Celebrities to whom you have been close enough to touch

[Darmund]

Perhaps interpreting "celebrity" rather loosely in some cases here, this is my list:

1. Douglas Adams. Met him at a book signing event at Tyson's Corner Mall in Virginia. He signed my copy of "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish." I asked him some dumb question about whether there would be any more Hitchhiker's books and he said no, he wanted to do something different. (circa 1986?)

2. Teresa Taylor aka Teresa Nervosa, former drummer for the Butthole Surfers. I saw them every chance I got in the mid to late 80's. One time after a show, she came up to me and asked me for a light for her cigarette! One of the highlights of my teenagehood. My friends were so jealous.

3. Robert Anton Wilson, author of the Illuminati Trilogy, and other fun things. I went to a panel discussion thing at UCSC in the early 90's where he was one of the speakers. The topic was something like "how technology affects humans" or something like that. Was an interesting night. Anyway, after the thing was over I had a chance to speak to him, was right there but chickened out due to my social anxiety. But still, I could have.

4. Nik Turner of Hawkwind, one of my favorite bands. One time at a show circa 1995 he came out into the crowd playing his sax and I actually did touch him. Jumped up and kissed his bald head, actually.

So those are the main celebrity encounters that I remember. Anybody else got some?

[Khampelf]

I've hung out after a concert with all of the members of The Damned, crammed into a booth at a Holiday Inn bar.

Robert B Parker, author of the Spenser series, at a book signing. He called security on me when I asked about Spenser's mother in the Q & A.

[Cochrane]

Jo Anne Worley of Laugh-In. This was in around 1974, some years after the show's end. She was appearing at a local shopping mall and stood around in the center court making herself available for handshakes. I got in line and shook her hand.

[Jaglavak]

Gorbachev once, shortly before the meltdown of the USSR. I was leaning on a wall in the Smithsonian and he came out of the Air & Space wing with a bunch of suits and walked right by me. Down the hall and through the next set of doors and that was that.

I walked past Weird Al Yankovic in a crosswalk once. It took me a minute to figure out who the heck he was, and by then he was gone.

Fred Goldman in an airport lobby. I thought about breaking the ice, but what do you say? Sorry your son was viciously murdered?

[SmartAleq]

Two tables away from Christine McVie in an LA restaurant.

George Harrison and Paul Newman, back in the day at SCCA races.

Book signings--Anne McCaffrey at Change of Hobbit in LA. Spoke to Peter S. Beagle somewhere in Sacramento, he signed a couple books and I got to tell him that a poem of his from "The Last Unicorn" is still being sung in the SCA to the tune of "Ash Grove." I sang him a verse to show that it really does work perfectly. He seemed rather pleased to know this.

[Chacoguy]

I was Ralph Nader's gopher for an evening.

[Flying Saucerian]

Angela Cartwright, Bill Mumy, and June Lockhart at a comics convention.

Harlan Ellison at a different comics convention.

Fred Grandy (Gopher from Love Boat) at a get-together for the company I work for. He's in charity work and was making an appearance. (And yes, I think Fred Grandy pretty much wins the thread for me...)

[Jaglavak]

I poured beer for Refrigerator Perry once. As usual I didn't even know who he was at the time. It was a busy Saturday night at the bar and this crew of freakin giants showed up. They stayed for a couple of beers and moved on. The dude had arms the size of my neck. Also quite a nice guy, fortunately.

[Pencil]

[former prez] Jimmy Carter. He signed a book for me*.
Goldie Hawn
Oprah
Siskel & Ebert

In did my internship at 720AM WGN.



*The Blood of Abraham

[JackieLikesVariety]

OMG you met Roger Ebert?

[James Otto Sweet Heart]

The last time that I got to see my most favorite female singer, Alison Krauss that is, she was hugging the person that was standing right in front of me because she personally knew the person.

God bless you and Alison and her camp always!!!

Holly (a fan of her since 1994)

P.S. The Saturday before Thanksgiving 2006 is when that all happened.

[AuntiePam]

Garth Brooks, before he got big, played at a small venue in Seattle. He walked around among the seated audience and sang part of "The Dance" with his crotch about a foot from my face.

Clarence Gatemouth Brown, also at a small place in Seattle -- after the first set (it was around midnight), my son said he had to leave so he could make it to work the next day. We passed Gatemouth sitting at the bar as we were walking out, and he nodded at me. I wanted to explain why I was leaving early. My 20-year-old kid can't keep up!

[timbicile]

Had a beer with former heavyweight champion of the world Leon Spinx.Total idiot.

[Darmund]

I also met Harrod Blank a couple times. He's the guy who made the movie and wrote the book about "art cars". He used to shop at the thrift store I worked at in Santa Cruz. (I think it was in the film, actually.) Not sure if he counts as a celebrity though, since I don't think too many people have heard of him.

[stormie]

Originally Posted by Pencil

[former prez] Jimmy Carter. He signed a book for me.

Me too me too me too! And the woman in front of me had a bunch of papers, and the suits told her not to talk to him, and she did, and he did, and I don't even think he looked at me because he was so involved in their conversation. Which made me because I am a great admirer of his post-presidency activities.

Oh, and I was on a bus with John Waters. It was very strange. I had muscle problems at the time and couldn't walk or stand unsupported on a moving bus. I was heading to a seat when the bus started, so rather than fall down I held a pole in a death grip. John Waters got up from his seat to leave at the next stop. Normally I would have moved aside to let him pass. I had to explain that if I tried to move before the bus stopped, I would fall. So we stood there facing each other at a distance of less than a foot for a minute or so. I think I made John Waters uncomfortable.

[Pencil]

Originally Posted by JackieLikesVariety

OMG you met Roger Ebert?

And Gene Siskel.

This was before they went nation wide*, I guess - '85. WGN radio and TV was in a nondescript boring building on Addison St. in Chicago. A few years later the radio station moved to the entrance floor of the Tribune building.

IIRC radio was on the second floor and TV on the ground floor. Their was a cafeteria right next to the main entrance, where I stumbled into these guys. I guess there were more celebs, but I was fresh off the boat and didn't recognize a whole lot.

I remember peeking into the At the Movies studio, which was set up permanently. It was a faux movie theatre - built with a forced perspective to appear to give it more depth than it actually had. It was actually kinda tiny, I guess 30 ft by 30. I'm not sure but I think the movie screen was actually a green screen.

*WGN was on cable, so I guess they were nation wide, to an extent.

[Archangel]

When I was in high school I sat in Keith Richards' seat at a Duran Duran concert and gave him the finger when he asked me to move.

Judge Judy is the mother of one of my husband's good friends so we've been with her socially a few times.

And in 2007 I pushed myself to the front of the stage and held hands with Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs. He was my teenage idol.

I also used to cover New York Fashion Week for blogs about ten years ago. I have met numerous designers, spoke to and took a picture with Tim Gunn, and stood next to Kelly Osbourne backstage at a Betsey Johnson show.

[Zeener Diode]

Lou Rawls, in 1980 at the Portland Marriott. I was working the slow shift when he came in. I poured his coffee and stood there chatting for a second before a couple of star-struck women hit him up for autographs.

Another time I was setting up for a charity event at community college when a little guy showed up, asking questions about the event. Said his name was Ronald McDonald. It didn't click until I saw him in costume. Yep, it was the clown from the commercials.

[Monstera deliciosa]

I was a museum guard in New York, so quite a few.

We weren't supposed to speak to celebrities unless they spoke to us first, so I spoke with the following: Jack Palance, Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, Sid Caeser. Diane Keaton's friend asked for directions, while she stood there.

Didn't speak to, but observed: Martha Stewart, (she got so close that she violated my personal space) Sean Connery, Richard Belzer, William Shatner, Salma Hayek, Bebe Neuwirth, Morgan Fairchild, Leonard Maltin, Barbara Barrie, Bill Blass, Woody Allen, Hugh Grant, Tracy Ullman (the last 3 were filming in the museum when it was closed) Kitty Carlise Hart, Nicolas Cage (much better looking in person than on film) Darryl Hannah, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Randall, Diahann Carroll.

Unrelated to the museum: Robert Cray signed my CD.

[SmartAleq]

Oh, forgot--got a hug from Michael Franti at a concert out at McMenamin's Edgefield. He takes a lap around the venue because it's a big old sloping field of lawn and I put myself in the way when he got huggy. He's very tall and very muscular and very raawwr!

[TheChileanBlob]

I met Ricky Skaggs after a concert and got a hug.

I had Triple H slap my hand in a long line of other hands. I've taken pictures with X-pac, Jake the Snake, and Diamond Dallas Page. Bull Buchanan was the star of my local indie promotion, and is now a cop in my town. I'm facebook friends with him and have pictures of him holding my grandson.

[James Otto Sweet Heart]

^^^ I got to meet Ricky Skaggs too, but I was only five years old then.

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

[teela brown]

I was lucky enough to score a couple of tickets to see Prince at a small nightclub right after the American Music Awards in, I think, 1988. It was during his "Sign o' the Times" tour. The club had no assigned seating and you could wander around. At one point, I stood at the edge of the little stage away over to the right, where the roadie was in charge of Prince's famous peach-colored guitar. Prince came over to change instruments and for a moment he was about four feet from me.

I heard a few days ago that they were auctioning off one of his pairs of high-heeled boots, some yellow ones, and I broke down unexpectedly.

At that same concert, I sat at the same long table with Jackson Brown and Darryl Hannah. I also stood right next to Mick Fleetwood when I went down to stand right in front of the stage, though I didn't know who he was at the time - my friend told me about it afterwards. I stood in line for the ladies' room with Whoopi Goldberg right behind me.

[Clothahump]

Al Stewart and his lead guitarist Dave Nachmanoff.
Elizabeth Montgomery
Richard Nixon when he was VP
Chuck Norris
Micheal Hedges
Penn and Teller

[James Otto Sweet Heart]

^^^ When did you get to see Chuck Norris? Walker, Texas Ranger is one of my most favorite TV shows!

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

[Cochrane]

Originally Posted by Pencil

And Gene Siskel.

This was before they went nation wide*, I guess - '85. WGN radio and TV was in a nondescript boring building on Addison St. in Chicago. A few years later the radio station moved to the entrance floor of the Tribune building.

IIRC radio was on the second floor and TV on the ground floor. Their was a cafeteria right next to the main entrance, where I stumbled into these guys. I guess there were more celebs, but I was fresh off the boat and didn't recognize a whole lot.

I remember peeking into the At the Movies studio, which was set up permanently. It was a faux movie theatre - built with a forced perspective to appear to give it more depth than it actually had. It was actually kinda tiny, I guess 30 ft by 30. I'm not sure but I think the movie screen was actually a green screen.

*WGN was on cable, so I guess they were nation wide, to an extent.

Their show, initially called Sneak Previews, began airing nationally on PBS in 1977. I remember watching them since way back then.

[tunaman]

There's a venue in Atlanta (the Buckhead Theatre, formerly the Buckhead Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, and Coca-Cola Roxy) where the backstage door is on a public street. I met Bryan Ferry and Henry Rollins just hanging out by the door after their shows. They signed autographs and hung out for some time. On the other hand, Cocteau Twins walked right past everyone and on to their bus, all snooty-like. Love and Rockets did their 1985 US tour on a Winnebago, which was parked behind the venue. I hung out with them after the show, drinking a few beers (I was 14) and scribbling on the Winnebago with a Sharpie.

A few years later, a friend fast-talked us into the after-show party following a Front 242 concert. I had several beers with Jean-Luc De Meyer, and worked up the courage to ask for an autograph... but while I had a Sharpie, I didn't have any paper, not even a scrap. So he autographed my jeans. After a few more beers, he asked for the Sharpie, and started doodling on my jeans. Before it was over, the whole band had decorated my Levis!

Renowned mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli did a show at Emory University in 1995. I called the university box office to order tickets, which came in the mail a few days later. Despite having no connection to the university (other than "a few friends went there"), I got an invite to the after-party a few days after that. I met her - she signed my invite - and got a picture with her. To this day, I don't know how\why I got the invite.

I met Jimmy Carter, P.J. O'Rourke and Anne Rice at book signings.

My dad was a season ticket holder for the Atlanta Hawks for decades, and I have a ton of autographs of players from the late 70s\early 80s from various meet & greets.

My parents once owned a vacation condo in Vero Beach, Florida, which was the home of the LA Dodgers spring training for decades. We used to go to this ice cream shop - Swensen's - at least once a week. One of our little "traditions" was that mom & I would look for new flavors in the ice cream case while dad paid the bill. One time, we were doing just that, and dad called us to leave. My mom and I immediately turned to leave... and ran smack into Dodgers' first baseman Steve Garvey, almost knocking him over. We apologized, but he said it was OK, with that toothy grin that made him such a hunk in the early 80s.

[Solfy]

A few years ago I took Eldest Solfyette to meet "Lemony Snicket" (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) at a lecture and book signing. He was very funny and a fabulous accordion player to boot. Eldest got her book signed, and asked if she could get a picture with him. He said, "Sure. Stand beside the strange man. What's the worst that could happen?" I like his sense of humor.

[tunaman]

Originally Posted by Solfy

He said, "Sure. Stand beside the strange man. What's the worst that could happen?" I like his sense of humor.

A sad sign of the times: there's an Australian kids band called The Wiggles. They always make the "finger guns" gesture in all their pictures (examples). Officially, they do this 'cos it's their trademark "thing". Unofficially, they do it so that their hands are clearly visible in all photographs, and they won't get sued for groping some random kid.

[Clothahump]

Originally Posted by James Otto Sweet Heart

^^^ When did you get to see Chuck Norris? Walker, Texas Ranger is one of my most favorite TV shows!

I was an extra in his movie Sidekicks. I've also met him at a couple of ATA tournaments where he was a special guest.

[James Otto Sweet Heart]

^^^ Awesome! Was he nice?

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

[Darmund]

Bumping this because I had a minor brush with reflected greatness today. I met Lou Rawls' second cousin at work! Very nice fella. He shook my hand like 3 times, and seemed very pleased that I recognized the name.

[What Exit?]

David Crosby at the Stone Pony, back around 1990. I called out for Guennivere and he said tomorrow at another venue.

Bruce Springsteen at the Stone Pony, I was part of a human wall blocking the stage that night.

I got to be a stagehand for Arlo Guthrie on a concert in New York City on one of the old piers. I got to carry his guitar and then an amp.

That same weekend I was in a meeting with Pete Seeger about the future of the Sloop clubs for Hudson River Clearwater. That was the coolest one we are on board the Wavertree at South Street Seaport. The tree wasn't open to the public yet but Pete being Pete got permission to use it.

Partied with Peter Tork at Clearwater Festival. Peter is a folk singer besides being far better known as a Monkee.

Worked a booth with Geraldo of all people at another one.

When Star Trek IV was being filmed on my ship, USS Ranger, I shook hands with Walter Koenig (Chekov) and he signed my Star Trek RPG book next to his picture.

[Clothahump]

Originally Posted by James Otto Sweet Heart

^^^ Awesome! Was he nice?

Holly

Sorry about the delay in responding. Yes, he is a very nice guy.

[Clothahump]

I can't believe I forgot to add this guy to my original list: Grandmaster Bong Soo Han. He was the fight choreographer in the Billy Jack movie and its sequel (he had an acting role in that one). But you may know him best as the evil Dr. Klahn in the Kentucky Fried Movie segment A Fistful Of Yen.

He bought dinner for me and a group of friends in Las Vegas 25 some-odd years ago.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

...
George Harrison and Paul Newman, back in the day at SCCA races.
...

Did you get to talk to them at all? Both seemed really interesting.



I also got to shake hands with Bill Bradley and got him to sign a Topps Basketball card from his playing days. Many lesser known politicians over the years but he was the highlight by far.

Many, many lesser known musicians who probably don't really count as Celebs. I got to meet the Spin Doctors, a friend was one of the original members babies sitters and they did a fund raiser for us as they were making their rise.

Sonny Rhodes who no one has heard of but if you liked that show Firefly, Sonny wrote the theme to it. He was one of the best Blues musicians no one ever heard of.

[James Otto Sweet Heart]

Originally Posted by Clothahump

Sorry about the delay in responding. Yes, he is a very nice guy.

Its okay. Thank you for writing back.

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

[Bro]

Stood in line to get on a plane next to Stuart Scott once. Didn't realize it until later when I thought about it.

That's about it. Unless you count CEOs of my former employer, though why would you?

[Ludovic]

I've been in the front row at dozens of concerts at the very small Social in Orlando which is standing room only and like 4 rows deep at max, but the only bands that are famous enough to be considered "celebrities" I've seen there are Dashboard Confessional* and Fountains of Wayne. Played a boardgame with Dave Arneson, a co-creator of D+D, but didn't realize it till afterward.

*Actually I've seen Chris Carrabba, singer/one man band for them, at The Social 4 times, 2 as Dashboard, once with his original group Further Seems Forever, and once with his Americana outfit Twin Forks.

[tunaman]

Oh... I don't know if he counts as a "celebrity" or not, but I once almost ran into (like, physically ran into) Dick Gephardt at Reagan National. I was walking, trying to find the Metro station, he was wrangling with some bags. Neither of us was paying attention to what was going on around us. I almost ran straight into him.

[teela brown]

I once had pug dogs, and liked to go to dog shows to check out the pretty pugs on parade.

Once, I arrived late to a specialty pugs-only show. I needed to get a program, and couldn't find the program table. I must have looked a little flustered, because a kind gentleman stepped forward to help and directed me to the right place.

He was Paul Winfield. I knew who he was, because not only did I recognize his face, but I knew he was a pug breeder. "Shakespeare Pugs" was the name of his kennel, and his beautiful champion black pug was named Othello.

Super nice guy. RIP.

[RealityChuck]

I go to (and run) various science fiction conventions, so I've seen (and met) many SF writers. Some include Neil Gaiman, Michael O'Hare, Harlan Ellison, Hal Clement, Samuel R. Delany, Octavia Butler, Isaac Asimov, Steven Erickson, George R. R. Martin, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, David Drake, Kathe Koja, Terry Pratchett, Gene Wolfe, Raymond F. Feist, Moebius, Terry Brooks, Terry Carr, Nancy Kress, Larry Niven, Anne McCaffrey, David Weber, Pamela Sargent, George Zebrowski, and many others.

[krisolov]

Met and played in a game run by Gary Gygax as part of a gaming convention. Met most of the early TSR crowd as a young teenager. Gamed with MAR Barker in Tekumel which was a mind blowing experience. Visited Steve Jackson Games in Austin in the late 80s, met Steve and the guys.

Hung out between sets with Southern Culture on the Skids, got my pic with each of them. Super cool folks! Rick is tall.

Met Al Schnier of moe. in the beer garden at a festival.

Caught a set list thrown by Joel Cummins of Umphreys Mcgee at a show recently.

Met some governors and legislators semi regularly for work. Generally good people believe it or not.

[James Otto Sweet Heart]

I saw country singer Trace Adkins last night at the Grainger County Tomato Festivial and he was awesome just like all of the other times that I have been able to catch him! I didn't get to meet him, but out of all the other times that I have seen him, I met him twice. He is one whole foot higher than me.

God bless you and Trace always!!!

Holly (a day one fan of him)

P.S. Trace is six feet and six inches tall.

[Satellite^Guy]

I got the autographs of three of the four members of Metallica, the day after the Moncton concert of their Snake Pit tour about 1992(?). Was hanging out with a couple friends, waiting for the dad of one of them to get off work, next door to the hotel Metallica were staying at. Saw a crowd at one of the hotel doors, and realized the band must've been staying there, and on their way out. Friends and I ran over just in time to see Newstead's back as he walked by, so I missed getting his 'graph. Got Hammett, Hetfield, and Ulrich's marks, then they loaded into the limo to the airport.

The evening before the Parlee Beach concert in 1993, I went with some friends to the tailgate party at a bar in Moncton, where I met the drummer for Def Leppard, and the singer of Ugly Kid Joe, among a few others who were going to be playing the show.

Sat with the members of The Tragically Hip one night at Fat Tuesday's in Moncton. Apparently, they were wandering, looking for a place to have a drink, but couldn't get into some of the other bars because they were wearing steel toe boots. It was an open mike jam night, so I tried to convince them to get up and play a song or two, but no dice. This would've also been early-mid nineties.

[Nonny J. Nonnington III]

I've had CDs signed by a number of singer/songwriters whose music is important to me, but who are only known to a small subset of the listening public, so no point in listing them here.

Book signings:

Tom Robbins: Still Life with Woodpeckers
Leontyne Price: Aida
Ansel Adams: Photographs of the Southwest

Ansel Adams was my first book signing when I was fresh out of college. We were given slips of paper to jot down what we wanted him to write. I was still mulling this over when the couple in front of me asked him to write "To Bob and Alice on their 20th anniversary". I was still chuckling when it was my turn, thinking that this couple was going to try to pass off this book as a special gift to them from their dear friend Ansel. I just asked him to sign and date his inscription. He saw that I was amused at something, grinned back and put a question mark under his inscription. From that day on, whenever I ask someone to autograph something I just ask for their signature - they don't know me, and my name has no place there.

As for celebs encountered in non-arranged circumstances - I am so oblivious it would completely pass me by. I got off a plane once with my father and brother only to have them tell me that we were traveling with the Boston Celtics. My wife, on the other hand, was always aware of her surroundings. She was with her cousin in NYC one time and spotted someone or other. Her cousin told her to ignore them and move on. "They have a right to their own life. We don't bother them here." Words to live by.

[hilarity n. suze]

Kind of like Reality Chuck only mystery conventions so I've met/drunk with/eaten with/played poker with Michael Connolly, the late Joan Hess (she was fun), Don Winslow, the late Sue Grafton (very nice person but kind of a blurb whore*), Lee Child (another blurb whore, sorry Lee), Laura Lippmann, Jan Burke, Stephen White, Craig Johnson who brought LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS along, Walter Mosley who bought me coffee, Parnell Hall who is a hoot in person, Laurell K. Hamilton, Diana Gabaldon, OSCAR WINNER JOHN RIDLEY, but way before he was an Oscar winner (when he had written a mystery. He was going to show me and a couple of other peoples at our publisher's dinner an actual Milwaukee [Milwaukee? Anyway someplace in Wisconson] speak-easy but it was closed) and of course a whole bunch of people none of whom will remember me (but some of them will).

*She was going to blurb my next book. This was about 2004. Too bad I never finished that next book.

[SisterCoyote]

At Cons: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Ruth Connell (almost walked into her and she is tiny!), Osric Chau (Dressed as wossname the Mother of Dragons no less: hooray Supernatural cons and Karaoke Fridays), Adrian Paul and Roger Daltrey. J. Michael Straczynski, Bill Mumy (saw his band perform, too), Claudia Christian (multiple times, not always at cons), Stephen Furst, John DeLancie

At the L.A. County Fair: Richard Hatch

Randomly, including at concerts: John Taylor (Duran Duran) and Gerry Laffy, also inadvertently Amanda deCadenet Taylor

As part of my working life: Warwick Davies, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, Micky Dolenz, some L.A. and O.C. news anchors and broadcasters in the early 90s, some others who I either don't remember or never knew their names only that other people lost their shit about who I'd just been helping. Also, J.K. Rowling and that was hands down the worst day of my working life no bullshit. Not her fault, but her fans' and our management's.

At various LA Events: Gabriel Jarret (Who actually touched me when I slipped on a set of stairs and he caught me; he was talking to a friend of mine who he'd gone to high school with) (Not, like "OMG HE TOUCHED ME" just saying), Alan Ruck, and Keanu Reeves

I sat between two basketball players on a Southwestern flight between Oakland and Reno a few years back but I don't know their names

Shook hands with one of the horn players from Earth, Wind, and Fire, also in an airport

[SisterCoyote]

(Oh, and glory-by-proxy -- a friend so impressed Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop with her Frodo-in-Orc-armor cosplay that he invited her to come for a tour of the shop in NZ.)

[SNFaulkner]

Sammo Hung signed my birth certificate (because it was all I had on me to sign)

I trained with Benny The Jet for a few years, and have been personally punched, kicked and thrown by him.

I met one of those annoying teenagers that was a wolf in one of those twilight movies.

I had thai food in a booth next to Zed/Red Foot from Pulp Fiction/Usual Suspects.

I had a gig installing some Dell servers at United Artists building in Century City. While waiting in the lobby for my contact to meet me, I sat directly across from Al Pacino.

I grovelled at the feet of Dave Brockie (lead singer of GWAR, RIP) and asked him for a job at a rave at Qtopoia/Vanguard in Hwood. He was playing with his solo punk band (sans monster costumes) in the small room. He told me he could barely afford to pay himself. I thanked him for his time and shook his hand then proceeded to roll my nuts off.

I was a professional extra for a few years in my early days of living in Hwood, and I'm sure there are dozens of other celebrities I've seen on set, but none of them are sticking out in my memory right now.