Met anyone famous?

Steve Ash

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I got to thinking about this the other day talking football with a friend. I told him I had met Ray Stchowicz while I was at Michigan State University...hmm who is Ray Stachowicz? He was MSU's best all time punter and went on to play in the NFL for my favorite pro team the Green Bay Packers.

So I got to thinking about any other famous people I have met in my life....actually introduced to and talked with.

Who else has met with celebrities and who were they?


My list:
Ray Stachowicz
Earvin "Magic" Johnson
Scott Skiles
Governor Milliken (Michigan)
"Miss Hurst" Linda Vaughn...(my favorite:thumb: )
Candy Clark from American Graffiti movie
John Milner from "American Graffiti" movie
 
Clint Eastwood, having drinks at his table in Las Vegas.

Tom Foley, ex Speaker of the House, at a private party when he was Ambasador to Japan.

Imai Utaro, perfect game winning pitcher in Japan...have a tape of our fishing trip together, that was broadcast on TV.

Leif Erickson, actor and star of High Chaparral. Sat together on air flight.

David Hughes, running back, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburg Steelers...My neighbor, now a Pastor.
 
Isiah Thomas (former Detroit Piston) and John Kennedy Jr. (not at the same time) - both of these were some sort of marketing promo affair at work and they were brought in by the powers that be. Didn't even know Kennedy was in the building, but in a strange indication of things to come, he wandered down the wrong hallway where I ran into him as he asked me for directions back to the cafeteria/auditorium.
Also met the bass player and sax player from the Huey Lewis band staying in the same hotel I was at - don't remember their names though.
And bass player John Patatucci - also staying at a hotel I was at, but for the life of me I can't remember who he was playing with at the time. The bass player in the band I was in at the time pretty much monopolized the conversation with John though.
 
Rudy

I went out to a N.D. Game last year and we were in the book store the night before the game. There was a small crowd around this small guy. My brother said that guy is someone but I can't remember:dunno: So I left him and kept walking around the store. I looked back and saw him waving me down. I went back and he said...THAT'S RUDY... I was :eek: and we went up to him and talked for about 20 minutes. Really down to earth guy. :thumb:
 
Shook hands with Dwight Eisenhower when I was a kid.
Met the "Duke" in a bar in Los Angeles.
Met Louis Lamour at a book signing.
Visited with 3 of the last surviving "Buffalo Soldiers" at a living history thing where I was demoing Woodworking.
 
Well, I missed my chance to last week. We were sitting in the lobby of the Grand Floridian at Disney last week waiting for our reservation for dinner with Cinderella (the princess, not the band) and there were all these guys in tuxes hanging around. Later we saw the sign saying that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series pre-banquet gathering would be in the lobby at 6. I thought some of the guys looked kind of familiar, and according to what I read later, Darrell Waltrip, the Bodine brothers and several others were there.
 
The very first famous person I met was Pat Paulsen back in the early 70's. He was a comedian that was on the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" for a time. Among other endeavors, he also had a very funny but terribly unsuccessful bid for the presidency. (Please see his website and click on the links. Very funny reading including his bio. http://www.paulsen.com/) Very funny reading. May he rest in Peace.)

So, I was traveling with another family ( I was 12 or 13) down in Baja California, somewhere around the San Miguel/Ensenada area. We were on the beach and I noticed that the guy walking by looked familiar. I asked him if he was on television and if he was Pat Paulsen. He said, "Yes, you've caught me. Please don't hurt me". He said that I could walk with him if I liked so I did for about a half an hour. He was very gracious as he answered an adolescents many questions about being on TV. :D

I used to play golf as an amatuer and I played in a Pro-AM charity tournament with, among others, Dwight Clark of the SF 49'ers in my foursome. In the foursome ahead was Eddie DeBartolo, then the owner of the Niners, and Lee Trevino was their Pro. Since the play ended up being slow, there was many times when we would be backed up at the tees and Lee trevino would keep everyone in stitches. I don't think he could help being funny.

One of our bodyshops in Santa Cruz had the members of the rock band The Doobie Brothers as customers. Since my brothers and I played music as well, on a local level, we were invited to play many times at their practice sessions.


There have been a couple of others but I think the most notable of all the famous people that I've met was while snowskiing at Bear Valley Resort. Robert Conrad of the wildy popular :rolleyes: TV show, "Wild, Wild West", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", and the fantastically successful "High Mountain Rangers" :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: , among many other credits, has a home at the beautiful mountain resort (which was where HMR was filmed incidentally).

Anyway, while skiing on the wonderfully groomed runs, nature called. I dutifully went into the main lodge and proceeded to relieve my bladder and who should sidle up right next to me at the next urinal?.....You guessed it, none other than the famous Robert Conrad himself. We chatted about the ski conditions while we emptied our manhood and tucked ourselves snugly back into our warm ski clothes and he invited me to ski his area of the mountain (he owns quite a bit of the area). The offer to hang out and ski with such a famous celebrity was extremely tempting to say the least but, since he seemed to have indulged in too much of the liquid from his bota bag, AND, he yelled at a lodge employee for not keeping the lodge building warm enough, I thought it wise to take a raincheck.
 
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I've met Jimmy Carter and BB King briefly, on a plane and at a blues club, respectively. I knew Nathaniel Owings when I was a kid. He was the Owings of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, famous in architectural circles. I beat Cowboy Jimmy Moore at a game of pool once out of sheer luck (he was about 80 years old, but he was a multiple-time World Champion 8-ball player and no slouch on the table). I worked for several years at my present software company with Roger Capps, the bass player in Pat Benatar's band through the 80's. (He was working as a tech support rep...great guy.) Oh, and Marc Maron (a stand-up comedian you might see on Conan O'Brien's show or hear on the satellite radio comedy channels) was once a guitar student of mine.
 
Back in '97 in Orlando at a computer conference I got invited up to a vendor's hospitality suite, where about 20 of us got to meet and chat with Jonathan Frakes -- Will Riker from Star Trek the Next Generation.

But I'm more impressed with Bart Leetch's experience. Last March I was in San Diego and toured the USS Midway aircraft carrier, and it was humbling to listen to just a few tidbits that the vets leading parts of the tours gave.
 
I haven't met that many famous people - but, here's a few:


  • Pele - Probably the greatest soccer player in history. I met him at a reception in Vancouver after our team played his club team Santos of Brazil - they clobbered us 6-0(and they weren't really trying). Very nice man - friendly, humble and he gave me an autographed Santos pennant which I still treasure!
  • Wayne Gretzky - the "Great One"!! He was in Victoria for a charity softball game with his new girlfriend - Janet!! Another very nice guy who signed autographs for my son and dozens of other kids for about an hour.
  • Guy Lafleur - Montreal Canadien hockey superstar! Met him after an exhibition game in Victoria while he was playing for the Canadiens. Another quiet, modest type guy but really friendly.

Like most others, I've met a bunch of politicians but nothing to brag about!!:D :D

rick
 
Bob Lilly, former Dallas Cowboy, came into a stereo store, I used to work at, to have a phone installed in his car (years ago!). Really nice guy, very gracious, very gentle, and very tall!!
Byron Nelson's widow, Peggy, has been to our house twice in the last few months, although always when I'm at work.:( My wife says that she is a very neat lady. After some planned trips this winter, she is thinking about adopting an Irish Setter from us.
Then there was me!!:D I was on the cover of the Baptist Standard back in the 70's!!:rofl: A buddy of mine and I did a parody of "On the cover of the Rolling Stone" song at our BSU after that. It was a hoot! Jim.
 
Muhammed Ali - Mall of America in MN for a teacher's convention. He talked to a group of us for few minutes while we were waiting for a table at TGIF and he was waiting for a guest appearance at a book signing. Said how much he appreciated what we were doing with kids. Gave us a photo op.

Cesar Chavez - My parents were big into social justice for Hispanics in the late 60's and early 70's... I wasn't. They helped organize some of the first United Farm Workers organizations in Indiana. Chavez came to our house on occasion to help get everything going. I was just a dumb high schooler. I knew he was Cesar Chavez, but I didn't realize he was CESAR CHAVEZ.
 
Boy, the list is fairly long, and one of the more interesting things is I've yet to meet a "Famous" person who was a jerk.

Bryan Adams at a record release party in Vancouver, a buddy worked for a company that sold records to major dept stores.

Bill Bennett, the former Premier of BC, from my hometown, I went to school with his nephew, all politics aside, a very nice hard working man.

Whitney Houston, her caravan (three cars) stopped at the Pizza hut take out next to my shop one night, must have been 30 people standing around outside the joint, yacking on cell phones and looking busy, the body guards were glaring at everyone walking along the side walk, I was outside standing around seeing what was going on (30+ non-Japanese standing around on the sidewalk is just about grounds for the riot police to show up!!) when she walked out to get into the LARGE BLACK SUV, she saw me standing there and came over to say hi, as she could talk to me, as I spoke English, she was nice and looked happy as could be (dunno what happened to her...?)

Richard Dean Anderson, met him and he ate my hot dog, while he was filming an episode of McGyver at the UBC hockey rink, nice guy, great guy, and I just loved that show!

Robert Parker Jr. the wine critic, nice guy, open, honest, and he listened well and asked pointed questions of me once he found out I was running a retail shop, NOT an importer.

Steven Segal, saw him at the Hombu Dojo a few times, talked with him briefly, he told me to train hard and not give up.

Akebono, the first non-Japanese Sumo Yokozuna, the grand champion, one VERY nice man, met him at a private party and he had all of us laughing and he laughed a lot too, nice guy!

Mick Jagger; I was working part time doing security for concerts in Vancouver, I got to work one night in and around the rooms set up for the band under BC Place, Mick was cool, funny, I remember one of his staff giving the stick to a caterer about something not being just right, and he was standing behind her mimicking her, we were all busting a gut, and then she turned around and saw him and he had to run away from her :rofl:

He came back and apologized to her and the rest of us and just asked everyone to chill, and have a good time, after all, "it's only Rock & Roll" and then he laughed and went on his way, funny guy, a real clown.

Keith Richards, he sat on a chair picking a guitar for about an hour and chain smoking cigs, he would play a riff and ask us if we knew what it was, and then laugh if we did not, but in a good hearted way. He liked to be alone for about 30 minutes before the start of each show, he would sit in his little room and prepare, and there was a lot of speculation what that was, but the night I was there, we could hear him snoring :rofl:

That is about it, I guess, lots of Japanese talents, none that most any of you would know.

Cheers!
 
I was a newspaperman. I have always been active in politics.
Could name many-many to the point it would sound lke braggin' and/or name dropping. Some were real jerks. Some were fine folks. Some were impressive.
A few who I found impressive: Chief Justice Earl Warren. Had dinner with him. We didn't agree on most issues but he was an intellectual giant and a true gentleman. U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen, the last of the great old-time orators and a boyhood hero of mine. U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Had a long private conversation with him while he was running for President. I have patterned many, probably most, of my political philosophies around his. An autographed photo from him hangs over my desk along with family photos. Richard Nixon when we was on the come-back trail. Had an hour long private coffee with him. Intellectual giant but an equally giant megalomaniac with visions of world domination by "the few, not the masses". A real scary guy.
 
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