Nelson Mandela....before he was president.
Sam Raimi and J. J. Abrams
Patricia (Pat) Nixon. She landed on a runway that I created for disaster relief after and earthquake in Peru.
Travis Sinclair. An australian country music singer. He goes to my church and i have gotten to know him fairly well.
Met Sandra Bullock and her then husband Jessie James on a flight from Az to Ca one time.
I was a flight attendant after college and was fortunate enough to have met several famous people on flights. The nicest one had to be Cal Ripkin Jr. He is so approachable and unassuming made me a big fan.
My favorite celebrity is Peter Cetera. Was able to sit front row at one of his concerts in Chicago, and met him backstage.
I met Robert Conrad once. I happened to be in a bar in Pensacola, Florida. It took me a few minutes to recognize him but when I said hello he was nice enough chat back.
At age 15, I met Van Cliburn, famous pianist that won the Moscow International Piano Competition in the late 60s.
As an infant (so I don't remember much, hahaha), the officiating elder at my baptism was Dwight D. Eisenhower.
A few years ago, I met Hall of Famer Baltimore Oriole Frank Robinson, then Manager of the Washington Nationals.
The Almighty Space Potato
Steven Gerrard but I have met/competed against a few famous gymnasts.
Let's see.. George Wendt, Neil Flynn from Hollywood... Charles Barkley, Walter Payton, and Magic from the sports world. For you hockey fans, I spent a couple of nights with Keith Magnuson, one of the wildest men on the ice, and one of the nicest guys off the ice.
Rita Wilson at a wedding in L.A. (for obvious reasons, hubby blew that one off)
Johnny Cougar at a kegger in Indiana (had just changed his name to that but was still playing the bar circuit)
Iggy Pop, briefly, at the Lawrence Opera House
I use to cook for Robby Guld and a few of the bears players
Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson
Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson
M G Greaves & the Lonesome Too.
Jim Davison.
Bill Maynard.
Harry Chapin multiply times and Paul Newman! Paul's eyes were bluer than blue!
John Starks (shooting guard for the Knicks in the 90s)
I have had the unearned privilege of meeting a few notables.
While in college I went to a restaurant with my girlfriend. Sitting alone at a table was Cannonball Adderley. Uninvited, we joined him for dinner. His group was in town so I invited them all to my place. We jammed the whole night, with me playing piano. At the end of the night Joe Zawinul said to me, "You're right. You don't play very well."
While in Pohnpae researching a book I asked the local librarian, who had been of great help, to come to lunch with me. She asked if she could bring her husband; of course. We talked for two hours, and he was the most knowledgeable man I ever met about the island. Finally, I asked him what he did. He replied, "Oh, I'm the Emperor."
On an earlier trip there I met Bailey Olter. I had stopped by the U.S. Embassy where the U.S. Ambassador told me I should avoid Olter. He was a scoundrel and a drunk and she refused to have anything to do with him. She was right, but he was a delightful scoundrel and drunk. Two years later he invited me to his inauguration as President. The U.S. Ambassador was not invited.
Not exactly famous, at the Paris Air Show in 2001 I met Donald Evans, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Later that day a horde of television cameras was following him as he toured the show. Every exhibitor gave away trinkets; we gave away propeller beanies. I walked past the tour wearing a beanie; the entire horde swiveled and started following me. I was all over French television that night. In fact, I was all over Portuguese television that night as well. A Portuguese television station had sent a crew to cover the show, but nobody in the crew spoke either French or English - only Portuguese and Spanish. I was the only person the reporter could find to interview in Portuguese. Fleeting fame.
Let's see.
I got Nolan Ryan to sign my baseball when he was with the Angels. That ball also has Frank Tananna and Jim Frigosi on it.
I ran into Bo Bridges at a store.
I sat by Jonathan Winters at a football game. (That was a very long time ago)
Former Running Back Wendell Tyler came trough a fast food stand I worked at. So did the guy who played Les Nessman in WKRP in Cincinnati.
Fred Rogan (local news)
I knew John Force pretty well, actually. His nephew, Walker, was a friend. He gave me a tour of his the Semi- Truck that carried his car. The front half was set up as a living area. That was the single most bad-ass man I ever met.
I met Gerald McRaney at a store.
There have been a few others. You can't live in LA for fifty years and not bump into a star or two.
(By the way, if you ever bump into Kareem Abdul-Jabar, keep walking. TRUST ME. )
Al Gore. Bobby Orr.
They rhyme, which is pure coincidence.
I met Richard Nixon as a cub scout while he was still a sitting President. I was one of several scouts on hand to present him with a medal from scouting. I was only about 7 years old but I remember that he took a few minutes to talk to all of us.
I also met Goldie Hawn at a local restaurant where my then wife was the manager. Goldie was in town visiting a childhood friend and sat in the back of the restaurant chatting and laughing her unmistakeable laugh until well past closing time. When her and her friend went to leave Goldie came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
Peyton Manning and Eric Berry, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Both were super nice and spent a lot of time with the fans.
Harrison Ford, at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, WY. He was laid back and patient enough to sign autographs for people.
Kid Rock, at a bar I worked at in Cincinnati, OH. He was cool bought the bar a round of drinks and took a lot of pictures with the customers.