Celebrity Sightings

[Guest Starbuck]

The recent thread on Elizabeth Taylor (in the Comedy & Tragedy forum) included a mention of Sandy Dennis, who co-starred with Taylor in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and I was reminded that I once spotted Sandy Dennis munching on a sandwich outside Oscar's Deli in Westport, CT. I must have been in my teens or early 20s at the time and it's the first just-by-chance celebrity sighting I recall. Not very long after that I saw Jackie O. walking down a street in Manhattan (coat collar turned up, big sunglasses) ... then noticing that plenty of other people had also stopped and turned just to watch her pass by ... then realizing how anyone could get to hate that much attention. But my favorite celebrity sightings were still to come ... there are a few of them, all from the late 70s/early 80s ...

 

1. Claudette Colbert getting off a plane at LAX wearing black slacks, a black sweater and dragging a mink coat.

 

2. Charles Nelson Reilly in Marina del Rey, CA wandering through the parking lot of a Boys Market (just to clarify: a supermarket, not a store for twinks) searching for his car.

 

3. Lucille Ball in the audience at some big, beautiful auditorium in Long Beach, CA. (Bette Davis was doing the show she did often later in life--an hour of film clips followed by an hour or so of taking questions from the audience and talking about her career.) Someone from far back in the auditorium stood and asked Davis if that woman down in front with the red hair was Lucille Ball.

 

"Well, I don't know," said Davis (classic stance, cigarette in hand). "Lucille, ahh you heah?"

 

And down around the tenth row center, a woman with bright red hair stands and gives a little wave to the crowd. There may have been a little too much applause and after the room was still again, Davis lets the silence hang in the air for a good half-minute or more before she says, without a trace of sincerity, "Lucille, how nice of you to come."

 

4. Divine (wigless, in pants instead of a dress, but still enormously and unmistakably Divine) stepping out of a fancy convertible to get a cone at the Swanson's Ice Cream Shop at the corner of Union and Hyde in San Francisco while three or four exceptionally beautiful boys wait in the car.

 

Not sure why celebrity sightings should seem especially "gay," but now that I've written them down, these sure do. Anyway ... my trip down Memory Lane on a lazy, frigid cold morning.

[+ azdr0710]

I like this thread idea, Starbuck....I hope others join in....sorry, Star, mine aren't as glamorous as yours!!

 

1. Carol Burnett at LAX baggage claim after a "polar flight" from London back in the late 60s. I was only six and I remember my Mom pointing her out to us.

 

2. Harry Hamlin recently on the Betty Dearing Trail at Fryman Canyon Park off Laurel in LA....

 

3. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top a few times many years ago when I worked at a nicer small hotel....he was friendly, low-key, quietly confident....many others at the hotel which I'll try to mention later in the thread

[+ Cock Eyed Optimist]

The two that I remember best are:

 

1. At a performance of "Elaine Stritch at Liberty" in New York, I sat right behind Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. In typical New York style, no one else in the audience made a big to-do about them. As we exited, we reached the end of the aisle at the same time, and they both smiled and nodded indicating that I should go first.

 

2. At a performance of "Starlight Express" in NY, I was seated when a gentleman and his wife sat down next to me. The belt fell off of the woman's coat, so I bent over to pick it up and hand it to her, and it was Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen.

 

3. I have been in the audience twice with Joel Grey at theatre in NY.

[bigvalboy]

I'm with azdr, mine aren't nearly as glamorous, but still fun.

 

1. Rock Hudson at the infamous bath house "8709" back in the day. Unbelievably charming and gracious, as opposed to his lover whom I met years later at a social event and was a complete douche bag.

 

2. Jack Nichoson at "The Grove" in LA one lazy Sunday afternoon. Dressed in a blue blazer, white pants, and yes with a yellow tie and matching yellow socks. A complete gentlemen.

 

3.And yes Jane Meadows who lived up the hill from me in Sherman Oaks, who was without a doubt the sweetest kindest woman on the planet. Never an unkind word to anyone. She treated her gardener and her celebrity friends with the same respect, and dignity. I used to beg her not to drive. She finally got a full time nurse, much to the relief of her family.

 

4. And Bob Hope. I used to see him routinely walking the streets of Toluca Lake with his assistant, (very cute BTW) My office was there for a time, right near the old "Smoke House" restaurant off Lakeside Dr. We would see him dining for lunch there. Never with his wife, always with the assistant. Did I mention the assistant was very cute? ...Like Jane Meadows, he was about as gracious with the public as you can imagine. Never ever turning someone away who wanted a picture or an autograph, even during lunch.

 

Thanks for the thread Starbuck, and thanks for the opportunity to dig some of these old memories up from the past. Put a smile on my face this afternoon.

[Decatur Guy]

Mujubur and Sirajewel -- the South Asian shopowners near the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York, who were frequently visited by "Letterman" for years. I "sighted" them because I deliberately went into their store.

[cany10011]

Woody Allen and his child bride at le cirque

Sarah Jessica Parker in Barneys

Mr Big (Chris Noth?) on 9th street leaving his doorman building

Robert Kennedy leaving president's lounge restroom at newark airport

Liam Neeson on a flight to Chicago

Mick Jagger in a elevator at my friend's building on CPW

James Levine on his scooter on 73rd St

 

 

 

 

Mujubur and Sirajewel -- the South Asian shopowners near the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York, who were frequently visited by "Letterman" for years. I "sighted" them because I deliberately went into their store.

[Kevin Slater]

Baby Doc at Cinquante Cinq (St Tropez).

 

Kevin Slater

[jackhammer91406]

Back in the 70's I was appearing in a production of Marat/Sade and the producers had my head shaved for the role. I was at C.M.A. (pre I.C.M. days) seeing my agent and Yul Brynner got in the elevator. He took one look at me, looked at my head, smiled and then said "Everyone is stealing my bit."

[MsGuy]

Dolly Parton at Nashville airpost. She was even more top heavy in person (lol) but had really skinny legs. This was not long after she had several feet of small intestine removed, so maybe that accounted for the legs.

 

A rather morose looking Al Gore in a limo in Memphis a few weeks before he lost the presidential election. My whole family was packed into a car for a trip to Memphis when we pulled up alongside Gore's limo. Moma got all excited, rolled down her window and yelled, waved and gave him a big thumbs up. Oddly enough that seemed to cheer him up some. He gave her a big grin and waved back.

[leigh.bess.toad]

Only 1 for me. I think it was 1976. I was walking out of the Wadsworth Athaneum with my college roommate, who was a french film buff. He had dragged me to see a film playing there, Cousin, Cousine. It was a cold, winter night. And we were waiting for the bus back to campus. And I turned around and saw who had just walked out of the theater from watching the same movie. Angela Lansbury. I had just seen her that summer in Gypsy at the Kennedy Center. Obviously, long before Murder She Wrote. But I recognized her instantly. And I walked up to her and talked with her for a few moments. And she was just as charming and gracious as you could imagine. I still have the autograph she gave me on the program for Cousin, Cousine. A very sweet lady.

[+ WilliamM]

Keanu Reeves walking on South Street in Philadelphia, with no one else recognizing him

 

When I was a kid, John Wayne preparing to promote a new film

 

Robert Kennedy and John Kennedy campaigning in 1968 and 1960 respectively

 

Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan attending Broadway shows. Mrs. Reagan was First Lady; Mrs. Clinton had just withdraw from her campaign in 2008

 

Mary Martin shopping in a department store, with several 'babysitters.'

 

But nothing can top the Bette Davis story that also included Lucy

[EastbayMike]

Demian Bichir at a movie house in New Orleans last November. First time in my life I was ever star struck.

 

Gabriel Byrne on a beach in LA.

 

Joe Biden at the Red Carpet. Club at IAD.

[Mark Gordon]

Prince Charles, at a production of Hamlet in Stratford. He and several other men slipped quietly into seats in the stalls across the aisle from me, just before the curtain went up. I could hear him chuckling during the performance.

Jamie Oliver, looking annoyed while shopping for handbags with his wife at Selfridge’s Department Store, London.

Jimmy Somerville and Marc Almond partying at the infamous after-hours techno club Trade in London. I chatted with Jimmy and he was very sweet. Marc Almond was a reqular there for some time.

Andy Bell of Erasure, alone, slumped in a corner of The London Apprentice, a cuisy gay bar/club.

Rupert Everett, several times at his London gym, Jubilee Hall. Also, at Equinox Gym and out clubbing at Salvation in South Beach.

Boy George, holding court with his entourage at Heaven, London’s biggest gay club.

Jean Paul Gaultier, cruising around in the darkroom of a gay bar in Le Marais, Paris.

Duke of Edinburgh, getting out of a Rolls Royce on Jermyn Street, London, surrounded by his staff. Presumably doing some shopping at the exclusive gentlemen’s clothing shops that line the street.

[+ Charlie]

It was more than a sighting, but not a whole lot more: I danced with Rudolf Nureyev in a London disco.

[Steven_Draker]

Matthew Broderick in a small restaurant on 46th Str. between Eighth and Ninth in NYC

 

Karl Lagerfeld at a night club in Paris

 

Chris Eisenhower at the Palm Springs get-together (briefly by the pool)

[EZEtoGRU]

Great thread idea!

 

Then Michigan governor George Romney on the stairs of the capitol building in D.C. in the 60's.

 

John Wayne filming a movie scene in London right by Tower Bridge in the mid 1970's.

 

70's rocker/poet Patti Smith in line at a bank in Downtown Detroit in 1979. I spoke with her....she was very friendly.

 

George H W Bush naked in a shower at the Plaza Hotel Health Club at the Renaissance Center in Detroit during the 1980 Republican National Convention. I was a member of the hotel health club and he was staying at the hotel during the convention. I was getting out of the shower and he was getting in. He had two security agents with him in the locker room...one of whom was gorgeous (but clothed).

 

Diana Ross at the Pan Am Clipper Club in Buenos Aires in the late 1980's. Not very friendly.

 

Rosie O'Donnell in the front row of a Madonna concert in Detroit in 2001. This was weeks before 9/11.

 

Jerry Stiller with Anne Meara walking down by Times Square in NYC sometime in the 90's. I think I was heading to Stella's at the time.

 

Mick Jagger in the lobby of the Maksoud Plaza hotel in Sao Paulo in the late 80's. The Rolling Stones were in Brazil for a series of concerts.

 

Baggage claim sightings: Kenny G in Miami where we had both just gotten off the flight from LAX. Joe Jackson (Michael's father) in Sao Paulo where we both had just gotten off the AA flight from DFW. Then spotted him again of my hotel in Sao Paulo.

 

First class cabin sightings: Mickey Rooney from LAX to MIA and Ann Coulter from LAX to DFW.....both in 2013. Kareem Abdul Jabbar from MIA to LAX in 2012. John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora from ORD to LAX in the 1990's. James Carville and Mary Matalin on UA from IAH to PHX. Rapper Snoop Dogg from MIA to LAX in the late 90's or early 2000's. He slept the entire flight.

 

Numerous sightings at airports/hotels or on planes where there was a hubbub over someone......people getting photos and autographs but me having no idea who it was.

 

.....oh yes.....and one retired professional athlete spotted at Swinging Richards in North Miami Beach.

[+ Chris Eisenhower]

Matthew Broderick in a small restaurant on 46th Str. between Eighth and Ninth in NYC

 

Karl Lagerfeld at a night club in Paris

 

Chris Eisenhower at the Palm Springs get-together (briefly by the pool)[/color]

 

Was I naked? I don't remember. Isn't that sad?

[+ Chris Eisenhower]

This is pretty amazing, but I once saw Ringo Starr on Kensington High Street. At least I think it was Ringo, um, it could have been that guy from Fiddler on the Roof.

 

You know, Toppy.

[Guest Starbuck]

This is pretty amazing, but I once saw Ringo Starr on Kensington High Street. At least I think it was Ringo, um, it could have been that guy from Fiddler on the Roof.

 

You know, Toppy.

 

 

Topol, Chris ... who ... really ... looks nothing like Ringo Starr ... so it might have been neither of them.

 

It's not really a classic story, is it?

[+ Oliver]

Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK in October 2000. My sister and I were strolling through the gardens and we stopped to talk. Gracious lady.

[+ Chris Eisenhower]

Topol, Chris ... who ... really ... looks nothing like Ringo Starr ... so it might have been neither of them.

 

It's not really a classic story, is it?

 

I adore you.

[TruHart1]

Wow! The celebrity sightings shared so far have been pretty impressive! I must say that most of my sightings have been during my visits to NYC over the past 3 years or so. When I went for a 10-day trip of thirteen on- and off-Broadway shows with a friend in 2011 (also the trip when I hired my very first escort) I saw Jack Plotnick run into the lobby of a theater (such a bad memory, I can’t remember which show) and run back out again in a minute or two. Jack Plotnick was memorable for me as the reporter in the movie Gods and Monsters with Ian Mckellan who made a deal with James Whale (McKellan) to remove an article of his clothing each time Whale, who was notorious for not giving interviews but loved sexy boys, answered one of his interview questions! During that New York trip, we kept seeing Plotnick on the street, at a few performances we attended and in one restaurant where we went to dinner. We must have seen him about six times altogether!

 

Then, after attending a performance of Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo starring Robin Williams, my friend and I were heading down from our balcony seats when a man tripped on the stairs and would have fallen if my friend had not grabbed his arm and stopped his fall. It turned out to be Dick Cavett and he made a funny comment which unfortunately I cannot recall. I do remember he was quite grateful to my friend for helping. That same trip, waiting at the stage door after a play called Arcadia, with Billy Crudup and Mamie Gummer, who is Meryl Streep’s daughter, Ann Hathaway was accompanying Ms. Gummer when she came out. Their families are apparently great friends! Ann Hathaway is absolutely tiny! During my next NYC trip of 2012 I saw Tony Goldwyn in intense conversation with a young woman in front of a brownstone on the street. I did not listen but it almost looked like an argument.

 

My trip last year to the Big Apple had my most impressive sightings, though. I sat right across the aisle from the two Mr. Spocks, Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto at the Nathan Lane play, The Nance. Nimoy’s wife and Quinto seemed old chums, talking before curtain and during intermission. I heard Nimoy laughing quite a bit during the lighter sections of the performance! At Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (a truly hilarious play, by the way!) I looked down the row when I heard a familiar voice and saw Mary Steenburgen (fresh and recovered from facial surgery) and Ted Danson! I found it interesting that in both cases no one around us treated any of them like anything but fellow theater-goers!

 

TruHart1

[leigh.bess.toad]

Was I naked? I don't remember. Isn't that sad?

 

When weren't you?

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

My favorite - I was attending a non-profit organization's annual meeting as a teenager seated the first table by the steps up to the speaker's dais. I heard some rumbling in the crowd as former president Gerald Ford walked up to say hello to the gathering. I had the honor of shaking his hand as he exited.

 

Close second - At the Indianapolis 500 Ball ended up in a conga line between Ruth Buzzi and Florence Henderson.

[MsGuy]

It was more than a sighting, but not a whole lot more: I danced with Rudolf Nureyev in a London disco.

 

Charlie, in what universe is a personal disco dance with Nureyev no bg deal?