The Most Famous Person You've Met

None other than Elvis Presley. After he finished Army basic training, he was assigned to active duty in Germany. His MATS plane landed at Ernest Harmon AFB, Stephenville, Newfoundland in the wee hours of the morning. Almost every mother on base took their kids to the base terminal to see him. What impressed me most was that he was a polite, humble guy that made time for everyone to take a picture or get his autograph. Mom still has the picture she took.
 
Myself and 3 or 4 others would eat lunch every day during high school with Leslie Van Houten.

wyo-man
 
When I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, I saw guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke play in Chapel Hill, NC. I got to meet him after I told his manager that I'd paid a buddy to cover guard duty for me so I could see the show. Nice guy, very cool to talk to.

My Army roommate was from a wealthy family in DC. His father was a big supporter of the National Symphony, and Mstislav Rostropovich, lead cellist and National Symphony musical director at the time, played a private concert for his 75th birthday at their house. The cello he played was the Duport Stradivarius, which has a dent in the side from the time that Napoleon Bonaparte straddled it while wearing spurs. He insisted that everyone call him "Slava," and he brought bread and salt to bless the house because it was a Russian tradition. Also nice and approachable, but he'd hug you at the drop of a hat.

I also met Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, after I wrote several websites for them. He liked my work, so we were introduced formally a couple of times. I also body-checked him on a stairwell by accident once time, which was like running into an apartment building. Very nice guy, a blue-collar kid from the projects who made good.

I also used to work with SmithNut.


Okie John
 
Brushes with fame

Peter Fonda, at the Medicine Wheel in the Big Horn Mts., not too long after he hit a deer on his Fat Boy near Spotted Horse, the true incident that forms the basis for his character's riff in "The Limey". Clint Eastwood, at his Mission Ranch in Carmel. Once shared a cab with Kurt Vonnegut after a reading with Muriel Rukeyser at the YMHA in New York. Shared a bottle of brandy and talked about motorcycles with Robert Pirsig, after a reading at the Zen center in Mpls.
 
as a band roadie i met jody payne & paul english willies' guitar player & drummer both great guys, david allan coe, donnie van zandt, the outlaws what a show they do, the molly hatchet band, 38 special,most all were just normal guys who say they got lucky
 
Chuck Yeager - at the Andrews A.F.B. open house, last year.

Bud Anderson - at the Andrews A.F.B. open house, last year.

Tony Curtis - he carried my two year old daughter off the plane, in San Jose (early boarding).

Michael J. Pollard - (played CW in Bonnie & Clyde) he was cruising his Excaliber on Reseda Blvd & stopped to say hello.

Drew Carey - in Bob's Big Boy, in Tejunga, Ca.

Rodney Dangerfield - at a bus stop in Vegas.

Bruce
 
John Wayne

He was walking thru our squadron compond in DaNang.
I thought he looked pretty fair sized in the movies, but to me,
he looked huge. He actually looked a little embarrassed at my
enthusiasm at meeting him. TACC1
 
Muhammed Ali.

He was reaching around the adults and giving autographs to little kids. My then 8-year-old son got one. He's 36 now and still has it.

I learned a lot about the man from others over the years. Aside from his politics (I don't care about politics much anymore, anyway) a true champion.
 
In the gun world......

Jeff Cooper

Jerry Michelek

Roy Jinks

Others.......

Ollie North

Jimmy Swaggart

Bufurd Pusser

Lloyd Bridges

Rocky Marciano

Donna Douglas



In the music world......

Actually too many to list....I used to work in the music business,touring,etc....and being a musician myself,I sat in with some very well known performers.....Some of them,I'd like to forget.
 
Rugskipper said:
Then there was BTK. He lived a couple of miles from me, and we would speak while in line at the store, things like that. Very unassuming guy. Absolutely normal. (Yeah, right):eek:
Click to expand...

I worked at ADT, when Dennis Rader was also employed there, he had killed the Oteros and Nancy Fox by that time, there was nothing about his demeanor to make you think he was such a monster.
 
canoe on the yukon said:
In the gun world......

Jeff Cooper

Jerry Michelek

Roy Jinks

Others.......

Ollie North

Jimmy Swaggart

Bufurd Pusser

Lloyd Bridges

Rocky Marciano

Donna Douglas



In the music world......

Actually too many to list....I used to work in the music business,touring,etc....and being a musician myself,I sat in with some very well known performers.....Some of them,I'd like to forget.
Click to expand...

I would have really enjoyed meeting Buford Pusser and Ollie North.
 
Met Condoleezza Rice several times at the Camp Diamondback Airfield in Mosul Iraq. Met several of the SC members of this forum in SC.
Chop
 
For an obscure Texan I've met quite a few famous personalities: music and entertainment industries, sports, and politicians at all levels of government. They were no more impressed with me than I was with them.

A couple in the gun world that were truly worthwhile and worth a mention: Roy Jinks and Bill Jordan.

I'm much more impressed with my family and friends!
 
I just remembered - I met General of the Army Omar Bradley when I was in the Army as a student at Wm. Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX. He was visiting one of the clinics that we were serving our rotation on, so the Head Nurse made all of us nasty students cram ourselves into a broom closet so that GOA Bradley wouldn't have to look at us. There were so many of us that we couldn't get the door closed, and when they pushed GOA Bradley by in his wheelchair, he sized the situation up in a heartbeat, snapped his fingers, and pointed towards us. His aide ("pusher") wheeled him up to the broom closet where we all saluted him and shook his hand - boy, did that p-ss off the Head Nurse! GOA Bradley spent his last years on the base. His wife, so I heard, was very pretentious and abusive and wore the 5-star rank device on her clothing.

Regards,

Dave
 
Double-O-Dave,

I never did meet Gen. Bradley, but attended his funeral at Fort Bliss, since I lived in El Paso at the time of his death. I understand that he died in NYC while dining at "21" with his wife. A short while after that, I bought an old wind-up portable army record player (painted olive drab) from his estate, including some 78 rpm records. He was reported to have played Reveille on it for his troops via loudspeakers in the early days. I still have it. Ike, Patton, and Bradley were my boyhood heroes when I was a kid during WWII.
 
Bob Dole, on a campaign stop in Wheaton, IL

Pete Williams, the NBC correspondent. Gave him a citation for driving on an expired license one night when he was reading the evening news on a local station in Casper, WY. It had expired 3 years before. Too busy, I guess.

Bob Rissler, the FBI BSU profiling pioneer. Took his "road tour" profiling class.
 
clubleaf206 said:
I worked at ADT, when Dennis Rader was also employed there, he had killed the Oteros and Nancy Fox by that time, there was nothing about his demeanor to make you think he was such a monster.
Click to expand...
Amen! Even his own wife didn't know. I really feel sorry for her. She's a nice lady. I bought coffee, smokes and gas from the little store she worked at in Park City.
 
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