Your End of Week Topic Dump, vol. 341
I met Steve for lunch yesterday, and we exchanged Christmas gifts. Yes, on January 14. I gave him the first two seasons of LOST on DVD, and he presented me with a baseball autographed by Hank Aaron — the real home run king.
And that baseball completed the circle of life, or something very similar.
You see… We tried to get Aaron’s autograph thirty-five years ago (give or take), when he made an appearance at a minor league baseball game in Charleston. But the man was incredibly rude, and practically knocked us down to get away. Then he insulted a girl in a wheelchair, and smoked cigarettes on the roof of the press box.
And if you think I’m exaggerating that story, you’d be wrong. Hank Aaron is probably the most unfriendly celebrity I’ve ever met, followed closely by Willie Mays. Their appearances should’ve been billed as “An Evening of Crushing Disappointment With a Baseball Legend!” Incredible.
So, after nearly four decades I finally have my Hank Aaron closure. Thanks Steve!
And since we’re on the subject of celebrity rudeness, this is an in-depth examination of the current Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien cluster-copulation at NBC. It was written by Rudy Panucci — a guy I know from good ol’ Dunbar High School, (as well as my former Daily Mail paper route).
He mentions Leno’s supposed “worst gig ever,” at Michael B’s Deli in Charleston, back during the early 1980s. And I was at that show, if you can believe it. Bill from WV, another friend, and I saw him do his standard comedy routine that night, and it was very funny, I thought.
But between sets we approached Jay, sitting alone in a booth and staring off into space, and he wasn’t very friendly. I wouldn’t put it in the Hank Aaron category — he wasn’t openly hostile or anything – but the dude clearly had no interest in chit-chatting with us. So, we just walked away.
Then he went on Letterman and crapped all over Charleston, WV… I’d liked him (he was better before The Tonight Show, believe me), but after that Michael B’s experience, and the Letterman appearance, I was a little soured on the subject of Jay Leno. And so it goes.
Have you ever been disappointed, crushingly or otherwise, after meeting someone you admired? Tell us about it in the comments section, conveniently located at the bottom of this post.
Steve and I had lunch at Cracker Barrel yesterday, and it was fantastic. I went with the sampler, a big ol’ platter of goodness. My customized version included meatloaf, country ham (salty!), chicken ‘n’ dumplings, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and hashbrown casserole. Mmmm….
Then we puttered around Barnes & Noble for an hour or so, and contemplated a nearby sports bar, called Lucky’s. However (and this is scary!) some sort of responsible attitude kicked-in, and we decided we’d better not, so early in the day. Will somebody please hold me?
But that’s why there was no Thursday update. I was out getting all casseroled-up. And I hesitate to admit this, but I’d do it again!
A few days ago I was leaving for work, and dropped my iPod into an 18-inch snow pile beside our driveway. It sank all the way to the ground, and I shrieked like a school girl. My iPod!
I snagged the thing, nearly ripped the front door off its hinges, and started toweling it off in the kitchen. I removed my loyal Nano from its airplane-metal protective case, and frantically wiped the snow away, while muttering nervous profanities under my breath.
Everything seems OK, though. I used it the next couple of nights at work, and it never missed a beat. Whew! What would I do without my Phil Hendrie Show/Clive Bull delivery device? Oh god, I just had a full-body shiver.
I’m using two new (to me, anyway) computer tools, that seem pretty cool.
The first is called RescueTime, which analyzes your computer habits and breaks everything down for you in black & white. It helps you identify where you’re wasting too much time, so you can adjust and improve your productivity.
I don’t yet have my first report, it takes some time to get a handle on things, but I’m interested to see it. There’s much room for improvement, I know. I sometimes find myself in an internet cycle, just visiting the same sites over and over again, in roughly the same order. Freaky, man.
And the second one is called TwitCleaner. That one analyzes the people you’re following at Twitter, and identifies the ones you might want to drop — for various reasons. It puts the questionable folk into different categories: Try to sell you crap, nothing but links, tweeting identical stuff all the time, no activity in more than a month, etc.
Once you have your report, you can go through it and override the ones you’d like to continue following anyway, and hit the UNFOLLOW button for the rest.
I dumped 196 people, mostly from the “dodgy behavior” category. I kept a lot of folks identified as “snobs,” though. I think that might be an unfair category. They’re Twitter users who have a lot of followers, but don’t follow too many in return. I’m not sure they should be included on the report, but whatever.
What kind of similar tools have you used recently, that you can recommend? I’m always on high alert for such things.
And speaking of social networking, if you’re not already doing so, I hope you’ll consider following me at…
Thanks, folks!
I couldn’t sleep very well last night, for some unknown (and unusual) reason, and my brain is now howling in protest. I’m gonna have to call it a day. My eyes are starting to go crossed on me here.
If you have anything on celebrity disappointments, please tell us about it in the comments. And I’ll see you guys next time.
Have a great day!
Now playing in the bunker
Filed under: Daily
First?
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Second? And I read the update? Astounding!
Oh, and Gene Hackman ain’t nearly as tall as he looks in the movies.
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Amazing…I caught an update right out of the gate. Everyone who comments after me is obviously inferior
If you can believe it, the closest I have come to celebrity are my local professional sports team’s athletes. They’re kind of a big deal I guess…but no J.Lo or John Malkovitch or Hulk Hogan. Though I did get a Twitter direct message from My Name Is Earl’s Ethan Suplee…pass the beer nuts.
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“TwitCleaner”??? sounds like something else…
And you should’ve gone to the bar.
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Good Morning / Almost Afternoon Surf Reporters….
Thanks for the Twitter link, JK. That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Especially when I follow someone and see that they have 402 followers and follow back 401. Who is the one they don’t follow? Yep, me. Then I have a slight anxiety attack trying to figure out if there’s something wrong with me. Talk about soul crushing self esteem issues.
Back to celebrity disappointments. I may have mentioned this a ways back, but professional golfer Lee Trevino makes my list.
On TV, and in the broadcaster booth, he comes across as the happy-go-lucky free wheeling kind of guy. Hell, his nickname is the “Merry Mex”.
But in real life he’s a surly arrogant asshole who couldn’t have been any ruder to fans, marshals and tournament officials.
It was a little disappointing.
Arnold Palmer on the other hand was the nicest gut you would ever wanted to meet.
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yes, he had a really nice gut. Kinda paunchy but not overly protruding.
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top ten!! it really is my lucky day!!!
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Dusty Rhodes was a very nice man and autographed before nearly every home game with the 1960 Tacoma Giants. He didn’t have much of an arm left, and could only hit the cutoff man on a bounce or two from left field, but he took it all with good grace and still seemed to enjoy the game.
jtb
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Met a lot of famous people in my military/legal/government career. No matter what you political affiliation is, Ted Kennedy was one of the nicest people I ever met. Jay Rockefeller is also a nice person. Some other politicians…………………not so nice.
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Didn’t know you Facebooked. Went and looked. Sez we have a common friend. Phil Hendrie. Heh!
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I was following Palmer on a round on the Senior tour stop in Seattle and I accidentally crashed into him while he was going through the ropes to a teebox. He smiled and said, “May I tee off first?” He then slapped me on the back and said, “Hit ‘em straight and long”, teed up, and smacked a drive 250 yards down a narrow fairway. Nice guy.
jtb
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I met Dave Mustain (Megadeath) and he was a dick but that is to be expected from him right?? The rest of the band was really cool. partied with them into the wee hours. Oh to have my just out of high school body back. People in general were much nicer then. Well and i was easy so that helped.
Sounds like a super healthy lunch there Jeff. Good LORD!!!
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Conan should be absolutely pissed that NBC lets The Chin rule how things go there. You get the “Tonight Show” after years of waiting and then, suddenly, Yhe Chin decides that since his 10;00 pm show sucks total ass, a door should be open for him to come back. I am happy that Conan’s people rejected this gestapo tactic.
Dave still rules. Even though his show is not nearly as irreverant as it was when it was on NBC.
On IPOD right now- “Rape Me”- Nirvana
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jerry lewis is the all time out and out prick. insults people who don’t deserve it and is just an obnoxious loudmouth.
isaac asimov was the nicest person you would ever want to meet. he signed autographs tirelessly, made gentle inquiries about your interests—just an all round nice guy. ditto rene auberjonois.
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TILLY, somewhere on the internets, there is video of Dave Mustaine being hit in the face with a foul ball at a baseball game. You might enjoy that if you can locate it.
On IPOD right now- “Burn Down the Mission”- Elton John, before he was gay.
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I see the whole Leno/Conan thing differently. NBC pushed Leno out of the Tonight gig when they “promised” it to Conan 5 years ago. Conan got it, then put it directly into the shitter in 3rd place.
To me Conan sounds like a kid who never played sports and feels entitled to it because he waited his turn. It’s show “business”…he didn’t perform when he got the chance, and he got the business. And, it’s not like they weren’t willing to keep him on at midnight……
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I remember meeting Jerry West, who, at the time, I believed was my real Dad (since Mom fucked him, too) on top of a bank in Charleston. It was the same bank that Dallas Cash (a cool as fuck black guy I went to high school with) smoked hash on top of it a couple of years after graduation, after I ran into him on the bus. I think the address is One Valley Square, but I could not tell you the name of the bank. Anyways, besides that, Jerry West was a dick to me, as I asked him if he remembered my Mom, or for that matter, fake Dad and he said. “Look kid, I have a long line of kids like you lined up behind you. Just take the picture and move on” At age eight, I wish I had had the forsight to say “BUT YOU FUCKED MY MOM!!!” to him, but did not.
The dudes from 311 that I met a few years back at a meet and greet (with backstage passes to eat BBQ with them) were fucking great. It was like sitting at the lunchroom table in grade school, talking to your friends.
As I mentioned before, Brian Johnson (who I watched a Super Bowl with) is totally approachable abd will talk to you about anything. I see him about Sarasota a lot and he remembers me every time.
Stephen King (who also lives here) likes to be left alone.
Jerry Springer, who comes into my place of business, is always open to conversation.
On IPOD right now- “Dance This Mess Around”- B52s
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TwitCleaner….used mine in the shower this morning.
I met the entire cast (minus Hugh Beaumont…RIP) of “Leave It To Beaver” in the early 80s at Hersheypark and every single one of them was incredibly nice and gracious. Especially Tony Dow. I was a kid, probably all of 13 years old at the time, and that guy stood there for over 15 minutes about school, my drama club, my hometown, and his experiences on Beaver. That impression has always stayed with me…helluva nice guy.
I am totally Team Coco, and really have been Team Letterman for as long as I have been on this earth. I’ve had the privilege of attending tapings of both Conan’s Late Night show, and Letterman, and both were just great. You couldn’t pay me to go see Leno. His level of humor is just so….dumb and white bread….can’t stand him.
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“that guy stood there for over 15 minutes about school, my drama club, my hometown, and his experiences on Beaver”
Sorry…make that he talked to me for over 15 minutes….
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When I was a kid I always wanted to be a television journalist. One time we were out at a restaurant and ran into Karen Foss (a St Louis anchor woman). I was so excited and went right up to her … “I’ve always wanted to meet you” says I. Her response – “I’ve always wanted to meet you too” said in a completely sarcastic manner. Sheesh – talk about crushing a kid’s dream!
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Rescue Time told me to get rid of
Twitter
Facebook and
RSS Feed
I shouldn’t be getting these anyway, working for the State.
On IPOD right now- “Nothing Else Matters”- Metallica
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Thanks for the TwitCleaner tip. I agree that the snobs category is a little unfair, but I ended up unfollowing a few of them that I realized just didn’t interest me.
Oh, and I am an unabashed Cracker Barrel fan. Mmm, chicken and dumplins!
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Brian Setzer is a cocktail waitress’ ass grabbing douchebag. I mean, I do have a nice ass, but really, is that acceptable where you are from?
Chip Carey is a condescending prick and a shitty tipper.
Ernie Banks is a genuinely nice man.
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Charlie Watts was the most gracious rock star I ever met. (not that I met many, but he went out of his way to be kind). Patty Smith freaked out on us. Peter Frampton would come into the McDonalds I worked in – always stoned. Ignored everyone while drooling on a Quarter Pounder.
Michael Kaye of ESPN was very approachable. Funny, too.
I saw Michael Imperioli (I worked with his aunt) but unfortunately it was at his Grandfather’s funeral so we just shook hands.
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Love that Coco/Leno article. A perfect summation of how I feel…thanks for the link!
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Let’s play two.
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John Cleese – great gentleman
Rob Lowe – complete dooshenozzel
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MEATLOAF. WOTTA ASSHOLE. Story is too long to tell but trust me he’s a dickhead.
Nicest? Ringo Starr
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Barry White is/was an awesome camping buddy. Until he gets drunk and then wants to sodomize everyone.
Peter North is an asshole, but taught me a lot.
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I was in an elevator once with Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, and Kanye West, and no one could get a word in edgewise on Kanye, what with all of his “Imma let you finsh” this and “Imma let you finsh” that. It would have been nice to at least get a chance to say hi to Charlie and Ringo. Wotta douchebag!
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I’ll never firgive you for this, Kanye!
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finsh, firgive, whatevur
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quad-poster!
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Nicest: Newt Gingrich. He actually listened when I was explaining the setup and giving suggestions on how he should proceed with his presentation. Afterward, he told one of my superiors to hold off for a minute because he needed to talk to me first. I giggled like a schoolgirl at the flattery, and for quite some time after, my boss made wisecracks about getting the brushoff.
2nd Nicest: Ben Stein. Took a bunch of us out drinking one night and outlasted everyone.
Questionable: Fareed Zakaria. Thought he would be totally cool, but he came off a little sexist and condescending, asking me to hold his bag for him and could I fetch him blah, blah, blah. As if I were his personal assistant. After a while, he warmed up though when he realized I was a VP and not a secretary. Still….
Disappointing: Carly Fiorina. Cold, but maybe because she was receiving death threats and had to be escorted through secure back entrances at the height of the HP/Compaq debacle.
For a while, I had a crush on the CFO of a not-so-well-known company that runs animal hospitals and labs. One of the most humble and kind people you will ever meet on Wall Street. He’s a dog person, which may or may not have something to do with it.
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Oh, I could write a friggin’ BOOK about this QOD. I worked the front desk at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur the first two years it was in business. We had to sign confidentiality waivers that we were not to speak to the media about any of our guests – LOTS of celebrities and even royalty. Every one of the names I’m listing has a story. If anyone is interested, I’ll post more if you want.
Suzanne Sommers – what a bitch. Husband is really nice. I think she was the rudest, most demanding person I’ve ever met
Dan Ackroyd – Came in one day and the bellman says “Hi Mr. Ackroyd, been swimming today?” Ackroyd “NO”. He was a greasy, greasy man, Ick.
Micky Roarke – Oh, I could go on for days. Had a Chihuahua with a matching black turtle neck on when he checked in.
Jeff Bridges – ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, but never said a word. Overbearing wife said everything. Walked in with a leather motorcycle jacket on and no shirt.
Ed McMahon – the nicest man I’ve ever met.
Shelly Long – had to walk her up to her room – didn’t want to wait in the lobby with the little people.
Martin Scorcese – love love love him.
Donald Trump with Marla Maples (pre marriage) – she was an idiot.
Ted Turner and Jane Fonda – MAN that guy is LOUD
Kareem Abdul Jabar – his wife – hahahahahahahahahaha
There’s so many more I can’t think of right now. What a great two years of my life. Then I decided I needed to move where the men had all their teeth and liked to bathe, so I moved to San Francisco.
Dorothy – I had a friend that worked at the (now defunct) Circle Star Theater in San Carlos. He told me that Jerry Lewis was such an asshole, someone took his head shot and put one in every toilet bowl in the building.
Happy Friday, Surfers! Have a great weekend!
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Met Dixie Carter while representing her at a law firm in Bradenton. Classy lady.
Met Robbie Benson while representing him at a law firm in Boone, NC, while he was teaching acting at App State. Seemed to be OK, but also seemed to have a dark side. His wife, Karla DeVito was a little subdued, but still fairly hot for fifty years old.
Doc Watson was a client in Boone, as well. Coolest blind guy ever. Played a small show for eight of us in the conference room.
On IPOD right now- “Road to Nowhere”- Talking Heads
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Nice: Mary Chapin Carpenter. Met her backstage pre-show and she was just eating with everyone else- back-up musicians, roadies, you name it.
Not so nice: Joan Lunden, although I didn’t even know who she was when I was dealing with her.
@Dawn: Hugh Beaumont- didn’t he die in Vietnam from syphilis he picked up doing pornos?
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Two more- Drank with Chris Berman in a bar in Bradenton around 1986. Fun guy, buy loved the attention too much.
Dick Vitale- Awesome, baby!!! Ate at the Broken Egg on Siesta Key nearly every day when I was the chef there. Could sit with him when it was slow and talk sports with him any time I wanted.
On IPOd right now- “Lido Shuffle”- Boz Scaggs
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AWG: Chris Berman was sitting at the table next to mine at a restaurant in Philadelphia a few months ago (he was broadcasting the Phillies/Spankees World Series games on the radio, I think). It was just him and two fairly sexy, though somewhat aging (probably late-30s / early 40s) buxom babes, and they both were all over him, very touchy and expressive. At some point, a guy at my table who’s a big sports nut and was drunk, went over and sat with Chris and the ladies. Chris eventually got up to say high to everyone at my table, and he was friendly. He left the restaurant with both lovely ladies in tow, and I’m sure they had quite the time that night in his hotel room.
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Dated a guy who was friends with Kevin Nealon so met some SNLers. Nealon was obnoxious. Dana Carvey was pleasant and Dennis Miller said hello is a far too superior way. A fuckin a hat Met Rodney Dangerfield – very nice man. Very humble. Reluctantly asked Fred Gwynne for his autograph at aforementioned McDonalds. He was charming. A lot of celebs floated through that McDees (Westchester County – Estate area) and some disgruntled fucker stole the collection of autographs off the back wall.
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Met Willie Mays at a card show. He couldn’t have been more rude. Also met Duke Snider at the same show. Total class. Fun guy, smiled the whole time and thanked us for coming out.
Encountered The American Dream Dusty Rhodes in a mall near Atlanta when I was in high school. I spoke to him briefly and got a bunch of one word answers. I took the hint and reached out for a handshake to leave and he wouldn’t even shake my hand. My hero growing up, total prick when I met him.
Met a bunch of Atlanta pro athletes when I worked at a garage just out of high school, can’t remember any of them being even the least bit rude. Doninique Wilkins, Lincoln Kennedy, John Smoltz, Jamie Dukes, etc.
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AWG_ thanks i will check that out.
Everyone else- where (how) do you people live that you have met this many celebs?? Crazy. awesome QOD though.
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Ted Danson – super nice guy. Easy going and funny.
Ed Kowalzcyk from the band Live – super nice family man with the cutest kids! Came in shopping every week at a health store I worked at
Bill Paxton – very nice and funny but liked every one to know he’s a big deal
Kevin Trudeau- HATED the arrogant, greedy, womanizing slimeball
Malcolm Macdowell – sometimes the biggest ass ever and sometimes the nicest. I did enjoy when he would call me “darling” in that accent of his. His little boy wore outfits more expensive than my entire wardrobe and his wife was always overwhelmed and cranky
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I dated and harshly dumped (because I really like burning my bridges) a member of REO Speedwagon, 1970 ish… for me this would have typically been probably the day before they became really famous and signed a record deal.
ABSOLUTE WORST all around loss to the human race … I gotta go with Alexander Haig. The guy acted like a six year old school girl.
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Oh – Ralph Waite used to wander in to the local Hardware store. Grumpy old fuck – he needed a good case of the “recipe” I think.
Tilly – I live in NY. My mom once stopped to pet JFK, Jr.’s dog – not realizing the hunk holding the leash!
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Definitely not interested in what is considered to be a ‘celebrity’ as far as the entertainment or the sports sector go. If I could guess though, I would think that people who would be genuine to meet would be Ellen or Oprah. I had friends go to see Lettermen and said he was an absolute prick when off camera which surprised me. Must be the stress of being on that type of show.
I grew up on the Canadian prairies and we had this local kids show guy named Uncle Bob. Apparently off the screen he was a complete drunken, scowling, child hating dick. I guess that is why we call some of these people ‘actors’. When the cameras are on, you are someone completely different than real life….. Except when you are filming videos that you don’t ‘know’ are going to hit the media – ie – Paris, Pamela, etc.
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I fear musical/artistic retaliation on this comment, but I retract the ‘celebrity’ comment to be genuine artistic talent. At the moment, I am a huge Lady Gaga fan, for her uniqueness, I think she is in it for the long haul, seems to be just gifted and probably plays a Diva but is not.
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This is probably a huge netiquette no-no, but Trisha aka Mrs Wally-I can’t get onto your blog anymore-I read it every day right after the Surf Report-I must hear more Mr. Burns stories.
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Oh and one other thing………… while not a celebrity…………. My ex-wife was a complete C u. next Tuesday.. I wish I could type the word but I know so many women hate it. But boy the shoe fits
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I’ve only met 2 or 3 celebrities, and not any “big” ones. None of them were rude, but it did seem to me after a few minutes of conversation with Mark Levinson that he didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. On the other hand he was pleasant, and down-to-earth enough to chat with some random bozo like me. On the other other hand, he’s sufficiently not-well-known that he may not have had a chance to develop a “celebrity” mindset.
Dorothy, I’m not at all surprised to hear that Asimov was a nice guy. I never got to meet him, but I did go hear him give a talk around 1974-ish. He was funny, engaging, self-effacing – seemed like a truly likeable guy.
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The linked piece on the Conan/Leno bruhaha was right on target – more insightful than most other stuff I’ve been reading about it.
Celebrity encounters/observations:
Robert Fripp – pompous douche, after giving a half-assed performance. Openly insulting afterwards to an audience who had bought some pricey tickets
Mike Stern – great guitarist, really nice guy
Wynton Marsalis – was really close up at a show years ago. Seemed to despise being there, kept angrily flinging the slobber from the spit-valve of his trumpet. (to the floor, not at the audience)
Michael Stipe – Contrary to expectation, he was a very nice guy. Talked to him at a gallery where he was showing some of his “paintings” done on old snooker tables. This was a while ago – sometime in the “Reckoning” or “Fables” era.
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This is right up the Surf Reporter Sense of Humor alley:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34881925/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/
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Gretchen that would have made a good link for ‘Further Evidence’.
I’ve only lived in small towns…never met anyone even remotely famous. I did have a friend who was hitching home from Morgantown and was picked up by Don Knotts’ brother. Does that count?
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@Fat Secretary Yeah, some crazy shit happened and I had to go private. Send me an email at bitchymcb@yahoo.com and I will send you an invite, but only if you stop lurking and comment, dammit!
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Brushes with greatness- always fun.
Austen Willis – older gent played chess or cards with Goldfinger at the start of the movie… I painted his sister’s house….super nice guy….
Ok try this – a combo celebrity report and 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon? I once took a course in Boston taught by Kevin Bacon’s cousin… he seemed like a nice guy.
Alright then..boarded a plane with Turbo or Laser from American Gladiators.. nice enough guy but somehow I thought he’d be taller.
ok, i got nuthin…
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Mike Doughty from Soul Coughing, not bad.
Ed Hamell from Hamell on Trial, not bad
All of the Drive by Truckers are good people. When he was in the band Earl was my favorite.
Met Chris Welsh on my birthday last year. He was pretty nice.
I think that’s about it.
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Mike Doughty from Soul Coughing, not bad.
Ed Hamell from Hamell on Trial, not bad
All of the Drive by Truckers are good people. When he was in the band Earl was my favorite.
Met Chris Welsh on my birthday last year. He was pretty nice.
I think that’s about it.
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Chris Berman almost ran over me with a golf cart at the ’99 US Open at Pinehurst. He was checking out a girl as he drove by.
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Hot Fuzz, I fully expected that last line to read “I thought his nuts’d be smaller”…
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I am a comic book artist, so I know all of the “famous” (and not-so-famous) people in comics (like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (RIP), etc…). Over the years, apparently, the comic book movies stopped being really cheesy, and Hollywood came a’callin, so all the comic book movie celebrities started coming to comic book conventions too. Now, sci-fi/fantasy was always a part of the comic cons, but the *BIG* con is the San Diego Comic Con…and that one also has, for some strange reason, wrestling AND “adult industry” talent as well. So, I have literally met hundreds of famous people, from the entire casts of every Star Trek (movies and tv show) (met Majel Barrett, too, but Gene passed before I got a chance to meet him, darn it!) to Tracie Lords, to Terry Pratchett, to Mister T, Soupy Sales, John Cena, Fantasia Barrino, Stephen King, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Mumy, Matt Groening, Steve Perry (and all of Journey)…the list goes on and on. (WAY too long to list all of them here). Many of these people have become friends over the years, and the majority of them are very cool people. Being a nerdy comic book geek girl has it’s perks at those industry parties!
The biggest dickwad of them all though…hands down…? Walter Koenig (Chekov) from the original Star Trek tv series. Character should have been called Jerkoff…
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Oh yeah, I was at a bar in St. Louis when Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices) showed up with some skirt he was dating. The got drunk (no shocker there) and then got into a fight and then I think they banged in the women’s room until the bartender kicked them out. It was a good night.
NP Troublemaker – Weezer
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@Dogberry
re: @Dawn: Hugh Beaumont- didn’t he die in Vietnam from syphilis he picked up doing pornos?
You are thinking of Beau Hugemont. And if you mean by doing pornos, if pornos are German college boys living in Vietnam, then yes.
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I’ve met tons of celebrities over the years due my severe music and sci-fi/horor geekness. I used to work for a concert promoter, setting up the backstage areas for various venues in Philly. Even now, when I attend concerts, I try to hang out and meet the performers afterwards whenever possible.
Now, I have a part-time business selling dvds at sci fi/horror conventions up and down the East coast. Because of this, I’ve managed to meet just about everyone I’ve ever wanted to, except the cast of “Star Trek”. (Looking forward to meeting Gary Busey in March).
I’ve also met some celebrities quite randomly. (Cheech Marin buying socks next to me at a flea market in Manhattan, and George Lucas buying old cameras at a flea market near San Francisco).
But, in all my years of shmoozing with celebrites, I’ve only met one that was a total asshole. And, he was/is one of my musical heroes, which made it much worse. That man is Robyn Hitchcock.
I’d seen Robyn in concert several times, and took photos of him at one of the shows. In anticipation of seeing him live yet again, I had one of the photos blown up to 8 x 10 size, in hopes of getting Robyn to sign it. Since he would be playing at a small venue in Philly, (the TLA on South Street), I knew it would not be very difficult.
After the show, there were only a few of us waiting by door to see Robyn. When I handed him my photo for him to sign, he took one look at it, and declared that it was a horrible, unflattering picture that looked nothing like him. He didn’t even want to sign it, until one of the people I was with practically called him out for being a jerk. So, sign the photo he did: “On it, he wrote: “Not me, mate. Robyn H.”
That experience soured me on Mr. Hitchcock for a bit, and I refused to listen to his music or buy anything new from him for quite a while. I still think he is a musical genius, but to me he will always be an asshole as well.
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Wow! I truely live under a friggin’ rock after reading these posts.
The only “celebs” I have ever met was Rachel Ashwell who is the founder of the “Shabby Chic” craze in designing/antiques world. Met her at the Santa Monica fleamarket while shopping for my antique store back home in PGH. Very sweet and gracious.
The only other person I met was some dude (don’t even remember his name) who apparently is one of the most famous air brush artists/custome bike designers in the country. Met him at a bike rally up near Erie, PA. Got my picture taken with him at this booth. Told me I had the nicest tits he’d seen all day.
Lucky me.
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Fuck Jay Leno! Well written Rudy.
Only person I can think of that I met even remotely famous was Wally Post when I was seven years old, he was sighning baseballs at the Legion hall in town for some reason that has since slipped my mind. He was very nice.
Oh, and then there was the time I met this guy which just happened to get caught on tape, he was a little stand offish at first but we quickly became best buds…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8
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“sighning” yea that’s how we spell it here in rural Ohio, the h gives it a little extra flair.
RescueTime? I can see the first report…stop surfing the net you lazy bastard!
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I thought I was talking to Newt Gingrich but it turned out to be T.Farty Mc Appleass(They are identical!) Biggest dissapointntment I had this conversation with a loudmouthed self centred Douche for over a hour at a neighbours party before I realized I had been talking to a mirror!
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retollama: I’ve heard the same thing about good ol’ Mr. Hitchcock. I used to know the publisher of a music magazine, and back in the ’80s the magazine was featuring a story on R.H. Well, the publisher needed to get in touch with Robyn for some reason which escapes me, but which was a very legitimate reason, not just to “say hi.” The publisher called R.H.’s publicist at the record company, who provided the publisher with R.H.’s home phone number in England (the fact that the publicist gave out the number would indicate that the publisher did in fact have a legitimate reason for the contact). When the publisher got Hitchcock on the line and the publisher introduced himself and told R.H. the reason for the call, R.H. responded with “how did you get my number?” and something along the lines of “who do you think you are to call me? Don’t ever call me again” (the latter being pure paraphrase as I don’t remember the details 30 years later, but the “how did you get my number?” is a direct quote). If I remember correctly, the publisher never did get the information he was seeking, as the call ended quickly. Not a nice man.
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And just to add a bit to the topic, I used to be sort of in the music biz in the ’80s and ’90s (like retrollama, also in Philadelphia), and so have met too many rock celebrities to remember (mostly of the “underground” / “indie” persuasion). A few off the top of my head: John Lee Hooker, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), Henry Rollins, David JoHansen, all the members of R.E.M., all the members of the Replacements (including Bob Stinson), Peter Zaremba (Fleshtones), Exene Cervenka, Bob Mould, David Lowery (CVB), Jello Biafra (D.K.s), Jason Ringenberg (Scorchers), Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), Mojo Nixon, Richard Butler (P-Furs), T-Bone Burnett, Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) ….
And not to get into too much detail, but all of these meetings always involved in-depth conversations rather than fleeting “hellos.”
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here!
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Here’s what Jay had to say about the whole ordeal 5 years ago. Via Weird Al’s twitter feed…
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6d1caacad1/jay-s-2004-announcement
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Norman Fell (Mr. Roper on Three’s Compnany) was a really nice, down to earth guy.
Tom Skerritt seemed okay. Not overly friendly, but not a dick.
Burl Ives, from what my wife says was really nice, as was his wife.
The guys from the 60s band, The Ventures are (were) awesome. Even though they were tired as hell after riding in the tour bus all day, went out of their way to placate a fan who thought he deserved special treatment because he had played in some obscure Mid-Ohio Valley local “surf” band back in the 1960s.
The drummer form Atlanta Rythym Section is cool, and is a great video game player.
Semi-famous soap opera guy, Wayne Massey (Johnny Drummond on “One Life to Live” back in the 1980s) was the best celeb I have ever met. First meeting him was one of those moments where he would have been fully within his rights to kick the crap out of me, but instead chose to laugh and shake my hand and introduce himself. Heck of a cool guy!
Jeff Corwin from “Animal Planet” seemed like a nice enough guy when I met him a couple hours before the news came down that the Croc Hunter guy had just passed away.
A friend of mine met Peter Ueberoth about 10 years ago, when his private jet pulled into Nome, Alaska for refueling. A World Series game was on the TV, and Peter and a friend of his watched the game with my buddy. A couple weeks later, a package addressed to my buddy arrives in the mail…Peter Ueberoth had sent him a baseball autographed be all the members of both teams playing in the World Series. Now THAT is a class act!
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I have met very few celebrities. But Red Sovine once had a conversation with me and my grandmother. He was drunk, and I remember it well.
Not very friendly at first, but he lighted up some after realizing he was speaking with kinfolk. Four years later he bought the farm.
A local celebrity in the Kanawha Valley from the 70′s once embarrassed me at the Catholic Church in Dunbar. Uncle Willie had a young daughter that performed with him sometimes. She would try to sing, but was horrible.
But she was cute, and I wanted to meet her before the show. I had saw Uncle Willie come out of the kitchen area of the Church and I entered after seeing him exit.
The old ladies working the kitchen wanted to know what I wanted. I told them I wanted to meet the girl. They found this highly amusing.
And during the show Uncle Willie told his daughter that she had a boyfriend in the audience and pointed directly at me.
Uncle Willie’s daughter was known as Little Linda.
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Hey, I’m back to commenting!!! Anyone miss me?
I’ve never met anyone famous. I even lived in Las Vegas for a year and half…
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I can remember that Yngwie Malmsteen’s lead singer was a humourless prat – he got all offended that Malmsteen’s header card was changed to “Irving Malmsteen. Esq.” in the record store I managed. We all laughed at him and he skulked out.
The singer for The Chesterfield Kings (a band I truly dug) came off as sort of an arrogant weinie…
Henry Rollins is, at best, tolerable, as anyone who has met him can readily attest to…
Ian Astbury from The Cult left plenty of douchey anecdotes for the history books in Columbus when they played there once. Apparently he was as grab-assy as Brian Setzer (Trisha, that line KILLED me!)
It greatly saddens me that Robyn Hitchcock was such an asswipe, but it’s not the first time I’ve heard of such jackoffedness from the great songwriter. I, too, am a fan since the early Soft Boys era, but I know at least a half a dozen people who’ve also met him and they pretty much depict him as a bit of a jerkwad as well.
Stood behind Sam Donaldson and wife and son at a baggage claim station at the airport in El Paso, TX, and he was being a dick to the baggage officer about some sort of outsized, taped-up, cardboard box that he wanted to take as carry-on…
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Almost forgot! For many years (until he died, obviously) my parents lived in the apartment next to Joey Ramone’s. I saw him a a couple of times but never got to meet him. My mom said he was a “nice boy”, but that his parties were kind of loud and some of his friends were unpleasant.
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Nice to have you back, NDfan. Just been lurkin’ or are you back in county lockup again? In any case, Ara Parseghian to you and hope you’ve been keeping cool.
jtb
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@johnthebasket
I was abducted by aliens and subjected to numerous anal probes. I’ve been back for a while, but the hemorrhoids are finally healed enough so I can sit in front of the computer again.
I missed all you crazy ass people!
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NDfaninAZ,
Glad you came back. Those aliens sound like my first wife. Did they have brown hair and carry a knife? Did they speak through their attorney?
Just wondering…jtb
PS – hope your winter is Dan Devine
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NDfaninAZ – Hey! You’re back!
TILLY – You have also met Ted Nugent and either Jeff or Beau Bridges. Whichever one it was you said he was cool.
Most of the famous people I have come across have been through radio jobs, but if I didn’t have a work reason, I didn’t try to meet them. Everyone who came through was polite and professional, except Evan Dando of The Lemonheads who is a jerk. My husband (long before he was my husband) also met Evan Dando at a CMJ conference in NYC, and Evan Dando was a jerk there as well. Met Ben Folds, and he wasn’t too friendly, but it was right after a show so I am just going to assume he was tired.
I also have met some famous people through my brother’s godmother who is married to an actor/playwright in LA.
My favorite famous people I have met – Brad Garrett, The Enigma (who offered to show me his penis), Mr. T and Steve Forbert. I interviewed Steve Forbert, and he was awesome.
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oh WTB I forgot about Ted Nugent. He was cool becasue he hit on me. Jeff Bridges was cool too. I had forgotten that as well. this alcoholism is a bitch. I seem to forget a lot.
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Not my own brush with fame, but my wife used to live in apartment above Natalie Merchant and used to party with her and the 10,000 Maniacs. She also went to High School with the mother of one of the Backstreet Boys.
My half sister is the cousin of Merilee Rush…the original singer of “Angel of the Morning.” I met her at an auto race back in the 90′s, and she was a totally cool person.
Kinda off topic, but still cool is that my mother’s best friend in High School went on the become Werner Klemperer’s first wife.
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