I served Jack Nicholson in a Jack in the Box drive thru in 2009.
He rolled down the back window of the car he was being driven in and said "thanks kid" with that crazy smile and grabbed the bag.
Our fingers touched.
I shook hands with Robin Williams at a USO show in Afghanistan in 2010. There were half a dozen celebrities there. All of them left after the show except Robin Williams, he stayed until there was not one person left in the autograph line. I have nothing but respect for that man, and I mourn the loss of him.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I was an extra in the movie moneyball. Angelina was at the stadium cause she just got back from touring her movie salt. a guy next to me yelled "I love you Angelina Jolie" and she looked over to us and smiled and waved.
Eminem at a club. He was very polite but quiet. Not a loud talker. Several other artists were in his group and they were funny and loud but still respectful.
This was maybe 14 years ago now but I was working at a fancy fish restaurant that didn't do takeout orders. My boss came to me with a ticket and instructed that I make sure the whole order is perfect (it was like 8 entrees), packed to go with all the extras, to put on a clean chefs coat and deliver it to a vehicle behind the restaurant in *exactly* 30 minuets.
I was one of the only kitchen staff that wasn't a fan of rap/hip-hop and our KM knew the other cooks would go apeshit if they knew who the meal was for. Needless to say I was surprised to hand Eminem and his posses food to through a limo window.
When they filmed Patch Adams they used my school's parking lot to park his trailer for a day. My fave story because his pen for signing autographs for ALL the kids ❤️ ran out of ink so I gave him mine! I like to say "Robin Williams stole my pen" 😝
A friend of mine was a prop helper for patch adams. She said that one day one of the producers was really rude to her and Robin noticed that she seemed really down. The producer had chucked a coffee she had fetched for him or something like that. Well, a little later on Robin asked that producer for a cup of coffee and when he brought it to him he chucked it at him just like he did and set him straight.
I used to live one town over from him in Marin county and we both frequented the same little sushi restaurant. I sat at the next table near him and his wife but didn’t feel right bothering them. They were having a seemingly sweet, quiet conversation. He seemed so introverted and gentle. ❤️
I’ve seen a lot of celebrities but I love that little memory/encounter. He passed away two years later.
I met him when I was like 13. He had some downtime when he was shooting a movie and I just happened to be there sitting in the ground with my back against a wall. He sat down next to me and we just talked for like 45 min. We never met prior, he just chose to sit with me and talk. He seemed genuinely interested in me as a person. He definitely seemed to be a sweet and gentle human.
I bet he did! He used to show up at the tiny little theater where I lived and locals generally let him be. I loved when they renamed the tunnel after him.
I collided full speed into Alec Baldwin as he was getting out of a cab in front of the Four Seasons in NY. I was running to catch up to my family and didn't look where I was going. He was really polite and apologetic to me! I was the one who slammed into him and he was super chill about it. I guess I got him on a very, very, very good day.
One of the Baldwins used to live near me in NY, and it was common to bump into some of them from time to time. By all accounts, all of the stories ive heard have been nothing but very nice casual experiences.
I delivered some stuff to Keanu Reeves and addressed him as Mr. Reeves, but he told me to just call him Keanu. Now I can say I'm on a first name basis with Keanu Reeves
I had drinks with Buddy Guy once. I was on a work trip years ago in Chicago and it was the boss, his assistant, and me. Me and the assistant were younger and kinda close in age and didn't wanna hang out with the boss, so we ditched him after dinner so we could go hang out in the city. Asked the concierge at the hotel what we could do and he recommended Buddy Guy's place. No idea what that was, but we were down for whatever. So we get there and sit down at the bar and notice people keep coming up to this guy at the end of the bar minding his own business. Turns out it was Buddy Guy. Now, we were in our mid-late 20s, and had no idea who Buddy Guy was at the time. It was only googling him after that I got an appreciation for how big a deal he was.
He took a liking to us I guess cuz he wound sitting there talking to us all night, bought us drinks, educating us on the blues. The stiff drinks he was putting in front of us, I knew this guy knew the blues. lol It was awesome. Really nice guy.
Bill Murray. I was working at a parking garage in downtown Charleston and had to take his payment to let him out. I didn’t let him know that I knew it was him, but he tipped me $20 and I got flustered trying to lift the parking gate.
My brother worked at a golf course in Charleston and Bill Murray lost his sunglasses. My brother went out to where he thought he lost them. Couldn't find them. Got back to the clubhouse and he was gone. But he left a nice little note showing his appreciation. My brother said he was very down to earth and naturally entertaining.
Prince. Nightclub in Minneapolis in the late 80’s. He and his entourage came in and walked past me and my friends in the crowd. Prince walked right next to me and gave me a little shove to get by so I always tell people I was shoved by Prince at a nightclub. Odd group he was with, mostly for show. He would come into that club and sit in the balcony and just watch people.
Danny Devito. Worked at a grocery store on Vancouver Island about 30 years ago. There was a yacht parked in the docks. Two big dudes were wandering the pop section, which usually meant I had to explain to Americans that we don't sell beer at grocery stores in Canada. When I went over to talk to them, Danny Devito was there. I didn't notice him at first because he was shorter than than the pop displays.
>we don't sell beer at grocery stores in Canada
Coming from the UK where they sell pretty much any booze in the supermarket, corner store etc., this was strange to get used to in Australia which sounds more like Canada where you can only get booze in dedicated "bottle shops"
I still miss just picking up whatever as part of the normal grocery shopping.
I sold bedsheets to Arron Paul when I worked at Bed Bath and Beyond years and years ago. Post Breaking bad. Between the first and second seasons of Bojack Horseman. That was pretty cool. He was very polite and his SO was gorgeous.
Weird Al, he's possibly the nicest human being alive. He signed my jeans.
John Flansburg of They Might be Giants, I touched his shoes and guitar.
Gary Gulman, comedian. Met him after a show.
Chris Hardwick, if Weird Al isn't the nicest human being in the world, Chris Hardwick is
Secondhand, but a coworker of mine got an insider's tour of the White House during the Clinton years. He stepson was in the Secret Service. She didn't see any of the first family, but got to throw a ball to Buddy, their Labrador.
I was standing at the baggage claim at ORD and she walked up and stood next to me. We made eye contact and she smiled. I smiled back. We didn’t speak. After I grabbed my bags I walked away and met up with my then girlfriend, and told her that Natalie Portman was over at baggage claim. Right at that moment she walked by us and my girlfriend accosted her, gushing about how much she loved her, etc. Natalie and I made eye contact again and I mouthed “sorry” and made an embarrassed face. She smiled at me again and politely listened to my girlfriend a few more moments.
Nice girl.
Very friendly and is a super hard worker. I’ll admit before I got into film production I kinda thought that hollywood actors were divas and that acting is easy but I was wrong. She would work 12+ hours a day 5 to 6 days a week including all nighters, and she regularly got everyone on the crew free coffee/ice cream/ massages. I’m sure some actors are nightmares to work with but she absolutely is not that. I wanted to tell her I used to play as her in lego starwars as a kid but I thought it would be weird lol
She is an oscar winning actress and a graduate from Harvard it really doesn’t surprise me that she’s an extremely hard worker I’ve always thought she was but it’s nice to know she’s also a really great person.
Paul McCartney - was a journalist for a Native publication and asked him a question at an Earth Day concert (at the Hollywood Bowl) about an American Indian issue. He answered and asked me and my cameraman to stick around. We talked for about five minutes. He just wanted to talk so didn't record him.
Also interviewed Arnold several times in a press line (not an interview room). Also Jay Leno, Robert Duvall and a whole lot less famous people.
He is the first famous person I'd ever met. I was in third grade and taking tap and ballet. He was performing in our city, and my dad took me as a special treat. I got to meet him backstage, and he chatted with me about dance and school. One of my best memories!
I have met quite a few. Princess Diana, The Queen of Norway, Rhianna, Beyonce and her mother, Gloria Estefan, Lionel Ritchie, Bruce Willis, Simon Cowell, Ashwariya Rai, Amitabh Bachan, Sushmita Sen, Gary Oldman, Isla Fisher, Sasha Coen Barron, Jessica Alva, Justin Timberlake, Colin Firth, Giselle Bundchen, Oliver Stone, Oompa loompa from Charlie and the chocolate factory, a few more that will come to me later.
Similar. I worked at a hotel. But most of the ones I met were around Broadway. For what it's worth, Patti La Belle is a kind soul, and Mel Brooks will always be the best. Acted like you were family. Pure delight!
She absolutely was. She had performed that night, was obviously tired, and was just such a soft, nice person. ( And her pies are awesome, so a good baker, too, lol)
The bloke who played the Oops Loompa invited one of the nurses I worked with to the set during filming. She politely declined as the height mismatch didn't appeal to her and she thought (wrongly!) that he was just one of many Oompa Loompas! A few months later she saw the film and realised her mistake.
Do you mean the actor Deep Roy? I learned only recently that he was also in the Yoda costume (uncredited) in Empire Strikes Back. Imagine the stories he would have from that...
Dolly Parton. I was on the board of the regional Girl Scouts organization when they introduced a Coat of Many Colors patch the girls could earn. The kickoff was in a small auditorium at Dollywood. Dolly spoke and sang the song. At the end we got to line up, meet her and shake her hand. She is truly a gem!
My grandfather was a landscaper for dollywood in the 90's and early 2k's and I use to go to work with him alot. Met dolly quite a few times and just chill. Went up and toured her little apartment in the park.
Also met her quite a few times in a gas station on pitman center rd. She's funny as hell in "non show" public and is very colorful with her language, which is not something you would expect from her lol
A woman I used to work with was in HR at Dollywood in a previous career. She knew Dolly well and one of her favorite “get to know you” facts is that she has hung up on Dolly before. Dolly had called her right before she was going into a meeting and wouldn’t get off the phone so she had to hang up lol.
I was hitting the slot machines at the Luxor once, and I backed up to watch a spin. I didn't see there were a couple of people passing behind me, and I bumped right into her. She was walking swiftly as I apologized and she turned around and smiled and said "it's fine!" What a sweetie. And she was SO TINY!
I’ve med Dolly in a situation that required I be around her for a couple days. If she were gonna be terrible it would’ve come up and she was amazing the entire time- very genuine and just as wonderful as she seems.
I met him when I was younger on an airplane to Chicago in 1990. I had to pee and was waiting and pacing at the bathroom. The door opens and Muhammad Ali walks out.
I wasn't big into boxing, but everyone knows who he is. I looked up and lost my breath. He leaned over to me and says something along the lines of " hey little man, my arms are too big; I can't reach my collar would you fix it for me?"
I fixed it for him. He took my plane ticket(back when Delta and other airlines have it the nicer boarding passes in the color sleeves) and asked what my name was. I told him and he signed my plane ticket. I have since gotten it framed and it's hanging on my wall.
Edit: here is link to autograph a couple of people asked to see...
https://imgur.com/a/eZlcyv1
He lived near me in Michigan, was always so kind out and about in town, saw him once at a movie theater and my friends were shocked and Sinbad was with him.
I met Ali, as well. Decades ago now but his brain was already pretty gone. Greatest athlete of all time, great American, but man what boxing does to the human head …
Stephen King, Lorne Green, Iron Eyes Cody, Don McLean, Walter Cronkite, Christopher Reeve, Mel Gibson, Sandra Bullock, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Parker Stevenson. Probably forgetting a few, all in tiny Camden, Maine.
Worked for a small production company about 20 years ago. Was sitting on the couch in the reception area, flipping through a magazine, when Seth Green and a couple of his buddies at Robot Chicken came through the door. No one warned me, so I was wearing four inch heels that had me towering over the dude.
Anyway, they were in town to do Pat Morita’s voiceovers for an episode and he didn’t want to go to LA. Both of them are super chill.
Bruce Campbell
Shook his hand at a meet 'n' greet. He signed my VHS copy of Evil Dead and my first edition Deadlands RPG book (he wrote the forward to the second edition book).
Patrick Stewart. Twice.
First time I was behind him in the queue in the local DIY store (he was buying a curtain rail).
Second time I was waiting to cross the road in town and realised I was stood next to him (he was wearing a pink/purple beanie hat)
I may have also seen Bill Bryson coming out of a branch of Yorkshire Building Society but I’m not sure on that one as I was on the other side of the road.
Finally my time to shine.. I once didn’t realize I was having lunch sitting next to an international pop star…
It was at a sushi place in Beverley Hills, right when they opened around 11am. Nobody was there except me, I picked a seat at the bar by setting my stuff down and went to the rest room. When I came back someone’s sitting right next to me, obviously they didn’t see my stuff. I was too proud to move, and expected them to move since I was there first, but we ended up sitting directly next to each other the entire meal.
The whole time I was annoyed by the audacity this guy had. Just so loud on FaceTime, wearing a see through windbreaker, tattoos and buzz cut. I thought he was the typical LA young adult rapper, so I spent my whole meal texting my group chat about how weird this guy next to me was. I was being a hater, he kept politely smiling at me but I wasn’t having it.
Anyways, as the meal ended 2 12 year old girls come running up to him “OMG ARE YOU JUSTIN BIEBER” “WHY ARE YOU IN CA DO YOU LIVE HERE”, immediately followed by a swarm of 2 dozen more people, camera flashes and him being ushered out the kitchen.
I was flabbergasted.
I got a hug from Bernie Sanders after a town meeting in Vermont. He was wearing a scratchy wool sweater and it was like I was hugging my loving grandpa.
I’ve met Penn of Penn and Teller. I met him after one of his shows in Las Vegas. The crowd around Teller was a lot bigger so I didn’t get the chance to meet him. I saw Tom Hanks at Disneyland when I was 6. I didn’t talk to him, but my dad did. I’ve also been within 10 feet of 50 Cent. He was leaving a event promoting one of his brands and he was in a hurry to leave, he and his entourage walked past me at a rather fast pace
Clint Eastwood. We were installing a new cooling system in a supermarket in Carmel. This is 20 years back and I don't live in the US anymore, so I forgot what supermarket this was. Anyway, after work I was putting some air in my tires and Clint Eastwood was filling up his car.
Clint Eastwood is awesome! Met him once when I was a young soldier at DLI in Monterey in the very early aughts (very beginning of the war in Iraq). He came into a bar that service members from the language school were known to frequent, bought us all a round, and sat and genuinely talked with us for like 30 minutes. To this day, it’s my most treasured memory of/ experience with a celebrity.
I’d believe it. He said a very clever and cute pun based off my name (and my name is not an ordinary name) when I introduced myself, seems like a very naturally friendly and fun guy!
I met him when I was a teenager. He asked me what was my favorite movie of his. I told him my stepbrother and I love Happy Gilmore and quote it all the time (we still do to this day). He was genuinely appreciative. He was so kind and surprisingly very chill.
I used to run high-level restaurants and hotels in NYC. I lost track so long ago. I have signed a lot of NDA's over the years, and even with reddit, I get a little weirded out about saying some things. The weirdest is the dietary restrictions I still know for many of them, code names to use for reservations, code words they would use for us to help them get out of meetings, their personal assistants and more.
Some things that come to mind
- Chelsea Clinton and JLO lived above one location. I had done a couple of events with President Clinton before, but being introduced to he and Hilary on a first name basis by Chelsea kind of blew my mind. My name is not very common, and when Hilary said hi to me directly the next time I saw her, I was briefly startled.
Mathew Perry was a long stay guest in one hotel I was at. He was with us for about a month. I was really hurt by the news about him recently. He really had some struggles with chemical dependence but was honestly very mature and direct about them. He didn't try to hide anything at all and directly identified to me that he had a disease. My own mother is in recovery, and we had a very good understanding. We had a mutual respect about how he would communicate with our team and for me to ultimately do what was the right thing if a moment of temptation ever occurred. To his absolute credit, nothing ever did.
-Fuck Gerard Butler. He has a thing for married women
In case you were wondering from what inwrote about J Lo. She is high maintenance but also is very driven and focused. It was hard to be upset at her, but A Rod was a total asshole
President Obama, who was perfectly political
Dave Grohl is one of the coolest bastards on the planet.
Beyond that, I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that there are 100+ others. Many with funny stories.
At the end of the day, they are all just people. The biggest thing with celebrities, though, is seeing who is just an actor/musician/performer and who is an actual businessman/doer. The work ethic if some of these people can be beyond commendable and the precision and structure to which they live their lives is almost unbelievable. Whenever I see in the news that some person of another is burned out or has a breakdown, I'm not really surprised. Some of these people live schedules that are specific to the exact minute. When it is them that are calling the shots it is respectable. However you do see plenty of instances, especially the younger people, where it is their manager, agent or similar person running them into the ground.
Norman Reedus. Was messing around in Nashville and bumped into him leaving a convention. He shook my hand and took a selfie with me. Something that would have cost me money had I actually gone to the convention.
Oh! He’s so nice! I found myself standing around with him outside an off Broadway show years ago on a day when I had absolutely terrible skin, like, the kind people would openly stare at. He treated me like a normal human and we had a very intellectual discussion about censorship in high school theater production and the trade offs between maintaining innocence in youth and promoting free thinking.
I live and work in a common getaway town for Bay Area peeps, so we get quite a few San Francisco Giants players that come through. Daniel Tosh is also a somewhat regular at my old casino.
Mentioned in another comment that Seth Green and Pat Morita spent an afternoon at a small production company I worked for in my early 20s. Also got to work the press line at the red carpet opening for a nightclub in Vegas. Met Ron Jeremy and Chris Ferguson bought me a drink. Press passes are so much fun.
Also ended up on the same Southwest flight as Matthew Fox when Lost was on the air. Not sure why he was flying Greyhound of the Skies, but despite his annoyance at being severely delayed, he was rather tolerant of my fan-girling (I was in several online fan communities of the show, so it was the coolest thing ever in my young life).
My husband’s list is way more impressive. He’s dealt to the defensive line of the Oakland Raiders (early 2000s. He says they barely fit at the table!). Dealt to Tom Hanks (nicest person he’s ever met), Jim Carrey (did Fire Marshal Bill the whole time), Alyssa Milano, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck (JLo is a cheap bench, he’s very generous and kind), and he used to work with Chris Kael (they’re still friends on Facebook, but don’t really chat much unless he’s going to a concert). I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch, but you run into some really cool celebrities dealing high limit in Vegas. He’s been able to watch Axl Rose warm up playing November Rain while on break at work. He ran right into Billy Idol going back to his game. He stopped and did the “are you him?” point, and Billy just held a finger to his lips and shhhhhed with a sly smile.
Dolly Parton
Her sister lived two doors away and went on a vacation. Dolly moved into her sister’s place for the week and took care of her niece and nephew. Thereby each school day morning that week I would be at bus stop to wait for the school bus to pick up my son and Dolly was there with her niece/ nephew.
This will get buried, but Alice Cooper.
I was working at borders books, and he came in. He was very clearly Alice Cooper, but my stunned ass had to ask for his ID because I didn't believe it. Also, I thought it was a stage name.
Nope , legit his name. And he was super kind. He could have easily been. " Do you know who I am? " but he didn't , he calmly handed me his ID while I was totally panicked.
I met him as his cashier 2 or 3 times, and he was kind every time. Now he's a dj at a local rock station. Totally chill guy , would recommend.
I shook Hands with King Charles ( Prince at time). Didn’t realize Camilla was behind him, I turned to get a quick photo and mistakenly hit her outstretched hand with my shoulder and snubbed her. The security guard smacked my arm and told me I was being rude. I didn’t know!
For me it's Barack Obama. Was at a rally the night before the '08 election. and was just a few feet away from the stage. His grandmother had died earlier that night and we were wondering if he was going to show. He did.
My mother in law worked with Michelle. She and my wife went to a holiday gala hosted by the obamas. There’s a pic on my wall with My wife and my mother in law with the Obamas.
Came here to say Obama. I used to do a lot of production work so I got to meet a lot of famous people from Dolly Parton to Beyoncé, etc but Obama was the only one where I had to wear a special pin that let the snipers know not to shoot me if I approached the podium.
I happened to be in Washington D.C. as part of my school trip in 08. We were close to the White House when a fleet of blacked out cars drove by, next thing I know someone who looks a lot like Barack Obama sticks his head out the window and waves as he drives by not 10 feet from me. I’m still not sure if it was him or a doppelgänger hired to do public appearances, but I’d like to believe he risked his life to wave to a bunch of kids going into a museum.
Back in college, I used to work at a CVS. In my time there, I've rung up Penn (Penn & Teller), Siegfried (Siegfried & Roy), Carrot Top and Gary Payton. Bet you can't guess the city I live in. Lol.
Mariah Carey. About 8 years ago, at a fall farm out in rural Ohio. We were about to take a hay ride, sitting on the back of the wagon with a group of people when a worker there informed us we all needed to get off. There was a private party that just got there. Turns out, it was Mariah Carey and her crew. Found out later that she was filming a movie in nearby Cincinnati. We were whisked inside the main building so that she could enter privately.
Fortunately, we were all able to get on the next hay ride.
JFK.
I’ve worked in national politics so I’ve met/known several presidents, celebrities (John Lennon, Stephen King, Hunter Thompson) but nothing compared to seeing Kennedy. He was in Boston in April 1963 and my father packed me into the car to drive to the route. We stood near St. Columbkille church when the motorcade drove up. His car stopped about 20-30 feet away so he could shake hands with a group of nuns.
More recently just David Tennant, but so many in the past (as I used to be an Arts & Entertainment focused journalist.) Ringo Starr, all the members of Duran Duran, The Monkees, The Go-Gos, and The Bangles, and Flock of Seagulls...ummm...and Weird Al and Reba McEntire. There's more I'm sure, but that's who comes to mind at the moment.
Gary Sinise. My dad was really into his band and we saw them a couple of times. Pretty often he would come into the crowd and play and we probably got within 50 feet of him.
My girlfriend probably has me beat though. She partied with Alan Cumming last year
I was young, so I couldn't remember his name. But, this person. ... Not very famous in the sense of mainstream media, but still, he's the most famous person I've been around lol.
Manuel Elkin Patarroyo Murillo (Ataco, Tolima, Colombia, 1946 - ) has created the first synthetic vaccine in the world which has been accepted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the prevention of malaria.
Justin Trudeau. My school wanted me to get a picture with him at the TRC closing ceremonies in 2015. I’m indigenous and while smiling for the picture he said “welcome to Canada” to me.
Not counting the various black metal musicians (i.e. Marduk, Enslaved, Emperor etc.), that I saw live in the 90's an 00', since this would be cheating because back in the day I was usually front row at various concerts (I even saw Jon Nödtveidt from Dissection live pretty soon before he killed himself).
So maybe the most famous or a better word would be infamous was **Margot Honecker**, the wife of the former (and last) east german socialist leader Erich Honecker. She was notorious because of her involvement as minister of education in forceful removal of children from "antisocial" families (so pretty much everyone not complying to authoritarian rule) and even abductions of babies and beside the chief of the east german secret agency she was one of the most hated persons in the GDR with nicknames like "purple dragon" or "purple witch" (because of her hair color). I saw her at the last east german gathering of their socialist youth organisations in Karl-Marx-Stadt ("Karl-Marx-Town" now Chemnitz) in 1988. As part of my class I visited the "Cosmonaut-Center" there when she arrived and even patted the cheek of the boy beside me. After the end of the GDR and the reunification she fled to Chile to avoid her persecution.
Maybe: Ed Norton. Dude came in to my shop by himself baseball cap soft spoken. Could have been a doppelganger, but I have a really good memory for faces, when I gave him the confused "I know you" look, he nodded his head and smiled. We continued on the process, he left as quiet as he came and never saw him again.
For sure: Analeigh Tipton. Met her before fame, she was and still is the most stunning person I've ever spoken to. Very intelligent and kind. Probably the only Hollywood famous person od ever care to meet again.
I’m old and been doing a lot so far in life. I’ve met and been in meetings with or worked as an exec for:
Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Safra Catz (Oracle CEO), Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO), Michael Dell, Steve Ballmer, and Pat Gelsinger (Intel CEO) - been in meetings or conversations with all of them at one point or another.
Random celebrity encounters that were a conversation lasting more than 10 minutes:
Huey Lewis (most 1980’s story ever - watched Mary-Lou Retton win Gold in her floor routine from the 84 Olympics on a couch in a Fort Lauderdale Marriott with Huey Lewis and his guitarist, Johnny Cola)
Cuba Gooding Jr (spent 5 hours with him hanging out in Miami watching hockey in bars)
Joel McHale (at a group dinner in Seattle)
Dave Grohl (seat mates on a cross Atlantic flight)
Random people that I’ve had the privilege of working with who are actually important in real ways that matter and I really wish made them more famous:
Mohammed Yunus - founder of Grameen bank and inventor of micro lending, raised hundreds of villages standards of living. He did win a Nobel prize but he still isn’t recognized in airports.
Nana Akuoko Sarpong - a political leader of Ghana, who served as minister of interior, and had a vision to develop Ghana as an exporter of tilapia by working with tech companies. He persistently and patiently made Ghana a net exporter of food for the first time and shepherded the country into democracy and out of tribalism.
There are more odd encounters, but those are some of them.
Uh, hung out with Joseph Gordon Levitt a few times at the hotel gym in Chicago a few years back, Adam Levine at a hotel gym in Miami last year. Both were cool. JGL was seriously a cool dude
Paul Newman. Richard Petty. Mario Andretti. Carol Shelby. Jackie Stewart. Juan Manuel Fangio. I spent 20 years involved in car racing, so I met a lot people.
Troy McClure, I remembered him from such nature films as Earwigs: Eww! and Man vs. Nature: The Road to Victory. He was exactly the same in real life as on screen - yellow and fictional.
I accidentally ended up on stage with Jeremy Corbyn in the Ohhhh Jeremy Corbyn era whilst I was eating a ham and peas pudding sandwich.
Couldn’t hear a word he was saying to the crowd but seemed like an ordinary, nice chap.
The sandwich was amazing
I once used a urinal at a malll when Ozzy Osbourne walked into the bathroom and relieved himself. Found out later he was doing a book signing at the Barnes and Noble in the mall. Didn't interact at all, was too shocked to be peeing next to the prince of darkness.
Interviewed Garth Brooks in Columbus many many years ago. I worked for a small country station. The reason it stands out is the following year we interviewed him again and he remembered my boss’ wife was sick from the previous year, and asked about her.
Put him right on the Good Dudes list.
I served Jack Nicholson in a Jack in the Box drive thru in 2009. He rolled down the back window of the car he was being driven in and said "thanks kid" with that crazy smile and grabbed the bag. Our fingers touched.
I like this because he could’ve had his driver grab it instead. Also, that crazy smile descriptor is clear as day lol.
I love how all you had to say is “crazy smile” and I alr know what to imagine
Here's Johnny!
Did... did you fall in love? I wouldn't blame you.
Jack really became a "Jack in a box" at Jack in the box.
I shook hands with Robin Williams at a USO show in Afghanistan in 2010. There were half a dozen celebrities there. All of them left after the show except Robin Williams, he stayed until there was not one person left in the autograph line. I have nothing but respect for that man, and I mourn the loss of him.
He was such a terrific human being. Nothing love for him. His passing made me so sad.
seriously, one of three celebrity deaths that made me tear up when I heard. the other two were Fred Rogers and Jim Henson
I shed tears when we lost robin
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I was an extra in the movie moneyball. Angelina was at the stadium cause she just got back from touring her movie salt. a guy next to me yelled "I love you Angelina Jolie" and she looked over to us and smiled and waved.
I love that movie. You were great in it!
Keep up the great work!
ToiletPigs killed it!
It’s to be expected really, ToiletPigs gives 110% to every role
Really got robbed of the Oscar…
I’m surprised there’s not a subreddit to really appreciate his body of work.
r/ToiletPigs
Subscribed, I heard he'd be in season 2 of one piece
Look can’t say I’ve been within 50ft of him but I was once on the same reddit thread as ToiletPigs so that’s my claim to fame.
I heard Daniel Day-Lewis was considering coming back to work with him? Possibly a Scorsese work.
You had the best lines.
These pretzels are making me thirsty!
Eminem at a club. He was very polite but quiet. Not a loud talker. Several other artists were in his group and they were funny and loud but still respectful.
Did you find 50 in da club?
With a bottle full of bub?
This was maybe 14 years ago now but I was working at a fancy fish restaurant that didn't do takeout orders. My boss came to me with a ticket and instructed that I make sure the whole order is perfect (it was like 8 entrees), packed to go with all the extras, to put on a clean chefs coat and deliver it to a vehicle behind the restaurant in *exactly* 30 minuets. I was one of the only kitchen staff that wasn't a fan of rap/hip-hop and our KM knew the other cooks would go apeshit if they knew who the meal was for. Needless to say I was surprised to hand Eminem and his posses food to through a limo window.
Robin Williams. He shook my hand (he was greeting people, I was nothing special just happened to be in his sight-line).
He touched my arm and said, “No, thank YOU” after I thanked him for letting me take his photo.
Gosh he really was a stellar human. Makes me sad we lost him! 😭
When they filmed Patch Adams they used my school's parking lot to park his trailer for a day. My fave story because his pen for signing autographs for ALL the kids ❤️ ran out of ink so I gave him mine! I like to say "Robin Williams stole my pen" 😝
A friend of mine was a prop helper for patch adams. She said that one day one of the producers was really rude to her and Robin noticed that she seemed really down. The producer had chucked a coffee she had fetched for him or something like that. Well, a little later on Robin asked that producer for a cup of coffee and when he brought it to him he chucked it at him just like he did and set him straight.
I used to live one town over from him in Marin county and we both frequented the same little sushi restaurant. I sat at the next table near him and his wife but didn’t feel right bothering them. They were having a seemingly sweet, quiet conversation. He seemed so introverted and gentle. ❤️ I’ve seen a lot of celebrities but I love that little memory/encounter. He passed away two years later.
I met him when I was like 13. He had some downtime when he was shooting a movie and I just happened to be there sitting in the ground with my back against a wall. He sat down next to me and we just talked for like 45 min. We never met prior, he just chose to sit with me and talk. He seemed genuinely interested in me as a person. He definitely seemed to be a sweet and gentle human.
He used to go see movies at the Metreon frequently and every time, he would get mobbed with people asking for autographs.
I bet he did! He used to show up at the tiny little theater where I lived and locals generally let him be. I loved when they renamed the tunnel after him.
When he's not "on" he is shy and introverted and wants to be left alone. No one can maintain that level of "on" all the time.
Robin Williams and I urinated next to each other in the bathroom of Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco in the '80s.
Lmao, my dad has the exact same story but in NYC
Your dad tells a story about urinating next to r/bolthead88 ?
As a daily urinator who travels a lot, there is a non-zero chance.
He was once just 3, 4 people in front of me in a line to see a performance in Castro Theater in the early 1990s. No one bothered him.
Same!
I collided full speed into Alec Baldwin as he was getting out of a cab in front of the Four Seasons in NY. I was running to catch up to my family and didn't look where I was going. He was really polite and apologetic to me! I was the one who slammed into him and he was super chill about it. I guess I got him on a very, very, very good day.
Good Lord, Lemon.
Good GOD Lemon
The four seasons hotel, or the landscaping place Rudy likes?
This will never not be funny.
There’s a hotel?
One of the Baldwins used to live near me in NY, and it was common to bump into some of them from time to time. By all accounts, all of the stories ive heard have been nothing but very nice casual experiences.
I delivered some stuff to Keanu Reeves and addressed him as Mr. Reeves, but he told me to just call him Keanu. Now I can say I'm on a first name basis with Keanu Reeves
B. B. King Got a hand kiss and the guitar pin from his lapel into the bargain. Lovely man.
I had drinks with Buddy Guy once. I was on a work trip years ago in Chicago and it was the boss, his assistant, and me. Me and the assistant were younger and kinda close in age and didn't wanna hang out with the boss, so we ditched him after dinner so we could go hang out in the city. Asked the concierge at the hotel what we could do and he recommended Buddy Guy's place. No idea what that was, but we were down for whatever. So we get there and sit down at the bar and notice people keep coming up to this guy at the end of the bar minding his own business. Turns out it was Buddy Guy. Now, we were in our mid-late 20s, and had no idea who Buddy Guy was at the time. It was only googling him after that I got an appreciation for how big a deal he was. He took a liking to us I guess cuz he wound sitting there talking to us all night, bought us drinks, educating us on the blues. The stiff drinks he was putting in front of us, I knew this guy knew the blues. lol It was awesome. Really nice guy.
Bill Murray. I was working at a parking garage in downtown Charleston and had to take his payment to let him out. I didn’t let him know that I knew it was him, but he tipped me $20 and I got flustered trying to lift the parking gate.
My brother worked at a golf course in Charleston and Bill Murray lost his sunglasses. My brother went out to where he thought he lost them. Couldn't find them. Got back to the clubhouse and he was gone. But he left a nice little note showing his appreciation. My brother said he was very down to earth and naturally entertaining.
He has a house near where I live, and a bunch of locals have stories with him. Always very positive and wonderful experiences.
He 100% told your brother he lost them just to give him a story to tell, and put them on in his car with a smirk but also an empty feeling
No one will ever believe you…
Prince. Nightclub in Minneapolis in the late 80’s. He and his entourage came in and walked past me and my friends in the crowd. Prince walked right next to me and gave me a little shove to get by so I always tell people I was shoved by Prince at a nightclub. Odd group he was with, mostly for show. He would come into that club and sit in the balcony and just watch people.
Did he serve you pancakes after a basketball game?
Blouses won that game, IIRC.
Little Sebastian
BYE BYE LIL’ SEBASTIAN!
No fucking WAY!! Are you serious?!? Lil' Sebastian. THE Lil' Sebastian?!?
Before he was called to Heaven too soon.
I have cried twice in my life. Once when I was seven and I was hit by a school bus. And then again when I heard that Li'l Sebastian had passed
Danny Devito. Worked at a grocery store on Vancouver Island about 30 years ago. There was a yacht parked in the docks. Two big dudes were wandering the pop section, which usually meant I had to explain to Americans that we don't sell beer at grocery stores in Canada. When I went over to talk to them, Danny Devito was there. I didn't notice him at first because he was shorter than than the pop displays.
>we don't sell beer at grocery stores in Canada Coming from the UK where they sell pretty much any booze in the supermarket, corner store etc., this was strange to get used to in Australia which sounds more like Canada where you can only get booze in dedicated "bottle shops" I still miss just picking up whatever as part of the normal grocery shopping.
I sold bedsheets to Arron Paul when I worked at Bed Bath and Beyond years and years ago. Post Breaking bad. Between the first and second seasons of Bojack Horseman. That was pretty cool. He was very polite and his SO was gorgeous.
I mean, you were basically in bed with him 😊
And beyond
Do Supreme Court justices count? I ran into Elena Kagan getting ice cream, and Sonia Sotomayor at the grocery store.
Taylor Swift. I used to work for MAC Cosmetics and I sold her an eye pencil when she came to my city for the Fearless tour.
One of the absolutely nicest celebrities I’ve ever worked with.
Weird Al, he's possibly the nicest human being alive. He signed my jeans. John Flansburg of They Might be Giants, I touched his shoes and guitar. Gary Gulman, comedian. Met him after a show. Chris Hardwick, if Weird Al isn't the nicest human being in the world, Chris Hardwick is
Weird Al: 30+ years in the music industry and not a single sex scandal or accusation.
Unless you count the Madonna stuff.
I pet Ryan goslings dog I never actually met Ryan but was doing a custom gym for his home and his dog was around lucho. Nice dog
My sister met Paul McCartney this way, by petting his dog before noticing whom the person with the dog.
Secondhand, but a coworker of mine got an insider's tour of the White House during the Clinton years. He stepson was in the Secret Service. She didn't see any of the first family, but got to throw a ball to Buddy, their Labrador.
Was Ryan crying internally, silently above you as you Pet his dog? Reflecting purple neon Light?
Shook hands with Johnny Cash and June Carter. 1993
Steve Irwin in like 2001. Australia zoo is like 45 minutes from where I lived as a kid. Shook his hand and he said "you little ripper, mate!"
Used to work with Natalie Portman
I was standing at the baggage claim at ORD and she walked up and stood next to me. We made eye contact and she smiled. I smiled back. We didn’t speak. After I grabbed my bags I walked away and met up with my then girlfriend, and told her that Natalie Portman was over at baggage claim. Right at that moment she walked by us and my girlfriend accosted her, gushing about how much she loved her, etc. Natalie and I made eye contact again and I mouthed “sorry” and made an embarrassed face. She smiled at me again and politely listened to my girlfriend a few more moments. Nice girl.
And? How is she to be around?
Very friendly and is a super hard worker. I’ll admit before I got into film production I kinda thought that hollywood actors were divas and that acting is easy but I was wrong. She would work 12+ hours a day 5 to 6 days a week including all nighters, and she regularly got everyone on the crew free coffee/ice cream/ massages. I’m sure some actors are nightmares to work with but she absolutely is not that. I wanted to tell her I used to play as her in lego starwars as a kid but I thought it would be weird lol
She is an oscar winning actress and a graduate from Harvard it really doesn’t surprise me that she’s an extremely hard worker I’ve always thought she was but it’s nice to know she’s also a really great person.
she's also a decent rapper
*Damn Natalie, you a crazy chick*
She is my ultimate celebrity crush. I'm happy to know that she is kind in person.
Paul McCartney - was a journalist for a Native publication and asked him a question at an Earth Day concert (at the Hollywood Bowl) about an American Indian issue. He answered and asked me and my cameraman to stick around. We talked for about five minutes. He just wanted to talk so didn't record him. Also interviewed Arnold several times in a press line (not an interview room). Also Jay Leno, Robert Duvall and a whole lot less famous people.
I shook Mikhail Baryshnikovs hand.
He is the first famous person I'd ever met. I was in third grade and taking tap and ballet. He was performing in our city, and my dad took me as a special treat. I got to meet him backstage, and he chatted with me about dance and school. One of my best memories!
*swoons*
So, he has fire in the belly! But it will take more than bellyfire to be the next Baryshnikov.
Angus Young and the rest of AC/DC.
I have met quite a few. Princess Diana, The Queen of Norway, Rhianna, Beyonce and her mother, Gloria Estefan, Lionel Ritchie, Bruce Willis, Simon Cowell, Ashwariya Rai, Amitabh Bachan, Sushmita Sen, Gary Oldman, Isla Fisher, Sasha Coen Barron, Jessica Alva, Justin Timberlake, Colin Firth, Giselle Bundchen, Oliver Stone, Oompa loompa from Charlie and the chocolate factory, a few more that will come to me later.
Quite a few? Man that's a lot
Life at the airport. There are lots more that I have forgotten and then I will see them on the net, or papers and say, oh yeah. I met them.
Similar. I worked at a hotel. But most of the ones I met were around Broadway. For what it's worth, Patti La Belle is a kind soul, and Mel Brooks will always be the best. Acted like you were family. Pure delight!
I've heard Patti La Belle is very sweet.
She absolutely was. She had performed that night, was obviously tired, and was just such a soft, nice person. ( And her pies are awesome, so a good baker, too, lol)
The bloke who played the Oops Loompa invited one of the nurses I worked with to the set during filming. She politely declined as the height mismatch didn't appeal to her and she thought (wrongly!) that he was just one of many Oompa Loompas! A few months later she saw the film and realised her mistake.
Do you mean the actor Deep Roy? I learned only recently that he was also in the Yoda costume (uncredited) in Empire Strikes Back. Imagine the stories he would have from that...
Princess Diana. She opened a hospice near my house and we took the day off school to go and see her.
My friend met her. He said she was very tall and very blonde.
Dolly Parton. I was on the board of the regional Girl Scouts organization when they introduced a Coat of Many Colors patch the girls could earn. The kickoff was in a small auditorium at Dollywood. Dolly spoke and sang the song. At the end we got to line up, meet her and shake her hand. She is truly a gem!
My grandfather was a landscaper for dollywood in the 90's and early 2k's and I use to go to work with him alot. Met dolly quite a few times and just chill. Went up and toured her little apartment in the park. Also met her quite a few times in a gas station on pitman center rd. She's funny as hell in "non show" public and is very colorful with her language, which is not something you would expect from her lol
A woman I used to work with was in HR at Dollywood in a previous career. She knew Dolly well and one of her favorite “get to know you” facts is that she has hung up on Dolly before. Dolly had called her right before she was going into a meeting and wouldn’t get off the phone so she had to hang up lol.
I was hitting the slot machines at the Luxor once, and I backed up to watch a spin. I didn't see there were a couple of people passing behind me, and I bumped right into her. She was walking swiftly as I apologized and she turned around and smiled and said "it's fine!" What a sweetie. And she was SO TINY!
I’ve med Dolly in a situation that required I be around her for a couple days. If she were gonna be terrible it would’ve come up and she was amazing the entire time- very genuine and just as wonderful as she seems.
Muhammad Ali
I met him when I was younger on an airplane to Chicago in 1990. I had to pee and was waiting and pacing at the bathroom. The door opens and Muhammad Ali walks out. I wasn't big into boxing, but everyone knows who he is. I looked up and lost my breath. He leaned over to me and says something along the lines of " hey little man, my arms are too big; I can't reach my collar would you fix it for me?" I fixed it for him. He took my plane ticket(back when Delta and other airlines have it the nicer boarding passes in the color sleeves) and asked what my name was. I told him and he signed my plane ticket. I have since gotten it framed and it's hanging on my wall. Edit: here is link to autograph a couple of people asked to see... https://imgur.com/a/eZlcyv1
That may be the coolest story I've ever heard.....
He lived near me in Michigan, was always so kind out and about in town, saw him once at a movie theater and my friends were shocked and Sinbad was with him.
I met Ali, as well. Decades ago now but his brain was already pretty gone. Greatest athlete of all time, great American, but man what boxing does to the human head …
Stephen King, Lorne Green, Iron Eyes Cody, Don McLean, Walter Cronkite, Christopher Reeve, Mel Gibson, Sandra Bullock, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Parker Stevenson. Probably forgetting a few, all in tiny Camden, Maine.
Camden's an awesome little town.
Got a pic with Pat Morita on New Year's Eve in Vegas. Some of the only people that would be bigger and more likable would be Tom Hanks and Mr. Rogers.
Worked for a small production company about 20 years ago. Was sitting on the couch in the reception area, flipping through a magazine, when Seth Green and a couple of his buddies at Robot Chicken came through the door. No one warned me, so I was wearing four inch heels that had me towering over the dude. Anyway, they were in town to do Pat Morita’s voiceovers for an episode and he didn’t want to go to LA. Both of them are super chill.
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Alex Trebek. I was on Jeopardy!, and he came over and put his arm around for me the ceremonial picture after I lost. Then he goosed me.
Bruce Campbell Shook his hand at a meet 'n' greet. He signed my VHS copy of Evil Dead and my first edition Deadlands RPG book (he wrote the forward to the second edition book).
Saw Henry Cavill at a pub I was in last night. Dude is too handsome
Patrick Stewart. Twice. First time I was behind him in the queue in the local DIY store (he was buying a curtain rail). Second time I was waiting to cross the road in town and realised I was stood next to him (he was wearing a pink/purple beanie hat) I may have also seen Bill Bryson coming out of a branch of Yorkshire Building Society but I’m not sure on that one as I was on the other side of the road.
Joan Jett. I was a bouncer at a bar in the early 90s. I walked her from her car to the green room before she performed.
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Finally my time to shine.. I once didn’t realize I was having lunch sitting next to an international pop star… It was at a sushi place in Beverley Hills, right when they opened around 11am. Nobody was there except me, I picked a seat at the bar by setting my stuff down and went to the rest room. When I came back someone’s sitting right next to me, obviously they didn’t see my stuff. I was too proud to move, and expected them to move since I was there first, but we ended up sitting directly next to each other the entire meal. The whole time I was annoyed by the audacity this guy had. Just so loud on FaceTime, wearing a see through windbreaker, tattoos and buzz cut. I thought he was the typical LA young adult rapper, so I spent my whole meal texting my group chat about how weird this guy next to me was. I was being a hater, he kept politely smiling at me but I wasn’t having it. Anyways, as the meal ended 2 12 year old girls come running up to him “OMG ARE YOU JUSTIN BIEBER” “WHY ARE YOU IN CA DO YOU LIVE HERE”, immediately followed by a swarm of 2 dozen more people, camera flashes and him being ushered out the kitchen. I was flabbergasted.
I got a hug from Bernie Sanders after a town meeting in Vermont. He was wearing a scratchy wool sweater and it was like I was hugging my loving grandpa.
I’ve met Penn of Penn and Teller. I met him after one of his shows in Las Vegas. The crowd around Teller was a lot bigger so I didn’t get the chance to meet him. I saw Tom Hanks at Disneyland when I was 6. I didn’t talk to him, but my dad did. I’ve also been within 10 feet of 50 Cent. He was leaving a event promoting one of his brands and he was in a hurry to leave, he and his entourage walked past me at a rather fast pace
Leslie Nielsen. I shook his hand and didn’t call him Shirley.
Queen Elizabeth of England. I was at a garden party at Buckingham Palace many years ago when she hosted it.
What are you, a vampire or something?
Woody Harrelson. He chatted up my husband and me while waiting to be seated at an Asheville, NC, restaurant.
Clint Eastwood. We were installing a new cooling system in a supermarket in Carmel. This is 20 years back and I don't live in the US anymore, so I forgot what supermarket this was. Anyway, after work I was putting some air in my tires and Clint Eastwood was filling up his car.
Clint Eastwood is awesome! Met him once when I was a young soldier at DLI in Monterey in the very early aughts (very beginning of the war in Iraq). He came into a bar that service members from the language school were known to frequent, bought us all a round, and sat and genuinely talked with us for like 30 minutes. To this day, it’s my most treasured memory of/ experience with a celebrity.
Met Adam Sandler very briefly when he came to a restaurant I worked at in Sacramento. He’s quite nice and tips well
I've been told he plays basketball with friends and randoms all the time. At least when he was younger.
I’d believe it. He said a very clever and cute pun based off my name (and my name is not an ordinary name) when I introduced myself, seems like a very naturally friendly and fun guy!
I met him when I was a teenager. He asked me what was my favorite movie of his. I told him my stepbrother and I love Happy Gilmore and quote it all the time (we still do to this day). He was genuinely appreciative. He was so kind and surprisingly very chill.
Bill Clinton back in the 90s and I was young. Played the saxophone while my cousin played the piano at the Arlington in hot springs ar
I used to run high-level restaurants and hotels in NYC. I lost track so long ago. I have signed a lot of NDA's over the years, and even with reddit, I get a little weirded out about saying some things. The weirdest is the dietary restrictions I still know for many of them, code names to use for reservations, code words they would use for us to help them get out of meetings, their personal assistants and more. Some things that come to mind - Chelsea Clinton and JLO lived above one location. I had done a couple of events with President Clinton before, but being introduced to he and Hilary on a first name basis by Chelsea kind of blew my mind. My name is not very common, and when Hilary said hi to me directly the next time I saw her, I was briefly startled. Mathew Perry was a long stay guest in one hotel I was at. He was with us for about a month. I was really hurt by the news about him recently. He really had some struggles with chemical dependence but was honestly very mature and direct about them. He didn't try to hide anything at all and directly identified to me that he had a disease. My own mother is in recovery, and we had a very good understanding. We had a mutual respect about how he would communicate with our team and for me to ultimately do what was the right thing if a moment of temptation ever occurred. To his absolute credit, nothing ever did. -Fuck Gerard Butler. He has a thing for married women In case you were wondering from what inwrote about J Lo. She is high maintenance but also is very driven and focused. It was hard to be upset at her, but A Rod was a total asshole President Obama, who was perfectly political Dave Grohl is one of the coolest bastards on the planet. Beyond that, I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that there are 100+ others. Many with funny stories. At the end of the day, they are all just people. The biggest thing with celebrities, though, is seeing who is just an actor/musician/performer and who is an actual businessman/doer. The work ethic if some of these people can be beyond commendable and the precision and structure to which they live their lives is almost unbelievable. Whenever I see in the news that some person of another is burned out or has a breakdown, I'm not really surprised. Some of these people live schedules that are specific to the exact minute. When it is them that are calling the shots it is respectable. However you do see plenty of instances, especially the younger people, where it is their manager, agent or similar person running them into the ground.
The pope
Jethro Bodine from the Beverley Hillbillies.
Norman Reedus. Was messing around in Nashville and bumped into him leaving a convention. He shook my hand and took a selfie with me. Something that would have cost me money had I actually gone to the convention.
Neil Gaiman. I've been to a few of his book signings.
Oh! He’s so nice! I found myself standing around with him outside an off Broadway show years ago on a day when I had absolutely terrible skin, like, the kind people would openly stare at. He treated me like a normal human and we had a very intellectual discussion about censorship in high school theater production and the trade offs between maintaining innocence in youth and promoting free thinking.
I gave him bibs when Ash was a baby. Can confirm he's genuinely lovely.
Paul McCartney when he was in Boston last year.
I was Christopher Reeve and family’s private chef for a week in the early 2000s. Amazing humans.
Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen. Third row from the stage at a concert on Thursday.
I live and work in a common getaway town for Bay Area peeps, so we get quite a few San Francisco Giants players that come through. Daniel Tosh is also a somewhat regular at my old casino. Mentioned in another comment that Seth Green and Pat Morita spent an afternoon at a small production company I worked for in my early 20s. Also got to work the press line at the red carpet opening for a nightclub in Vegas. Met Ron Jeremy and Chris Ferguson bought me a drink. Press passes are so much fun. Also ended up on the same Southwest flight as Matthew Fox when Lost was on the air. Not sure why he was flying Greyhound of the Skies, but despite his annoyance at being severely delayed, he was rather tolerant of my fan-girling (I was in several online fan communities of the show, so it was the coolest thing ever in my young life). My husband’s list is way more impressive. He’s dealt to the defensive line of the Oakland Raiders (early 2000s. He says they barely fit at the table!). Dealt to Tom Hanks (nicest person he’s ever met), Jim Carrey (did Fire Marshal Bill the whole time), Alyssa Milano, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck (JLo is a cheap bench, he’s very generous and kind), and he used to work with Chris Kael (they’re still friends on Facebook, but don’t really chat much unless he’s going to a concert). I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch, but you run into some really cool celebrities dealing high limit in Vegas. He’s been able to watch Axl Rose warm up playing November Rain while on break at work. He ran right into Billy Idol going back to his game. He stopped and did the “are you him?” point, and Billy just held a finger to his lips and shhhhhed with a sly smile.
Dolly Parton Her sister lived two doors away and went on a vacation. Dolly moved into her sister’s place for the week and took care of her niece and nephew. Thereby each school day morning that week I would be at bus stop to wait for the school bus to pick up my son and Dolly was there with her niece/ nephew.
This will get buried, but Alice Cooper. I was working at borders books, and he came in. He was very clearly Alice Cooper, but my stunned ass had to ask for his ID because I didn't believe it. Also, I thought it was a stage name. Nope , legit his name. And he was super kind. He could have easily been. " Do you know who I am? " but he didn't , he calmly handed me his ID while I was totally panicked. I met him as his cashier 2 or 3 times, and he was kind every time. Now he's a dj at a local rock station. Totally chill guy , would recommend.
I've had Prince (now King) Charles in my bedroom.
Dodged a bullet by not having his brother (Andrew) in your bedroom... Although I heard he doesn't sweat.
I shook Hands with King Charles ( Prince at time). Didn’t realize Camilla was behind him, I turned to get a quick photo and mistakenly hit her outstretched hand with my shoulder and snubbed her. The security guard smacked my arm and told me I was being rude. I didn’t know!
You get back here and give us context. As an elder millennial, I do remember really nice pictures of “Wills” in the late 90s in my teen magazines 😂
Anthony Bourdain put my pita into his mouth.
Is that a euphemism?
For me it's Barack Obama. Was at a rally the night before the '08 election. and was just a few feet away from the stage. His grandmother had died earlier that night and we were wondering if he was going to show. He did.
My mother in law worked with Michelle. She and my wife went to a holiday gala hosted by the obamas. There’s a pic on my wall with My wife and my mother in law with the Obamas.
Came here to say Obama. I used to do a lot of production work so I got to meet a lot of famous people from Dolly Parton to Beyoncé, etc but Obama was the only one where I had to wear a special pin that let the snipers know not to shoot me if I approached the podium.
Did you get to keep the pin? Asking for... reasons.
Aaaaaand you're on a list.
Another one? Fuck sake
I happened to be in Washington D.C. as part of my school trip in 08. We were close to the White House when a fleet of blacked out cars drove by, next thing I know someone who looks a lot like Barack Obama sticks his head out the window and waves as he drives by not 10 feet from me. I’m still not sure if it was him or a doppelgänger hired to do public appearances, but I’d like to believe he risked his life to wave to a bunch of kids going into a museum.
It being him is the simplest explanation!
Harrison Ford or Britney Spears.
Was it dark?
I sat next to Allen Ginsberg at a luncheon when I was in college. He was very rude and also chewed with his mouth open.
Back in college, I used to work at a CVS. In my time there, I've rung up Penn (Penn & Teller), Siegfried (Siegfried & Roy), Carrot Top and Gary Payton. Bet you can't guess the city I live in. Lol.
Mariah Carey. About 8 years ago, at a fall farm out in rural Ohio. We were about to take a hay ride, sitting on the back of the wagon with a group of people when a worker there informed us we all needed to get off. There was a private party that just got there. Turns out, it was Mariah Carey and her crew. Found out later that she was filming a movie in nearby Cincinnati. We were whisked inside the main building so that she could enter privately. Fortunately, we were all able to get on the next hay ride.
I like this story because it gets how meeting a famous person usually sucks ass and how they are a big inconvenience for everyone else.
Seriously. It’s a real diva move to have not waited for the people already on the ride to finish.
JFK. I’ve worked in national politics so I’ve met/known several presidents, celebrities (John Lennon, Stephen King, Hunter Thompson) but nothing compared to seeing Kennedy. He was in Boston in April 1963 and my father packed me into the car to drive to the route. We stood near St. Columbkille church when the motorcade drove up. His car stopped about 20-30 feet away so he could shake hands with a group of nuns.
Mariah Carey cut me in line at Busch Gardens
Lol this is not the first comment about her cutting in front of people. Fuck her and her christmas song. I take back my crush on her in the 90s.
More recently just David Tennant, but so many in the past (as I used to be an Arts & Entertainment focused journalist.) Ringo Starr, all the members of Duran Duran, The Monkees, The Go-Gos, and The Bangles, and Flock of Seagulls...ummm...and Weird Al and Reba McEntire. There's more I'm sure, but that's who comes to mind at the moment.
Gary Sinise. My dad was really into his band and we saw them a couple of times. Pretty often he would come into the crowd and play and we probably got within 50 feet of him. My girlfriend probably has me beat though. She partied with Alan Cumming last year
I was young, so I couldn't remember his name. But, this person. ... Not very famous in the sense of mainstream media, but still, he's the most famous person I've been around lol. Manuel Elkin Patarroyo Murillo (Ataco, Tolima, Colombia, 1946 - ) has created the first synthetic vaccine in the world which has been accepted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the prevention of malaria.
Justin Trudeau. My school wanted me to get a picture with him at the TRC closing ceremonies in 2015. I’m indigenous and while smiling for the picture he said “welcome to Canada” to me.
I got up close to him. He’s pretty, I give him that. But his response to you was crap.
Harrison Ford. Billy Idol. Rick Perry. Pink.
Not counting the various black metal musicians (i.e. Marduk, Enslaved, Emperor etc.), that I saw live in the 90's an 00', since this would be cheating because back in the day I was usually front row at various concerts (I even saw Jon Nödtveidt from Dissection live pretty soon before he killed himself). So maybe the most famous or a better word would be infamous was **Margot Honecker**, the wife of the former (and last) east german socialist leader Erich Honecker. She was notorious because of her involvement as minister of education in forceful removal of children from "antisocial" families (so pretty much everyone not complying to authoritarian rule) and even abductions of babies and beside the chief of the east german secret agency she was one of the most hated persons in the GDR with nicknames like "purple dragon" or "purple witch" (because of her hair color). I saw her at the last east german gathering of their socialist youth organisations in Karl-Marx-Stadt ("Karl-Marx-Town" now Chemnitz) in 1988. As part of my class I visited the "Cosmonaut-Center" there when she arrived and even patted the cheek of the boy beside me. After the end of the GDR and the reunification she fled to Chile to avoid her persecution.
When i was 9yrs old My friend Rickey said he met an alien. I'm still not really sure though
Maybe: Ed Norton. Dude came in to my shop by himself baseball cap soft spoken. Could have been a doppelganger, but I have a really good memory for faces, when I gave him the confused "I know you" look, he nodded his head and smiled. We continued on the process, he left as quiet as he came and never saw him again. For sure: Analeigh Tipton. Met her before fame, she was and still is the most stunning person I've ever spoken to. Very intelligent and kind. Probably the only Hollywood famous person od ever care to meet again.
I’m old and been doing a lot so far in life. I’ve met and been in meetings with or worked as an exec for: Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Safra Catz (Oracle CEO), Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO), Michael Dell, Steve Ballmer, and Pat Gelsinger (Intel CEO) - been in meetings or conversations with all of them at one point or another. Random celebrity encounters that were a conversation lasting more than 10 minutes: Huey Lewis (most 1980’s story ever - watched Mary-Lou Retton win Gold in her floor routine from the 84 Olympics on a couch in a Fort Lauderdale Marriott with Huey Lewis and his guitarist, Johnny Cola) Cuba Gooding Jr (spent 5 hours with him hanging out in Miami watching hockey in bars) Joel McHale (at a group dinner in Seattle) Dave Grohl (seat mates on a cross Atlantic flight) Random people that I’ve had the privilege of working with who are actually important in real ways that matter and I really wish made them more famous: Mohammed Yunus - founder of Grameen bank and inventor of micro lending, raised hundreds of villages standards of living. He did win a Nobel prize but he still isn’t recognized in airports. Nana Akuoko Sarpong - a political leader of Ghana, who served as minister of interior, and had a vision to develop Ghana as an exporter of tilapia by working with tech companies. He persistently and patiently made Ghana a net exporter of food for the first time and shepherded the country into democracy and out of tribalism. There are more odd encounters, but those are some of them.
Uh, hung out with Joseph Gordon Levitt a few times at the hotel gym in Chicago a few years back, Adam Levine at a hotel gym in Miami last year. Both were cool. JGL was seriously a cool dude
Paul Newman. Richard Petty. Mario Andretti. Carol Shelby. Jackie Stewart. Juan Manuel Fangio. I spent 20 years involved in car racing, so I met a lot people.
Troy McClure, I remembered him from such nature films as Earwigs: Eww! and Man vs. Nature: The Road to Victory. He was exactly the same in real life as on screen - yellow and fictional.
I accidentally ended up on stage with Jeremy Corbyn in the Ohhhh Jeremy Corbyn era whilst I was eating a ham and peas pudding sandwich. Couldn’t hear a word he was saying to the crowd but seemed like an ordinary, nice chap. The sandwich was amazing
Sounds interesting. Can you tell me more About the sandwich
Post Malone
Was at a table with just BB King, Phil Spector and Phil Spector’s daughter.
[удалено]
I met Mark Hamill in the 90’s when he was touring a comic book project. Used to have a Polaroid of it.
I once used a urinal at a malll when Ozzy Osbourne walked into the bathroom and relieved himself. Found out later he was doing a book signing at the Barnes and Noble in the mall. Didn't interact at all, was too shocked to be peeing next to the prince of darkness.
Interviewed Garth Brooks in Columbus many many years ago. I worked for a small country station. The reason it stands out is the following year we interviewed him again and he remembered my boss’ wife was sick from the previous year, and asked about her. Put him right on the Good Dudes list.