Let’s Talk About Celebrity Rudeness
Thanks again for all the great feedback yesterday. To tell you the truth, I was braced for an avalanche of complaint. Whenever I made big changes in the past, it always seemed to go that way. But maybe those changes were shit, and the new one isn’t? Perhaps I earned all former avalanches, as well as yesterday’s lack of one? It’s a possibility worth considering.
A couple of quick things about our new layout…
The RSS feed on this WordPress site is completely new. The old one has been stuffed inside a metaphorical potato sack, and hurled into the proverbial river. So, if you’re interested in such things, you’ll need to subscribe all over again. Yeah, I know it’ll cost you three additional seconds of your life, but I’ll try to make it worth the price. Like full updates, instead of summaries, for instance.
My original plan (up until two or three days ago) was to move the FrontPage archives into WordPress, a little here and a little there. But I think I’m just going to leave them as they are. When I began thinking about the logistics of such a project, my brain started changing shape.
Keeping all the URLs the same… dealing with Google’s dislike of duplicate content… trying to import the Haloscan comments… It was giving me scrotal hives just thinking about it.
So, I think I’m going to have pre and post-August 2008 website designs. It’s not perfect, and I could still change my mind about it, but that’s the way I’m leaning at the moment.
Even so, there’s still much work to be done; the bunker cam isn’t yet operational, for instance, and I haven’t found a home for Charley West. Give me a few weeks though, and we’ll be back in business. Heck, I consider it a miracle we’ve made it this far.
But enough of that crapola, let’s talk about celebrity rudeness.
Have you ever encountered it? Without putting too much thought into it (heaven forbid), I can come up with four stories right off the top of my head. Three were personal experiences, and one happened to Toney and the oldest Secret…
When I was a kid there was a Triple-A minor league baseball team in our town, and a lot of former stars would make appearances at the park. It broke my baseball-loving heart, but most of them weren’t very friendly. I could almost read their minds: “Please God, make it end. Just give me my check, and let me get away from all these rind-eating rindbillies.”
There were exceptions, of course, like Bob Feller and Satchel Paige (both very nice). But most of the folk heroes who appeared at Watt Powell Park were what’s commonly known as “surly.”
Sparky Anderson was surly, and so was Pete Rose. I was always a little suspicious of Pete, you never really knew what was going on there, but Sparky’s attitude was like a punch to my gut. Why Sparky, why??
Nothing, however, can compare to a couple of home run-hitting Hall of Famers, both enormously famous and larger than life.
I remember Willie Mays being surrounded by kids (in the stands on the first base side), and just being openly hostile. The man was spewing venom, rolling his eyes, and giving everyone sarcastic answers. It was like something off the Bernie Mac Show.
I mean, what the hell?? Cynically fulfilling a contractual obligation for booze & abortion money is one thing, but Willie took it to another level. I stood and watched from a distance, and it made me sad. Why couldn’t they just be the way we thought they’d be? I simply wasn’t prepared for the Say Hey Fuck You Kid.
Similarly, Hank Aaron was a magnificent asshole. Steve and I tried to get his autograph (the home run king!), and he said no. No!? The team promoted his appearance, but he wouldn’t sign anything while he was there. Or even treat his fans with civility.
We hung around, lurking in the background, as Hank sat in a box seat watching the game. Occasionally someone would timidly approach, he’d lash out in anger, and they’d go scurrying up the stairs with their tails between their legs, a wounded expression on their faces.
At one point a woman shoved a wheelchair-bound girl to the top of the stairs, and engaged the brake. The girl was sitting there with her head all ratcheted to one side and making grunting noises, as her handler went down to talk to Hank Aaron. The woman was holding a crude painting of him, in his home run swing, probably created by the girl in the chair. …Somehow.
Aaron got mad again, and said he was trying to watch the game. She pointed to the girl, and he rolled his eyes in exasperation. As if to say: not another one! He reluctantly snatched the painting away and signed it, then stormed out of the box without saying a word to the girl, whose head was now whipping around like a Tilt-O-Whirl.
Next thing we know he’s on top of the press box, sitting in a lawn chair, and smoking cigarettes. And another small part of me died…
When I worked at Peaches Records in Greensboro, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth was supposed to stop by the store one night, just to thank us for our “support.” It was nothing formal, the general public wasn’t even allowed to know, but the employees were given a heads-up.
About an hour after his scheduled arrival, a limousine pulled into the parking lot and a couple of people emerged from it. One was Mustaine, wearing a long black overcoat, his red hair going in every direction.
He walked into the middle of the store, stopped, and said something like, “OK, we were here.” Then they all turned around and left. He never said a word to any of us, and was in the store for roughly thirty seconds. Possibly twenty.
Wotta spectacular douche.
And finally… Toney and the oldest Secret were in a restaurant in Atlanta years ago, having breakfast. It was a place in Little Five Points, called Baker’s Café, and our youngling was less than six months old.
As Toney was eating (I think Nancy was there, as well), she noticed Martha Stewart seated nearby! And during the entire meal the Secret made little cooing baby noises, and Martha shot Toney dirty looks and sighed theatrically.
He wasn’t crying, or screaming, or anything. But she reportedly put on a big performance of exasperation, for everyone in attendance. Then she ripped the waiter a new one for some transgression, and left the place angry. Apparently she leaves a lot of places angry… At least that’s what the waiters said, once she was gone.
And those are my encounters with celebrity rudeness.
What about you? Tell us your stories in the comments.
And I’ll see you guys next time.
Filed under: Daily
2nd day, new format – First !!!! (I think)…
Of course, the timestamp is skewed, it is really about 4:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Man, you gotta get up pretty early in the morning…When I saw the title, I knew you were going to talk about Hank Aaron. What I did not expect, however, is “the Say Hey Fuck You Kid” line which was pretty funny.
Holy shit! I”m in the top five. Horray for nite Owls
Good Morning Surfers! Top 10!
When I was on my high school class trip to Washington, DC, we saw Walter Cronkite at the Wash. Memorial, he would not even acknowledge our existence, what a douche.
Top 10, too (two?).
Ebay has made celebrity signings an act of congress, since so many people turn around a sell them nowadays.
I met Alan Funt while I was the photography editor of my college newspaper. He was doing a college tour of classic Candid Camera clips. Because there was nothing specifically in the contract about pictures, I was required to ask his permission.
You would have thought I asked him to do a colonoscopy. He was really, really gruff and seemed offended by my question. Totally different once he was on stage. He was smiling, laughing – doing the thing.
Ironic I thought for someone who made his fortune filming people.
On the plus side, I interviewed Kevin Cronin and Gary Richrath of REO (the tuna fish tour) after a show at college. Those guys were really a lot of fun, gracious, nice guys.
m.
Top 10!! Love the new RSS feed, works like a champ, never met anyone famous, now that’s sad….
I met lots of A-hole “celebrities” from my college job. But my favorite was when I met Jim Kelly (Buffalo Bills former QB). There was some big fund raiser and before it started everyone working the event was told to line up and we’d meet him.
While he was moving down the line of about 20 people being introduced to each of them and making comments about us like we weren’t even there. When he got to my friend next to me. He looked him up and down and said to his handler “Now I suppose they’ll all want to have to autographs and pictures”.
To which my friend said “Ahhhh, No thanks”. He turned Beat red and stormed off. Then he was yelling at his handler. A few min later the handler came over and said, “I’m supposed to fire you, so you have to hide all night, and please You only have to deal with this asshole tonight, I have to deal with him all week”
Not a great story but the best I have.
Now cool celebrities, a topic for a different day, would have to be Sinbad.
I’ve had close encounters with a few celebrities, the closest being Tim Allen at a restaurant on Mackinaw Island. We had the same waitress, and he was leaving as we were arriving. He was in a big hurry to not be bothered by the masses who would recognize him.
The waitress couldn’t stop talking about what a plick he was through the whole meal – being surly, barking orders, rudeness to other patrons, the works. On top of that, he’s a lousy tipper. I’m kinda sorry I missed the whole event.
Funny thing about celebrities, the nicer the general public thinks they are, the nastier they are. The reverse is also true, if they seems like they would be nasty, they usually aren’t. This isn’t always true but does apply to most celebrities I’ve worked with.
2nd day new format, still like it. RSS feed works like a charm!
I haven’t really experience a ton of rudness from famous people. I wouldn’t approach them though. Wouldn’t you be in a bad mood if you had to pimp yourself out making “appearances” there is no rule that they have to be nice. Maybe promoters should put a “be nice, jackass” clause in the contracts.
Jeff, I remember that Mustaine appearance and your recollection is dead on.
But!… Hats off to Jeff Young, Megadeth’s guitarist at the time. He came into Peaches the night before, shopped around (bought some CD’s), and talked with me for about a half hour.
Jeff Young is a class act. Although, he didn’t come in with Dave Mustaine the following day.
Katie Holmes…. I worked at a fancy-pants restaurant in her hometown and wow – what a …… She would never say two words to the waitstaff and always, always left a shitty tip. She would throw a hissy fit if anyone asked her to sign an autograph as well, even little kids. This was all pre-Tom so maybe she has been brainwashed into submission by now, who knows.
I also met Tom Wopat at a county fair about 20 years ago, and at first I didn’t recognize him. He said (I kid you not) “I’m Tom Wopat… from TV!” And grinned this huge smile. His teeth blinded me. I still didn’t know who he was until days later when someone finally explained it. It was surreal. I almost thought I had imagined it because it was so weird, but my friend who was with me that day assures me that that is indeed how it happened.
At various points in my high-powered career path I have had the opportunity to: offer hors d’oeuvres to LL Cool J, lean in to point Natalie Merchant in the direction of the artist/vendor parking lot, and once stood behind Thurston Moore at the “waste transfer station” waiting to lob my trash bags into the giant dumpster.
As far as those interactions went, for today’s purposes I regret to report they were all perfectly cordial.
Go wordpress!! I hope you can get your template just the way you want it.
Are the daily picture gone? I really liked those. Hopefully they will be back again.
I’m sure you’ll be happier with this in the long run. It’s open source too
years ago my BF at the time and I were living in Rehoboth beach DE and we would go to the Rusty Rudder for drinks. Kevin Bacon was there playing at the Bottle and Cork that night with his brother. My BF walked up to him MID MEAL ( like an ass that he is) and got shot down by kevin. I was watching through the glass and it was classic. My dad also ran in to Kevin B at the Philly Music Fest some years back and got a nicer response but he is generally a bit of a douch bag.
I ran smack into Ann Hathaway in an elevator 2 years ago in NYC. She was very nice and down to earth and kept saying sorry for running into me as we picked up her arm full of mail that was now all over the lobby floor as the elevator doors were trying to close on us.
I also ran in Monic Lewinski about 4 years ago and she is very pleasent.
I live in Ocala Fl where John Travolta has a house and he flys ihis Jet here all the time. He is quite, But does stuff for the town around the holidays, and is generally easy to appoach.
Love the new site, Jeff.
I was there for the Dave Mustaine incident. Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth gave me the thousand-yard stare when I offered to buy her a beer when the club where she was playing haggled over the band’s tab. Hope Nicholls of Fetchin Bones took on a diva attitude before a show in a college gymnasium. Other than those three incidents, my celebrity encounters have been pleasant, and that includes a grumpy Henry Rollins and Steve Earle with “the flu.”
Raleigh, NC about 3am, some friends and I were grabbing some greasy post-drinking grub at an all-night walk up burger stand when a limo pulled up. The driver got out and placed the order, but i guess he didn’t do it right, because Kenny G got out of the back, flailing his arms and being an asshole. He muttered something to us under his breath and rolled his eyes a lot.
if our parents had been there, he might have gotten the opened arms welcome to our city he must’ve been expecting, but we couldn’t have cared less about Kenny G and pretty much just stared at him. He might have heard us talking about his hair…
I was on the way into the Superbowl in Atlanta in 1994 and saw Deion Sanders and some hangers-on coming the other way. I greeted him with some extreme sports compliment – greatest athlete in Atlanta history (probably true, by the way) – but he blew right by me without some much as a nod. No surprise – he has always been something of a douchebag.
On the other hand, in the 70’s I ended up backstage at a Kingfish show and spent a long time hanging out with Bob Weir (the Grateful Dead’s other guitarist). He was extremely friendly and gracious to a star-struck fan – even to the point of letting me bum some of his unfiltered Camels from him.
Fuck pro athletes.
Good Morning Surf Reporters………..
professional golfers may or may not be considered “celebrities”, but if they are, then I have a few…..
I marshalled a seniors tournament a few years back outside of Pittsburgh. Lee Trevino, the Merry Mex is anything but “merry”. The happy go lucky attitude you see on TV is a grand facade. He is a totally rude tool.
Rocky Thompson, a has been player, dressed in Pittsburgh colors black and gold, with gold colored knickers and black and gold argyle socks. When a Steelers fan would mention his ensemble and say Go Steelers, he’d snap back “I didn’t dress this way for you people!!” Oh? Really? Just a disturbing coincidence, I guess…..
Gary Player, who’s about 5 foot nothing was a surly little cur. Instead of a smile and a wave to the gallery, he would shoot you a look that would kill a puppy.
Now, on the other side of the spectrum…. Arnold Palmer, the King, could not have been nicer or more accommodating. He actually spoke with me for about 5 minutes about a golf course he was designing near my hometown, after I mentioned I had been by there. He actually thanked ME for taking time to discuss that particular course. Total class act.
This is JCIII reporting……
When I was in the USAF, stationed at the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex, it wasn’t unusal for high ranking politicians to come by for a visit. I saw Presidents Reagan and Bush, but had a very close encounter with Ted Kennedy. I think I have relayed this story before, but…… I was using the latrine and came walking around the corner to wash my hands. He was walking around to take a wizz. We hit head on and he fell flat on his ass. Within a micro second, his security team had me against the wall. He immediatley jumped up and told them to let me go. Then he proceeded to ask my name and where I was from. He then apologized for bumping into me and told me if I eveer need anything to call him. I guess sometimes politicians can be pretty cool.
Famous people I have met / partyed with:
John Couger Mellencamp (what a little bitch)
Partyed with C&C music factory (they know how to party!!!)
Ziggy Marley (from what I remember) lol
The Cult (first time I ever stayed up 48 hours in a row)
Played quartes with Mike Mills (R.E.M.)
Partyed with the Cure (2 days later we went car shopping. He bought 4 red jeeps and had them shipped back home)
Went bar hopping with Vinnie Pazienza (famous boxer)
My friend is a tour bus driver and I live in South Florida so with those to thing on my side, was able to meet / party with these guys and others I can’t thik of off the top of my head (to much partying). Wife and kids put a stop to that though. Coming home at 6:00 am after being out all night / morning didn’t fly to well
I think you need to set the time stamp.
I met John Belushi at Times Square in New York. He was pretty normal (actually rather subdued and seemed a bit depressed). He actually asked me for a pen to sign an autograph for someone else. I was way too cool to ask him to sign an autograph for me. (What an asshole I am!)
I also forgot that I met Robert Deniro’s father, Robert Deniro Sr. (who was a famous painter in his own right) and he could not have been nicer or more down to earth. He was like one of the guys. Also, met Kevin Bacon’s father and he was nothing short of a real gentleman and had a ton of class.
I can relate to the baseball player thing, I met Hank Aaron when I was about 8 and he refused to sign anything, although he did pose for a picture with me. But he clearly wasn’t thrilled to be there, even though it was an old timer’s game. There were a few other people who weren’t especially nice, but I’d like to pay homage to those who were:
Tug McGraw – fantastic guy who signed his autograph with a smiley face. He is someone I truly miss among baseball’s past greats.
Enos Slaughter – Despite his age he’s always polite, and great with kids.
Most pro hockey players – a lot of these guys sign autographs and talk to just about anyone. They’re really nice to kids and seem to have the most sense of what it was like to be young and look up to someone. Of course, there are exceptions…
Bruce Smith – I saw Bruce when I was a kid at Pizza Hut in Orchard Park. It was before one of the Bills’ many AFC Championship game appearances back then. He was waiting for his pizza and signing autographs to kids who came up to him, and he even chatted about his knee with my dad who had knee surgery as well. Great guy, just wanted his dinner and to go home, but made time for people.
I’m sure I could come up with more, but there’s the top of my head guys. Surprisingly, the baseball players have been the worst athletes I’ve met as far as fan-friendliness. =(
I got nothin’
As far as RSS feeds:
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Maybe Firefox will work….
Johny Bench was a tremendous asshole to a friend of mine.
But my other friend lived between Jose Rijo and Eric Davis and they were 2 of the nicest guys on earth. Eric even picked him up from baseball practice one time.
Barry Larkin and Paul O’Neil were also pretty pleasant when I saw them at the mall and a chili joint respectively.
I’m just checking in here from my vacation…had 5-6 updates to read. (yay!) I like the new site so far I guess…no complaints-I’m easy to please.
I’m glad this rss feed works!
I’ve never had any celebrity encounters, unless you count local news anchors and radio guys, which I don’t. But , if you do, I had a news guy ask me to dinner once. It was kinda nice except that I was about 22, and he was at least 50. And he knew I was married.
I touched the hand of the singer for Breaking Benjamin at one of their concerts last fall. It wasn’t anything awesome, but it was okay.
Death Cab for Cutie in Virginia 2006 (pretty cool fellas- all of them)
Was in Joe Bidens house outside Dover, DE back in 1994 ( total d.i.c.k.)
Interpol in Cleveland 2005 (drummer went out of his way to be nice & approachable)
Michael Mann (Miami Vice fame) when i was 12 at a party in New Jersey (I dont want to ever mention what my pubescent eyes saw that night but he was cordial)
Nicole Atkins in Boston this past February (kick ass girl)
Andy Griffith- Lived across the street from him for 2 years in Manteo (literally a cranky douchebag)
The Guys from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Baltimore 2005 (got a jacket without even wanting it)
Boss Hog (Dukes of Hazard) & Mean Joe Green (his body guard) back home in P-burg, WV early 80’s (very nice folks)
Paul Rogers from Bad Company in a Route #50 McDonalds that I worked at back home as a kid (not too bad a guy- had no idea who the hell he was at the time)
John Lovitz (smart ass funny guy)
Paul Newman at a restaurant in Nags Head about 4 years ago (no complaints)
Joan Jett in 2006 (I would still f^%# her- twice)
The Band Cracker in studio (a bit eccentric but all very cool)
Dan Marino in my office back in 2000 (didnt want anyone to know who he was)
Travis Pastrana (just a regular guy)
ok, sick of typing
I guess they’re people, just like anyone else- all eat and waste the same- Will always find pricks and dicks in any crowd, whether they be hero’s or zero’s, but i do see Jeff’s point in how sad it can be to finally meet a hero and have it all come crashing down with their antics and rudeness, for sure!
Oh, I could write a book on this subject. I spent over a year of my life at the front desk of the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur back in ‘89.
Suzannes Somers – complete douche
Shelley Long – ditto
Rosie O’Donnell – even MORE complete douche
Jeff Bridges – unbelievably henpecked
Kirsty Alley – STINKY and an asshole
Dan Akroyd – stinky and anti-social
Mickey Rourke – everything you’ve heard is true + lots of cocaine
Ed McMahon – nicest one I met the whole time I was there
Oh, and there’s more – LOTS more. I’ll try to come out of my oxycodone haze long enough to dredge up some memories.
Happy Wednesday, Surfers!
(any more news, Scruffy?)
Although we didn’t exchange direct words, I was in a very small group with Pauly Shore several years ago. What an incredible asshole. All he did was talk about how many people he banged (or could bang). I wanted to ask him how many of them were guys.
I was born and raised in Seymour, IN. The town that John Cougar Mellencamp wrote “Small Town” about. He and that super hot wife of his still own a home on the outskirts of town. When I was about 8 or so (yes it was a long time ago) we were all at a dance at the local country club. He comes strolling in like he owns the place (maybe he does, who knows). My mother walked over to him and tried to involve him in a conversation. I cannot remember exactly what was said but he pretty much told her to get the hell away from him. And, mind you, my mother was smoking hot. My Dad got so pissed he wanted to push him in the pool. Wish he would have becuase that would have been f-ing hilarious!
I remember as a youngster going onto the field b/4 a Reds game and watching The Big Red Machine practice. They were AWESOME. Dave Concepcion, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, George Foster (I think). Of course I was very late toddler – early pre-teen so I may not remember clearly. That day stands out in my memory. I know for a while we had a baseball signed by the Machine.
You simply must find a home for Charley West. He has a special way of lifting my spirits.
Scrotal hives – LOVE it!! Classic Kay.
Clarification – my memory may not be clear on the behavior of the players. The day itself stands out as a great memory.
My Uncle went to a Halloween Meat Puppets concert a few years ago. He had great costume , dressed as the being on the cover of the “no Joke ” album? Cd?. One of the band members wifes was so impressed she pulled him out of the crowd , took him to the dressing room to show the band. To put it nicely they were not impressed and didnt even say a word or barely look.
I agree with Tom C. – a majority of hockey players are cool with the fans. I’ve met a couple of Kings players: Robitaille, Blake, Fuhr, Laperierre, Potvin, Storr, McSorley. They were all pretty cool and were nice about signing stuff. Others: Lemieux was so-so (he was late to tee off, I think), Broduer – nice, Scott Gomez – awesome, even have a picture with him, and Don Cherry was great!!
Joe Theisman – now there is a class act! He works the crowd and is very nice. Even had a picture taken with my son which we printed and asked if he would sign it. He did.
John Wooden – another class act!!
Hoping to meet B. Crosby later this month at an A’s game. Wish me luck!
The only celebrity I can think of ever having met was Fred Bear. I was 6 or so and we were in his museum in northern Michigan. My Dad saw him at told me to go over to him and say “I’m a lefty too!”
So I did. Dad said Fred was pretty cool. (Tat might impress Buck, but I am not sure if anyone else knows who Fred Bear is).
Big Lou and his brother grew up a few blocks from Tiger Stadium in the30’s and 40’s. My uncle says Ted Williams was a dick.
My brother met Pete Rose in Vegas. Pete hit on his fiance in a rather inappropriate way right in front of my brother.
I have second hand reports that Chris Chelios is a pretty cool guy (as I’m told are a lot of Hockey players) and Kid Rock is also said to be pretty decent.
Someone I know also ran into the Tuetles from Amercan Chopper and said they were decent guys.
Sorry, thats the best I can do.
Celebrities I have met:
Steve Martin – Just as funny in person.
Chaka Khan – Lets just say Wild Child and leave it at that…
George Chandler (London Beat) – Mr Smooth
Paul Young – Sweet and friendly, perfect drinking bud.
Casey Kasem – Great guy when he’s not bitchin’ about how his voice over spots fall.
Wolfman Jack – another great person to have known.
Jane Pauley – Freshman English teacher, I still get a boner when I see her.
John Waite (The Babys) – great guy to have worked with.
Dick Clark – How does his hair stay so still?
Carrot Top – This guy is wierd off the set, he just never stops.
Ray Parker (Ghost busters theme) – I pulled out a big joint and smoked it with him, he pulled out a pound bag and smoked it with me.
Lorne Green – Cool for and old dude back then, I was a preteen when I met him.
Nat King Cole – Sang happy birthday for me at my 6 year old birthday party.
Wes Montgomery – taught me my first guitar licks. I still can’t play them.
Now you ask how I know these folks, old and then some. My dad was in charge of arranging and hiring talent acts for the military overseas back in the 60’s. The others I meet as a roadie or when I worked with AFRTS in Hollywood.
Mickey Mantle was a dick when he came to Watt Powell Park.
Andy Griffith IS Lonesome Rhodes.
Ric Flair- hot & cold, once sat & talked, put his arm around me and got a picture, the next time it was, outta my way kid.
The Rock – saw him in a pizza place in NYC with his wife, didn’t want to bother him while he was eating, but he looked up as I passed and gave me that head raise thing.
Dude, back in my hometown Hank Aaron owns a Honda dealership. Anyway, a friend of mine worked there and they had to go to this big meeting with all the other Hank Aaron car dealership employees.
So at the meeting Hank gave a “motivational” speech that basically amounted to him explaining that if a young black guy can win the homerun record a bunch of pathetic people can sell a few cars. BTW apparently he actually called everyone pathetic.
Bob Seger -July 13th 2002, Great guy (thank god because I idolize him). He was in the Port Huron (MI) to Mackinac boat race, He nice enough to take pictures with me and I ran back to my car and went to take the film out without realizing that i had exposed the film, I got more film went back told what I had done and he took more pictures with me. GREAT GUY!!!!
Kid Rock- March 2007, all I know about him is it was a good thing I got to him quick because all sorts of people mob him wherever he is. Anyway he seemed nice enough he also took a picture with me and signed my coat.
Uncle Kracker-March 2007, He has to be a nice guy because all I could think to say to him was “I got to see you at the Mi. state fair for $4.00″ (I’m an IDIOT)and he said oh that’s nice, and also took his picture with me.
I also met the bands of all three everyone signed my coat
and everyone was cool except for Chris Campbell (bassist for Seger) But I won’t say bad things about him because I think he was having some sort of personal problems.
Here is a link to the pictures if you care to see them:
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q274/smileeseger/celebs/
Every September we go to the NASCAR races in New Hampshire. We drive down to NH on Thursday, check into the hotel, have supper, then head over to Laconia where about half the drivers fly into the small airport there.
Tony Stewart wasn’t really rude, but he was running late (”How do I get to the Tilton Home Depot?!? I have a “).
Kevin Harvick rolled his window down part way and signed stuff for about half the people that wanted his signature.
The classiest guy I’ve seen was Robbie Gordon. He was driving his own rental car, all alone, with no hangers-on like the others. He stopped the car, rolled down the window and signed everything that was handed to him, then posed for pictures with everyone that wanted one. Robbie gets a lot of flack for his on-track performance, but I’ll always like the guy for his off-track behavior.
I so toally got nothing, except for the time I accidentally stumbled onto the set of some movie Gene Hackman was filming in Dulles airport and, becuase i was late for a plane, just about ran him down.
He’s shorter than me, and took the hit like a man.
Don’t ask me how I got so turned around to get onto a SET, but there ya go.
Oh, and I got sweatted on by Sting back in ‘88. Woohoo!
Patrick Ewing – A world-class dick. I was at an Orlando Magic event a few years back and all the players were signing autographs. Ewing didn’t acknowledge anybody he signed for and when quitting time came, he abruptly got up and left without even a wave. There were only about six more 10-year old kids left in line! At that same event, Darrell Armstrong really stood out to me as an extremely nice guy, just having a blast with fans of all ages.
Urban Meyer, Danny Wuerffel, Tony Dorsett and Kellen Winslow Sr. were all very nice to me.
Oh and let me add to my list:
Bo Diddley – Very intelligent, knows electronics better that most folks think. He was great person to talk to and even took my suggestions for what parts to get for his electronics project.
No personal celebrity rudeness stories, but I do like to scan bitterwaitress now and again for the odd celebridouche tale.
http://www.bitterwaitress.com
Kind of related, but not really…..I was at this “going away” party a few years ago. And as i’m hanging in the kitchen gettin toasted, i see this guy walk in that is a dead ringer for John Cusack about fifteen or twenty years ago. Well, my friends and i kinda hang back for a bit just to observe the wannabe Cusack. And he’s walkin around talkin to his buddies, makin toasts and actin all cool with his sunglasses on (at night and inside). He really seemed to be playin on the fact that he looked so much like Cusack. So i finally decide to go talk to this look a like. My friend and i walk up to this guy and say “Holy shit man, you look exactly like John Cusack.” And he yells at us, “Dont you think i fucking realize that? I get told that everyday, even in the god damn gas station!” And then he storms out of the party! I felt like i actually met a celebrity. And i realize it wasnt really him, but it sure left me with a feeling of not really wanting to meet the real John Cusack.
I forgot to mention. I used to hang out with motocross racers. I have been kissed by
Jeff Emig, nice guy
Kevin Windham, super sweet heart
Ryan Hughes, so H O T !!
and
Jermery McGrath. a bit of a wanker
I met,
Doug Henry,
all the guys from the Kaw team
all the guys from the yamaha team
but this was w a y back in the mid 90’s
I used to travel the curcuit with my racers buddies. All/most motocross racers are pretty down to earth
Around 10 years ago my brother took his girlfriend to an autograph-signing by David Boreanaz. Chris (bro) was the only male there and said Boreanaz was surly until he saw Chris, then hopped up and chatted with him, asked him to join him for dinner later. It freaked Chris out because he thought the guy was hitting on him, so he basically ran and his girlfriend never forgave him hahaha.
Back before the Dixie Chicks had a cd and they were a small-town band of young girls, I saw 2 of them at North Hills Mall in Texas giving some salewoman shit. We laughed at them for thinking they were big-time divas and they scowled at us.
I have no instances of bad celebrity behavior to report. I guess I don’t get out much.
By the far the friendliest encounter I’ve had was with Vincent Price, who welcomed me and a friend backstage after a performance of his one-man show about Oscar Wilde. As a clueless high schooler, I didn’t get much out of the play (”Now, exactly WHY was Wilde sent to Reading Gaol?”), but I was impressed by Price’s cordiality. A genuine class act.
BTW, I approve of the switch to WordPress. The ability to schedule posts days in advance is an especially welcome feature. Just don’t forget to back everything up often.
One thing about people in radio that’s usually true – the lower the ratings, the bigger the douche. Which is especially irritating, because you make all these accomodations, then they get blown out a month later.
Mike Watt – one of the nicest guys ever.
Weird Al – also very nice. My friend & I met him at a strip club, after the Ravens took the Broncos out of the playoffs in 2000/2001.
Dante Bichette – signed autographs for 3 hours in a pool hall one night, then hung out, shot pool, and drank beers. Got traded to the Reds 2 years later.
Terri Nunn – STILL smoking hot, but sat there blankly whenever someone would try to talk to her.
D’oh – I got the Weird Al one wrong – it was after the Broncos lost to the Jag’s, in ‘96-’97.
And I forgot one – Anthrax – they were super cool, and funny. Ran in to them at a gas station, on my way home after seeing them at a small hall.
Wow, like the new site, Jeff!
I met a lot of celebrities in college bc I was big into student government and other ass-kissing activities.
A professor and I picked up RFK, Jr. at the KC airport. He was a super nice guy. Kept pointing out all the hawks as we drove along.
CarrotTop (pre-roids) was a nice guy. He came pretty much every year to my college and always signed autographs afterwards. Just a super nice guy.. amped up as hell.. but nice.
Howie Mandel was just a spectacular douche. Gave everyone backstage nothing but shit. Nothing was right… it was a hick town… yadda freakin’ yadda… finally one of the promoter types told him that yes, in fact, this was a small town and we knew it. Too bad his career had fallen to such levels.. LOL Funniest said all night…
Ellen Degeneres (when she was doing stand-up and was still safely hidden in the closet) was super nice too. My exbf asked her some really stupid questions about her failed tv shows and she was very gracious and didn’t kick him in the nuts.
By far THE nicest celebrity I met was Adam Sandler. He not only put on a great show but he signed autographs for people after. Then he shows up at one of the local college bars in his limo and sits there drinking free beers and signing autographs for hours. I was sitting next to him at some point and he asked where the party was after. I told him that it was wherever he was, I suspected.. Ended up getting CRAZY stoned with him and about 30 of my closest friends at his hotel. The girl he banged that night said it was the best 45 seconds of her life.
I have a ton more but we’ll leave it at that…
Met Howie Mandel stumbling out of the Plaza in NYC, totally bombed out of his gourd back in 1993. Could not string two words together.
Jill Hennessy (of Law and Order fame) carrying a huge stand-up bass down 8th avenue. I offered to help and was politely refused.
REM in Atlanta’s Hartfield Airport, excellent fellows all and personable. Right after their MTV Unplugged session.
Harry Belafonte checking into the Algonquin in NYC. Chatted about the weather. Skin was flawless.
Chatted about banking with Ted Turner and Jane Fonda at an engagement party for my ex-wife’s cousin. She is tiny. Jane, not my ex-wife.
Well, if we’re playing six degrees of separation
My Dad knew Kevin Bacon’s Dad in Philly.
Remember Potsie from Happy Days? I got his autograph from some telethon when I was like, 11.
And my DH is a HUGE CSN fan and always manages to connect with David Crosby at concerts – could be because he usually always gets in the front row and he’s a big, bearded guy so he’s hard to miss. We have photos.@@ Lots of ‘em.
He’s a nice guy.
Oh, I got to smoke a couple joints with a few of the band members of Bad Brains before a show in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas in ‘95 or ‘96. Totally cool guys, tho it probably helps that they are stoned all of the time. I miss those days!
Delivered room service to Ernie Banks when I was in college here in IL. Also got to call the cops on the Wu Tang clan for smoking pot in their hotel room. They got kicked out of the hotel. Which cracks me up since 95% of the employees smoked pot in that building everyday.
Also, Brian Setzer grabbed my ass in the bar of the hotal while I was cocktail waitressing. He is also a major douche!
Chip Carrey is an asshole. Nothing like his father. Every year all of the Cubs announcers come down to ISU for a conference and always stayed at the hotel. They would flood the bar and run up massive bar tabs. We never had any wine that was good enough for his palate (we are in a town of 150,000 what does he expect). He bitched about everything, would never sign any autographs, and was the worst tipper in the place. All his buddies would throw us extra money because they knew what a tight ass he was!
No celebrity encounters for me. Hell, I probably wouldn’t know it if I did meet one. From the sound of it, I’m better off without the experience.
Met Guy Hoffman (former drummer for Violent Femmes) after an all-day festival at Saratoga – they played second to last and saw him at the hotel bar that’s at the racetrack. My bf at the time and I sat down with him at his table (at his offer of course) and hung out for a while just chatting about bands and such. He jotted down some bands and then signed the napkin (still have it).
Also met Brian Ritchie (bass for Violent Femmes) at another outdoor concert. He was just hanging out after their set watching Los Lobos. Signed my ticket stub (still have that too) and then he hung out for a while watching the show with his wife.
Both were really cool guys, chatted with Brian before another show as well. Gordon Gano and Victor Delorenzo left.
BTW – one may say I’m a bit of a fan of theirs…
My husband helped Dennis Haysbert (Pres David Palmer-24) do a crossword puzzle on a flight, got his autograph, he was really nice. Just met “The WOLF” from Gladiators this weekend…was also gracious to the drunk, fat, 40ish lady who had to have his autograph and picture (oh wait, that was me!).
I used to see Brett Frave a lot when I was at school in Hattiesburg. He was always at the bars, and this was after he had been to rehab. I can’t say that he was ever an asshole to me (I never approched him), but pretty much all the waiters in town had stories of throwing him out of their place for pissing in the corner or similar shit. A friend of mine claimed he hit on her, but I think she was imagining it.
John Cleese – ultra nice
Jeff Beck -class act
Brian Shaw- great guy
The Supersuckers- eddie spagetti was really funny
Mike Keneally- Very unassuming, polite regular guy
Alan Holdswoth – dumped a drink on him and he was cool about it
I have actually met Dave Mustaine twice, and had very pleasant interations each time. The first time, I worked at a hotel where they were staying for a show outside of Houston. He was playing a game of pool with a bodyguard type of fellow. Against our hotel policy, I interrupted their game and asked for an autograph for my boyfried. He complied, writing the following: To Damon, Take good care of this woman, or I’ll kill you. Signed, Dave Mustaine. A few years later, I somehow ended up at a backstage meet & greet after a Megadeth show. When I “met” him, I mentioned that I’d actually met him a few years prior at the hotel. And he replied “Oh yeah, over by the pool tables.”
I was quite proud….
2 years ago my now deceased sister-in-law was working the front desk at a resort hotel in Ocean City, NJ. Mickey Rooney was staying there. Her words were “he’s a horrid little man.” Later on TV he was all smiles and shit while being honored down at boardwalk. She said he was a real prick.
I sell pianos and work as a musician in Los Angeles, so I’ve met/ seen/ dealt with a bunch of celebrities. Normally I try not to speak or interact with them in any way if I can help it, since they are normally rude and a let down. What is surprising are when they are really nice and personable. I could write a book about it, but here are the standouts…
Kiefer Sutherland- I was at a bar with some friends about 9 months ago playing pool, and Kiefer came in with some friends and wanted to play, but the tables were full. We offered him a game of doubles and he accepted. First, he’s a shockingly good pool player (he kicked my ass). Second, an amazingly nice guy. Not just to us, but to everyone who approched him at the bar. I went home ripped, though, cause he started buying drinks… and when Kiefer drinks, he doesn’t play around.
James Earl Jones- Literally held the door open for my girlfriend and I when we were behind him walking into a restaurant. He’d do anything for anybody. A real class act.
Nikki Sixx- This was the first real famous person I met, before I moved to LA. I was starstruck and he knew it. Extremely nice and very personable. Tommy Lee, on the other hand, is a fucknuckle.
Elton John- I was afraid to talk to him because he is famous for being rude and throwing temper tantrums. I guess he has his moods, but when I met him he must have been in a good one. He was brief, but very polite and friendly.
Britney Spears- Surprisingly nice, to me at least, despite what you hear… but just as crazy as you’d expect. However, this was about 3 years ago, right before her weirdness peaked, so who knows what was going on.
Stevie Wonder- Just flat-out shockingly friendly and open.
There are others, as far as niceness goes, but those are the standouts. I’ve seen plenty of rudeness, but I consider that par for the couse, and the list would be too long.
Once I was out on the town with a couple of hot babes and ran into my wife. What a bitch! No sense of humor at all.
I really don’t want to meet most of the celebs that I admire for fear that they will turn out to be d-bags.
In semi-chronological order:
In college was working backstage the night of The Outfield/The Hooters concert. All the band guys, all the “manager types” were great. The one manager for The Outfield was asking about their MEAL but his accent was so thick I thought he was asking for a MIRROR and I kept telling him they are in the dressing rooms. Once I finally got it we both laughed about it.
Stage door- John Collum and Charles Durning were two of the sweetest men imaginable. They chatted with my Mom and me until we were done talking. Really nice. Michael Crawford, in early Phantom days, was very, very nice as well.
Used to see Linda Lavin “around” when I was going to a lot of appearrances by a now deceased broadway actor- she was soooo above it all. I passed her table leaving a club once, gave her a BIG smile, waved and said hello as though I knew her- she gave me this really smarrrrmy, look down the nose “helloooo…” Thhhhpppp.
Ernie Sabello (voice of Pumba) was doing a B’way show, “Curtains” until recently. I ran into him in a deli and greeted him with a big hi (as if I knew him) we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries- was very sweet.
It broke my heart to hear that two of my favorites- Alan Alda and Bill Murray- were pretty douchey. Makes me sad.
Met May Pang recently- she was really nice and down to earth. She spent a lot of time talking to a lot of people that evening, and she was still nice at the end.
Wow- this is almost as long as a Jorge post!!
Harlan Ellison – Saw him at the Chicago ComicCon kickoff dinner back in the 90s, he was the guest of honor. Apparently he always auctions off some random personal affect for charity as these type of events and my friend ended up buying his electric razor. We figured this entitled us to a handshake and an awkwardly posed photo. He accommodated us but there was a lot of sighing and you could tell he wanted it over as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t call it douchey though, he was nice enough but he wanted to continue his conversation with his friends. He gives a funny speech.
Another someone was filming a movie (Lifetime channel, not theatrical) at a church across the street from where I was working at the time. Ken Olin was outside with his wife and kids. I was a big fan of Thirtysomething which was on the air at the time. Since he and his wife were both on that show I thought I go up and say something clever. I didn’t get two words out before he stopped and me and told me that they really didn’t want to do the celebrity thing in front of their kids. Which I thought was totally understandable. So I just did the smile and nod thing which they both returned.
wow- this is wierd- this doesn’t seem to publish the posts chronologically…
I, too, met Willie Mays. At a card show when I was a kid. What a magnificent asshole! He signed my baseball and when I went to shake his hand, he just rolled his eyes at me and let out one of those dramatically exaggerated sighs like Martha did and reluctantly gave me the wet noodle handshake. Total opposite end of the spectrum is Duke Snider and Joe DiMaggio. Duke is a smiling, gregarious fellow who at least acted like he was glad you were there to see him and Joe was a gentleman all the way. Signed my baseball and shook my hand with a smile and eye contact.
Oh… Other Kristin reminded me of the funniest celebrity run-in story I’ve ever heard… It might run a little long, but this is worth the read. Trust me.
My grandfather grew up in downtown St. Louis. His brother used to run with the Dillinger gang. As you can imagine, Grandpa was a mans man… he was tough, and not someone to mess around with. He was an old-shool type of guy. Needless to say, Gramps wasn’t very hip to TV stars.
One day, during the 70’s, or whenever the hell Happy Days was popular, my Grandpa was on a flight, sitting in first class, going somewhere. The guy sitting next to him would not shut up, and kept trying to engage him in conversation. Finally the guy asks Grandpa, “Do you know who I am?”
Grandpa says, “No, who are you?”
the guy says “I’m Potsie!”
and Grandpa shifts in his seat, curls his hands in fists, and yells “What the hell is a Potsie?”
Drive by truckers are cool
Mojo Nixon is cool.
No d-bags I can think of.
I’ve met Marshall Crenshaw at a few of his gigs. The best way to describe him is “anti-social”. Still, since he’s extremely talented and yet to most people he’s “Whoshall Whoshaw ?” you can’t really blame him for not being very friendly.
Hey, Smilee! I see you have a picture of yourself with Mark Chatfield (he’s in Bob Seger’s band for those of you who don’t know). Small world…I used to date Mark back when he was still living in Columbus, Ohio.
Martha Stewart is a well known, full-bore c-word. But even worse is Rosie O’Donnell. Not a nice person, I can tell you from personal experience. And I’m being restrained, due to the mixed company.
I got screamed at by Dr. No once. An extraordinarily unpleasant, nasty old man, whose career was over several decades before we crossed paths.
Let’s see….
Went to school with Lisa Bonet (Cosby Show, Angel Heart – Yikes!). Not too friendly.
Also went to school with Barry White’s kids. They used to get dropped off in a stretch limousine – it was painted white.
Had dinner once with Richard Kline (Larry from Three’s Company). He drove a ridiculous Rolls Royce. Does that win for obscure celeb?
While working at Baskin Robbins during my formative years (ahem) I got to decorate a cake for the Jackson Five as they were about to leave on a tour. The cake said, “Take It Away, Tito!” They lived in the neighborhood (or should I say we lived in their neighborhood) and once Michael/Janet exploded there was always a crowd in front of their house who would look through their trash and generally lower property values. Geez.
Got to share a limo ride into SF with Bob Dole. Nice guy.
Shared a stairway with Arnold Schwartzenneger in a department store. He’s short.
Met Jay Leno on a sidewalk when he used to do that thing where he asks random people basic questions. Seemed like a nice guy.
Danica Patrick – I have multiple stories of her being a complete bitch, even before she got “big.” My friends and I don’t call her The Bitch for nothing – anybody who disses children, Down Syndrome 4 year olds and quadraplegics is the biggest douche ever.
Don Johnson – When I lived in SF, I had to plan an event for work. I booked the roof at Julius Castle a good month in advance. I verified the day before. The day of someone at work tells me that she had called the restaurant to order champagne and was told that we no longer had the roof. I call and was told that we couldn’t have the roof because they didn’t have enough reservations for the night to warrant more waitstaff, etc. They decided to allow us to have drinks on the roof, but had to be downstairs in the dining room by a certain time. We weren’t and that’s when we found that we had been bumped by Don Johnson, who was very ANNOYED that we were there. And to make sure that none of us asked for his autograph (not a single one of us would have), he hid in a little room in his black jeans, black t-shirt and Members Only jacket with his entourage until we were gone. Loser.
Cheech Marin – Ran smack dab into him as he came out of my favorite Thai restaurant in SF. He was pleasant as I apologised and went on my way.
Mario Andretti – He has been nice to me every single time I’ve met him.
Scott Pruett – Super nice – sat across from him on a plane from Cleveland to St. Louis. We chatted the whole way.
Butch Leitzinger – The absolute best. He even remembers me every time I see him. “You’re the Boris Said fan.”
Katherine Legge was always sweet, no matter how many times we would approach her for an autograph.
John Force – Hilarious and the best.
Larry Dixon – A bit of a dick.
Dan Gurney – There is nobody better. That man is pure class.
Oh yeah, Joel Zumaya was cool when I asked him to sign my Mexican flag. He came straight to me first before anybody else.
Gates Brown – My favorite Tiger ever and he was a tad surly. I was disappointed.
I’m blown away that Andy Griffith is an ass
I’d heard that Aunt Bee was a POS, but not Andy!
I usually run into stars after their stars are very dim. Such as:
Davy Jones (Monkees) – Nice guy, already had a few people speak with him before I showed up and still gave me an autograph.
Jimmie Walker (JJ from Good Times) – Nobody even noticed him
Jamie Farr (Klinger from M*A*S*H) – People freaking mobbed this guy (???). When followed into the bathroom by an autograph seeker, he outright flipped and cursed a blue streak – don’t guess I can blame him there.
As far as more recent stars go – Eva Longoria, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kevin Nealon all came across as good eggs.
Where is the Mountain? The bunker cam doesn’t work. Other than that, looks great!!!!! Thanks!
Sandra Bernhard launched into a tirade when my roommate approached her to tell her that she thought she was really funny. I felt like punching her in the throat. In hind sight I should have. My roommate was really hurt and there was no reason for it.
Lou Reed? Total asshole. I ran into him after a show when I went to go see the theater manager about a different matter. Just a spiteful, vicious little prick up one side and down the other. Again I don’t think anyone could fault me for punching him in the head.
Other side of the coin, Diane Sawyer is a really nice person. I was walking behind her leaving a building and she held the door for me. I said thank you, she smiled and said ‘no problem’. I always heard she treats people with respect and is always very gracious.
Mike Ness from Social Distortion. Very cool, sincere guy. He always makes time to sign autographs and talk to the fans.
mrs. scruffythejanitor ran into Parker Posey at the Union Square dog run. They chatted for about an hour and I guess at one point the name Ben Affleck came up. Ms. Posey said, and I quote, ‘Ben Affleck? He’s a tool!’. Ask the missus if you don’t believe me.
Alas Knucklehead, no word yet. But another possibility opened up at the job I used to work at. They just fired someone in my old department so I’m trying to get back in there. When it rains it pours right? Hope you’re feeling better and I think a Smoking Fish scar pic would be the shit. I’ll have some drinks for you tonight so you don’t have to.
I hung out with Imani and Booty Brown after a Pharcyde show and they’re awesome.
Kristi Yamaguchi is fabulous.
Sylvester Stallone is a dickhead, but that’s is anyone surprised by that?
Sorry to say… Andy Griffith *is* a spectacular asshole.
I am sorry to have missed this, but when Lou Diamond Phillips was in town for a play (he was the lead in a traveling production of The King and I), he hung out at a hole-in-the-wall neighborhood bar and sang karaoke, including “La Bamba”. Apparently, he was super nice.
my two celeb encounters were actually pretty cool, first one was ernest borgnine, i was working at a baskin robbins in anchorage and he happily gave me an autograph on a cake order form, really nice guy.
second was jim mcmahon, former QB for the bears, i was bartending in SC and after work he came out to my car with me and we got high. not bad.
hey jeff – i miss my bowl of corn motherfucker!
I met Randy Johnson in an elevator in Seattle about 10-12 years ago. Whatta douche-nozzle. Only the two of us in the elevator, and he responded to my “hey howzit goin?” as if i’d asked for a kidney. Dennis Haysbert actually STOLE my crossword puzzle and finished it on that flight, but then did autograph it and hand it back, great guy.
Charles Barkley – super nice, not as big as you think.
Ron Wood was at the next table in the Mandalay Bay. Basically it was “please do not speak to or look directly at Mr Wood” – he looks 15 years dead.
Oh and i work closely with a former Heisman Trophy winner, great guy.
Jeff,
I guess this is a story of group rudeness. When my soon was about 12 or 13 (about 96 – 97)h he won a pair of tickets to a Atlanta Braves game from one of those radio station on site broadcasts. Luckily my sister lived close to Atlanta (15 miles) so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel. I took my son and my nephew to the game (had to buy an extra ticket). We arrived early enough to watch warm ups. When the Braves came on the the field they marched straight out of the dugout onto the field and straight back after they had completed their warm up. Never offering to even acknowledge any of the crowd or the dozens of kids that were surrounded the dugout. Basically a grand bunch of dickheads. The opposing team (SF Giants) were signing autographs, talking to the kids, signing baseball cards, and generally being human. I never liked the Braves, especially after they gutted the first team that got them to the world series the first team, But this just sealed the deal. I hope the Braves never win the pennant until we land a manned spacecraft on Netune. Cork soakers
Just sent Jeff a smoking fish sighting near the surgery site. Enjoy!
when i was 17, i worked at tower records at lincoln center in new york city and met some pretty famous folks.
danny aiello and jon waite were friendly and charming. jon cryer gave me a hug! singer/songwriter john gorka was an absolute gentleman. also martha plimpton and whichever carradine is her dad were both nice enough.
BUT. i also met paul provenza (the aristocrats? anyone? anyone?) working the register late one night and he was acting real douche-y. i finally said, “should i know who you are?” he laughed incredulously, snorted, looked side to side (no one else was around. or would have cared), and handed me his credit card, like one look at the name on that bad boy would clear up all the confusion.
i looked. i had never heard of him.
i said, “i’ve never heard of you”. he was pissed. announced he was a famous comedian and stormed out.
but the absolute worst was morrissey from the smiths. oh, at 17, how i loved him.
i worked in the soundtracks department and he walked into my section at the end of my shift. i had my coat over my arm and was headed to the door when i noticed him and got all starstruck. i asked him if i could help him find anything. he asked suspiciously if i worked there. i said i did. he asked then why did i have my coat? i said i was on my way home.
he turned his head the other way, started thumbing through cd’s in the rack and said “well, then i guess you CAN’T help me”.
seems pretty benign in type, but believe me– he was r.u.d.e. i was crushed.
now i live in chicago and do sketch comedy and make short films with a group called monsters from the id. one of our guys is a radio man with cbs and during filming i’ve met nfl legend dick butkus (pics are on our myspace site, myspace.com/idmonsters) and illinois governor rod blagojevich. both were nice enough.
right before we went on wgn morning news to do a live comedy spot, blago was chatting with us and called former state treasurer judy baar topinka a “fucking cross between [former il governor and current convict] george ryan and lucille ball”. hiLARious.
and for you music freaks, andrew bird lives right up the street from me and is the live-in boyfriend of my ex-husband’s best friend’s sister. JEALOUS?! i kid. anyway, he’s a very sweet man.
oh, and when i was 6 i met tommy roe of “dizzy” fame. my mom dragged me. he signed the boob of the whorish woman in front of me (NOT my mom) and my little penguin notecard with equal enthusiasm. now THAT’S class.
I was a student at Marshall in 1974 (the student part is questionable), and had a friend who worked at the Civic Center. When ZZ Topp was doing a concert he made arrangements for me and my friends to have dinner with them at the hotel where they were staying. Total dickwads. We were SOOOOO beneath them. I really liked them before I met them. After that, blecchh. They were ugly, dirty, and rude. We didn’t stay long. While we were leaving we passed by the indoor pool area and Pearl Bailey was lounging, all by herself. No entourage. She was friendly and very nice and I loved her voice. That’s all I got. After that, I never really cared if I met another celebrity for the rest of my life, and I haven’t.
Hey what the hell is going on?
We have WordPress
Randy Jackson at a corporate event last year—super nice, very personable, looks you in the eye when he talks to you and gives a firm handshake.
Dawg.
Oh, yeah… I’m with Jersey Scott.
Marshall Crenshaw… JERK!!!
CrenWHO??
The only real celebrity I have spoken to is our local Michael Constantine (Mr. Kaufman on the old Room 222). Also played Gus Portokallos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
He and I frequent a local hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant. Have sat at the next table more than once. Super nice guy.
Always says hello.
By the way, I became a Grandma yesterday. If I was smart I could post a picture, but instead just imagine the perfect baby boy.
damn cookies
Don Mattingly, local hero, a totally nice guy everytime I see him.
Paul O’Neil, met him in the airport with my then 8yr old son, a total dickweed.
I work on movies and tv shows here in vegas and I’ve met a bunch of celebrities.all of them have been nice.
strangely enough one of the nicest people I ever met was ed asner,you wouldn’t think it from his tv personality but he was nice to evreyone that approached him,he had his picture taken with everyone that asked.
Congrats WVKay on the gramma thing!
And man, I need to get out more…I have no idea who half y’alls celebrities are.
WHEW. It only took me a week to find the new site. If I hadn’t read the comments because my government job is BORING, I’d still be wondering what the heck happened.
Like the new page.
Glad to have you back.
Was in a pub in London (England)& the barkeep pointed out Richard Branson the Virgin guy, noticed he sat with a group of employee’s & would sip out of other guy’s beers not having one of his own! asked the bartender what that was all about & was told he likes to remind his “team” that he can drink out of any glass because he paid for it! I think this truly calls for a single digit resignation!
When on our honeymoon in the Cayman Islands (23 years ago), one of the hotel workers was gushing over “Mr. Charlie Pride”, who was staying at our hotel and performing nearby. We were like “Who?”. Anyway, the Charlie acted like a douche the whole time, like he was a superstar.
My sister-in-laws dad was an engineer at one of the Atlantic City casino’s and related that Elton John was an ass hole with many quirky requests. I think they had to rebuild one of the hotel windows so that it would open just for him.
On the good side, Frank Reich of the Buffalo Bills and author of the greatest game comeback in NFL history, is a fantastic person.
Darryl Dawkins is also very pleasant.
Is Barry Whats-his-face/Greg Brady even considered famous? He was a tool. Wanted $10 for a signed pic of himself for an event at my college 10 years ago. My arse. I took down a poster from the hall and had him sign it. He was not happy.
Get a career dude. Brady Bunch is over.
Forgot to mention the nice ones…
Red’s Aaron Harang, shopping for his baby at Target and answered peoples questions when they stopped him. Seemed like a swell guy. And I sat next to Sean Casey at a restaurant. There with his then pregnant wife, my husband nods at him and says nice game. He was very polite and friendly. We let them eat in peace.
Karin – You would have broken my heart if you had said Sean Casey was anything but nice. I’m still pissed the Tigers didn’t resign him. I just love him.
Back in the day, a buddy of mine’s sister happened to share a dorm suite with comedian (I use the term loosely) Carrot Top’s girlfriend. So, one night, said buddy caught a show at the Comedy Zone in Charlotte, NC, and who should be appearing but ol’ Red-Haired Hack himself. As my friend was leaving, he stopped and said to the Carrot, “Hi, nice to meet you. My sister actually lives with your girlfriend, X, at school.” Well, Mr. World’s Worst And Hackiest Comedian pauses for a moment, and then replies in his most sarcastically enthusiastic and condescending voice, “Oh, really?! That’s great! So nice to meet you!” and then storms off.
A few things come to mind:
1) Of all the famous people in the world who could be forgiven for being a jerk, Carrot Head is NOT on the list. He wouldn’t even be allowed to type up or fax the list.
2) I still hate his guts out for that dumb shit, and I always will.
3) If my buddy hadn’t been with his girl, and the rest of us rowdy boys had been with him (drunked-up as always), then it would’ve gone a lot differently. We would’ve fallen upon him like drunken, redneck jackals. And the care he would’ve required after we got through with him would’ve made the current plastic surgery hell he resides in look like day camp. Bet on it.
4) Anybody see that celebrity roast where the roasters were making so much fun of ol’ CT that he looked like he was gonna cry? Best. Roast. Ever.
Michael Stipe: His sister’s band which my friend I loved were playing in a great bar in ATL called the Star Community Bar, or Star Bar as it’s known. So, after the set I was silly enough to compliment his Sister, however he was having absolutely none of it, and peered through me as if I was not there. This kinda sucked because well it was Michael Stipe and I was hoping for so much more. Why I have no idea.
Someone who is less of a celebrity, Will Sargeant, from Echo & the Bunnymen, was nothing but a gentleman to some of my friends and I. He signed my Live in Liverpool, told me not to be nervous and then spoke with me about some of my other favorite bands, and playing acoustic. Apparently he is nothing like his band mate Ian McColloch is can be verbally abusive from time-to-time.
Let’s see here …
Got to drive Brent Musberger and Michelle Tafoya to their hotel after a basketball game … She didn’t say much but seemed friendly and he was very conversational – said “well Oh-KAY” a lot.
Caroline Rhea, back when she had her syndicated show going in the early part of the decade, was very friendly (can’t say the same for the snotty production assistants working for her).
Tom Crean (former Marquette University head coach) – 2-faced douchebag.
Dustin Diamond (Screech) is a pretty huge asshole considering how washed-up he is.
I’ve heard that Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s is the NICEST guy ever and I’m dying to meet him.
Hey! I met Cronin and Richrath too! And they were totally cool, down to earth guys, just chatting and signing for whoever was hanging around. Kevin Cronin is really short but he’s just like a regular dude, is what I remember thinking at the time.
Jesus Almighty Tonite!! zi never post but after not finding this for a week I had to!
I met The Rock when he was still The Rock. I cooked his dinner and he came back in the kitchen and signed an autograph for my niece. Nice guy.
Rode on a plane with James Brown when I was younger. He was super nice and his wife at the time kept playing with my damn hair!
Patti LaBelle sat in the VIP section at a club I managed in Vegas. She was extremely friendly. Then asked one of my servers to get her some weed! Oddly enough she was even friendlier after that!
Bernie Mac (RIP) Met him in a car wash in Chicago. He was talking with my grandma who had NO CLUE who he was! Every time that I saw him after that he asked how she was doing. He also went to school with my father back in the stone age. Extraordinary man.
David Blaine I met him at the same club in vegas. He was indifferent but his hanger on was an asshole. He told me several times that “This is David Blaine and we ain’t paying no cover charge!” Told him sure David is in, but who the F are you? The funny thing is it was a free event that night.
I guess I don’t have tthe apperance that gives people the desire to act an ass.
Back to my hole
My daughter was seated next to Ricky Byrd (as in Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) on a flight from NY to Atlanta. He was on his way to GA to work with a Rock and Roll Camp. He was a total sweetheart- gave her some good life advice, lectured her about the sins of illegal downloads and sang every song he could think of with “Molly” in the lyrics (that’s her name). An all-round mensch. Just goes to show you don’t have to be a jerk to be a celebrity.
As far as Carrot Top goes there is not a cooler celebrity on the planet. He is very generous to his fans and always puts on a great show.
More people that I am impressed with are Michael Sweet from Stryper. Awesome dude, very down to earth.
Criss Angel. Again, super cool will hang with his fans as long as possible to sign stuff.
George Wallace, thee Godfather of Comedy and a very cool person too.
David Grohl of Foo Fighters another cool person who loves his fans.
Agree that Robbie Gordon is a class act when it comes to fans and autographs.
In 1993 when he was driving for AJ Foyt, he was at the back of the hauler in the paddock when saw a young kid looking at him in awe. Next thing he does is wave him over to the hauler to sign something. Everyone then flocked to the Foyt trailer for a signature and he signed each and every one of them.