The Most Famous Person You've Met

Years ago now, we went to a Vegas downtown lounge to see Willie Nelson.
When we got seated, I looked around and was slightly embarrassed to see that Chill Wills was seated behind us.
Yes I did meet and chat with him.
Also met and talked to Willie.
 
Another way back - went to Survival School up at Stead AFB, Reno.
Delia Reese was singing in a lounge which was like a rather small room with a piano in the corner.
My buddy and I went there so many times that she recognized us.
She would say, are you guys here again?
Don’t you have anything better to do?
I’m going to sing the same songs.
We would say things like - we know that.
We hoping you will sing them better than last time.
 
Gene Autry and Champion. It was cold and he was wearing a light purple coat. As a small boy my thoughts were, "Cowboys do not wear that!" and not quite met, Admiral Arleigh E. Burke, during his visit the Charleston Minecraft Base. Operations and Deck mustered on the bow, Engineering on the fantail. As his car was driving by, he leaned out of the window and saluted.
 
Mine is little known or remembered today, but she was a legend in her day. For a week in 1962 or 1963--I really can't remember which--I was the unpaid chauffeur for the great singer Ethel Waters when she sang for a series of services at the church where I was the assistant pastor.

She was a grand lady, with a sharp and sometimes merciless wit. I liked her a lot.
 
Got drunk with Percy Sledge and his band The Sledghammers
in my college days in the late 1960's. They came over to our
fraternity house after they played the sold out show at Va Tech.
Also had the 4 top and some other groups. One of the brothers was
on the committee that booked acts.
 
THE PILGRIM said:
Who opened for Roy Clark?
When we saw him it was Gatemouth Brown.
I actually did meet Gatemouth in a Honky Tonk up Colorado way.
Click to expand...

I don't remember who opened, but he and cousin Minnie Pearl
were both on the same show. We had front row seats and I
was mesmerized watching him pick those stringed instruments.
Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, he was a master of all of them. Pretty good
singer too.
 
I've met numerous Nascar and Indy car drivers, have photos and autographs with most of them, as well as random baseball and basketball stars. However, if I had to pick "Most famous" was probably Mario Andretti, while I was walking around Homestead Speedway. He was super friendly and stopped and talked with me and a few other people who'd walked up. He was even nice enough to sign the back of my race ticket from that day.
 
Back in my more "wayward" days, I bumped into Jimi Hendrix. I was on a old Harley, Jimi and some other dude where on old choppers. At the time I really didn't know who he was, But we all did share a bottle of wine and a "toke", wuzz many years ago
 
I've been within feet of two US Presidents, but didn't actually speak.

Among the celebs I have talked to at any length:

Morgan Fairchild, actress. Used to be big on series like, Flamingo Road and Falcon Crest and was in some movies. She was my mother's 11th Grade Honors English student but we didn't meet until sitting next to one another's tables in a restaurant. Then, we talked for maybe an hour about shared interests, inc. paleontology.

Dr. Donald Johanson, the celebrated paleoanthropologist whose expeditions discovered the fossil Australopithecus popularly named Lucy. My daughter and I attended a guest lecture he gave at SMU and he signed his books for me in the lobby. He seemed nervous and I asked a cop why there was so much security. She replied that some people who don't believe in evolution had threatened to kill him!

Jane Goodall. Not impressed. I'm sure her chimpanzees love her, but I found her aloof and a bit condescending toward Dallas. I had the impression that if she had to visit the US, she'd have preferred to be in NYC or Los Angeles.

I've also met several famous authors and many of the gun writers, like Elmer Keith, Charles Askins, Rex Applegate, Jon Sundra, Massad Ayoob, Jeff Cooper, Skeeter Skelton, John Wootters, Craig Boddington, Peter H. Capstick, etc. I corresponded with Geoffrey Boothroyd and Jack O'Connor, but never met. Because I was a gun and knife writer myself, I ran into these guys at PR functions and in the press room at the SHOT show as well as at NRA conventions.

And I profiled some famous custom knifemakers. Two of the most famed were very talented craftsmen but no one I wanted to know socially. Both reminded me of the southern end of a northbound horse.

One of the most charming I've met was Jo Anne Hall, with whom I spent some time in her home while profiling her for, The Colt Handgunning Annual. She was both a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and World Champion Ladies IPSC shooter. She has a degree in Journalism and wrote briefly for, Guns & Ammo.
 
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I met Duke Ellington in the mid-50s as my father worked a full summer season with him. In the 90s I met Les Paul, the guitarist. Both were straight up guys.
 
Bob Dole - while he was campaigning
Seymour Cray - Leased part of the building where I worked
Chuck Yeager - At a meet and greet fly-in
Mario Andretti - At the local ford dealership
Jim Irwin - Gave a motivational talk to my people at work
 
I shook JFK's hand in 1960 on the tarmac at Otis AFB on Cape Cod. He'd just been elected president but had not yet been inagurated and he flew in for a few days off.
Oddly, my father got transfered to Andrews AFB next and I was on Constitution Ave. In DC for his funeral procession.

I worked for astronaut and Sen. John Glenn for 4 1/2 years as 1st mate on his yacht. I was at the Cape with his family for his STS 95 launch.

While on the yacht I met quite a few famous people.

The Sen. giving Capt. Jim and myself mission patches from STS 95 that he took into space.
Teaching my 10year old daughter to run his yacht.
 

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Was on the escort detail for Candidate George W. Bush's (43) first campaign and got to meet and shake his hand before he boarded his plane.
Got to meet President Bush (43) again on his re-election campaign while on the protective detail again. This time got in on the grip n grin line and got my photo taken with him.
Also was on the protective detail with then Vice President Cheney on the re-election campaign and again got in on the grip n grin line but no photo.
However the person I was most impressed with was General Schwarzkopf. I got assigned to the protective detail for the General when he was in our area for the Bush re-election campaign. He actually took a couple minutes to call all the Troopers together to thank us personally and ASKED if he could have a photo taken WITH US. Truly a real leader. Of all the bone headed moves, I failed to take my copy of his autobiography "It Doesn't Take A Hero" with me, to have him sign it. Really need to find those photos that got packed some where in the last move.
 
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