Brush with Greatness (almost)
HS
923 Posts
I was going through resumes recently and low and behold, my heart skipped a beat when I found John Kennedy to be alive and well! It was truly a strange feeling to see that name emblazoned on the top of a resume. Also in this area, Jim Morrison was/is running for an office. When did he come back from the dead?
Did you ever have a famous name pop up in your travels?
Did you ever have a famous name pop up in your travels?
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Actually, a friend of a friend was an extra in a movie that Arnold was in (don't remember which one). He said that Arnold is shorter than most people think (like 5'7 or 5'8) and that in some cases, they had trenches for the actors/actresses playing opposite him to stand in!
Met Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton). He is the same kind of person that he played on the Waltons - down to earth, friendly.
Robby Benson. He taught some classes at the University of South Carolina several years ago. Very nice fellow. His wife is a dancer. Very family oriented.
John Travolta. I almost ran him down in Vancouver, BC. He landed his sea plane at a port and we had just come off a seaplane and it was raining cats and dogs. I ran up the path to the hotel to get away from the rain and I noticed that my husband had stopped to speak to someone. He said "Do you know who that was?" I said "No, who?" He said "John Travolta". I said "Get outta here!" But it really was him. He was sitting in the hotel bar having a drink and I did get a chance to at least say "Hello".
I work with James Brown and Chuck Heston. We also employ Tim Conway and Chester Goode (Gunsmoke). In reality I am Tallulah Bankhead's third cousin, but who in the world remembers her!? Cheers, Mr. Whitmore. You were great wearing black in Westerns.
My real brush with fame was when I met Christopher Reeve at the Williamstown Theater and got his autograph. It was so long ago, 13 years ago I think, and I can still remember how he smiled at me.
I found out later that he also sketches and they are pretty well received. I coulda kept that napkin!!!!!
Years ago a friend and I were at a comedy concert starring Bobcat Goldthwait. Afterwards we were in a position to get his autograph, with no supplies. I used a check from my account. He wrote something besides his name, almost illegible, on mine. We pondered the mysterious message for a few days, then set it aside. A few weeks later I pulled the check out of my purse, glanced at it, and it all became clear. He had written VOID above his name.
Of late, Martin Sheen and I stayed at the same hotel. I was walking around the balcony and saw this man who looked like Martin Sheen walking toward me. As he got closer, I realized thats who he was and gave him a big smile and said "Hello." He smiled, nodded and went on.
Zanne
In New York City I've seen Barry Manilow (during a Macy's parade) and in Connecticut a long time ago, I saw Robert Palmer outside of a venue he played at. I also at one point have briefly met several musicians when I knew a band who opened for these 'has beens', for lack of a better term. Most notably, Meatloaf who was supposed to be on one of the diet programs (like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig) stuffing twinkies into his mouth backstage!
Worked with Ronald McDonald
I forgot to say that in college I was working a summer off-shore oil rig job out of New Orleans. When I got back to town one week there was a large crowd at some sort of public outdoor speaking and we wound up in the middle of it. The guy up on apple crate was Richard Nixon. In my dumbass manner I was trying to impress my buddies with little remarks like, "Hope nobody knows I have this gun." There was a large man with shades and a blue suit standing right beside us. He apparently chalked it up to my youth, rather than hauling me off to jail.
In the mid to late 80's, Hall and Oates came to the town I lived in for a car show. When I was younger, a part of the film "Purple Rose of Cairo" was filmed in the town I lived in. Saw Woody Allen, Mia Farrow and another star showed up one day (don't think he was in the movie), Michael Keaton.
On a personal note, I danced with Michael Keaton;;) at a dance club called "Voila" in Wilmington, NC (actually at Wrightsville Beach). He was really nice and quite comical. I also spotted in that same nightclub Nick Nolte, Judd Nelson, Rae Dawn Chong (she was doing a movie with Michael Keaton) and the guy who played Pee Wee in Porkey's. We used to get to see a lot of "stars" when Wilmington first got into the movie industry. Don't live in Wilmington anymore but really miss it!x:'(
Colin Powell spoke at a ritzy dinner here in our hometown. I was with a navy guy (in his dress uniform - yum, yum) and he wanted to meet General Powell. We walked up to his table and General Powell jumped up, shook hands all around and chatted with my date for a minute or two. The nicest high ranking man you would ever want to meet.
Zanne
I did live in the neighborhood where they filmed the movie "The Outsiders" while they were doing the filming. They wanted to purchase the vintage fire-truck my (then) husband owned. His mother dryed their clothes when it would rain and get them wet. The party they threw at the neighborhood park after filming was complete was a hoot. Huge ice sculpture, free food, free drink, games and small rides for the kids. Of course all the actors were there, the director and all the crew.