Have you ever met any celebrities?

[sydneyboy]

I love Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. I was fortunate enough to hear her perform with the boys choir at St Pauls in London one time

A great artist. I saw her twice in Sydney in La Boheme and a memorable La Traviata both in the late 1970’s when she was in her prime.

[+ WilliamM]

A great artist. I saw her twice in Sydney in La Boheme and a memorable La Traviata both in the late 1970’s when she was in her prime.

 

I also saw her in La Travaviata, but at the Met in New York. Also gone to the Wonderful Sydney Opera House for plays as well as opera

[+ Charlie]

The first time I saw her was at Covent Garden as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, in 1974. The voice was so gorgeous then that I went back twice that week.

[Luv2play]

The first time I saw her was at Covent Garden as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, in 1974. The voice was so gorgeous then that I went back twice that week.

My mind takes me back to 1974 and that winter in London. I was doing a lot of work there and remember the electricity shortages because of the problems with the coal miners and the UK’s dependence on coal for electricity. In the office where I worked, we had an electrical generator on the roof and although it switched on at 4pm when it got too dark to see in the office, after a couple of days we had to turn it off because our neighbours in the fashionable district in the West End complained that we foreigners had preferential treatment from the electricity company, which was not the case. But appearances are everything. So we sat around after 4pm and broke out the booze with a few candles to light the office. No work after that hour until leaving time at 6. The government held a snap election and Edward Heath lost and the Labour Government caved into the miners and the lights went back on. You must have been to the opera that summer when things got back to more normal.

[+ Charlie]

My mind takes me back to 1974 and that winter in London. I was doing a lot of work there and remember the electricity shortages because of the problems with the coal miners and the UK’s dependence on coal for electricity. In the office where I worked, we had an electrical generator on the roof and although it switched on at 4pm when it got too dark to see in the office, after a couple of days we had to turn it off because our neighbours in the fashionable district in the West End complained that we foreigners had preferential treatment from the electricity company, which was not the case. But appearances are everything. So we sat around after 4pm and broke out the booze with a few candles to light the office. No work after that hour until leaving time at 6. The government held a snap election and Edward Heath lost and the Labour Government caved into the miners and the lights went back on. You must have been to the opera that summer when things got back to more normal.

Yes. I was living in London in 1973-74. and remember the miners' strike well.

[+ WilliamM]

I remember seeing Ethel Merman in "Gypsy" in August 1960. Somehow I was able to get a ticket in the front row (I was pretty young then).

 

I briefly considered waiting at the stage door afterwards, but thought better of it. I was surprised Ms. Merman was a tiny woman who, for better or worse, entered from the rear of the theater.

Edited October 1, 2020 by WilliamM

[Daverwr]

Michael Feinstein: At Blame it on Midnight in Palm Springs, he was seated next to us at the bar. There was a piano in the lounge. I said, “what do ya say, Michael?” He actually got up a played a few songs.

 

Ginger Rogers: I was performing in a regional production of “Hello, Dolly!” My friend was playing Dolly Levi. Previously, she was the personal assistant for Ms. Rogers. Ms. Rogers came to see our production and her assistant/friend. We chatted for a few minutes until ‘Dolly’ appeared.

 

Jerry Orbach (multiple Broadway musicals, Murder, She Wrote, Law and Order): He was at the table next to us at a restaurant in the Broadway theater district. We were chatting with a third table that didn’t know who he was. We were naming everything he did to get them to recognize him. It was no use, but I was able to name most of what he did. He looked a little sickly and older than I remembered. Less than a year after we met, he died of cancer.

 

Marlo Thomas: We were in an elevator together when she noted that I pushed the wrong button.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Daverwr

[wbtravis]

Man. Have met a few (Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan are THAT nice), but none of the ones I want to meet. Alone in a resort in say... Palm Springs, where they want to at least dabble in get stuff with a young Daddy who is an epic kisser...

You listening Chris Hemsworth, Robbie Amell, Tom Holland, Armie Hammer, Nick Jonas??? I am here for you.?

[CatDaddy]

Only one really famous person for me... in 1985 a friend who worked at a Houston radio station somehow managed to get backstage passes to see Tina Turner when she was supporting her album Private Dancer. She was a sight; big hair, huge smile, long beautiful legs, and incredibly gracious. It's a great memory!

[+ Italiano]

 

Donald Trump at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. (Well, I didn't actually MEET him, but I did spill a cappuccino down his back )

 

I DO hope it was boiling HOT!

[+ 5280Dane]

Fun Post. When I was in college I worked at a fine dining French restaurant in Omaha. Not a tourist destination but the food is spectacular and the gay bar, The Max is still the nicest bar I’ve ever seen.

 

I had the honor of serving Shannon Doherty. She was pretty quiet and was nice. Ran into her later at the Max and she bought me a drink. That same week I got to meet Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter. I loved Dixie as Suzanne Sugarbaker and it was the one time I gushed. She ordered a Macallan beat. I said I love you. The table laughed and she gave me a hug on the way out. They were both in town filming Gone in the Night. Ed Asner also came in but I didn’t wait on him. I also had Shirley Jones, who must have been off her game that night as she was not very kind and talked down to me, so I’m sure I gave her some smart ass retort at some point. Other notables include Chuck Hagel - former Secretary of Defense and US senator. Warren Buffet, Johnny Rodgers (Heisman trophy winner), Tom Osborne and Bobby Bowden dined together - famous college football coaches. Met Ted Turner in Valentine NE, as well as Tiny Tim. That one was rather scary. Met Charlie Pride at a gas station in Denver, CO. Brian Orser (Canadian figure skater) in a gay bar. And the strangest was meeting Angus of Metallica in the bathroom of the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston. Living in Charlotte I have hoped to run into Michael Jordan but no such luck. Dream would be to have drinks with Bette Midler.

[+ g56whiz]

Ok three:

 

Walking west on a street in Soho I noticed a man faced the same way standing on a vacant loading ramp talking on his cellphone. As I passed I recognized the unique accent of Nathan Lane.

 

In a crowded restaurant on the Upper West Side I noticed that the table beside us next to the rear door remained empty. Soon Jerry Seinfeld was seated with a guy with whom he grew up. I was listening. Soon he pulled out a handkerchief that would have made Pavarotti proud and began to honk.

 

I worked for a while in Westchester. On the way to work I stopped at a local coffee shop in Armonk. As I got in line I noticed that Ron Howard was in line before me. He was/is local. I later learned that my colleague who was also local played basketball with him on Tuesday nights.

[former lurker]

Too many to count or remember because I worked for several years as the administrator overseeing large scale events with speakers and performers. Among those I got to meet and talk with: Tito Puente, BB King, Richard Thomson, Liz Winstead, Bill Maher, Eleanor Holmes Norton, George Mitchell, Angus King. I sat next to JR Reid at a step show put on by the Black frats at UNC, and met a number of the UNC mens basketball players over the years.

 

While living in New York I ran across, but didn't directly interact with, Tommy Lee Jones (at the White Horse Tavern), Sigourney Weaver (she was exiting a bathroom in a bar and spoke briefly with a friend who was waiting to use the facilities), Steve Martin at a restaurant, a few of the regulars from the Law and Order shows, and Justice Sotomayor a few times when I was clerking and she was a district court Judge then Appellate Court Judge.

 

I've also met a number of politicians over the years, including John Kerry who was in my parents house seeking support from my father and his crowd when he first ran for Senate, and Ed Markey, for whom I worked as an intern and as the Assistant Campaign Manager for one of his reelection campaigns to the House of Reps. Of them all, I know Markey the best having worked with him, driven him around during the campaign, had dinner with him a number of times, etc. He also knew my parents. When my brother died, he sent flowers and called to offer his condolences.

[+ Italiano]

I worked twice for Placido Domingo, and in those two occasions I worked with William Friedkin ("The Exorcist" movie director).

I met and/or worked with a good bunch of celebrities of the Opera world (Joyce DiDonato, Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, Mirella Freni, Samuel Ramey, Justino Diaz, Javier Camarena, Ramon Vargas, Leona Mitchell, Renato Bruson....) which perhaps are not known to most here.

At a gala in 2002 organized by Placido Domingo in LA I met and shaked hands with Sidney Poitiers, Angie Dickinson and Mel Gibson. This last one was still a sexy handsome man.

[BSR]

I worked twice for Placido Domingo, and in those two occasions I worked with William Friedkin ("The Exorcist" movie director).

I met and/or worked with a good bunch of celebrities of the Opera world (Joyce DiDonato, Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, Mirella Freni, Samuel Ramey, Justino Diaz, Javier Camarena, Ramon Vargas, Leona Mitchell, Renato Bruson....) which perhaps are not known to most here.

At a gala in 2002 organized by Placido Domingo in LA I met and shaked hands with Sidney Poitiers, Angie Dickinson and Mel Gibson. This last one was still a sexy handsome man.

Not as famous as the opera superstars you mentioned, but did you ever run into Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta? You didn't say where you met the opera world celebs, but since she lived in NYC for 17 years, I imagine she was pretty well known on this side of the Atlantic.

[+ Italiano]

Not as famous as the opera superstars you mentioned, but did you ever run into Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta? You didn't say where you met the opera world celebs, but since she lived in NYC for 17 years, I imagine she was pretty well known on this side of the Atlantic.

I did meet Ainhoa, I worked with her in Mexico in 1996 or 1997 I believe. She had a pretty solid career, she sang a lot in all major world's theaters

[BSR]

I did meet Ainhoa, I worked with her in Mexico in 1996 or 1997 I believe. She had a pretty solid career, she sang a lot in all major world's theaters

I didn't know Ainhoa because of her opera career (I don't follow opera much) but did see her as a judge on "Prodigios," a talent competition for young (10-16yo) opera singers, classical musicians, and ballet dancers. She is so wonderfully helpful to the young singers, with constructive criticism and technical advice, that I've become a big fan.

 

She is currently competing on Masterchef Celebrity. Uh, let's just say she should stick with the singing.

Edited October 4, 2020 by BSR

[+ WilliamM]

Robert Graves

[+ 5280Dane]

A friend's story, but worth posting, I think. A friend was at an after-hours spot in the Alphabet (back when NYC still had an Alphabet City) when she ran into who she thought was her old high school crush. Quite inebriated, she confessed she had the world's biggest crush on him for all of high school because he looked exactly like actor Matt Dillon. The guy told her that she was mistaken, he wasn't her old high school classmate.

 

"Oh, sorry, so what's your name?"

"Matt"

 

Only after the fog of alcohol lifted did she realize she had been talking to Matt Dillon.

That’s awesome!

[+ MysticMenace]

Honestly, I'm surprised at how I don't see a lot more celebrities out and about in New York City.

 

Have met:

Heidi Klum

Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker

Camila Alves

Chace Crawford

Leighton Meester

Penn Badgley

A number of Broadway performers

 

Have seen:

Neil Patrick Harris

Jennifer Lopez

Jake Gylenhaal

Liev Schreiber

Ben Affleck

Jennifer Garner

 

I need to go out more (well, after this pandemic is over). I have met Jake Gylenhaal at La Colombe somewhere in NYC (it may have been in Tribeca, or somewhere by Chinatown, but I am horrible at locations or directions, so let's just say in NYC) in either 2012 or 2013. It was around breakfast time on a Saturday and my friend and I wanted to talk and catch up over coffee (have never been to La Colombe). I asked one of the folks that worked there what was good, and some guy just blurted out, "oh try their cortado, that is my favorite." I was about to get sassy and tell the guy that I was not asking him the question, but when I looked back, I saw Jake just chilling by himself at a table. I got the cortado, and as my friend and I started talking, Jake came to our table (a 2-person table), and asked if he could join us. My lady friend, of course, instantly said yes, and just talked for a good hour before my friend and I left the coffee place. Funny enough, Jake had a big sneeze mid-speech, and this lady from across the coffee shop jumped up, ran and handed Jake a bunch of napkins (she probably was not from NYC). He was down to earth and quirky.

 

Ooh. Thanks for letting me know about someone else who can get my jizz out. I'd love to sniff his crotch....

http://www.thefashionisto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Adam-Senn-2015-Pictures-005.jpg

 

That's all you wanna do with crotch...just sniff?

 

Years ago, when Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt were an item, they settled here in SF. They were pretty visible, you'd see them everywhere.

 

They were a thing?! Man, I learned something today.

[Poincare]

Shirley McLaine sat in front of me at Angels of America on Broadway in the 90s, Aaron Taylor Johnson at a supermarket in WeHo buying bags and bags of radishes, Eartha Kit at the Carlyle, vaclav Havel in 1990, senator Moynahan while playing my clarinet, Eddie Murphy, John Ackroyd, John Belushi at a Bar Mitzvah (friends dad was their accountant in the 80s), Jarmila Kratochvilova and I got her autograph, my memory is failing me...I lived in NYC and I know I saw more, but I just cannot remember them now....perhaps tells you how important or not celebrity sights means to me....

[harlow]

-Phylicia Rashad (never meet your heroes you’ll be disappointed)

 

-Angela Bassett and Courtney B Vance

-Vice President Cheney (twice ?)

-Alex Rodriquez and Cameron Diaz while they were together

-Justin Jedlica (not impressed)

-Taye Diggs

-Jermaine Dupri

-T-Boz from TLC

-Dr Sanjay Gupta

-Molly Shannon

[harlow]

-Phylicia Rashad (never meet your heroes you’ll be disappointed)

 

-Angela Bassett and Courtney B Vance

-Vice President Cheney (twice ?)

-Alex Rodriquez and Cameron Diaz while they were together

-Justin Jedlica (not impressed)

-Taye Diggs

-Jermaine Dupri

-T-Boz from TLC

-Dr Sanjay Gupta

-Molly Shannon

[+ WilliamM]

Robert Redford with my brother at Sundance

 

1960s protester Bobby Seale

Edited February 4, 2021 by WilliamM

[+ WilliamM]

Robert Redford with my brother at Sundance

 

1960s protester Bobby Seale

Edited February 4, 2021 by WilliamM