OT - MGoBloggers random encounters with celebrities
There is no debating that we are in a dead period in regards to all things Michigan athletics. People, including myself, can't wait for the season to get here so that MGoBoard becomes more informational rather than conversational. But since news can't be produced, and since I'm bored, and since I can't help but navigate to this site even during dead periods, and since I don't have interest in the Tour de France, I am hoping to live vicariously through each and every one of you.
The topic du jour is your encounters/run-ins with celebrities (or pseudo celebrities). Ground rules are as follows:
1) Seeing the celebrity or walking past them does not count - you must have spoken with said celebrity and received a response, even if it was only a one word response like "yes".
2) Meeting the celebrity at a planned event (book signing, back stage at a concert after their show, on the field after a game) does not count. Said celebrity must be out of their natural element.
3) Celebrity cannot be a college athlete.
With that said, my list is very weak and filled with D-listers (thus why I am hoping your stories can inspire me):
- Sinbad (the comedian): Ran into him fairly recently while he was purchasing sour apple Mentos in a Caesar's Palace gift shop. I told him that I loved Neccessary Roughness and asked if he would let my girlfriend take a picture of the two of us. He obliged but said make it quick, as he was trying to get to the sportsbook to place a bet and the clock was ticking. He's a big man.
- Young MC: He lives in Scottsdale, AZ and was a guest at a Phoenix area law firm's Christmas party. The Christmas Party was held at a very cool old dive bar that the law firm saved from being condemened years ago and has held their Christmas party at ever since. Well, karaoke was on the menu that night and, to the delight of all in attendance, Young MC karaoked (or sang, is it really karaoke if you sing your own song) Bust a Move. He was very approachable and I went and talked to him for a bit about random stuff, mostly Phoenix sports since he was sporting a Larry Fitzgerald Cardinals jersey. Very nice guy, has definitely eaten well since his early 90's success.
- EDIT: How could I forget meeting Bob Eucker at a charity golf event. He was playing in the foursome in front of our group and, since the course was jammed up, we would catch the group on every tee box. He was a riot, always making everyone laugh. Of course, after a few beers, I did watch one of his tee shots slice wickedly and (in hindsight, embarassingly) shouting, "Juuuuuust a bit outside."
I was at a mets game... the year was 2000. I get to my seat and immediately right next to it is none other than Julia Stiles.... I swear to god man, the girl from Save the last dance. And i was like YOoooooooooooo Juuuuuuulia!
This is actually true, I did sit RIGHT next to her the whole game. I was 16... it was pretty remarkable (at the time... I also went to an all boys Jesuit high school, so that made this encounter even better.) Apparently she's a big mets fan and actually go the tickets from Todd Zeile.
Apparently she is also a huge supporter of not having her boobs supported.
Hey man, it was a cold day.
But, seriously, i wasn't comfortable posting some of the other photo results from searching "julia stiles mets" since i'm at work, but thanks for making me feel more awkward about it.
I do like the photo, its not like it was the first thing I noticed in the picture (yes it was).
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-celebrity-encounters
Great minds think alike...
You must have been one of those four hour boner guys I hear about. Serioulsy, were you able to stand for the seventh-inning stretch?
Two options: take the hat off and cover yourself, or the old tuck into the belt trick.
Disagree. No 16 year old goes anywhere without his trusty books/backpack. Option number three?
Not exactly a celebrity, but I met Ron Jeremy at a comedy club a few years back. Didn't shake his hand though.
Too late; crabs can probably jump at least 12-16 inches. Would consider Quell to your daily regimen for a bit.
I met John Travolta (pre-Pulp Fiction) in Anchorage, Alaska at a sushi bar. Was with the fam, my mother is a big fan from 'Grease'. After him and his presumed wife were done eating, I asked if he was John Travolta, asked if we could get an autograph. He was very nice, took a picture with my mom.
Also met Isiah Thomas during the Bad Boy years in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He was working out at the hotel gym. He looked so small on the TV, he's a bit taller than me in real life, however (I'm only 5'9").
Haha. No, pudgy Korean kids (I've lost weight since high school, I swear) may not be his thing, from what I hear.
Same here. He came to SRU my sophomore year. I shook his hand and took a pic with him. He was a cool ass dude. Also saw Herm Edwards in Baltimore a while back. I said what up Coach Herm. He smiled and said hi and then politely went on his way.
I have a close, personal friendship with Tom Skerritt.
And you're one heck of a rental car branch manager.
Nice Ted reference.
I met Sam Adams at a party in Boston a few weeks back
So anyways, I was standing there waiting to use the pay phone and this guy who was on the phone, turns around and tips his hat like this. And who do you think that guy was?
Emilio Estevez. The Mighty Duck man, I swear to God, I was there.
I was like, "Emilio."
You should have yelled Gordon Bombay and started to quack at him.
"GORDON, STOP YOUR QUACKING!!!!!!"
I still frequently reference "Fulton Reed" if I do something poorly. Like, "I hit my drive onto the green, like 3 outta 10 times. Im a freaking Fulton Reed".
That's it.
Lloyd Carr and Gary Moeller in the locker room at the Big House pre-game. I took a leak next to him in the trough. Players were getting ready and it was pretty intimidating seeing how huge they all were.
Took a leak next to Mitch Albom at JLA during intermission at a Red Wing game in the Olympia Club.
Sat next to Brett Favre at Disney MGM Tower of Terror. I had no clue until we were sitting because of how they bring you on the ride. This was before his 1st comeback with the Pack. I chatted with him for just a sec and asked him to be easy on the Lions...........he lied
I have met a few others with some Christian organizations but I will limit it to the trough visits and a cajun QB
I'm assuming you mean the players in the locker room and not the size of Lloy and Mo's schlongs. Because thats how it reads.
One time (I think during the summer) I was walking on the main campus and I see a guy who looks familiar coming the other direction. I say to myself "I think that's Lloyd Carr" and make eye contact a little too long, triggering this:
Carr: How's it going?
snowcrash: Pretty good, how about you?
Carr: Good.
snowcrash: Cool.
At that point, we had passed each other and kept going.
That sounds like a very gentlemanly conversation. Kudos for not acting like the IU student who greeted Bobby Knight with a "What up, Knight", leading to anger and a resignation.
I was at Disneyland a few years ago and who should be there but....Mickey Mouse himself. Crazy, I know. Seeing "the Mick" in person was awesome. Got a picture and everything.
I met Sebastian Bach at a battle of the bands competition my friends were in. He was sitting at a table on the bar patio and I went up to him and said hello and asked him why 'Quicksand Jesus' wasn't on Skid Row's greatest hits album. He went on this huge rant how it was because he wrote the song and the band hated him, yada, yada, yada. Anyway, he so appreciated the question that he pulled a chair up for me and we had a few drinks together.
I worked at a hospital in the San Fernando Valley for three years, and of course the entire LA basin is crawling with celebrities. I admitted several B and C list celebrities to L&D that I can't tell you about due to privacy laws. That's okay, though, because one evening after hours there was a guy knocking on my locked lobby door trying to get in because a friend of his had a relative in another part of the hospital. I went up to the door to let the person in, and it was...
Bruce Willis. The internet says he's 5'11, but that's being, er, rather generous. He was wearing a ball cap and nondescript clothing, and you really couldn't tell it was him until you got close. He asked how to find the unit his friend's relative was in. I said something to the effect of, "down the hall, around the corner to the right to the main lobby, take the elevator up to the floor."
He gave a pleasant "Thanks" and off he went. That's the whole conversation. I got the feeling that he was grateful any time someone didn't make a big deal about seeing him.
The only thing that was noticeable at all was that he had a chauffer who waited for him in the lobby. And that was that.
Years ago (can't remember exactly when) Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were in Nova Scotia because she was shooting the Scarlet Letter in Shelburne. That is about an Hour away from my home town and for some reason they decided to stay here in Yarmouth and make the commute on a fairly regular basis.
They rented a house while here that was in our village outside of town and could be seen walking their dog and at the local market on a fairly regular basis. I didn't interact much with them but the word from those that did was that they were great people and very friendly.
Now Bruce really wanted to keep to himself for the most part and during one trip in to Yarmouth on their private jet he decide to look arounds the airport (very small airport). In his wandering he made it up to the air traffic control tower without being stopped and met one of my good friends fathers. They hit it off right from the start and when ever Demi would be off in Shelburne shooting Bruce would go the airport and hang out with my buddies Dad. Even when he had a day off he would head to his house and hang out with him there (I did get a chance to speak with him a couple of times then, but I was a teenager and didn't add much to the conversation).
Anyway, as the story continues I had another friend who worked at the local cinema and when shooting finished Demi booked the cinema for the night and she had a private viewing of the film. My buddy was one of the ones working and she invited all that were working that night to come in with her to see it. It was a highlight for him but he couldn't help but stare over at her after the nude scene in the movie.
...but here was my interesting run-in with a local celebrity anyway.
A few years ago, I was doing storm patrols in Farmington Hills and while walking down a lead with all sorts of wrong on it, I walked through the backyard of a man who was just standing there, watching us scribble down notes on an operating print of the circuit. He was familiar somehow, so I went up to him and identified myself and told him what we were doing. As most customers do in storm situations, he asked when he might be back up, and generally we don't know that, but he was cool about it.
I then asked him, "Did you ever pitch for the Tigers? You look a lot like Frank Tanana."
He smiled and said, "Yes, and I am."
He actually signed the circuit map for me.
people with a similar story to mine. Dan Petry makes the rounds in the suites at every home Tigers game. He loves talking '84 season and his hockey playing son.
Edit: This doesn't count thought I just realized. He gets paid to do it so it gets DQ'ed per OP's rules. Move along.
At Walt Disney World I was shocked when I saw Ron Jeramie. That made me feel dirty and much less magical, so I didn't talk to him or anything.
When I was younger I saw Darren McCarty (Red Wings) at Boyne skiing, which was a bit surprising given they were in season and all. Got a picture with him, don't know where it is now.
I met Ben Harper at a party before a concert years ago. Seemed much cooler at the time.
Does going to high school with them count? A couple of them were actually famous then, and had famous parents who I met.
in AA, but after he had moved onto the pros. He was absolutely awesome. Had a drink with him once, the other time he was on his way out of Rick's and we were on our way in. He had just signed his multi-multi million dollar contract extension and here he was, no entourage, just hanging out and then leaving the bar by himself. He (is?) was spending his summers in AA finishing his degree, because he promised his folks and Red that he would. We chatted olympics for about 10 minutes and then he left. He said that going to the opening ceremonies was the best decision he ever made.
Now, actual celebrity story: when I was little I used to go trick-or-treating at Steve Chiasson's house while he was with the Wings. Didn't have to go out of my way, as he lived on my street a couple of blocks up. Instead of just like a simple candy bar he used to hand out little candy bags of assorted stuff.
I went to high school with Justin Gatlin, and my wife went to school with Trent Richardson. Both are incredibly nice people.
I bartended a wedding that Tim Allen was at. I tried to give him a couple drinks but he was just out of rehab and drank coffee the whole night. I also buried Jimmy Hoffa.
I talked to Shaky Jake a few times. I also madeout with a cheerleader in the mid-nineties, not the hot one. I hungout with Bjork one night, but that was different life...
I had a buddy freshman year of college named Will and we happened to be from the same hometown. His family had a beach house outside of town, and his parents threw a little party, inviting me and my family.
So we all drive down there, and Will's brother, Win, was there with his girlfriend. Will's mom (who was a space cadet in her own right) kept claiming that Win and this girl were fabulous musicians, and basically begged them to play some of their stuff. Win was a little too shy, and refused. I was skeptical anyway, and secretly happy not to be subjected to some amatuer guitar-strumming crap.
A year later I find out that Win is playing SNL with his band, Arcade Fire. Never can tell, I suppose.
My tale is a story of sadness...
My cousin is a semi-successful local RAWK artist turned fake country artist and is friends with none other than Uncle Kracker. Several years ago I had dinner with my cousin at an establishment in Warren, MI and he happened to bring Mr. Kracker along. I am not sure he even qualifies as a celebrity because he comes out with some middle-aged mom country/rock song about once every four years that seems to be a top 40 hit that never goes away.
Anyway, he ended up being a pretty funny guy and not nearly as douchey as I would have thought, but he looked awful. Like, a perpetual lifelong binge of drugs and alcohol and food that makes you bloat kind of awful.
Oh, and I ran into Nastia Liukin twice at a Hilton in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. I didn't talk to her, but that was way better than my Uncle Kracker experience.
I was in Palo Alto in the late-ish 90s for a friend's wedding. Before the wedding I took a few minutes to check out the Stanford campus. While I was in some kind of administration building, a very petite and comely young lass asked if I knew where the rest rooms were.
It was Natalie Portman.
I was young and creepy enough to be thrown by it, so I pointed to where the bathrooms were and said something to the effect of
"asdkfliahdsfak;ljjfffffffffasdkdjf Leon Le Professionel adsklfjijjjjj333333"
I was at a Springsteen show at old Giants stadium. Last event held there before they tore it down. Was with a big group of friends and we were scattered standing around in the front VIP area. I find a little spot for myself and I see right next to me is Matt Damon. His wife and I think his parents and 2 others were with him. He was double fisting. Only dialogue between us was me saying hi and shaking his hand at first. Then at the end of the show he didn't recognize a song at first and asked me what it was. I told him it was "Jersey Girl." That's it. Didn't want to bother him too much. So he was ok to me. But I remember at one point some friends of friends found me and saw Matt and had their pic taken with him and said hi, etc. One of them had an Eli Manning jersey on and after they went back to their spot one of Matt's friends turned to him and said "Why can't they leave you alone?" Matt replied "I know, and what's with the jersey? What does he think he's Eli Manning?" I was glad I just said hi right there.
For my fellow pothead mgobloggers, I sat next to Steven Hyde and Fez (that 70's show) a few years ago at a yankee game. The rock on Fez's hand must have been 5 figures, thing looked like a world championship ring. Had brief conversations with them throughout the game about the awesomeness of that 70's show and other random interesting things.
I met Dennis Rodman when I was about 10 years old at Burger King at the airport in Cali headed to New York. I told him I was a big fan when he was with the pistons and he just stared at me didn't say a word. One of the biggest douches I've ever met.