Talk about your brush with famous people

Oscar Levant was famous for all that - thinking, I might have read about him around then - did read about him sometime. As an adolescent I read the Variety and Reporter, and seem to remember Levant being noted... we are a smidge different in years, and the years when I read about him as a teen (rarely ever to look at V and R again) and you were parking cars... might have coincided.

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RP and I once saw Conan O'Brien (his family is from Boston) at the old B & D Deli in Brookline. I didn't recognize him right away, I think he wasn't happy about that. We decided not to bother him, just look and smile. He was with a woman who I think was his sister.

RP has other stories from his youth, kids he went to school with. I'll see if I can persuade him to this topic.

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ossobuco wrote:

Reyn - what were you thinking with those hockey folk?

It was a long time ago, so I don't really remember.

Generally, I think when any personality is in the media, your head naturals swivels and you gawk somewhat. I'd never bother a person like that and ask anything.

On the chess site that I regularily play, we get folks from all walks of life. For example, I'm currently playing a police detective from a southern state. Nice fellow and he is naturally a bit of a talker.

His work comes in the conversation from time to time of his own making. I never bring it up, as I feel he's on the site to get away from all the hustle and bustle of that life.

I think it's the same for "celebrities".

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David Copperfield (of the 3 of a Kind UK comedy show fame)nearly put a foam pie down my back at a show about 20 years ago.

I met Michael Palin a couple of years back at a book signing.
He stayed about half an hour more than advertised so I said 'thank you for staying on'.If he didnt stay I owuldnt have had a present to give to my dad!!
He has very soft hands, I shook it as i left.

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edgarblythe wrote:

At a convenience store just outside of Houston, I walked out after paying for gas. On the way to my car, I encountered a man who was on his way to pay for his purchase. My eyes were cast down. Something made me look up. My eyes travelled up the expensive slacks and tan jacket until I was looking up at an extremely tall man. It was our Channel 11 weatherman, Niel Frank. His eyes stared into mine, unwelcoming, dismissive. I respected his need for privacy and went about my business.

Whew! Neil Frank. Long after every other informed person following hurricane Rita declared it would miss Houston, he proclaimed staunchly: "That's just a wobble. The hurricane is still headed directly to Galveston (and, hence, Houston). Don't relax now." I would have transferred him to traffic reporting.

Edgar, I need an update on his hurricane prediction and am not getting the gist of whether this Neil Frank guy is a dolt or worthy of his privacy.

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Diane wrote:

As usual, where exciting moments are concerned, I have only lived vicariously.

A surprising number of movies are filmed here in Albuquerque. During one such filming, a friend of mine was walking her dogs, sobbing over the loss of one of her favorite dogs (she takes in abused dogs). She had been sitting on the curb in order to get it out of her system when she noticed a pair of exquite men's Italian leather shoes. A hand touched her shoulder then the man asked if she was alright. She looked up to see Richard Gere. She told him, shakily, about her loss and he said that he understood her sadness and admired her for taking in abused dogs, gave her a little hug and continued on his way.

My opinion of Richard Gere has gone up a thousand percent afer hearing that story.--I also wish I could have seen his shoes as well as the rest of him.

Here's an indirect and little known factoid about Richard Gere and his Buddhism practice. One of his "teachers" is Robert Thurman, who became the first American Buddhist monk. He teaches at either Columbia or NYU and is the father of Uma.

I agree, he did redeem himself on this one.

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jespah wrote:

RP and I once saw Conan O'Brien (his family is from Boston) at the old B & D Deli in Brookline. I didn't recognize him right away, I think he wasn't happy about that. We decided not to bother him, just look and smile. He was with a woman who I think was his sister.

RP has other stories from his youth, kids he went to school with. I'll see if I can persuade him to this topic.

This reminds me--I was in Boston years ago just around the time Jay Leno was getting to be well known-- in the 80s. He was wearing this shiny maroon suit and was in the middle of filming a Dorito commercial. I remember thinking the whole affair was rather depressing. If I'd seen him eating, it would have been okay, but he really was acting goofy.

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Reyn wrote:

His work comes in the conversation from time to time of his own making. I never bring it up, as I feel he's on the site to get away from all the hustle and bustle of that life.

I think it's the same for "celebrities".

Interesting observation - as mentioned, I've had occasion to meet assorted celebrities, among them several of the show business persuasion. Thinking back, I don't recall show business ever being the focus of any of our conversations.

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I'd agree with Reyn on that as well-- I think most famous people want to keep a low profile, with the exception of Bill Clinton.

Timber, your Robert Mitchum story is more than just an enounter, that was some bonding.

But Reyn, the guy is from Canada? Are there famous people from Canada?

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In the mid-eighties, I had a lot of hard times. I won't go into detail, but there was trouble with the law and homelessness and addiction involved.

I was thumbing a ride on a highway in Greensboro, North Carolina, and got picked up by a middle-aged black man in a Lincoln Continental. After he asked me "How far are you going?", I couldn't stop staring at him, for reasons that will be obvious when I finish. "He noticed me gawking, laughed and said "I know, I know - I look just like George Jefferson, right?"

Because of his amusement and what appeared to be familiarity with his identity being mistaken, I basically laughed, said "Man, you sure do" (or something equally insightful), and got let off down the road a few miles.

It was only a few minutes later - after I'd seen the New York license plates and thought about how immaculately dressed he was, and how exactly like Sherman Hemsley this guy had looked, sounded and acted, that I decided that his act of being tickled about being mistaken again was just that - an act. I'm about 99.99% sure that I got picked up by George Jefferson from the old All in the Family spinoff show - The Jeffersons.

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Gala wrote:

jespah wrote:
RP and I once saw Conan O'Brien (his family is from Boston) at the old B & D Deli in Brookline. I didn't recognize him right away, I think he wasn't happy about that. We decided not to bother him, just look and smile. He was with a woman who I think was his sister.

RP has other stories from his youth, kids he went to school with. I'll see if I can persuade him to this topic.

This reminds me--I was in Boston years ago just around the time Jay Leno was getting to be well known-- in the 80s. He was wearing this shiny maroon suit and was in the middle of filming a Dorito commercial. I remember thinking the whole affair was rather depressing. If I'd seen him eating, it would have been okay, but he really was acting goofy.

And that, in turn, reminds me - one of my first audits was in Boston. My colleagues and I were walking around downtown, looking to go to lunch somewhere, and we saw Michael Dukakis, who waved and smiled.

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Gala wrote:

But Reyn, the guy is from Canada? Are there famous people from Canada?

You've never heard of Frank Mahovlich? Shocked

I'm not a hockey fan, and I knew the guy! Laughing

Actually, we get quite a few celebrities coming to Vancouver and area with the film industry here. It's known locally as "Hollywood North".

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Reyn wrote:

Gala wrote:
But Reyn, the guy is from Canada? Are there famous people from Canada?

You've never heard of Frank Mahovlich?

I'm not a hockey fan, and I knew the guy!

Actually, we get quite a few celebrities coming to Vancouver and area with the film industry here. It's known locally as "Hollywood North".

When I flew to Vancouver I sat next to some woman on the plane who was a star in some Canadian TV show. She had a small child with her. I remember saying to myself while I was waiting in the area before boarding: "There's a woman with a small child, I bet with my luck we'll be seated together and the child will be a shreiker." As it turned out, the child was quite mellow, but the actress was a talker, chatty. It was a big plane and there were maybe 10 passengers total, so when we could take our seat belts off I politely made some excuse and moved to another seat.

In Vancouver, I bought a really great piece of Jewlery from some street vendor. He told me of the tales of woe Michael Moriarty was having with his drinking while living there.

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At the NBA Playoffs Game 5 here in San Antonio 2 years ago, I got close enough to Bill Walton so that I could clearly see his bald head under his combover. I could have asked for an autograph, but I never liked Bill Walton.

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Gala wrote:

edgarblythe wrote:
At a convenience store just outside of Houston, I walked out after paying for gas. On the way to my car, I encountered a man who was on his way to pay for his purchase. My eyes were cast down. Something made me look up. My eyes travelled up the expensive slacks and tan jacket until I was looking up at an extremely tall man. It was our Channel 11 weatherman, Niel Frank. His eyes stared into mine, unwelcoming, dismissive. I respected his need for privacy and went about my business.

Whew! Neil Frank. Long after every other informed person following hurricane Rita declared it would miss Houston, he proclaimed staunchly: "That's just a wobble. The hurricane is still headed directly to Galveston (and, hence, Houston). Don't relax now." I would have transferred him to traffic reporting.

Edgar, I need an update on his hurricane prediction and am not getting the gist of whether this Neil Frank guy is a dolt or worthy of his privacy.

Neil Frank once was a pretty high up guy with the national weather bureau. I vaguely recall a story about him leaving there under poor terms. In Houston, he is supposed to be the great authority on hurricanes. So, while he insisted the storm would score a direct hit on Galveston, everybody else said, "No, somewhere nearer Louisiana." Hurricane Rita missed us a mile.
But, yes, he deserves his privacy, as do we all.

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osso, that's quite a salad bar of stars you've encountered. I'll say.

JL, Oscar Levant it doesn't surprise me. He was a real randy scoundrel. Kind of mean-spirited when it came to women. I recall reading how he once played a trick on one of the Marx brothers ( Ithink it was one of them)-- on a train, where there was a really unattractive woman. He set him up by telling her about this gorgeous broad, etc. He totally duped his friend by getting him all worked up only to find she was not a babe.

Speaking of crazy people-- A friend of mine told me she has a friend who moved to Hollywood to become an actor and took a job as a chauffer for Estelle Getty. Reports were that she was the nastiest and most surly of women. Not a generous or kind bone in her little frame.

Snood, good story about George Jefferson. Ha. He got you. I was at the airport in Minnesota once when I heard the beeping of those transport cars that shuttle people inside the terminal if the distance is far. As the beep, beep, beep got louder I looked and there was Hershel Walker in some great clothes and a ton of jewlery, he was a huge, he was sitting next to this cute very Midwestern elderly couple.

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jespah wrote:

Gala wrote:
jespah wrote:
RP and I once saw Conan O'Brien (his family is from Boston) at the old B & D Deli in Brookline. I didn't recognize him right away, I think he wasn't happy about that. We decided not to bother him, just look and smile. He was with a woman who I think was his sister.

RP has other stories from his youth, kids he went to school with. I'll see if I can persuade him to this topic.

This reminds me--I was in Boston years ago just around the time Jay Leno was getting to be well known-- in the 80s. He was wearing this shiny maroon suit and was in the middle of filming a Dorito commercial. I remember thinking the whole affair was rather depressing. If I'd seen him eating, it would have been okay, but he really was acting goofy.

And that, in turn, reminds me - one of my first audits was in Boston. My colleagues and I were walking around downtown, looking to go to lunch somewhere, and we saw Michael Dukakis, who waved and smiled.

In the 70s, back when Jerry Brown was a young guy, he came to Rhode Island while campaigning for president. I had a humongo teen crush on him. I called out his name and he waved at me, I knew we were meant to be together, but for some reason he chose Linda Ronstat instead.

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Here's an almost brush with fame. Hitch hiking from Los Angeles through San Diego, on my way home to the Texas hill country, I climbed in the back seat of a large, expensive car. The two in front were arguing in Spanish. More than half way to San Diego, the driver pulled over near an exit and ordered the othe man out. He then invited me to move up there with him. We made small conversation. He said, "You are wondering how a Mexican like me can drive this expensive car?"

I hadn't even thought about it, but he had my interest.

"I play guitar for Trini Lopez."

As we approached the city limit, my host became apoplectic to discover he had ended up in San Diego, the place he started from. He took me to the next exit and u-turned to head back to Los Angeles.

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My father and mother worked at MGM studio when I was born. They had considerable contact with stars, like Betty Grable (because she was married to the band leader, Harry James, and my father played in his and many other orchestras). My father told us (his sons) always to treat movie people like everyone else. I found that to be value information for my parking lot days. My conversations with Danny Kaye, Charles Boye, Fernando Lamas--and sometimes they were conversations--and others went very smoothly and naturally I think, in part, because I showed respect but not "star-struck worship" for them. I would never think of asking for an autograph. My encounters with Henry Fonda in Westwood were so relaxed and "everyday". But other parking lot attendants had very bad things to say about the brutality of that "little bully," Frank Sinatra.
Working the parking lot of Sax Fifth Ave in Beverly Hills exposed me to so many movie stars that after a while I often did not notice them. That was only fair; they never noticed me.

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I once had sex with this guy who had sex with a girl who had a baby with someone who played with Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Those were the days.

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Talk about your brush with famous people

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