Brush with greatness?

Hey, any of you folks had a brush with greatness? That is you've seen a celebrity
face-to-face, or actually spoken to them. Fruvous doesn't count. :p

For me, I had to yell at Max Weinberg to hurry up and get up on stage, since he
was going to sit in with the Beatles house band at Beatlefest on a few songs.
When he announced, he wasn't there, and my boss looked SO embarassed. I saw
him walking around and I yell, "MAX, YOU'RE ON!" He RAN to the stage and
played his few songs.

Another time my sister and I were leaving a performance of Les Miserables. As
we walked out, we noticed a group of people huddling around someone. It was
Matthew Broderick, and he just got out of his show, "How to Succeed In Business
Without Really Trying". My sister flipped out, "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" I
said, "Yes, I know it's Matthew Broderick. I'll find you a pen." Before she could
get over to him, he had ducked into a restuarant with a lady friend, and I don't
think it was Sarah Jessica Parker.

I've met Peter Tork and John Inman (Mr Humphries from "Are You Being Served?"). George Will was behind me at a baseball game once. And I'm 3 degrees away from Springsteen. So yeah.

I have met may celbraties, so here is some quotes said to me from them, about me from them or about them from Someone else!

"Ladies and Gental men, Mr. Martin Scorscazi, no wait Mr. Stephen Speilberg, no wait SHARRON STONE!"-Amber Benson after we won the academy awards!

"Son, I kinda feel like the old farmer who was trying to tell the inventer of the internal combustion engian wouldn't work!"- Will Eisner to me durring the debate between him and Scott mcLoud on the future of comics.

"Moxy Fr�vous? Great band!"-Scott mcLoud to me earlier that same evening!

(In an exuberntly excited english accent) "Is that Harrison Ford your helping?!?"- My english coworker to me when I met Harrison Ford

(Another english accent)"You might know me from TV. I also might have been to a bar which is why I might be drunk!"-Jason Carter, who played Marcus Cole from Babylon 5

"I just hate it when I get 'Pimp Hat Hair'"-Pete Abrams, creator of Sluggy Freelance

"I geuss he didn't realize how short I am!"-Kenny Baker, the 2'11" actor who played R2-D2, on the fact I didn't put the microphone low enough for him.

"Oh my god, it's two hyper-active white kids coming at me wit` ballons!"-Vance Gilbert

"It was an honour to look at your portfolio"-Michael Wealon, a childhood hero of mine who's book inspired me to become an illustrator.

There are more but I can't think of them right now!

So glad you've become an illustrator. Your spelling sucks. :)

I feel like I have brushes with greatness everytime I go out because most of my
friends are in incredible bands... you may not know them yet, but someday you
will...

I've had actual celebrity brushes with Eddie Arnold (St. Louis Zoo when I was
VERY young), Ruth Chew (popular children's author of books about witches and
magic that are now out of print), a Mark McGuire sighting at Taste of Clayton art
fair in St. Louis, One of my friend's dad played for the Football Cardinals when
they were still the St. Louis Cardinals, OJ Smith was a student I helped out in high
school (Ozzie Smith's Son), Andy Ashcroft (satan's child... oh, sorry... john
ashcroft's son) started young republicans at my high school because I had started
young democrats and he didn't want it to look like we were more organized, and
School of Fish were at a press conference with me... I have a cute pic of me with
them, and I've met Paula Cole after a show as well...

More recently I've been backstage with Live (rocket park opened for them), Jesus
Jones (rp opened for them too), drank heavily with The JudyBats (rp opened for
them too... and at least we were drinking heavily), Robbie Fulks (hfp opened for
him), Vigilantes of Love (Fallout Shelter opened for them), dealt with the morons
who ran merch for Days of The New (I was running merch for rp), met some of
the members of K's Choice (was running merch for rp and their merch girl is really
awesome!), worked closely with Mike Kociela (former bass player for New World
Spirits who were once signed to a national label), and my realtor was Michael
Schaerer (former lead singer of Pale Divine who went on tour with Psychedelic
Furs... his former guitarist, Rich Fortus, now plays with GNR)... oh, yeah... my
sister pointed out that because I'm friends with Devon Allman, I'm also two
degrees of separation from Cher.

On the Kevin Bacon tip, I'm 3 degrees of separation: friends with Winona Ryder's
cousin, Winona was in Heathers with Christian Slater who was in Murder in The
First with Kevin Bacon.

Hmm, not counting the scads of musicians I've met either working merch or volunteering @ FalconRidge...
the only one who comes to mind is Mike Myers. I met him after the Supers Holiday Mixer two years ago. He was a bit in his cups and was going on and on about how Americans have a distinct lack of humility and that's how they're so different from Canadians. *snicker*
I introduced myself and got my pic taken with him.
I met the '93 Air Force Thunderbirds. Our AFROTC unit was providing volunteer security for an Air Show in Rochester and the next day we got to hobnob with some of the pilots.
I'm senile, i know there's more, but I can't remember.

Well I was with Carey for Peter Tork and John Inman and I've stood in line at a news kiosk behind Robin Williams. My neighbor once saw Seal jamming in Central Park (but I think that was before he was famous)

umm.. does it count that my best friend used to play keyboard for Blessid Union of Souls? i know the whole band.. *shrug*.. umm... i've met Five o'Clock Shadow.. Rockapella... various other independant artists that no one else knows about... um...

and i once got an email back from Corey Haim after accidentally-on-purpose breaking into his email ():-D� thats right.. i was stalking Corey haim.. i'm a LOOOOOOOOOSER.. at least i could say i was cool like everyone else if i'd been stalking Corey FELDMAN.. i'm gonna shut up now.. -sam

I don't know if I really have any true brushes with greatness. I did go see INXS and Michael Hutchence reached down from the stage to touch hands and mine was one of them...a week later he died.

Mostly any other person I "met" was because of a scenario that arranged for it. Like conventions.

-AK

Oh yeah! Duh. I met Anthony Stewart Head just a few months ago at CreepCon. Mmmm...Giles.

I've never met him, but I'm only a couple of steps from him, does that count? (and through him I can get to anyone on Buffy, which leads me to Kevin Smith stuff, American Pie, and Star Trek. All that and I can't find a Kevin Bacon link ;)

Ok, you -> someone -> ASH -> Alyson Hannigan.

From there, Alyson Hannigan was in Boys and Girls (2000) with Kylie Bax, and Kylie Bax was in We Married Margo (2000) with Kevin Bacon.

Or Alyson Hannigan was in My Stepmother Is An Alien with Dan Akroyd, who was in Ghostbusters (I and II) with Bill Murray, who was in Wild Things with Kevin Bacon. :)

I heard a great ANthony Stewart head story once. He was a main head person thingie of a gay pride perade, and this woman saw him. She was dressed as the "Gerbal Fairy" (Yes the more I thought about this images of Richard Gere had popped into my head, yoo) and she had on a gerbal costume, a big poofy dress, fairy wings and a stick with a gerbal at the end of it. When she grabbed him he said in his dry brittish accent pointing at her wand "There is a thing on your thing!"

Me too!, What a coincidence. As an even stranger coincidence I took a photo of ASH with someone who looked remarkably like you.

she looks like me? but she's so skanky!...and i think she's kinda gay! :)

you are so lucky to have had that moment though. INXS is great.

I see willam dafoe once in a while at shop n' save... also stephen king.... Willam Dafoe is a real rocking chap! kind of hippy like, eats all organic, said I have a pretty face.

If you live in L.A., you see a lot of movie and TV stars. You can't swing a stick without hitting one. Here's a partial list of the one's I've seen:

Richard Dean Anderson, then better known as MacGyver, now of Stargate SG1 fame, in Westwood, blowing up a car with two toothpicks and a piece of string. Alright, he was crossing the street.

James Avery (2x) (the dad from Fresh Prince of Bel Air), once in Berkeley, and once in Silverlake.

Warren Beatty and Annette Benning on Melrose.

Blossom star Mayim Bialik went to UCLA with me.

Linda Blair of The Excorcist fame in a long since gone Mexican restaurant in Westwood. Her head did not spin around, but mine did!.

Bruce Boxleitner's wife was in the hospital room across from my mother many years ago.

Lara Flynn Boyle in the AMC Century 14 theaters. Interestingly, a trailer for a movie she was in was shown. She seemed embarrassed.

I met Jackson Brown at a party. We talked about roller hockey.

Dan Castalanetta, better known as the voice of Homer Simpson, in the Westside Pavilion.

Gary Coleman in a McDonalds drive through near my parents house. My brother complained that he didn't want to eat there. I said, "It's good enough for Gary Coleman." He did a double take and realized I wasn't kidding.

Billy Crystal (2x) also in the AMC Century 14 theaters with his kids.

John de Lancie came in to buy a computer from me at UCLA. He wasn't eligible for academic purchase, so I had to send him away. I was the Alpha nerd for many weeks after that.

Susan Dey in the Glen Center.

Julia Louis Dreyfuss (2x) once at the Glen Center and once at the Santa Monica Place, where she was having problems with her credit card being declined or something.

Linda Evangelista in a store in New York. Yes, I know that's not in L.A.

Terri Garr at UCLA.

Anorexic actress Tracy Gold in a bookstore in Hollywood.

Elliot Gould (2x). Once at the Y, and once buying a hotdog at 7-11

Monty Hall, host of Let's Make A Deal, at Stephen Wise temple.

George Hamilton, driving a big old Rolls Royce in Beverly Hills.

Tom Hanks driving his black Toyota Land Cruiser with his wife Rita Wilson after the Northridge earthquake.

Woody Harrelson, who apparently lives in a shack on some island or something. I saw him on the third street promenade, looking stoned and bored.

Charleton Heston in Westwood in front of the premier of Wizards. I guess that means it was in 1977. Were you born yet?

Dustin Hoffman (2x) in Westwood buying tickets at the Mann Westwood.

Ashley Judd and her race car drivin' husband Dario Franchitti at a Wild Oats in Nashville.

Sally Kirkland a bunch of times. I chatted with her at a Kinky Friedman concert. I almost ran her over on Sunset once.

Quincy star Jack Klugman driving around somewhere.

The Landers sisters, Audrey and Judy, also at the Glen Center. Glen Center is a good star watching spot, if you haven't noticed.

Shelly Long going for voice lessons at Stephen Wise temple. The cantor there is voice coach to the stars apparently.

Lori Loughlin (2x), who had some show with Tony Danza, and was on that show with the incredibly annoying Bob Sagget. She frequents the Century City Mall, if you're a fan.

John Lovitz in a California Pizza Kitchen in Brentwood.

Christopher Lloyd on Westwood Blvd. He had sorta white hair. My friend said, "That's not him, he doesn't have white hair!" Then a little movie called Back to the Future came out�

Marley Matlin in a California Pizza Kitchen at the Beverly Center.

David McCallum in the now defunct Cutters restaurant. I had just seen The Great Escape that day, and there he was.

Danica McKellar went to UCLA. I rode in the elevator with her a lot.

Sean Penn at the (now closed) Old World Restaurant on Sunset.

Brad Pitt in a explorer on Sunset in Brentwood.

Slim Jim Phantom from The Stray.Cats with his wife Britt Ekland in a fish store on Pico.

Mama Michelle Phillips, in a Hamburger Hamlet restaurant. My mother, who never recognizes anyone, spotted her.

Tim Reid (Venus Flytrap on WKRP) almost ran over me in Westwood because he was in such a damn hurry to make a right turn.

Molly Ringwald in a club in Hollywood when I was a roadie for a friend.

Cathleen Robertson (Claire on 90210) in the Sav-on on Santa Monica late one night, wearing a skirt that looked remarkably like some kind of lace bordered silk tablecloth.

Mediocre (at best) comic Paul Rodriguez. I saw him in a restaurant somewhere. (Yawn).

Fred Savage in Islands restaurant on Pico. I accidentally bumped into a guy and when I looked at him, it was Fred. I said, "Sorry Fred," and he looked a little freaked out.

Arnold Schwarzenegger driving an old roadster in Culver City.

Yakov Smirnov driving a Rolls in Laurel Canyon.

Tori Spelling in the Wherehouse on Westwood Blvd.

Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame, sans Annie Lennox in Westwood.

Courtney Thorne-Smith, of Melrose Place fame. I saw her in a restaurant somewhere too. (Yawn).

Tamlyn Tomita from The Karate Kid, in Westwood.

Tracey Ullman in Westwood at a showing of A Fish Called Wanda. She said it was "Brilliant." I thought it was OK.

Neil Young at the Malibu Inn. Man, is he scary looking.

Moon Zappa in Westwood. Yes, Moon Unit Zappa.

Oh I forgot - William H. Macy at a Ralphs market late one night.

I spent over a year on tour in a play with Faye Dunaway, so I ended up meeting a ton of celebrities over that time. The ones I got the biggest thrill out of though...

Sir Ian McKellen -at the opening night party of our play when we were in LA. He actually came over especially to talk to me and compliment me on my performance which was very cool. Okay, it practically made me fall over. We chatted for a while, along with his little date (who our cast nicknamed "cabana boy") who then gave me his phone number (this is cabana boy now, not Sir Ian) and offered to show me the town. After hearing all his stories which mostly revolved around getting really drunk and jumping into strangers' limousines, I declined.

Aretha Franklin- came to see the show in Detroit, and was brought backstage afterwards to meet us all. The Detroit papers were there to take pictures. I was grinning from ear to ear.

Unrelated to that play...

Seth Green- backstage at SNL during a dress rehearsal (one of my friends is in the cast), was very sweet, had a nice conversation with my mother.

Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White- had a friend who was on the road with Yes, got VIP passes for a show in Grand Rapids, MI (I was on the road as well). Met several of the band members backstage... Jon Anderson's wife was there, so they sped out and I didn't get to meet him. Ended up at a bar later and met up again with Chris Squire who was a drunken letch. That part was depressing. Not a big fan of watching my idols fall right in front of me.

I'm used to seeing guests at Beatlefest get sloppy drunk all the time. They're usually has-beens from MANY years ago, in which their only source of income is that they have a very faint connection with the Beatles.

It's even more sad when some of those people play, because most of the time they haven't picked up an instruments in YEARS, and are painfully BAD. The only good musician guest we get is Neil Innes, since he actually still has a career as a musician and still plays out aside from conventions.

Well I WOULD like to mention that despite the ickyness of that particular meeting with Chris Squire, that it cannot at ALL be said that his musicianship has suffered at all over the years. He, like the rest of Yes, still plays like nobody else. They are all incredible musicians, whatever has become of them otherwise.

M

hahaha... Beatlefest... my friend Angeline and I were going up in the elevator (this was the Chicago one last month) and goofing off pretending we were in the Willy Wonka elevator and stuff... I got a call on my cell and we're passing the phone back and forth... and as we're getting off at the lobby I notice one of the guys in front of us hearing the whole thing was Alan Parsons. Pretty funny.

I'm not going to join in the thread too much cause I'd have to take time to think and remember everyone, but I've been fortunate in the aspect that I lot of people I'm into are fairly accessible. I WILL mention that I had a very nice conversation about music with Gary Sinise yesterday. Such a cool guy.

Yeah Beatlefest attendee! I wish I could attend the Chicago fest, it's agreed by attendees as the best of the bunch.

yeah I'm not a whole-weekend type person, but I like to go at least one day when it's here to Christmas shop and see what's going on... it's fun. My friend's going to the Boston one too :)

I'll be at Boston as well, not to work, but to be an actual attendee. Tell your friend to look for something playing the acoustic guitar (That really doesn't narrow it down too much) with an oriental woman playing bass and a guy on the drums late Saturday night into Sunday.

I'll also be doing the solo/duo contest!

cool, I let her know! She is coming for Sunday only cause she's a Marilyn Monroe impersonator and she's heading to the fest straight from a gig in Nebraska! :)

I went to Beatlefest one time, in 1980, and to this day my parents still get mail for me from them. Tell Mark Lapidos to purge his mailing list once in a while....

I put people's names on that mailing list. :) If I spot your name in March, I'll see if I can delete you. :)

Thanks! I still love the Beatles, I just prefer festin' at home.

Isaac Asimov used to have his number listed in the Manhattan phone book. One day I made the mistake of pointing this out to my friend Aubrey right after I pointed out a logical error he made in one of his mystery stories. He called up Asimov and handed me the phone. It sounded like the call woke him up. I told him the error, the thanked me and I have felt bad about this ever since.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/dustyshoes/hall_of_fame.htm

here are picture of some of the people we've run up to! it's ok if you don't know who they are... most are Blues and jazz people... but there's Weird al, and a bunch you will know... I also am sooo proud to have met Little Feat last month too! *sigh* ~J~

Frulie, you have NO idea how jealous I am that you met Little Feat, I've only loved them for my entire LIFE! I wanted to get out to Van to see them when they were there, but funds didn't permit. :(

NBC's "The West Wing" filmed part of their season premier right here in Bridgeville AND they used Marianne and I as extras. It wasn't like we were just standing around and happened to be in the shot...oh no, we were cast by a casting agent.

Look for us and the Budgie pin on the two hour season premier of The West Wing, September 25th on NBC. But you better look quick. Even though Marianne and I made three appearances as extras...our total screen time, might be two seconds, that is, if we don't get left on the cutting room floor.

In the first scene, Marianne and I will be waiving goodbye to people on the train. I'll be holding a jean jacket with a Budgie pin. Later, I'll be walking to my car, wearing the aforementioned jacket while Marianne will be carrying a suitcase in the opposite direction (in the train station parking lot), and in a third scene, both of us are sitting on the train, I will be going through the pockets of the jean jacket or taking it down from the overhead. I tried to carefully position the pin towards the camera.

3,000 people applied to be extras, 16 were chosen for the Saturdays shoot which was 0.6 miles from our house. We arrived on the set at 6:30 AM and left at 8 PM...a very LONG day. It was fun to do once, but I doubt that we would ever do it again.

Hope to see you all soon, Brent and Mar

saw you on the train! Good work! :)

Am I the only person who read, "brush with greatness" and thought this was going to be a thread about dental hygene?

yes, yes you are.

Weird... cuz I saw the thread and was like, 'Ummm... why are people discussing their brushing habits?' and that's why I came to check it out.

the Cousin It photo leads me to believe you're being truthful.

Heheh.
yeah, isn't that a fun pic?
:)

Heheheeh...I had a minor brush with greatness yesterday. And I suppose he HAS accomplished something great, regardless of the endorsement stuff. I met Jared (Jarrod?) the Subway guy at the Heartwalk in Hartford, CT. :)

-AK

i have been to the subway where he ate! and my friend had the same doctor Jared had..thats right people Jared is from indiana!! woodoggie

yes, but the real question is: did you get to meet his aides?

(sorry for the in joke that only south park fans would understand, move on.. there's nothing to see here)

i was thinking about that the entire time was was reading her post!

This is my first time posting a message so bear with me. About a year and a half ago I got to drive They Might Be Giants from a concert just outside of Albany, NY to their homes in Brooklyn and Long Island. That was really cool. In 1996 I got to have dinner with Steven Spielberg's mother. She just raved about her little Stevie. Also in 1996 I was at a broadway show, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum staring Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella (of Saved by the Bell and Lion King fame). At the end of the show our bus was late to pick us up. Ernie Sabella came out, signed a bunch of stuff for us (including my Lion King cd which now reads "To Tracy, Love Pumba, Ernie Sabella), and then got on our bus and sang "Hakuna Matata." It was really great! A good place to meet famous people is Universal Studios in California. When I was there, so were Kevin Costner, the guy from Hercules (who's name I can't remember at the moment), and Jim Carey (filming Liar Liar). We saw them all from a far. My only other one that I can think of was that last October Michael J. Fox and Matthew Broderick were not far from me at a U2 concert last October (I was paying more attention to the fact that Bono was standing right in front of me as well). It's good stuff....

This isn't exactly my brush with greatness, but i just like this story. my roomate's best friend slept with david schwimmer last year after meeting him at a toronto international film festival party.

Well if we're considering third hand brushes with greatness!...:)

Though "great" isn't exactly the right word, unless you mean menace...a second cousin of mine used to work with Jeffrey Dahmer. They used to call Him "Jeffrey Dumber" at work. Particularly because there were two Jeffs and they then called the other "Jeffrey Smarter".

My list won't be HUGE-long, but I'll only include the ones who I've spoken to/shaken hands with, whateva.
Ann Vriend, Zubot & Dawson, Alan & Bob from GBS, Ben Harper, Rokia Traore, Janis Ian, the lads from Captain Tractor, Tegan & Sarah, Michael McCartney/McGear (brother of Sir Paul himself), Long John Baldry, Terry David Mulligan (from MuchMusic/Star/E!), Uhhhhhh... the very most exciting, for me, was South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, an outspoken opponent of apartheid who had been exiled from his homeland until very recently. He's honestly one of the most fascinating people I've ever met, and so gentle and softspoken.... my other cool 'celeb' story is that, one night, I was sitting at a table in a restaurant in Banff with Johnny Collins, one of the runner-ups from Popstars: Boy Meets Girl.... he had performed that day, as had I... and a girl came up to me, utterly ignored Johnny, and asked for my autograph. *grin* a feel-good moment, I tell ya. ;)

I'm impressed that you have heard of Long John Baldry, let alone have met him. I didn't know if he was still alive. I guess I should have expected he was. He must be around the same age as Mick Jagger. Perhaps a bit older.

Probably somewhere around there, yes. He lives in Vancouver these days, I believe, or at least has a home there. He did a blues set at the Edmonton Folk Fest this summer, but he was in CKUA with Mike McGear (McCartney), when Mike's Sixties photos were showing at the Provincial Museum here.

Long John Baldrey was the headliner at the Jazz and Blues Festival that we played last year. He's most definitely alive. *wink*

Let's see - I've met lots of Jazz people....Dizzy Gillespie was -so- nice. And very cool. He bought me a beer. *g*

We ate dinner across from Richard Dean Anderson and Marlee Matlin, in Vancouver. Everyone was trying to be very cool and not really notice them, and then a waiter gave him a resume. Tacky.

I met Jack Benny when I was 4 years old. Apparently. Not that I remember. But there's a picture somewhere. ;-)

I saw Richar Belzer from Law and Order, eating al fresco at Fiorello's, across Broadway from Lincoln Center yesterday.

Vinny Pastore from The Sopranos came down to WFUV when I was volunteering today. They sold a dinner with him at an Italian restaurant. I talked with him without letting on that I have never seen the show.

An Italian dinner with Big Pussy. As long as it didn't go for as much as Justin Timberlake's half-eaten french toast, there may be hope in this world.

I have a rather short list, mostly Jazz people. I got to hang out and sing with Ernestine Anderson at a jazz camp many years ago. Also did classes with Kirby Shaw (most of you choral people will know who that is. I have met (briefly) the members of Manhattan Transfer and did classes with Phil Mattson who did the arrangement of Birdland for them.
As a Vancouverite I have seen Long John Baldry around a number of times, he's hard to miss, he is about 6'6". For those who do not know, Baldry was rather famous in England in the early 60's, he had the most popular music/variety show in England, featured, as well as his own blues/r&b music, just about every up and coming English band including the Beatles and the Stones. He got Rod Stewart a job as a back-up singer on his show after hearing him busking in the London subway. The man is a living legend of the British invasion. And now he lives in Vancouver and makes lots of money doing voice work, Alexander Keith beer commercials recently. And still making records.

Nooooo, anybody but Kirby Shaw, PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME SING KIRBY SHAW ARRANGEMENTS NOOOOO!!!!

Heh hehheh, yeah I feel your pain.�Most of his�arrangements are getting a little old now. And jazz choirs are a lot better than they used to be (the teaching techniques have matured )

They certainly have.

Ahh, I remember the days of singing Kirby's When I Fall In Love chart....� :P

I met Elvis Costello a few times and made a bigger fool of myself each time.

I love that man.

I have met other musicians but he is by far the best to talk to

David James Elliott winked at me when I stumbled across them filming JAG in LA this Spring.

I also saw John Spencer from The West Wing.