I heard this topic on local talk radio (570 KLIF for you in North Texas) the other day, semi-intresting . . .

. . . you ever had a one-on-one conversation with a celebrity? I suppose this would include small talk during an autograph session. Are you related by blood or marriage to a high profile person? Now, I know there is gonna be different opinions on who is considered a celeb and who is not . . . but thats really not the point . . . if you think they're important, that's fine.



My encounters are strictly through autograph sessions . . . and considering I live in BFE, these aren't too bad.

Mario Andretti(sp?), Indy Race Car Driver Rick Mears, KC Chiefs Safety Deron Cherry, Big Band Drummer Ed Shaugnessy (Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson), Former KC Royal Gary Gaetti

Up until just recently my wife's great aunt lived around the corner from actor Matthew McConaughey's humble home in Austin. We found out recently that Matthew bought a ranch outside the city.

I met Fred Astaire in a Waffle House... 2 years before he died. I said "You look just like Fred Astaire" He said "How do you know what those old men look like?" I mentioned several of his movies and we talked a little. He stated he was not Fred.

When he left, a limo picked him up out front and he had signed a used ticket stub from the gallery he went to that evening. He was very cool.

I was also good friends with an almost famous in Indiana - Henry Lee Summer. He had two top 40's and dropped out to playing local bars in Indiana after. But it was fun.

cool KCW!. . . where was this waffle house? Fred obviously had good taste in omlettes!

refresh my memory, when did Fred pass?

Having been involved as a crew member of a professional race team I have talked to many race car drivers. We raced against Paul Newman who came to California to try and beat our race team one year before the Run Offs in Atlanta. When Junior Johnson was in NASCAR I always had a garage pass and have talked to many of the Winston Cup drivers. Met Tom Cruise when he was learning to drive a race car for Paul Newman before he made Days of Thunder.

I have worked the Long Beach Grand Prix and have met many of the Cart drivers and also some of the Formula 1 drivers before the switch to Cart.

I have talked to many Chiefs players having spent two weeks one year at training camp. Otis Taylor and I were in the same Air Force Reserve unit at Richards-Gebar AFB in Gradview, Missouri. I spent some time talking to Joe Delaney at Anaheim Stadium the last year he played for the Chiefs.

I have met and talked to Mickey Mantle, George Brett, Muhammod Ali, Joe DiMiaggio, Roger Maris and Wilt Chamberlain and more whose autographs that I have but there are too many to list.

Two weeks before he died I met Spanky McFarland of the Little Rascals and have an autoghrphed photo in my living room that he signed for my son and myself.

One year after the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) were at the Arrowhead Pond some friends of mine and myself went partying with Ty Murray and Tuff Hedeman at a local nightclub.

[Edited by Rick Stephens on 02-20-2001 at 11:50 PM]

I'm related by blood to Kurt Gouveia (Redskins).. We know him as Ola.

I've had a fair amount of convo's with "celebrities".... One advantage of living here.

ACTORS ETC:
* Jason Scott Lee (Dragon)...[high school classmate, grew up together]
* Tia Carerre...[Real name Althea Gerano, had foo foo permed hair once upon a time]
* Patricia Ford... [Tomboy who really grew up, we know her as Pua]
* Don Ho ... [The Hawaiian Dean Martin, Always drunk, slurs all his words]
* Jack Lord...[My uncle was Prop Master for Hawaii Five-O]
* Arnold S. & Maria Shriver... [A.S. is a genuinely nice guy, Maria is a major b!tch]
* Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle)... [lives here, definite "alternative" lifestyle person]
* Tom Selleck... [played beach v-ball alot, VERY competitive person, very down to earth]
* Richard Grieco... [A real friggen A-hole]
* Neve Campbell... [Smoked pakalolo (buds) the whole 3 days she hung with us (I don't partake BTW)]
* Cuba Gooding...[Karaoke king]
* Elton John... [His BF worked with me long ago at Armani, Bev. Hills]
* Chris Elliot... [Jackass was my neighbor when I lived in San Fernando Valley]
* David Hasselhof(Baywatch)... [Trained at my gym for a few months... very skinny legs and old looking in person]
* Mario van Pebbles(New Jack City... [Cool dude, will wait in line instead of playing the celeb card]
* Dean Cain... [A-hole, threw a hissy fit when he had to wait in line to get into a club...I bet Teri Hatcher would have got in!]
* Chris Penn... [Obnoxious drunk who went around telling every one he was Sean Penns bro
* Saw Sting and those two guys who wrote Good Will Hunting (??) in a strip bar one night... I didn't speak to them as I only was in there to...uhh... ask directions....

[Edited by hawaiianboy on 02-21-2001 at 01:06 AM]

hawaiianboy,

That must be exciting to live around and see those people!? How often do you see celebs where you live?

CG

and for the record, whats pakalolo?

ATHLETES:

* Dennis Alexio (World kick boxing champ)... [My weight training partner]
* Kimo Leopoldo (UFC fighter)... [ Ultimate fighting fans will know who he is]
* Gabby Reece... [Married to a friend of mine, Laird Hamilton (surfer dude)
* Jerry West... [The only celeb I ever met that I was in awe of]
* Magic Johnson... [Very mellow and polite]
* Shawn Kemp... [Be lying if I said I understood a word he said]
* Charles Barkley... [Didn't actually talk to him, he heckled our foursome on the golf course... funny guy]
* Rickey Henderson... [Total pr!ck]
* Jr Seau ... [His cousin was my roommate/teammate my freshmen year in college (Oceanside)... we used to go watch Jr. play in High school... his team only had 18 players and won the damn championship... Very nice dude, I've had dinner with him a few times during PBowl]
* Luther Ellis... [May be the nicest person (not just celeb) I have ever met... gives talks to the PAL kids here and does more charity work than any other player.]
* Pat Bowlen... [Our favorite heckling target... good natured guy though]
* Met a few more at Chris Maafala's wedding this past Pro Bowl weekend, and others over time, but it was more or less of the "whats up" interaction.

Cody...

Pakalolo is buds/ganja/marijuana.


You see them all the time here... no big deal.... Mostly at restaurants/clubs.... not too many places to go here.

I saw Kareem Abdul Jabbar body surfing about 10+ years ago...That was funny as hell.

Oh! I've heard it called numerous things, but never that! Thats funny! Although, like you, I don't do drugs.

Anyway, HB, have you ever met MJ, he is probably the one celeb/athlete I have ever wanted to meet. I would totally be in AWE of him! I would freeze up! The guys a legend!!!

Have you met or seen, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, any of the Lakers? The Bulls were my favorite team, but then MJ left, Pip, Rod, Phil, etc. So now my team is the Lakers, stricly due to the Bulls connections, Phil's on the Lakers, Ron Harper, Tex Winter, etc. So now the Lakers are my team!

CG

Loves the NBA!

Cody....

Nope, never seen MJ.

Seen a bunch of Lakers though.. prior to this season, they trained here and played a couple of exhibition games....
Plus Pete Newell's big mans camp is here so you see a bunch of players...
Saw that George Muresan guy once with his wife who was about 6' 4... pretty spooky looking couple.

I don't talk to any celbs unless we're introduced... I figure they want to be left alone... I don't even have a single autograph

What players have you seen?

CG

do you like the NBA?

Cody....

The NBA pretty much died for me once Bird,Magic, Jordan and finally Barkley retired.... The game has been ruined by escalating salaries and early entries...

I still love the NBA! I've never not liked it, but thats just me, though.

CG

Football and Basketball are my sports!

That's the truth, JQ. I haven't watched an NBA game in almost 3 years and I really don't miss it at all, mainly because of the way the game and the people who play it have changed.

As for celebrities, the only claim I have to fame is that someone who was a dead-on mark for Ted Kennedy followed me around Washington D.C. for several hours while I was there about 9 years ago. I kid you not.

I've met and played with a few jazz celebrities, but I doubt most folks would even know the names.

And man, Jordan...what a way to end a career, I have that Bull vs. Utah game on tape. He was a gift from God! He ended his career the same way he started it.

CG

still watches that game from time to time

And to anyone that hasn't seen that game, should ask around and borrow that tape and watch it, watch the whole game, theres a little lesson you learn by watching that game, but you have to be the one to find it out on your own...

IMO.