Monday, May 14, 2007

Brush Collection

Discussion on SandDancer's blog has gotten me to thinking about random 'brushes with fame' over the years....happenstance meetings with 'glitterati' in various public places, purely by chance. I thought I'd try to inventory some of them here, just for fun. Here's what leaps to mind:

1. Dustin Hoffman in NYC. Very short and unattractive in person.
2. Raquel Welch in Newport Beach, CA. I have never seen more curves on one woman in my life. In addition to her own, I think she also got mine.
3. The entire cast and crew of Saturday Night Live in NYC, circa 1991. Got to watch the show from backstage and was subsequently invited to the cast party afterwards. Multiple famous faces. The Dana Carvey-Phil Hartman-Adam Sandler-Chris Farley et al crew. A great cast, and fun people to stay out with all night in NYC.
4. Melanie Griffith in Aspen. Proof that hard living doesn't kill you, it just makes you look like you're dead.
5. Various and sundry famous athletes in various and sundry places. Football players, Nascar drivers, basketball players, golfers, tennis players....too many to keep up with. Those guys are everywhere and have nothing else to do in the off season but "be places".
6. Christina Ricci. As a child, circa "Adam's Family" timeframe.
7. Bill O'Reilly. Very tall and actually very polite. He went out of his way to hold an elevator for me when it would have been easier for him to let the door close and go on his way.
8. Lance Armstrong. Shorter and smaller in person than I expected. Unimpressive, really.
9. Diane Sawyer. Tall (we were eye to eye with each other). A bit saggy-butt in jeans, but I can only hope to look as good at her age.
10. Leeza Gibbons. Thinner in person. They probably all are.
11. Elle MacPherson. Same height as me. Probably 20 pounds lighter. I wanted to hold her down and feed her a sandwich.
12. Rod Stewart. With current wife, Penny, pushing a pram down Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. He looked like an old Englishman out with his daughter and grandchild....you think he'd be embarrassed by that at some point, but apparently not yet.
13. Bruno Kirby eating Italian food in Ft. Lauderdale. This is before he was dead. RIP.
14. Some rapper that everyone else was excited about, but I had no clue who he was. Still don't. Still don't care.
15. Some other rapper and his "entourage" on Ocean Drive in South Beach, Miami. Also don't know and don't care who he was, but apparently, he was "somebody". At least that week, he was.
16. Jennifer Tilley walking around at The Bellagio in Las Vegas.
17. Jose Eber, Hair Legend. He once did a hair consultation for me, worth every penny.
18. Justin Timberlake. I think. He was a blur, sprinting through the MGM Grand lobby and into a waiting car in Las Vegas after some sort of performance there. He could have calmly gone out the back exit and avoided the crowds but what's the fun in NOT making a scene?

Seems like there are more...but apparently they were such riveting experiences, I can't recall them at the moment. I reserve the right to add to the list later.

Anybody else? Any brushes with anyone noteworthy?

7 comments:

SandDancer said...

Most notable was Kathleen Turner who I met a work function last year and I failed to recognise. Oops!

Other than her I think most people I've met through work have been either just famous in the UK or just theatre famous (i.e hardly known by anyone outside the industry).

Similarly I've bumped into lots of music people - band members and DJs but again these may not be that famous outside of certain circles.

M said...

SandDancer, ever met my man, Daniel Craig? Or anyone who has? He's big in the London theatre crowd, isn't he? Or wasn't he, prior to films?

Can't wait for the next Bond film. :)

Carlito86 said...

18 and counting? I think mine is limited to, god two local footie players and Rio Ferdinand when he played for Leeds! Leeds obviously isn't a good spotting town unlike where you live!

SandDancer said...

I haven't exactly met Daniel Craig but I did go to the Premiere of the Bond Film.

M said...

**screams like a teenage girl**

OMG!! The ultimate!! I'd be dying!!

Did you get anywhere near him?

SandDancer said...

Nope - it was a bit of a con with us ordinary folk kept well away from the stars. But it was free through work so I can't really complain too much.

M said...

Darn! Well, I guess with the Queen coming and all, they had to keep the "riff-raff" at bay. :)