Celebrity Encounters: Good or Bad? (1 Viewer)

[BarryR]

Just thought I'd chime in again! I had forgotten that on one Manhattan stroll I rounded a corner near St. Patricks Cathedral and saw Jackie Onassis walking towards me. She had two men around her who looked like security. This wasn't all that long before she passed away.

No other encounters lately. It's too cold out.

 

[Sam Posten]

Did she have grace?

 

[Edwin-S]

I looked at that photo of Ronald Epstein standing near Stephen Lang. Wow! I never would have recognized him as the guy who played Quarich if the caption hadn't mentioned it.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Although I didn't quite meet her, I was present at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's dedication of the Flame Of Hope (Diabetes) outside the Banting House National Historic Site Of Canada in London Ontario, on July 7, 1989. The flame is to remain lit until a cure for diabetes is found.

Much to my surprise, on a recent Google search, I found 2 photos from that event, both of which feature my 25 year old bespectacled self visible directly behind the Umbrella that was used to shade the Queen Mother from the July sun!

My return to Banting House, September 15, 2018. This time, I actually got inside!

A Sir Frederick Banting "Beneficiary!"

CHEERS!

 

[RBailey]

I used to attend the various B-western and serial conventions held in various cities like St. Louis, Memphis and Charlotte over the years. I met some of the nicest people ever! Most of them had been out of the limelight for years and were so happy to be revered still by their fans. Gail Davis, Dick Jones, Jock Mahoney, Rod Cameron, Pat Buttram, Kirk Alyn, Don Barry, Kay Aldridge and others were all warm and wonderful. Some of the "bad guys" like Harry Lauter, Walter Reed, Marshall Reed and stuntmen like Yakima Canutt and Tom Steele had great stories about the stars they worked with. These conventions continue to this day with TV western stars like Robert Fuller, Will Hutchins and Clint Walker still making appearances.

One of my favorite encounters was with the great Soupy Sales who was doing a whirlwind tour of various Central Ohio theatres showing his 1966 film BIRDS DO IT. He was with his co-star, the beautiful Beverly Adams. When the movie ended, Soup and Beverly came out on stage and talked to the crowd and told some jokes. As he finished, I rushed out the door to get him to sign a picture for me. He and Beverly got into a limo and he signed some of the pictures with his window rolled down. As he was signing my pic, I nervously told Beverly that I had seen her in the AIP "Beach" film, HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI. Soupy shot back with "Oh, you were the one!" which really cracked up Miss Adams. Wish I still had that picture.

 

[EricSchulz]

Surprisingly, I met Roseanne (I don’t recall which, if any, last name she was using at the time) at a book signing in Denver in the mid 90’s. I absolutely loved meeting her and we had a great chat. My best friend who didn’t follow “the rules” (she was only autographing her current book, nothing else) didn’t have the same experience as I!

 

[PMF]

Jerry Orbach.
Went backstage when he was touring with Bob Fosse's "Chicago" in Boston.
I was a teenager wanting to learn about becoming an actor.
When the conversation began to wrap itself up, we opened the backstage exit door revealing a downpour of rain.
My father's car was parked just a few feet away, so my parents decided to offer him a lift to his hotel.
To my utter surprise, Jerry Orbach took the offer.
Unfortunately, though, my father had been bargain shopping while I was at the show.
And a bargain he found; as when Jerry Orbach got into the back of the car he was in competition with over fifty individual rolls of unboxed toilet paper. As it was, Mr. Orbach stood at 6'-2" and the car, itself, was barely a mid-size; so this, too, should lend a more fuller picture of the circumstances that were at hand.

Jerry Orbach was generous, informative and, as I look back, a damned good sport.

 

[BarryR]

I'm embarrassed to admit I all but forgot about starting this thread, having rediscovered it again today. Thanks to all who still contribute. I think one reason for my amnesia is that I haven't encountered anyone famous these past several years, and I'm not looking, either. My one dubious time was missing out on seeing Joan Rivers at a book signing, a month before she died. She was due in an hour and I for whatever reason couldn't stay. I also drove by a bookstore where Hilary Clinton was signing, and the line went around the block.

As I get older (I'm 62) I'm technically less starstruck than years ago, and I even keep asking myself why we can get all tongue tied about encounters. They're all just people, right? Well, if I happen to find myself in the same elevator as, say, Martin Scorsese, I know I'd be a blabbering pinhead if i started talking about how I admire his movies.

It must be at at times a thankless task dealing with fame and an unpredictable public, especially with the onslaught of social media (which still seemed a novelty when i started this thread), but I still remain interested in whatever anecdotes get posted here.

 

[LeoA]

Harry Morgan stayed at the Clarkson Inn in the small village of Potsdam NY one night years ago, and didn't leave a very favorable impression. Was rude and very arrogant acting.

Hopefully just a bad night.

 

[PMF]

A couple more have come back to mind.

Margaret Hamilton and Paul Simon.
No, they weren't together.
These were two separate encounters.

With Margaret Hamilton, I was 17 and working at a hotel.
Once word got out from within the staff that she was checked into our hotel, I asked if I could take my dinner break. Thereafter, I hastely drove home and got my book on the making of "The Wizard of Oz". Had it ready, I did, and handily in the back office. And why not? I was 17, and was not yet versed on how to ignore a celebrity in order to give them their privacy. Eventually, the timing was right and the book was autographed. To picture her during this moment, just think of Cora and her then famous ads for Maxwell House coffee.
But what on earth was she doing in "My Little Town"?
Well, it turned out that she was visiting a life-long friend who was now living at a nearby nursing home.
Margaret Hamilton was very open and receptive; with a couple of great stories to share, as well.
You could easily say that this experience was more than good; in fact, it was wicked cool.

Paul Simon.
I was visiting a friend at NBC studios, back in the 1980's.
It seems that I had gravitated my way towards an elevator that wasn't used by the general public.
As I stepped in, there he was. Yup, just me, Rhymin' Simon and the confines of an elevator.
I was nine years older than when I'd met Margaret Hamilton; so, by that time, I knew how to give a celeb their privacy.
In fact, I've had more fun in chance encounters pretending that I'm not even aware of who they are; which gets all the more challenging when your one on one in a lift that had a goodly few floors towards our destination.
I would say that this experience was good; if not humorous. After all, I chose to keep it cool and give him his space.
A quiet fellow was he; just simply being and in that kind of "sound of silence" moment that could only be provided by an elevator.
But, if I had any regret, it was that I had refrained from cracking a joke. After all, at that time in my life, it was very difficult for me to waste a one-time custom-made joke. In this case, I was tempted to wait for the elevator doors to open and then, upon walking out, turn to him and say, "By the way, I thought you were great in Carnal Knowledge".