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Random celebrity encounters...


RPSharman

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My story is one told to me by my late grandfather... Keep in mind that my grandfather was "man's man" who I always looked up to as a strong, macho person.

As a young associate in New York, my father was sent to the Park Central Hotel to request its last remaining resident vacate his apartment for the hotel's conversion to the new Park Sheraton.  It was to be the flagship hotel for the company.  The remaining resident, who had refused up until now to vacate?  Bugsy Siegel.

My grandfather told of walking to the door of the apartment, knocking, asking to see Mr. Siegel, and being asked to wait a moment.  Then he was there face to face with Bugsy Siegel himself.  My grandfather introduced himself and his firm, and then requested that Mr. Siegel honor the many requests to vacate the apartment.  "So Bugsy Siegel looked me in the eye and said 'no', and I said 'ok' and turned around and left!"  I don't really remember what ended up happening between Bugsy Siegel and the Sheraton apartment, but that wasn't the interesting part of the story for me!

Robert

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One Friday on the Hee Haw show in 1977, one of guest stars was Chad Everett (big TV name at the time, Dr. Joe Gannon on "Medical Center"). After wrap I went to the airport to fly away somewhere, and, against all odds, standing in the ticket line right in front of me was Chad Everett, about to fly back to LA. I was just minding my own business, but while people were staring at him and asking for autographs and all, I noticed he kept looking back at me. Finally curiosity got the best of him and he said, "Hey, aren't you the boom man from the Hee Haw show?".

gt

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My mother-in-law told me that she was on a cruise ship awhile back and she would meet a nice man every morning early for a run around the ship. He was a writer who she hadn't heard of but he opened up to her about many things and said he enjoyed the run with her every morning. He even invited her and her husband to sit with him at dinner. His name was John Grisham.

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I met some friends at a rock concert they had invited me to.

I'm not a live concert fan nor a follower of Pink Floyd.

We met at the rear gates of the venue and wow VIP passes.

So there I was glass in hand, food on the table and feeling a bit lost.

My friends had lived and worked in London for decades and wandered around

saying hi and good to see you again, and oh you live in Switzerland now etc.

I refilled my glass and suddenly we were together again with a middle aged man wearing a

blue shirt with epaulettes or shoulder tags who looked like a security man.

We chatted, they dissapeared and I was left with this guy.

Wow I said what a big show, I wonder how they put it all together?????

Well they workshop it and then do a test run for a week at a venue in the USA.

Twenty minutes later the show started and my security man was playing lead guitar!!!

Yes Dave Gilmour

Oh well that show biz!!

Mike

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My favourite encounter was at LAX just 2 years ago.

We (producer, camera and myself) were waiting for a flight when up walked Dee Synder (Twisted Sister)  So, the prod and cameraman being about 15 years older than me (and shameless) walked up and asked for an autograph.  Dee says "No, if I give you an autograph, the whole place goes crazy!"

The producer looks around and says "dude, everybody else here is too young to know who the f**k you are!"

heh-heh...

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I saw Wilt the stilt Chamberlin at Whole foods in Sherman Oaks, pushing a shopping cart barefoot. it looked like one of those play carts that your kid might have.

Also, saw MR.T. at Ralphs on thanksgiving morning. he was the next person behind me and putting his items on the conveyor belt. I could not help but notice. only many rolls of generic paper towels and instant photo cameras (like 10)

I could only imagine?

last- saw Shaq at the sherman oaks mall (when he was last with the lakers)

apparently he was going to the cheesecake factory. because when I got out of the movie, he was sitting at the outside dining area with what looked like nearly 100 people, gawkers and the like surrounding the glass wall.

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One morning I was having breakfast with my wife, my newborn son and my wirfe's parents at a place on Ventura Blvd. and Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters was at the next table over. I know that it's rude to interrupt anyone's meal celebrity or not, but I saw that their table was done with there meal and just waiting for the check. I leaned over and asked Mr. Grohl if he would mind taking a picture. He kindly said yes, so I handed him our camera and scooted around the table for a group shot of my 3 generation family. Dave laughed at the joke, took the picture (in focus and nicely framed) and sat back down at his table with the rest of his party who proceeded to rib him about his "celebrity".

My in-laws never did get why it was funny...

Joe

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I was working on a reality show several years ago in NY and was walking back to my apartment late at night through theater row and walked past a gentleman waiting for his car.  We both glanced at each other and I instantly knew who he was.  I couldn't help myself so I turned round, told him I loved his work and asked to shake his hand.  He obliged and said thank you and I went on my way.  It was Gabriel Byrne.  Funny thing to me was, his face was on the theater marque he was standing in front of.  

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My story happened 25 years ago when I was visiting Toronto and was to meet a friend for lunch. He was an technician for CBC radio art the time , so I waited for him in the lobby of the old Church Street studios. As we were leaving, Eddie Murphy was arriving for an interview. Dave and I ended up having lunch across the street by the hotel pool with Marianne Faithful. Well... not at the same table, maybe, but several tables away and that wasn't enough , as we went back to CBC who was coming out of the lobby but Oscar Peterson. I haven't encountered any celebrities since then: I guess 3 in a day was my alloted quota. :0)

Jon

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I can't remember ever meeting a celebrity before I got into the Biz. Since then, well maybe too many. The only celebrity thing I remember from my youth, is a story of my dad and Sheriff John getting into a fight of sorts in Newport Beach at a restaurant bar. Very unlike Boyd to get into a fight, but that made the story special to a 6 or 7 year old as well as my mom and their friends. It was retold many times over the years. The 'Wives' were loud, drinking, and singing " Put another candle on my birthday cake" and Sheriff John who had a noon time kids show and sang the song on his show everyday, took offense and said something rude to the "ladies". Thats when Boyd got into it and all hell broke out as the story goes. This is back in 58, 59... Rereading this post of mine, I can see it's not relevant to the subject, but I felt like writing it. Have a good week all.

CrewC

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  • 2 weeks later...

Saw Barry Bonds and his family eating breakfast at my local joint (Jinky's) a few weeks ago. btw- he seemed so pissed and antsy that all the patrons were loking at him and his oversized steroid looking head.

and saw his Father last month at handy j car wash in the morn'n and that night saw him courtside at the lakers game (against denver)

later.

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When I was still in the reserves (early 90's), I took part in an exercise at Fort Leavenworth. They flew us up on a military plane, but for some reason, flew us back on a commercial plane. As I boarded the plane back to Austin, I noticed this guy in first class with ratty jeans and a shirt. His ball cap pulled down over his face. When we got off the plane, the group of us waited outside for our transportation to the other side of the tarmac (where my unit was -- ironic, even then we couldn't just stroll across the tarmac, they had us use public roads. ;-) )... anyhow, it was as we were standing outside that I realized that ratty clothed guy was Willie Nelson. I said Hi to him, and then left him alone. However, soon others realized who he was and the airport police had to keep people away from him. Although, I think the coolest thing I've ever seen was this elderly black woman in a wheelchair. She wanted to see Willie and the airport police who were keeping folks back, came to her, pushed her wheelchair  to see Willie and he walked over and said hi and gave her an autograph. My now wife (who was in my unit at the time), and I talk about that even to this day.

Wayne

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Having just seen a movie starring this celebrity, I was reminded of a recent encounter.  I had just come back from Memphis on a Sunday, and was at Sun Studios that day.  On Monday I was working at Capitol Records.  I was in Studio B, but poked my head into Studio A as an orchestra was setting up.  It was funny to me to have been in both places one day apart, and I was telling the person who just stepped in next to me that I had been at Sun Studios "you know, in Memphis".  As I said this, I realized I was talking to Harry Connick Jr.  All I could think of to say was, "Of course you know where that is."  I felt like a moron.

Robert

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I was at Best Buy in Hollywood shopping for yet another laptop this weekend.  Saw comedian Richard Lewis shopping for a new Desktop. He ended up getting a new Dell Desktop I think.  (he's obviously not a Mac guy).  It was hard to get waited on as all the Teenaged sales staff were busy trying to fill Lewis's order, or wait on the Hot chick who took 45 minutes of constant attention to decide on a USB thumb drive.

I ended up with another HP Laptop.  This one was a Dual Core 17" with 400 GB HD and 4 Gig of RAM,  Radion 3600 Video with HDMI for $650.  Pretty good deal.  It will run a lot better when I can put Windows 7 on it.

------Courtney

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I ended up with another HP Laptop.  This one was a Dual Core 17" with 400 GB HD and 4 Gig of RAM,  Radion 3600 Video with HDMI for $650.  Pretty good deal.  It will run a lot better when I can put Windows 7 on it.

------Courtney

Courtney ... obviously not a Mac guy (but we knew that, didn't we).

-  Jeff Wexler

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've had many interesting encounters, but my favorite (and most embarrassing) was in a theater in NY.  I was talking with this very nice woman sitting next to me, very distinguished, very proper.  We were talking about shows to see, and I asked her about one show, and she didn't know the answer and said she would ask her husband, who was sitting on the other side of her.  When he leaned over to answer my question, it was Paul Newman and the woman (of course) was Joanne Woodward.  I hadn't recognized her, which she realized - and told me to keep chatting with her the way we had been since our conversation had been so enjoyable.

But, the one I remember most was at the Circle In The Square Theatre in NYC. I was there to see Arms and the Man with Kevin Kline and Glenn Headley.  I was in my seat before the show with several empty seats around me.  All of the sudden there was a hush in the theater, and men in suits came in, one sitting next to me, one behind me and following them was Jackie O and John Jr.  I can honestly say I was totally star struck for the first time in my life.

The most fun encounter was at the final preview for Jerome Robbins Broadway - I ended up sitting next to Arthur Hershfeld (sp?) the artist that did all of the broadway sketches for the NY Times.  I had a hard time watching the show because he was sketching through the whole show - I kept alternating between him and the show.  He autographed my program at intermission.  :-)

(I used to travel for business to NY a lot and often ended up going to the theater by myself, and ended up in "protection" seats, which is why I had such great seats).

Phil

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Jackie O's favorite horse is retired and living in the 8 acre pasture behind my farmhouse in New Jersey.  Boy is he a beauty- he seems to stand a foot taller than his companions.

My neighbor used to tend the horse on Jackie O's farm up in Peapack-Gladstone.  When JO passed away she left it to her.

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  • 1 month later...

There was a particularly heavy lineup at the New Orleans jazz fest for the second weekend in 2002.  Sunday's shows at the festival were sizzling, with Ratdog, Phil Lesh and Friends, and the Neville Brothers on the same stage one after another.  After the fest, I saw Ratdog at the Howlin' Wolf, and then we caught some local music at the Maple Leaf.  Around 3:45 in the morning, my buddy and I went to Igor's for some Bloody Marys and some decompression.  As we were sitting at the video poker machine, my buddy casually mentioned, "Hey, there's Bob."

I turned toward the door and saw Bob Weir standing there with a Bloody Mary in his hand.  Being a huge Deadhead, I had to say something, but I was a bit inebriated at the time.  I walked over to him and introduced myself, told him I was a huge fan, and asked him what song he closed out his Jazz Fest set with.  He was very gracious, and we chatted briefly.  I had my camera with me (we parked in a shady area) and asked if he would mind taking a picture with me. 

I usually don't get moved by celebrity, but the Dead were such a formative part of my life, and I knew I'd just kick myself if I didn't at least ask for a photo.

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Encounter while working: does that still count?

Desert Research Center, Tuscon C1986. Doing a story in the buildup to Biosphere. Needed to do a PTC with our presenter in the "lobby" of the center, however in the background was a fairly large, distinguished, elderly gentleman. I went over and explained what we were doing and would he mind moving out of our shot. A smile from him and "of course". That night we had drinks with the director of the center and he asked if we had asked someone to move out of our shot. We all looked at each other , wondering what was to come next. His reply: "That's probably the first time Marlon Brando has ever been asked to get out of shot". Apparently Brando was an investor in the Biosphere project.

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I mentioned 'Radioman' because a lot of sound people have met him over the years.

Here's one from "Awake" in 2005, with duelling chestworn sound rigs...

If you've ever seen 'The Fisher King' Robin Williams steals a lot of his performance from Radioman.

We did a few shots with those two together in a movie called "The Night Listener", also in 2005, but I think they did not make the final cut.

He told me first when I said hello that he rode his bike down from New York, then admitted later that he brought his bike with him on the train.

He ALWAYS insists he has rode his bike to distant locations (although DC is the farthest one I have heard of him boasting!) but generally, yes, he always takes the train with the bike.

post-176-130815082075_thumb.jpg

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