Celebrity Encounters

My all time list is huge, but I had one today

I was running by the WW2 Memorial, and there was a big crowd and a parade with a bunch of veterans in wheelchairs with lots of cheering.

The crap part was that the parade went right through my running route, and I had to leap between wheelchairs to make it through the parade. As I was leaping, there was an old decrepit looking guy in a suit and fake brown hair no more than three or four feet away.He was shaking hands with one of the wheelchair guys, and said "Congratulations, thank you for your service." After a few seconds of thinking, I realized the old guy was Bob Dole.

I've met a ton of people, some situations more random than others. Here's a list off the top of my head:

James Earl Jones
Dolly Parton
Donovan Leitch
Charles Durning
John Mahoney
Doc Severinsen
Chevy Chase
Tom Selleck
Woody Harrelson
Carole King
Danny Glover
Tiny Tim

I saw Jim Jarmusch carrying groceries in the Bowery.

I saw Rick Ocasek walking down the street in NYC, and was right behind him in line at Newbury Comics in Boston (he has Social D. Sonic Youth and Madonna among his swag).

I saw the Mayor Ed Kock coming out of "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and Her Lover" with tears in his eyes.

I saw then Mayor David Dinkins pressing the flesh on the street in Staten Island.

I shook hands with River Phoenix and jokingly called him "Christian (as in Slater)".

I saw Jerry Lewis getting out of a limo on Connecticut Ave.

I took a piss next to Jon Langford (is he famous enough?) in a bar (didn't notice if the rumors about his large tool were true)

Sure would have been cool to encounter some famous female hotties, but I can't think of any…except one sort of hottie…

saw Winona Ryder, Daniel Day Lewis, and Martin Scorcese filming the Age of Innocence in upstate NY

saw Winona Ryder and Dave Pirner shoosing away a street vagarant outside a cafe in Baltimore

ran into Evan Dando in a strip mall parking lot prior to and in-store.

Saw Mike Ness strolling around on my college campus on his way to our college radio station

ok, enough for now

Joel Madden washed my hair once.

According to Rick Astley, I am his friend.

Countless others….

Did I ever mention the time Gwyneth Paltrow tried to pick me up?

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Did I ever mention the time Gwyneth Paltrow tried to pick me up?

Yes.
Weren't you sitting on Apple or something?

I played golf with Jack Sikma.

Maybe that explains her being with Chris Martin. ;)

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Did I ever mention the time Gwyneth Paltrow tried to pick me up?

I saw John McLaughlin walking around grumpily in Dupont.

I literally bumped into Charles Bronson in Georgetown Park.

I stood next to Sandra Bullock at a bar and made small talk for a few minutes.

Tucker Carlson gave me an extra concert ticket outside of 9:30 once.

dick cheney
bob dole
dan rather
katie couric
bob schieffer

i used to work at cbs news..

Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
I literally bumped into Charles Bronson in Georgetown Park.

You sir, must have had a Death Wish.

either i don't have any "saw X walking out of a grocery store"-type experiences, or i don't remember them. maybe i only remember more intense celeb encounters:

- i knew dave eggers's girlfriend before they started dating, and went to his wedding which was a who's who of modern lit. david sedaris, zadie smith, nick horny, etc etc. at one point i was doing shots with two pulitzer prize winners.

- participated in a small 2-day round-table discussion chaired by Bono. got to chat a few times with him, he was surprisingly humble and approachable.

Originally posted by Relaxer:

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Did I ever mention the time Gwyneth Paltrow tried to pick me up?

Yes.
Weren't you sitting on Apple or something?

ok, maybe it's not just the "judas priest" thread… nice one.

shared a Whistler chairlift with Seal about ten years ago

Originally posted by Relaxer:
Weren't you sitting on Apple or something?

She was hoping I'd sit on cherry instead *nudge nudge wink wink*

I have taken bong hits in Harry Reid's kitchen. While tripping.

sean penn - SF
robin williams - SF (he was riding a WV bug)
pierce brosnan - LAX
ryan gosling - Oakland airport
tom waits - santa rosa

george lucas - marin county, ca
james hetfield - marin county
huey lewis - marin county (went to one of the band members weddings) :D
the guys in Journey shop at my parents health food store as well as countless other musicians that live in marin.

whoopi goldberg - sf

gabriel byrne - coming out of the IFC - NYC
and lots of other celebs here

ringo starr - shoe store on Melrose (one of the biggest a$$holes ive ever met)
janeane garafolo - on melrose (shes even worse than ringo)

and friends lived on the same dorm floor at ucsb with gwyneth (she only went there for a year if that). my ex was hit on by her also.

ive become oblivious to it all living in nyc. pretty much everywhere you go, you can see someone. at concerts it can be a 'who's who', depending on which 'it' band is playing.

Mike Tyson shoe-shopping in Montgomery mall about ten years ago.

I'm just wondering when will this thread turn into pictures.

I've only ever met that one guy from that one tv show and Marv Albert.

MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions

Random people I've run in to…

Jared from Subway at WJFK (worked there)
Gallagher at WJFK
Jerry Springer at a bar in Athens, Ohio
Henry Rollins at Tower
Pat Smear at Tower
Evan Dando at Tower
Richard Baluyut from Versus on the metro green line
Jason Schwartzman at RFK