The Most Famous Person You've Met

Mine would have to be Richard Petty. In addition to seeing him at the races he took me through his shop. I even talked to him on the phone one night when I called his motel room. I was about 12 at the time.
 
I had a short conversation with Stephan Hunter at SHOT and he told me about his new ( then) book. I've had several nice chats with Frank Brownell.
 
Old guy meets memories listed here. I was in the sound tech business for many years. Taj Mahal. Great English bluesman. Bought me a pitcher of Guiness and drank it with me, because he liked my work. Julian Lennon sat behind me at a live show while I mixed the warmup band for his show. After, he said "great mix". I think I hadn't taken a breath in 40 minutes. All of R.E.M. Long story I won't go into other than we drank a lot of Makers Mark together. Mojo Nixon. Look him up. Weird Al Yankovic. Bizarre night during the show and after. Warren Zevon. Amazing show. Arlo Guthrie borrowed my lighter during a sound check break to light his pot pipe on the loading dock of my work building... It goes on from there.
 
I sold the house that was being lived in by a fellow named PetSeideman (stage name Jerry Butler) who for 10 years was Americas number one male adult film star. This guy had stories!!!!

Was walking through manhattan one evening minding my own business when a mototrcade passed by and a crowd gathered. Limo stopped and Gorbachev popped out to shake hands in the crowd. Just missed shaking hands with him; was close enough to touch him.

Had a good conversation and entertaining time with Dutch Van Schultz off the Bocks Car/Nagasaki bomber. Told him he did good work.

Larry King, who hit on my girlfriend right in front of me.
 
I met Charleton Heston in Springdale Ar in 2002 when he came to campaign for a Senator from Arkansas. I told our preacher that I had met Moses as Heston had played him in the Ten Commandments. Jeff
 
I remember George W Bush (and Laura who grew up a couple of blocks away) ringing our doorbell to solicit votes when he was running for Congress when I was about 15 or 16 (he lost). Next time I saw him was in a local Mexican restaurant that was a favorite of his mother-in-law. He was POTUS at that time.

I shook hands with Rayfield Wright, Jay Novacek, and Everson Walls at a Dallas Cowboys event once.

Shook hands with Sam Walton at the opening of the local Sam's Club.

Shook hands with Joe Albertson (founder of Albertsons) at a local Albertsons store.

All I can think of right now.
 
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I meant a young Marine Captain aviator in Thailand in 1972. He went on to become an astronaut and pilot the Space Shuttle and command it. Came back to the Corps and made Major General and commanded the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. When he retired for the Corps, he went to NASA as the Administrator. His name is Charles F. Bolden.
 
Desertfox's post about Aspen brought back memories of working in Aspen for years. I was driving in one of their crowed back streets when I caught sudden movement to my right. Just then I almost met the British actor Michael York as he darted from between parked cars chasing a frisbee. I got my little Plymouth Scamp stopped about 5 feet prior to him being added to my bug collection on the cars grill. He just bowed and walked away. Met and worked for many celebrities while there.
 
Phil Hill
Dan Gurney
Sterling Moss
Denny Hulme (he was the co-driver with Ken Miles when they were cheated from victory at LeMans 1966)
Juan Manuel Fangio
Froilan Gonzalez
Piero Lardi Ferrari
OJ Simpson during a football game in college
Plus, I met Jorja Fox at a party in LA.
 
Retired General Colin Powell, Dallas, TX. At a seminar at the American Airlines Center. I will never forget his presence.
 
I grew up next door to : John Morrissey - Recipient -
I remember his father & mine fixing a package to send him which included a canned ham. They removed the ham & put a 1911 in it with ammo for Xmas present & re welded it.
He was also on the show "Whats my line" for riding a bicycle from Ny to California after his discharge
Years later he opened a Deli. in the same area I had moved to.
2 guys tried to rob him when he was closing. He called & reported it to sheriffs office & told them to send a hearse.
 
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In the '87-92 time frame I flew an Army U-8F Excalibur out of Adams Field (Little Rock) while, then, Col. (O-6) Jack Keane was the commander of JRTC at Ft. Chaffee, AR. He was billeted at LRAFB and we would hop over to fly him to the Ft. Smith airport on a regular basis. The last time I saw him he was General (4 star) Keane CINC, Atlantic Command.

In my C-12 and UC-35 days I flew Generals, Congressmen and Senators, too many to list here. The most impressive, to me, was General Peter J. Schoomaker, CINC, USSOCOM (Quiet Professionals). Then there was Stormin' Norman and his wife in Tampa. A much lesser known regular passenger was Col. Phillip Stoneman, former MACV/SOG hitman.

I was blessed to have known these warrior generals. The politicians, I might just as well left them on the ground.
 
I had forgotten my experiences with Kris Kristofferson. He was best buds with my next door neighbor when we lived outside of Fort Worth (that was over 40 years ago), and he would stop by for a visit several times a year when he was in the area. We would sit in the neighbor’s back yard and drink beer when he came. The Neighbor was single and fairly wealthy, who spent much of his time at his house in Hawaii. He would often bring back interesting women. I remember one of them who looked a lot like Raquel Welch and liked to sunbathe nude in his back yard. Only a chain link fence separated our back yards. My wife was not too happy about that.

Red Steagall had a house on the same street at the same time, but about a block away from me. I would see him occasionally, but never met him. I think he was gone most of the time.
 
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When I was a kid, our neighbor was a former 2nd baseman for the Boston Red Sox. He lost a leg in an accident and became a scout for them. When the Red Sox were in town to play the White Sox, he would host a barbecue for the players and would invite some neighbors to attend. Since his wife and my mom were close friends, my family was always invited. I got to meet Ted Williams, Frank Malzone, Jackie Jensen, Jim Piersall, Billy Goodman, and Haywood Sullivan.
 
Some decades ago the then Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia dropped by the house during one of Dad's faculty parties. A few years later met John Atanasoff when he and Dad were in the state governor's office.
 
No doubt

Got to shake hands with Reggie Jackson. I met him in an operating room at Denver Children's Hospital. He was with the California Angels by then, and he was hanging out with a friend who just happened to be a surgeon on staff at the hospital. They just walked in to the O.R. we were working in and this surgeon walked around the room introducing everyone to Mr. Jackson. The most memorable part of it was the hand shake. His hands were twice the size of mine.
 
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