The Most Famous Person You've Met

My Dad was a moon goon Apollo through shuttle. Likewise I grew up in FL and TX moving there right after Johnson space center opened in the late sixties. So not only did I go to school with Armstrong's, Cunningham's etc, but I think I met most of the Apollo astronauts and then some (mostly coming to my school). I've met people here and there but most of the more memorable were as a kid including Nixon. I used to fly with mom who was a charter pilot and met an interesting flying friend of hers Wyatt Duzenbury who was a crew member on the Enola Gay. Later on a few bands in Houston including BOC, Humble Pie and before I left Houston I met Bum Phillips and Earl Campbell at a local burger joint. When I lived in Philly area I met Abby Hoffman at a party on the Delaware literally a day before he killed himself. Then there was Jessie Jackson I ran into in a elevator in Philly at a place I worked. Talk about uncomfortable... me, company CEO and Jessie Jackson and two huge packing bodyguards on an elevator ride. Sad thing is these days most of the "famous" people really worth meeting are dead. Lots of family & friends WWI and WWII vets I idolized as a kid are long since gone. One of the greatest men I ever met was my grandfather who was one of the few in his unit to survive the battle of the bulge and the blue ridge trail from Belgium to Germany. Today all that remains is memory and my 1940 luger (one of these days I will get dad to give up the P-38).
 
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policerevolvercollector said:
In no particular order:
Dalai Lama,
Richard Gere
Joel Grey
Diane Lane,
Barry Goldwater (via ham radio)
Bill Clinton
Mel Tillis
Al Gore
Janet Reno
Maya Angelou
Jimmy Carter
Cuba's VP under Castro
Lebanon's President in 1995
Robert Osborne from TCM
Patricia Neal
Parnell Roberts (Bonanza)
David Brinkley
Larry King
Michael Nouri
Cole Hauser ( a real gun guy)
Bo Derek
The cast of In the Heat of the Night (TV version)
Carl Weathers
Stacey Keach
The Grateful Dead w/ Jerry Garcia
R.Lee Ermey
Adam Baldwin
Sen.Max Cleland


More to follow as I remember them..............
Click to expand...

A few more came to mind......

Yes...10mm Auto. I have been on the job 29 years now and have had the opportunity to work extra jobs/security details for a lot of folks which,in turn,allowed me to have contact with other VIPs who were at these functions. I met a some of these people when they were in Atlanta for the Olympics in '96 or in town for other appearances etc.over the years.

Most of them were friendly & personable people. As with any segment of the human race,some were less than pleasant and carried themselves as if the rest of the world should stop and be in awe of them. A few were just plain jerks. But, they were certainly the exception NOT the rule!
 
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Majic Johnson at a corporate event
Peter Egan at a Moto GP event where I rode with him and dined with him
Bill Wilson and Ken Hackathorn at Berryville Bash of 2017
Richard Nixon, David and Julie Eisenhower in San Clemente in the late 70s
Paula Zahn at a corporate event
Los Lobos after a concert at Bass Hall Fort Worth
Orange County Choppers dad and two sons in Sturgis one year
Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale as a kid.
 
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Joe Foss when he was Governor of SoDak. He always stopped into dad's Texaco station for gas. Pappy Boyington at Buckley ANG Base ( before full AFB) aboard a CAF B-29 My old friend flew. Charlton Heston, shook hands with Him at the NRA Convention. Some less than famous; Jeff Cooper, Clint Smith, Jim Cirillo, Rudy Ruana, Ross Seyfried, Col. R.K. Brown and lastly Bob Lilly. Had a good conversation with Him at the NRA Convention in Dallas. Real super guy.
 
G. Gordon Liddy...if I told you where I would have to kill you (just joking) Downtown Denver, James Olmos...Stapleton Airport.
 
Jessie Owens, waited his table in a high end restaurant in early 70s. He gave me a $5 to get him a cigar and told me to keep the change.

Milton Berle, in the Quad Cities airport in early 80s, the place was almost empty at the time, very early morning. Had a nice chat with him.

Paul Ryan, at a work function where he gave a presentation. I actually know his brother fairly well, we worked for same company.
 
Got to spend a couple of days with Gregory Peck acting as his chauffeur as he was making the rounds of some charity events. Very gentle and nice man.

Bumped into Carol Shelby in a restaurant in southern California and chatted with him a bit.

Met Stirling Moss (my boyhood hero) right after he retires from F1 racing. He autographed a picture for me that I still have.

I bumped into (literally bumped into) Red Skelton as he was coming out of a toy store in San Francisco and I was going in. We collided and he dropped some packages which I helped pick up as I apologized. He was gracious and said no it was his fault. Wished each other Merry Christmas.

rolomac

rolomac
 
I met Joe Frazier when I was working Security at an Indian Casino in Northern California. Maybe in 1998.
Great friendly man and I got a chance to talk with him and shake his hand. He had very big hands.

DJ
 
Steve Largent, NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver that played for the Seahawks back in the 70's and 80's. He was in a Mexican restaurant in Kirkland WA. of all places. Had a very short conversation with him about how crowded the waiting room was. Took me awhile to realize who he was. Very few people recognized him. I finally ask the staff and they said I was right.

I don't get around very much but I do like Mexican food.;)
 
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I met a lot of rock bands/musicians in the early to mid 90's. Joan Jett, Victor DeLorenzo, Steve Harwell stand out as musicians that were really down to earth and would just sit down and talk to anyone.

Wolfgang Puck, worked as an intern in one of his restaurants for a few months.

For several years I volunteered at a large haunted house for charity that had some Hollywood involvement. There were some special effects gurus from movies like Aliens and Jurrasic Park but I don't remember their names. I did talk to Cherie Currie and Peter Weller several times. Both were friendly people but Cherie was like a mother hen and was really caring and intelligent. Amazing person.

In tennis, I met Michael Chang, Pete Sampras.
 
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POLITICIANS???

OK you don't have to bite my head off. :D J Carter & Bush sr, along with a bunch of other presidential also rans. Had a bit of a fling with a former NH governor's secretary, I'm sure I wasn't the only one & that she wasn't hired for her typing skills. ;)
 
Ronald Reagan - campaign '80
Jimmy Carter - my wife went to school with his daughter
Cary Grant - airport when I was a kid
Hank Aaron - went to school with his kids
Pappy Boyington
Buzz Aldrin
Wally Schirra
Lewis Grizzard - Fraternity Brother
 
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Well, I've read back through the posts. I still think knowing Charlie Sherrill is better than the poiticians. Sure would like to meet Gary Legros. Maybe even have a cold adult beverage with him. Other worthies would include Keith Brown. I don't care how blown up their own opinion of themselves is, I want real honest guys.
 
Well, this isn't going to get many likes, but Bill & Hillary (she was a bitch--he was nice) were the most famous, except for Tom Hanks, Bo Derek, Gary Sinise, Larry Csonka, John Unitas, and James Caan.

John Unitas was my favorite, because I grew up in the Baltimore Colts era.
 
Neil Armstrong when I was 8 (I think). He signed my Cub Scout book. I still have it. Isaac Asimov was there, too.

Met Toby McGuire a few years ago on the set of Brothers. We were trying to stay warm by a burn barrel while it was snowing.
 
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Burt Reynolds. He was shooting numerous scenes for his show in my town. Very approachable guy.
Couple of state Governors. Back when they would actually have a conversation with the common man. One lives in the area.
Ran into Jimmy Buffet in Key West. Outside of his place on the sidewalk. Chatted with me like a long lost friend.
 
I never actually met him, but Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were led past our table to a private dining room.

Tennessee Ernie Ford

Roger Staubach

Phil Mickelson

Hootie and the Blowfish

Ron White

Kevin Sorbo - Hercules

I missed Bill Murray in Charleston by about 5 mins.
 
At first as I read this thread I thought I haven't met that many famous people, but the more I thought about it the more people I remembered.

Roy Clarke at the National Stearman Fly-In in 1989.
Tom Baker, the fourth Dr.Who in Philly in 1987
Boxcar Willie when I was a little kid
Loretta Lynn a few years ago
Marty Stuart a couple of years ago
Captain Noah, the host of a long running kids show in Philly
Ron Jaworski of the Philadelphia Eagles
Frank Rizzo, legendary Philadelphia mayor
Irv "Evil Irv" Homer, Philly talk radio host
Stephen Coonts, author, back in 1988
R. Lee Ermey at several NRA conventions
Chip Foose at the auto body shop near my house
Wayne Carini at the AACA meet in Hershey
Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay
Robert Morgan, pilot of the Memphis Belle
Francis "Gabby" Gabreski, P47 fighter ace
Tex Hill of the Flying Tigers
James Burt, MoH recipient, 2nd Armored at Aachen
several Doolittle Raiders
several Blacksheep Squadron pilots
dozens of Tuskegee Airmen
Sen. Bob Dole, at Johns Hopkins a few years ago

I'm sure there's a few more I'm forgetting
 
My fishing partner. He says he's famous anyway. State champion bowler (both of us), dedicated husband, successful farmer/rancher, recognized wood segmenter/turner artist, wonderful father and grandfather. AND the best fishing partner I could ask for. If you don't believe me, just ask him!
 
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