Have you met any celebrities?

[geekgirl]

Quick round-up, and it is really boring, but here goes:

When I was 5, I met one of the Harlem Globetrotters. Can't remember which one, but I was *in love* with this guy. My favorite basketball player! We were standing in line, waiting to have breakfast at a hotel in Fort Dodge, IA, and he signed my church bulletin. Have no idea where it went...

Met former Govenor Terry Branstadt at my uncle's funeral in '90.

All members of Poison, way back in '92.
Few other rock bands that I don't remember.

Jay Mohr bought me and my friend a drink at a comedy club a looooong time ago...

Shook Bill Clinton's hand, again in the '90's.

Met Dr. James Van Allen, of Van Allen Belts fame... used to work in the Physics Library at U of Iowa. I'd occassionally run to the main library to get books for him from storage. Nicest guy.

Weirdest "celebrity" encounter though, was last year, when working at the Iowa Public TV telethon. Our local Renaissance Faire (I'm on cast), was working the phones, and it was Lawrence Welk night. Two of the cast members were there to help promote the telethon. At the end of their segment (couple of hours into my shift), they whipped out cameras and asked to have a picture taken with one of the other actors, and ME. It was Mary Lou and the tap dance guru, whom I had watched when I was a little girl (stayed at my granny's house on Saturday nights a lot, pre-cable, you watched what you got). They were both really sweet, and I was so flustered that I didn't get a chance to ask for autographs or a copy of the picture. We all had a great time, and will probably be doing it again this year.

This doesn't get into the whole lot of faire performers that I get to meet through my work on cast. Incredibly talented people.

 

[Prof.]

I'm going to meet four celebrities on Sunday, Feb, 24th. I'll post pics later.

 

[ryannel2003]

I need to update my list:

Bill Gates (twice)
Steve Ballmer
ex-NC Senator Jesse Helms
Fred Dalton Thompson (from Law & Order and former TN Senator and ex-Presidential candidate)
Hugh McColl (former chairman/CEO of Bank of America -- several times -- I met him through his son and daughter-in-law)
Dale Chihuly (world-famous glassblower -- three times)
Lino Tagliapietra (world-famous glassblower -- three times, one time was lunch with him and his wife)
Gwyneth Paltrow (sorta -- she walked right past me while in Charlotte filming Shallow Hal -- would've taken her photo but I didn't want to get maimed by her bodyguard)
Paul Jenkins (famous artist -- contemporary of Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock)
Wolf Kahn (famous artist -- one of the most-respected artists in the US)
Jason Kyle (#56 of the Carolina Panthers -- long-snapper -- lived next door to me for two seasons)
Playboy playmates Jennifer Walcott, Julie McCullough, Nefertiri Shepherd, Lauren Michelle Hill (yes, I have pictures of myself with each of them!)
Jeff Gordon
Jimmie Johnson
William Sanderson (who played Larry on Newhart and J.F. Sebastian in Blade Runner... came into Radio Shack back in '90 when I worked there, bought a remote control car and accessories for his son)
Leonard Nimoy (at an art gallery here in Charlotte -- did you know he's a photographer when he's not acting?)

How was Jeff Gordon? I heard he is supposedly a jerk, but you never really know unless you meet the person. Both him and Jimmie Johnson live in Charlotte don't they?

As for me, Nicholas Sparks lives in my hometown (wrote a Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle etc.) but I've never met him. Other than that, nobody else I can recall. Oh well, not a big deal.

 

[Fast Shadow]

I need to update my list:

Dale Chihuly (world-famous glassblower -- three times)

I love his work! The entire Atlanta Botanical Gardens were redone, with his work integrated into the entire grounds. It was like an Easter Egg hunt, where you'd find new pieces of his work hidden here or there. There literally must have been 200 or 300 pieces on display, including a few huge ones that were installed within fountains.

 

[JDR]

I've met Barack Obama quite a few times, a couple of years before he started his presidential campaign.

 

[Hello.there]

Bono, Larry Mullen, Colin Farrell and Ryan Giggs. Not all at the same time.

 

[Fast Shadow]

Tool (the band)
David Copperfield (the magician)
Lindsay Lohan (the trainwreck)
Ben Stein (Bueller... Bueller)
Buff Bagwell (pro wrestler)
Nick Fry (Honda F1 team principal)
Gerhard Berger (former F1 driver and Scuderia Torro Rosso tam principal)
Steve Ballmer

 

[scotty96LSC]

I've met so many famous people as I was an Air Force photojournalist and Miami sports reporter.
The people who stand out to me are:
President Reagan
Chuck Yeagar
Don Shula
Kenneth Copeland
Dan Marino

 

[Stuart.Mackie]

I've met the entire Manchester United team including:

Ronaldo
Rooney
Giggs
Tevez
Sir Alex
Sir Bobby Charlton
Scholes
Nani
Anderson

Most of the Celtic, Rangers and Bayern players too including:

Nakamura
Ballack
Kahn
Makkay
Ferguson

TV and Movie Stars:

Forest Whitaker
Alicia Silverstone
Pierce Brosnan (007)

Musicians:

Justin Timberlake

Other Athletes:

Chris Bosh
Jim Kelly
Bruce Smith
Orlando Pace
Marshall Faulk

 

[clayj]

How was Jeff Gordon? I heard he is supposedly a jerk, but you never really know unless you meet the person. Both him and Jimmie Johnson live in Charlotte don't they?

Yeah, they both live here. They, and the aforementioned Playboy Playmates, came into one of the restaurants on my block about 4 years ago while I was having a drink at the bar... my reaction was, "Huh... Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. And holy crap, Playmates!" The girls were in town for some Playboy anniversary tour, and I guess someone's PR person set it up for them to all go out on the town together. The funny thing is that Gordon wasn't talking to the girls at all, just to Johnson. (And this was during the time that Gordon was not married.)

Although I wouldn't call Gordon a jerk, he's certainly cocky, and he seems a lot shorter than he actually is... his bio says he's 5' 8", but he looked 5' 5" to me. Jimmie Johnson seemed pretty down-to-earth.

 

[ryannel2003]

Yeah, they both live here. They, and the aforementioned Playboy Playmates, came into one of the restaurants on my block about 4 years ago while I was having a drink at the bar... my reaction was, "Huh... Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. And holy crap, Playmates!" The girls were in town for some Playboy anniversary tour, and I guess someone's PR person set it up for them to all go out on the town together. The funny thing is that Gordon wasn't talking to the girls at all, just to Johnson. (And this was during the time that Gordon was not married.)

Although I wouldn't call Gordon a jerk, he's certainly cocky, and he seems a lot shorter than he actually is... his bio says he's 5' 8", but he looked 5' 5" to me. Jimmie Johnson seemed pretty down-to-earth.

Haha, I would have figured. Seems like that on TV, but not nearly as bad as Tony Stewart. Jimmie Johnson seems pretty cool, but I'm still a Junior fan.

As for the Playmates... nice.

 

[clayj]

As for the Playmates... nice.

A little proof for ya... me with Julie McCullough, Miss February 1986 (who went on to play Kirk Cameron's girlfriend for a while on Growing Pains). This was at the anniversary event they were in town for, the night after I first met them at the restaurant on my block.

 

[solvs]

Reviving an old thread, I was at karaoke the other day and Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy and American Dad was there with his, apparently, girlfriend Eliza Dushku. He sang "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, just like in that episode. Complete with the opening Bryan did, for those who know the show. It was pretty funny. She and her friend sang some Madonna song. There were also some adult actors and actresses there for what's called PSK. Ron Jeremy was even there once. Saw him and his entourage over at the Rainbow Room too, forgot to mention that one.

And in a less adult situation, I was almost beaned by Anna Sophia Robb and her costar from the Witch Mountain remake who's name I forget. They were playing baseball on the lot I was working on, and as I was walking by, their ball wizzed right past me. I just smiled and went on my way. Think they were a bit embarrassed. Also saw Robert Clendenin there. Didn't want to bug him, he was just walking by, so I smiled and nodded. Think he appreciated being recognized. You may not know the name, here's the face:

 

[0098386]

I'm friends with an actress/model type girl. She's in a couple of films, 1 Hollywood, big budget film too. Won't be posting her name though

Dunno if I've posted in here yet but Paul Scholes lives in my area. Really down to earth guy. And loads of soap actors. Which makes sense since they make 3 of the more popular soaps round my way and it's kinda inbetween cities.

Some more but I don't really know or care too much about celebrities

And some days later: I went to school with an upcoming band, of sorts. Infact I was the lead guitarists second hand man. Was always his rhythm guitarist. They've been signed to some Sony label or something and if they get mega big I can claim to be the 5th Beatle, sell stories and make a fortune! huzzah!

 

[Plumbstone]

Mostly British but shoulda heard of most of them...

The Queen (sung for her when I was a chorister...)
Tom Jones
Elton John
All of Muse, Placebo, Pulp, McFly.....
Jo Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Boy George
Jimmy Page + Robert Plant
Roger Waters
Paul Gascoigne
Bryan Adams
Kymani Marley
Justin Hawkins
Jamelia
Nigel Kennedy
Vanessa Mae
Pete Townsend
Roger Moore

All to talk to, some to have dinner with, some to work with/for,

Loads of other musicians...Does help that I'm a sound engineer though. Oh, and a few porn stars but the less said about them the better...

 

[ReanimationLP]

I've met Fred Gallagher (Megatokyo) at Otakon. I've also met Mohammad Haque and Ananth Panagriya (AppleGeeks), as well as Steven Blum, Maki Murakami, and some other anime voice actors.

I've also met Kweisi Mfume (He was the head of the NAACP). When I was working at Best Buy, he came in and was buying Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Ultimate.

 

[SuperCompu2]

'nuff said.

 

[LizKat]

Celebrities... hmm.. well i will name the few that come to mind quickly from back when I lived in New York City.

Peter Serkin, the pianist. He was entering an identity crisis period, he announced. And he wasn't that much fun to hang out with, since the rest of us just wanted to relax that weekend. He sat on our living room floor and sulked about how it was tough being a famous musician AND being a famous musician's son. Cry me a river, honey, and please pass the Ballantine Ale. I guess we weren't much help that night. Guess he eventually figured out who he was after a couple years away from his profession.

Judy Collins. A completely unassuming and very nice person.

Margaret Hillis, Grammy-winning director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. She was worth flying to Chicago to hear even in a rehearsal of the Brahms Requiem. I did that once, actually. Worth every penny.

Uri Shulevitz, a Holocaust survivor, children's book author and artist. I'm a fan!

Cornell West. I am not a fan. I have tried to appreciate his viewpoints and discount his rather bristling manner, but.. I'm not there and not likely to get there.

I dunno. In New York, or any large city, you see people who are celebrities and their faces are familiar so you don't necessarily think they're someone famous. No, you just think "gee i know that guy from somewhere is he the guy that fixed my camera?" Probably it's your local news anchor trying to snag the same cab you wanted on a rainy afternoon. You will realize that when you get home and flip on the news and there he is in all his blow-dried majesty, and there you are looking like a drowned rat from walking ten blocks to the subway in the rain.

 

[Gray-Wolf]

Tony Atlas, from the days of the old NWA Wrestling show. Got his autograph at a grocery store I worked at at the time.

Sadly, I met Chris Benoit a week before he and his family died. He was out buying some steaks with his son.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Judy Collins???

OMG, you lucky slug.

 

[yg17]

I was about 2 feet away from Barack Obama at a rally a few months ago, does that count?

 

[iJohnHenry]

Only if he gets elected. *coughneverhappencough*

 

[mojohanna]

My only two claims here are straight from the 80's.

I played football on the beach in Hilton Head SC with John Cougar Mellencamp. He was on my team and I tossed him a TD pass. He is very short, but very fast. Overall a really cool experience and he is a very nice guy.

My other is Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmos Fire, Weekend at Bernie's). I ran into him while walking over a bridge in Paris when I was 18. Unfortunately, I don't have picts of either event.

 

[Karstan]

my brother roomed with jaleel white (steve urkel) back in the day

 

[ryannel2003]

I met Shania Twain a couple of years ago. I was *cough* getting an autograph for my little sister. She is very tiny.

I love Shania Twain (as you can see from my avatar). I've heard she is a very down to earth and friendly person.