Touched By Fame
I don’t know
what it is, but it seems I am constantly surrounded by famous people. It can’t just be a coincidence, I must be a
magnet to fame.
When I was
only five years old, our family moved to California. We could not immediately sell the Long Island
home we left, so Pop rented it. Who was
it rented to? Bobby Riggs, star tennis
player of yesteryear who later defeated highly ranked woman’s champion Margaret
Court before he lost a famous match to Billy Jean King.
Touched by
fame (indirectly).
When I was
but ten years old, I squeezed through, cutting a crowded line in order to meet and get the
autograph of baseball great Mickey Mantle.
Touched by
fame.
In college,
I came within feet of “The Amazing Kreskin” at a fraternity sponsored show.
Touched by
fame.
During lunch
in the park at work one day, I was asked for directions by none other than
Helen Gurley Brown, TV personality and the famed editor of Cosmopolitan.
Touched by
fame.
Racing for
the subway one day, I almost knocked over Curtis Sliwa, New York radio star and
founder of “The Guardian Angles.”
Touched by
fame.
A few years
ago, while in the city with Mrs. C, she pointed out Steve Gutenberg, star of “Cocoon”
and “Three Men and a Baby,” who was at the corner on a bicycle.
Touched by
fame.
Not long
after that while waiting for a plane, who walked through the waiting area but
fashion icon and star of TV’s “Project Runway” Nina Garcia!
Touched by
fame.
Only one
year later, while at the NYC downtown Feast of San Genaro, my B-I-L spotted
and stopped world famous actor, star of TV’s “Who’s The Boss” and “Taxi”, Tony Danza.
 |
| Tony seemed to want to get away from B-I-L...not sure why. |
Touched by
fame.
Not long
after the Danza encounter, I was picking up some dry cleaning and bumped into
TV’s RHONJ star Melissa Gorga.
Touched by fame.
If that is not enough, only last year at an "Oldies" concert, who walked right by our isle seats when making an appearance? None other than radio DJ "Cousin" Bruce Morrow!
Touched by fame.
Will it ever
end?
Clearly,
Cranky is a celebrity magnate!
Wow. That is pretty cool! I would've been all over Tony Danza. Him and Paul Michael Glaser of Starsky & Hutch fame, were my h.s crushes. I've met a few celebs. My favorite is a tie. Clint Eastwood and Cher. Both very cool.
ReplyDeleteBumping into accidentally is far better than slavishly following and hounding them for autographs and photos.
ReplyDeleteA celebrity magnet indeed. I've been in the company of celebs but you beat me in numbers.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm not sure if I'm more surprised by your numbers, or that you knew who Melissa Gorga is! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI've only ever been in the same room as John Glenn. That's it, at least that I'm aware of.
That\s a lotta' celebrities.....I met Eddie Shack once. That's all I got.
ReplyDeleteI think that living in/near New York or LA increases your odds of celebrity contact significantly. An old girlfriend of mine lived next door to the Barbera family (of Hanna-Barbera fame) in the Jersey suburbs of NYC.
ReplyDeleteMy celebrity 'sightings', such as they are, have mostly been athletes; I was at Michigan State the same time as Magic Johnson and Kirk Gibson, so I ran into them on campus a few times. Al Kaline's son was at MSU at the same time also, and lived in the dorm next to mine; so once in a blue moon, we'd see Al and his wife when they were visiting. I was next to Jack Morris at a red light once, and I almost bumped into Larry Csonka in the Denver airport.
That's all I got. . .
Oh, and my younger brother lived in Tucson, near where Paul and Linda McCartney had a ranch. One day, he was in the vacuum-cleaner store buying some bags, and Paul himself was there, picking up a vac from the repair shop. I've always gotten a chuckle from the fact that Paul McCartney was picking up his own vacuum cleaner, and didn't just send somebody to do it for him. . .
ReplyDeleteI am limited to Ted Koppel in NYC. Oh, and all the great people I see every day.
ReplyDeleteNow that is a list of celebrities, kind of makes you wonder who you will run into next.
ReplyDeleteNot to age myself or anything but I ran into Milton Berle at the Las Vegas airport and he talked to me while we waited for luggage. That's it for me. I'm just not a magnet like you are.
ReplyDeleteYou have had more than your share. Mine were mostly golf pros but I did have lunch at the same table as Jackie Gleason and at the same function, was introduced to Perry Como. Oh yea, I also shared a hospital wall with George Hamilton. Not sure that counts.
ReplyDeleteWow, you surely are. The only celebrity I ever came into contact with, was Shirley Temple Black. She was running for some office in our county. I was like 12 years old. She was at the mall and my friend and I (both extreme Shirley Temple fans) could not believe it was her - all grown up. We went over and asked if we could hug here and she was very gracious.
ReplyDeleteThe other time, I usually don't include. But we were driving around Beverly Hills, on Mountain Dr when Dean Martin's kids were driving a jeep, and almost hit us.
My ex husband, when he was a teen working at a gas station in Hillsborough, Ca - pumped gas for Bing Crosby several times.
You are the champion in this regard, i bow to your ability to find celebrities without even trying.
ReplyDeleteThe only celebrity I've encountered was California governor Jerry Brown, who I collided with in my car.
ReplyDeleteI'm Impressed.
ReplyDeleteR
I'm impressed! You are indeed a celebrity magnet! Beats the not-heaven out of my status as a weirdo magnet.
ReplyDeleteI've only encountered one celebrity. Back in the 1970s, St. Louis Cardinal quarterback Jim Hart knocked on my front door. He was looking for a furniture upholstery shop that was across the highway.
I'm loving hearing everyone's celebrity encounters.
ReplyDeleteYou are a magnet all right. My one and only claim to fame: In 1980 during the presidential campaign I happened into a shopping mall during the lunch hour to find a large crowd in the common area...I was told that candidate Ronald Reagan would be there to speak shortly. Suddenly out of a side door at the far back of the crowd, where I was, stepped RR himself not 3 feet away. He had a genuinely nice smile and a firm handshake, too.
ReplyDeleteOh! I forgot I once stayed at the same hotel as John Kerry when he was running for President, I don't think we saw him though, just a lot of big dudes in dark suits and sun glasses.
DeleteDavid Janssen’s (The Fugitive) sister Teri once drove Bud & me to David’s home so we could meet him & have lunch. He took us to the restaurant in his Rolls—the first time I had ever been in one. This little hick (which I was at the time) was impressed! I remember Dick Martin (of Laugh In’s Rowan & Martin) stopped at our table to say hello. He made some dumb joke about a one armed man in the lobby who was asking for David.
ReplyDeleteWe used to play golf with our old bank manager, John. One of John’s friends was Barney Martin, who would occasionally join us. You probably don’t recognize his name, but I’m sure you’d know his face. He played Liza Minnelli's father in the movie “Arthur” & was Jerry Seinfeld’s father, Morty, on TV. He was a sweetheart.
We were never formally introduced, but Carol Channing & I were in the same doctor’s waiting room & we visited for about 15 minutes. I’m sure she remembers it to this day.
Bud & I stayed at the Pritikin Institute (a health & weight loss center in Santa Monica) for a few weeks. We met & became friendly with Lorne Greene, another guest. He played Ben Cartwright, the father, on “Bonanza”. We used to jog with him & usually shared a table at mealtime. Also at Pritikin was Lou Simon (whose son, Paul, was the Simon of Simon & Garfunkel)
Okay, you had me at Seinfeld's TV father!
DeleteHow cool to have met so many famous people! My husband went to college with Natalie Merchant (formerly with the 10,000 Maniacs). The only "famous" person I ever encountered was when I was on a flight from Tampa to Washington, D.C., with Charlie Crist, then governor of Florida.
ReplyDeleteThis has become such a celebrity-oriented culture. We put so many in that category for the least little thing any more, so you'll likely keep seeing or meeting more. From those I've encountered, I think they really are just like us -- pull their pants on one leg at a time -- some we might want as friends, others possibly not so.
ReplyDelete