The list of celebrities that I've met is nearly endless but part of that comes from working in the entertainment business, working on both the Paramount & Universal lots and sharing a building with the Dreamworks guys (Spielberg was always a gentleman). I'll list a few in which I've had more than a "Hi, nice to meet you" moment that really stuck:
1.
Les Paul. I was invited to his 75th birthday party at Griffith Park shortly after I arrived in Los Angeles back in 1993. It was an amazing tribute and I got to not only jam with tons of "Rock Stars" at the time but got to chat and play a little bit with Les. He's a true innovator and a very kind gentleman. It was an honor to meet him.
2. I may have told this story on the 'Planet before but during the summer of '93, I worked at Guitar Center in Berkeley (I had moved up there for a "business opportunity" that unfortunately, didn't pan out). The Bay Area music scene was huge. Joe Satch would come in an hang, Kirk & James from Metallica, the guys from Testament, Tesla and Tony Tone Toni and even Linda Perry from 4 Non Blondes (who has since become a genius songwriter).
I had one guy, just a few years younger than myself, in the store everyday. He was "supposedly" recording a record for Warner Brothers but he would never play guitar in front of me. I ended up setting up some of the guitars for their "record". I decided to move back to Hollywood at the end of August that summer and when he found out about it, invited me down to a show at the old Berkeley Square theater. At the end of the show, he called me out and said "I'll miss my friend, Dane, who's moving back to Hollywood to join Stryper" (totally untrue, BTW). That was the last I saw of him.
The next thing I knew, his album was being called "Album of the Year" 1994 before it even came out. I couldn't even believe it was the same Billy Joe but he's had a little success since.
3. In 1995, I was at the Ralphs grocery store at midnight to buy beer. I turned and looked and recognized a Grammy winning, multi-platinum producer standing right next to me. "You're Andy Johns!", I said. "Quite right" was his response. I said "Nice to meet you, I'm a big fan of your work" or some stupid shit and went on my way.
As it turned out, he was in the checkout line in front of me. We chatted briefly, then he left. As I was walking to my car, he suddenly drove up in front of me. "Where are you headed?", he asked. "Back to my pad to drink and listen to music", I said. "I'll join you".
The next eight hours may have the coolest memories I have, from talking about his work in the first Hendrix album to the Stones, Zeppelin, Van Halen, MSG, Cinderella and on and on and on. I even had to speak to his wife and assure her that he wasn't out with some bimbo.
4. Wife and I went to NYC for my birthday with friends back in 2008. Our first stop was Central Park, where I nearly bumped into Hank Azaria when he was jogging. "Hey, it's Hank Azaria!" Wife "I think he knows who he is, Dane!". Later that same trip, after watching the Chiefs lose to the Jets, we went to Del Frisco's on 48th and ran into Charles Barkley. He invited us to join him at the bar, where we chatted, drank and watched the World Series.
Chuck was cool, but a little too handsy with my wife. Instead of hanging out all night (as he wanted to do), we headed back to the W at midnight. It could have turned ugly.
About a week later, we're at Jerry's Famous Deli in Studio City and lo and behold, we're standing in line behind who? Hank Azaria. "I'll give you $20 bucks to say "Hey, it's Hank Azaria!" my wife whispered in my ear.
That's right, $20 bucks richer.
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My daughter's preschool is filled with celebrity parents, from Oscar nominated directors to guys like Traci Guns, Minnie Driver (sweetest woman, ever!), Nick Bakay (average looking dude with a Playboy wife, always a winner), and on and on and on. I have three good friends this year nominated for Prime Time Emmys, which is really cool.
Oh, and have I mentioned that Chris Brown moved up the street?
Yeah, **** that guy.