians and actors in LA in the 80s, but he's the biggest from the entertainment sphere). I also met Bo when I was in his camp in high school in the '70s...but I'm guessing a lot of folks here also can claim him.
#1: Joe Walsh -bouncer at a night club he had a concert at. Got his autograph on one of his "greatest hits" cd's. Escorted him out to his bus after his concert. He signed the front and I asked him to write "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get" on the inside of the cd's liner notes. He wrote, "The Smoker You Drink" and then paused. I tried to remind him by saying, "The Player You Get." He responded by saying, "No, I'm trying to think of something funny!" I felt an inch tall.
So, inside my "Joe Walsh Greatest Hits" it reads: "The Smoker You Drink, The Less You're On Fire! -that makes sense, too!"
#2: Ian Anderson -working crowd control/security. After the concert and meet and greet with the local supporting radio station, walked him out to an empty passenger van behind the venue. No one was in the van. Offered to wait there with him. He said he was fine and proceeded to wait in the van alone. Asked him one question: "What does the 'M.U.' mean in the title to the 'M.U. -The Best of Jethro Tull'?" Reply: "Musicians Union"
Really nice guy.
#3: Miss America 1991 Marjorie Judith Vincent. Working for same security company that I met Ian Anderson. Escorted her to and from her "booth" at local vendor show for large area retailer. Went to her hotel room to meet her and her "personal companion". Little known fact: Miss America is almost always accompanied by her personal companion (at that time, two ladies alternated months during her "reign"). This is to protect both the "Miss America" brand as well as Miss America's reputation. I did this escorting to and from the show booth for the 3 days of the vendor show. On the last day, the personal companion left us alone to go to local restaurant. I proceeded to walk alone with her the remaining half mile or so to her hotel room. I carried a big stuffed animal someone gave her as well as the official "Miss America" crown.
I can say I'm one of the few people to be alone with Miss America at her hotel room (though not "in" her hotel room). I'm honored that they (rightly) trusted me in that way.
Actually met Miss America 1992 the next fall at a similar event. Didn't get to know her, however. Spoke with her briefly. It was a crowd of three -Miss America, me and Joe Namath. Had to interrupt Joe Namath -who was I presumed was hitting on her- to do so.
A long time ago, I was flying 1st class coming home from LA. The guy beside me asks if I know who the guy is 2 rows in front of me. I tell him no. He said it is "Prince". I tell him I never heard of him. He said he is a really talented musician that writes all his music, plays all the instruments and sings all vocals on his album. I started following him from then on. He was pretty talented.
December 14th, 2020 at 12:45 PM ^
Good day. Quite interesting thread. It is not so simple to meet your favorite celebrity in our modern life:) Personally I recently met Kendra Wilkinson in airport. We took several photos and that's all!