Open Thread Update: Readers Brushes with Fame

Last time, you readers were asked for your brush with fame – a close encounter with a celebrity – and your answers are a combination of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a side trip to the Olympics….and one experience with a genuine historic figure.

When I was about 8 years old, my girlfriend’s mom took us to Hyde Park on the Hudson in New York. This is the site, of course, of the home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. While we were there, we became aware that Eleanor Roosevelt was strolling in the grounds and shaking hands with visitors, including me.

–Elizabeth W.

Deb S. of Tennessee is a Motor Sports fan and met Rusty Wallace several times, but then there was the time….

In the 80s, on a business trip, went to an Atlanta Falcons game. In the vestibule, waiting to meet up with my group after the game, started talking to a guy there waiting also. He invited me to a party later in the evening. I declined and found out later it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Jennifer J. got to meet one star’s family.

In the 80’s I was invited to a Liberace concert through work. At the after party I spotted Blythe Danner and could not resist telling her how much I loved the movie 1776. She took my hand and thanked me and told me she loved making the movie and then, while still holding my hand, called her mom over to meet me! We chatted some more and I said I haven’t seen you in anything for awhile and she said she was taking a break to stay home with her kids. So, I met Gwyneth’s mom and grandma!

Two readers met Olympians – Laurel S. who swam with an Olympic Gold Medalist, and Lea O. who had a brush with fame with a sad twist:

Was an interpreter at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 where I met and have photo with Dave Schultz who won the wrestling gold medal, and was subsequently murdered by John DuPont (Their story is immortalized in the movie “Foxcatcher”).

Kevin S. had close encounters as a bodyguard to top rockers like Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, and Rolanda P. has had so many she might be working undercover for TMZ.

Only in NY, can you go get a manicure and end up sitting next to Jenna Bush, President Bush daughter! Or can you- go to a Bdway play and run into Carmelo Anthony; go to the bathroom at a restaurant and have Mary J. Blige jump in front of you in the line; go to McDonald’s and see Diana Ross there feeding her children; or just walk the streets in Manhattan or Brooklyn and run into Anderson Cooper, Stephanie Mills, Alfre Woodard, Jackie Wilson, Denzel Washington; Spike Lee to name a few.

Linda F. might have the nod for coolest story.

When I was 18 some friends of mine were the front band for a Jimi Hendrix concert at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio. They managed to get Jimi to come back to their house after the concert. I went over there, walked in, saw Jimi sitting in an armchair while everybody else sat on the floor and stared at him. It was very quiet. I walked over and sat in his lap. He pulled out a pipe and we smoked a bowl together and then I kissed him.

Take a spin through the comments and you’ll find close encounters with the irrepressible Carol Burnett  (thanks Kathleen Z!), Marti C. making tea for Buddy Hackett, Kathi S‘s meeting Jon Bon Jovi while he was on a treadmill (“He was so friendly!”). Sue S. danced with Al Pacino, George Clooney flirted with Deb. D. – there are literally dozens of close encounters, so spin through the comments and enjoy them all….and add your own!

Original Text:

If only I could have bottled the moment and the air in the elevator.

I was late for my job at United Press International, housed in the same building as CNN. I rushed for the elevator and barely noticed the thin guy in the lime green suit ahead of me.  I recall thinking ‘wow, it’s a little early for St. Patrick’s Day.”

I hit the button and didn’t look behind me until a voice in the elevator intercom said, “So how are you doing, David?” Without thinking, I said, “I told you never to call me here.” That elicited a hearty laugh from behind me and “That was a good one!”

I turned around and realized I had made David Bowie laugh. My jaw dropped, the elevator got to my floor and I had to get out.  Very reluctantly.  He was SO handsome.

YOUR TURN

But that’s me. What was your brush with fame?  Share your story in the comments!

Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send  Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.