JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum What famous people or celebrities have you met?

I'll bet a lot of us have met famous people or celebrities. Anyone care to share?
You can include "got to stand next to" in the context of meeting.

Spent a few hours,today, with Steve Azar. Met Pete Best and hung out with Mark Farner. Met Mickey Rooney when I was a kid. Joe Theisman and Terry Bradshaw a while ago and spent a few days with Roy Rogers. Hung out (ha) with John Wayne Bobbitt and G Gordon Liddy at a nudie bar and cooked chicken for Willard Scott.

I'm also proud to say that I've met JPF founder Brian Austin Whitney and shared a stage with John Daubert and Tom Tracy.

Celebrity: "A person of distinction" I think most of us fit that bill!

actually met-none/nada/zero

see folks here and there in Nashville but honestly havent met anyone face to face.........

someday......I have only been here 4 years-lol...

Tom

Jean,

I've had the opportunity to spend some time with quite a few of the mega country stars from a few years ago. If I mentioned all of them by name, it would sound like I'm name dropping and bragging. Don't want to do that. So I'll just mention a couple that stand out.

Back in August of 2008 I got to spend about half an hour with Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrell. I had met Dolly a couple of times before. But that was the first time I had ever met Barbara. And Dolly is just as crazy in person as she is on stage. Crazy in a good way, I mean.

I got to met Paul Simon back in the 70s. When I was in the Army, I was an optician, except when I was in Vietnam. I fitted General (the Colonel) Colin Powell with a pair of glasses.

I got to spend the better part of an afternoon with Willy Nelson bacl in 1979.

There were quite a few others, but those stand out.

Alan

PS: I forgot to mention Mike Dunbar. Now, there's a class act you can brag about spending some time with.

Back in the '80's I visited Nashville for the CMA Awards..& was TRYING to co-write with a gal from Tampa (Sandy Lee) up in her hotel room..but the party nextdoor was SO loud, we went over to Inspect & got invited-in. 3 Country-Couples/fair amount of booze-flowin', & those were the days "Snakeskin Boots" were "in"... I noticed all the gents were wearin' 'em. No Names were exchanged, but they asked Sandy & I to sing 'em "Our Latest" & we did so. The "Leader" of the Party insisted they were just Outta Towners havin' some fun...& "nicely" stuffed dollar bills in Sandy's clothing as she played. Got a pretty good hand for performin' "I Like Sweaty Women" that night...& after "The Leader-Guy" sang what he thought "oughta be Our Next Hit" (the phrase Rubber A$$ Holes was sprinkled throughout/& all 3 couples were having Tons of Fun with us that evening/it was mutual)..& we exited the party soon-after. Next day at the CMA's his pic was projected several times on the walls..as a Past Winner. We'd just partied-down with Billy Edd Wheeler..."Coward of the County" and "Jackson"'s Writer...not-knowing it..the Night Before.

I invented a Clock based on Celebrity Autographs back in the '80's..& it "connected" me with Mel "Bugs Bunny" Blanc. Still got 4-5 handwritten "Critiques" of my wares on Bugs Bunny Stationery he kindly sent me...among my Souveniers...& had a nice steak dinner with him at his son, Noel's Rodeo Drive Home one afternoon long-ago.

Met/Befriended Ray Calhoun..Gap Band's Drummer/#1 R&B Writer for "Outstanding"...at a phone booth, same trip to L.A.--Spent an afternoon listening to each other's stuff/he took me "around"..includin' gettin' me thru the gates of A&M Music's compound (Now Jim Henson's Enterprises..last trip out)..where he pointed out the kinda Fat Guy across the compound was the author of "Car Wash"...

Rented 3 lamps to the COCOON Movie, via Set Director Jim Duffy..& got to watch 'em film The Pool Scene & push "Pods" around in the pool to help set up the scene. Made $1100 from the Rental/got to chat with Don Ameche for almost an hour (really nice guy!) and spent another 20 minutes listening to Bill Brimley tell a young gal stand-in one of the dirtiest jokes I can remember... & got to watch Ron Howard direct the scene (too-busy to meet anybody that day, alas..) Stayed at Jim's place in Sherman Oaks several trips out...his Partner was Ted Lake...Set Director for "Fantasy Island".."Lime Street"..etc...

Jim got me onto Paramount Pic's Back-Lot..fascinating place..& into their Prop House...talk about incredible Antiques! Tiptoed all over the Dukes of Hazard Set..(There were smashed up "General Lee's" all over the place...& he got me onto the "Goonies" Set that was just bein' completed..in one of the biggest sound-stages in Hollywood that ya could flood with water. (& was about to be an Expensive Turkey..heh!)

I got a nice Hug from Susan Gibson..thanks to a JPF "Awards Show" a few years back, & met Brian originally at a PineyFest gathering near-Nashville, ages-ago...(He's still one of the Nicest Guys I've Ever Met in the Music Biz.) Thanks to Bobbie Gallup I've also met Barbara Cloyd, "Gatekeeper" to the Bluebird Cafe...& met Tom Long (ASCAP former pres) on an '80's outing long-ago. (Whose observation that "Some day you're gonna write something Really Different" still keeps me at-it...heh!)

I've stayed friends with Western Swing artist Gene Allen for almost 2 decades now...& met Jim Stafford backstage in Branson thanks to Gene. Jim..& his family-member-studded-show out there..is also a Really Inspirational Guy.

And..I once literally snuck-into The Stones "No Security Tour" & sauntered up to a front-row stage left seat, where I could hear Keith Richards' strings hittin' the frets. Winked at Keith & he winked BACK.... Dunno if that COUNTS as "Meeting"...but it sure was a "Career High-Point"...heh!

I was a security guard at concerts and I got to meet Lionel Richies first wife,Steve Winwood & Rick Neilson,the guitar player from Cheap Trick.
Jim Mason from our Tampa Bay Chapter whom produced Fire Fall,worked with John Lennon and taught Eric Clapton how to use a coke machine.
Fett,a Nashville recording wizard and his Wife Nancy Moran.
Danny Arena & Sara Light from Song U.
Brian Austin Whitney.
Brad Carlton,world class guitar player currently working with Stacy Knight,playing Jazz.

I've opened for a number of them..But quite a few of them I didn't get to meet because either I had to leave immediately to another gig, or their contract rider required that the backstage area be cleared during their performance. Among some of the cooler people I've met..Bootsy Collins, Dave Mason, Dream Theater,ELO,{Sans Jeff Lynne} April Wine, Rik Emmitt of Triumph, Todd Snider, Lonnie Mack, John Mayall,
Johnny Neel {Allman Brother's Band} Randy California {R.I.P}
Yes, I have met Mr Whitney in the flesh, as well as Derek Sivers from CDBaby.
Probably my fave {no offense to everyone else mentioned} was George Wendt of "Cheers" fame. He wasn't too far removed from his "Norm" character, and he was a blast to hang out with!

I had a good friend who was on the Indiana University concert board and then went on to work for Sunshine Promotions, which was THE concert promotion company in the Midwest back in the 80's, so I used to get backstage for a lot of concerts. I got to meet quite a few artists, but they were mostly "Hi, nice to meet you, goodbye" type things, so I won't count those.

Later I went to work for the Trinity Broadcasting Network where I met and worked with quite a few B-list celebrities like Gavin McLeod and Demond Wilson, as well as most of the big-name TV preachers. I even had breakfast one morning with Rosey Grier and Meadowlark Lemon.

I currently work at a hotel, where I have met a few celebs such as American Idol's William Hung and Prince's former protegee Denise Matthews (AKA Vanity), who is still one of the most attractive women I have ever laid eyes on.

There are three celebrity encounters that really stand out for me. The first was when I met Bob Euchre. My first job after college was working in the sales department of a small radio outlet in northeast Indiana. We were negotiating with the White Sox to carry their games, so the organization sent me to Chicago. I watched a game against the Milwaukee Brewers from Eddie Einhorn's private box. (Glass enclosed, air-conditioned, with a private bar and bartender. Now THAT's the way to watch a game.) Anyway, after the game, I got to go to the player's lounge, where I sat at the bar with Brewer announcer Bob Euchre, who was regaling a small crowd with tales of his days as a player. He was probably the funniest person I ever had the pleasure of meeting.

The next big encounter occurred at a science fiction convention where I sat at a bar with Jonathon Harris, who played Dr. Zachary Smith on "Lost in Space." He told me an incredibly funny story about helping Arnold Schwarzenegger to speak better English which ended with the very precisely enunciated phrase "... and the son-of-a b%#ch has never said 'Thank you'". I literally laughed until I cried.

The third, and most important encounter, occurred in 1993 or 1994 when Dr. Timothy Leary gave a presentation on "How to Operate Your Brain" at a local college. I attended the lecture and sat just a few rows from the stage. As he spoke, I remember thinking about what a good speaker he was, and how it felt like he was talking just to me. When the presentation was over, several people came up to me and asked if Dr. Leary knew me. I said no, and they all pointed out that he WAS talking directly to me.

I attended a meet & greet afterward, and when I when I finally got to really meet him, Dr. Leary asked me to sit down and we had a very nice talk. He told me that he thought I was the only person in the auditorium who "got" his message. We talked about other authors and philosophers and he treated me like a friend.

Wow, I've never done so much name dropping in my life.

Met Tony Levin when he was having a smoke outside the concert hall in Edinburgh (We were making sure we missed the Smiths (he had no idea how to wear a cardigan!) who were backing Peter Gabriel)- so down to earth and such a nice guy. He spent ages talking to us. We took a wrong turning leaving after the concert and ended up outside the dressing room. PG pushed by and went straight in, but who was there giving of his time!

Spoke to Frank Gambale after a concert where he had no effect pedals as they hadn't arrived on the plane. He kept saying "Was I OK?". Again, so down to Earth and modest - and he had been brilliant!

Shook hands and mumbled embarrisingly to Jan Akkerman, my ultimate hero. Incredibly strong hand shake and as fit as a fiddle for his age!! Played note for note and less improvisation as in the past. If you get the chance, see him.

Spoke to Ralph McTell - great acoustic guitarist and songwriter. His "Streets of London" sold more sheet music than any other song. Once passed him an Billy Connolly before a concert - they were having a good laugh and the language was choice as you can imagine!

Sat at a restaurant table in Dublin next to Keifer Sutherland. He eventually had quite a bit of whisky! I wanted to talk to him but my wife would not let me. Seemed lonely. Told a mate about the evening and he wrote a song about it that was played on Scottish radio - a bit roundabout but I suppose!!!

Also spoke to Isaac Guillory a few times. Sadly now passed away. A very nice guy.

My sister was kissed by Cat Stevens - does that count!!!?

Over the years I have met quite a few but as far a decent chats and beers etc go it’s:
Nils Lofgren
Neil Innes (Bonzos/Rutles)
John Lees (Barclay James Harvest) – with John I actually went to his house and studio and he let me play his guitars

And last but not least Brian Austin Whitney – and yes he was wearing the hat

At a local event in Shreveport, I was able to say hi and photograph John Goodman and James Burton once. Also, was able to photograph Amanda Shaw a year ago-she's a local celebrity. All the other famous people, I'm not at liberty to say because it'd be a HIPA violation (that's a governmental privacy protection law).

Rikki Rockett of Poison (real name Rick Ream)
Followed Ted Nugent at an open mic (the ladies who accompanied him got up on the stage and danced with me during my performance)
Played basketball with former NY Jets place-kicker Pat Leahy

Some of the bigger ones that stand out.
Harry Connick Jr. (flew with him and his band on a flight out of Atlanta one day. Nice guy. )
I used to work backstage catering and film set catering in Minneapolis and Chicago so had the opportunity to meet a lot of people that way. Luther Vandross and EnVogue. Catered for them breakfast, lunch and dinner for two straight weeks.
John Kapelos (the janitor from The Breakfast Club.)
Shemar Moore. He's on Criminal Minds now.
Tommy Stinson at a music store in Minneapolis.
When I lived in Chicago I lived a couple blocks away from The Old Towne Ale House. The biggest hole in the wall dive bar you ever could imagine but a lot of celebrities would hang out there to get away from the tourist crowds so met plenty there.
Met John Entwistle once. He must have been having a bad day. lol

I met Brian Austin Whitney!

Well,
I have an Autograph of Lefty Frizzell, Hank Locklin and Boxcar Willie. Can't say I actually met them as it was at their show.

So far no famous celebrites have met me either!

The 'Man in Motion' Rick Hansen (that was extremely meaningful to me); Tommy Hunter, Pierre Trudeau, Dawn Langstroth, Barbara Livingston, tons of opera singers & a few conductors, quite a few successful songwriters/songwriting teachers like Ralph Murphy, John Braheny, Pat Pattison....

Mick Fleetwood-

The band was having a musical yard sale about 15 years ago and I ended up buying a couple of Mick's old drum kits ( a Tama Artstar and a beautiful DW kit). He wasn't at the sale, but his manager took my number and said that he would have Mick call me to sign the drums. "yeah...right" I said to myself.

A couple of weeks later, the manager called to invite me to bring the drums to the studio where he was recording, so that Mick could sign them. WOW! I couldn't get there fast enough. He came out during a break, and started to sign each drum shell for me. I thought he might only sing the drum heads, but HE suggested we pull the heads, so that he could sign the inside of each shell. How cool is that!

I remember being a bit of a smart a*s, saying something like "Hey Mick, remember that it's bass...snare...boom...bap", or something similar. He asked his manager to bring him an extras bass drum head (28" diameter!) and he signed:

`Thanks for the drum lesson'...and signed it, `Mick Fleetwood'. To this day, I can still say that I gave Mick a lesson and I have the signed head to prove it. LOL!

In the early 90's I was driving a cab in Philly when Yes was doing their "everybody who ever was in the band" tour. One night (a day before the Philly show) another cabbie yelled at me that they needed cabs behind the Spectrum (which we were just outside of). I slid back there and was in a line of ten cabs when all of them (YES) came out from a rehearsal. I saw John, Trevor, the whole shebang... Well it turns out my cab was assigned to Rick Wakeman (each took a separate cab - I guess someone forgot to order the Limo's) who proceeded to fill my trunk with a HUGE set of Golf Clubs. Then placed a HUGE-R keyboard in the back seat. and set up front in the passenger seat next to me. Rick is 6'5" and in the tight Cab his knees were up around his ears. We chatted a bit while driving to the hotel. As it happened I had just been learning to play Roundabout so I asked him about it and what it was really about. He said "nothing, it's just a bunch of words that sounded good" Anyway, it was a pleasant ride I found out he was going to be golfing at a ritzy nearby course the next afternoon, though I couldn't tell him much about it. When we arrived at his hotel there were fans mobbing the car while we tried to unload it... The fare was $9.90. He gave me $11.

I have more but that'll do for now...

LOL, a dollar and a dime tip. How did you spend it?

Steve - how cool and hilarious! Mick sounds like a really neat person.

I spent a half hour or so with Steven Tyler 4-5 years ago....nope...very innocent...HA. He was very nice...so was his wife and kids. He's alot smaller man that you would think...very down to earth as well...was very nice to me. I had to help get him out a back door finally when a crowd began to form...( I was working for Disney) My husband met Johnny Depp...I just missed him.....darn! Guess he was a very quiet, polite guy.

I've met tons of country stars, because I would be back stage when my sons opened for them all. Sure...I could tell you who the nicest ones are and which ones are the jerks...but I won't.
Well, I WILL tell you that Trace IS one of the nicest.

Been on some of the tour buses(again...very innocent)....wow...they are really nice! But they smell of musicians, beer and dirty socks....HA.

Jan

That's funny about the tour buses, Janice. Like high school locker rooms or dorm rooms.

I met Mike Dunbar, Bobbie Gallop, Bill Robinson, Bill Osofsky and Bob Young, once at Pineyfest. Forgot to mention them. Wanted to meet Kaley Willow but she didn't come that year.

Many from tuning pianos for pro shows. Issac Stern and Art Garfunkel for two. (Artist of all types, including some for their comedy shows). Rich Little being one.

Many from playing in a backup band. Chuck Berry being one. Others just from being at a revue show. Sammy Davis Jr, and The Fonz for two. (Don't call Henry The Fonz!,,,you'll get a thrashing).

Some Phillies baseball players and one coach, from tryouts and being at the ballpark and from baseball banquets. Dallas Green, Maje McDonnel and Greg Luzinski being three of them.

They all were like you and me and whoever. (Except Garfunkle).
Issac Stern, Greg Luzinski and Sammy were the most humble and nicest.

Chuck Berry was the most weird. But nice enough. Just very private and short on talk. Fuuny way about him whuch I liked though. Amusing.

Too many names to name names. It would look like a top 100 list. Just was in the places doing the various jobs that put me there. I never asked for autographs or made them feel uncomfortable, except for The Fonz,,,,oops, I mean Henry Winkler.

Thanks for the few minute diversion from being saddened thinking about my great mate, Roon and his wife, Jean. I'd put them ahead of any celeb, for importance of meeting and knowing.

Charlie Daniels back stage at a concert. We talked politics.

Jerry Douglas (Dobro player for Alison Krauss) in a hotel bar before a show. Talked to him for about an hour. I didn't want to sound too "Fanlike" and didn't gherm, so we talked about the music business instead of each other. We met once before while changing planes in Dallas, both going to the Telluride bluegrass festival in Co. I was carrying my guitar case and he had his Dobro case and a lap steel. He asked if I was going to Telluride and I said that I was. Of course I knew who he was and he didn't know who I was. He only saw the guitar. When we boarded the plane he went to first class and I went to coach.

Tony Orlando on Captiva Island Fl. I was a sales rep selling hotel supplies and he happened to walk into the office at a beach cottage place that was a client of mine. Funny guy.

Craig Sager (sports guy from CNN and ESPN) did oyster shots with him at Hooters. He said that he would take care of the bill. He left without paying. The waitress chased him into the parking lot and came back with his credit card. Honest mistake. He gave her a big tip.

I've been lucky to cross paths with a handful of so-called MUSIC "CELEBRITIES." See my Facebook "Mentors" photo albums for pictures. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=691736415&ref=profile *smile* I've also had the opportunity to perform on a couple of JPF stages in Maine, and meet Brian Austin Whitney. But... I'm sad to say I didn't have my camera with me...

SMALL WORLD! I met so many when I worked at ENSONIQ. The one I didn't meet but wanted to was - Rick Wakeman, and why was that? Because the day they were supposed to tour the ENSONIQ factory, Rick wanted to go golfing instead at the Valley Forge Golf Course!!!

Was this that next day, Tom? like '93 I think... been a long time, getting blurry

Cab drivers meet a lot of people. I was a cab driver in Tulsa when the dispatcher radioed me to call her on the phone. I called and she told me to pick up a guy named Rocky Frisco at his home at a certain time to take him to the airport. I was driving a station wagon and they needed the room.

Rocky was the keyboard player for JJ Cale. I arrived at his house early and he asked me in ( as long as the meter wasn't running). He gave me a glass if iced tea and we sat around and talked. He told me about playing with John C. and Eric Clapton. He was in the air conditioning business and was recently injured. He said that he was invited to join J. Cale at a blues festival in Canada and was very excited about it.

I helped him load his equipment into the car and drove him to the airport. He gave me a $20 tip.

The Righteous Brothers, Sonny Bono, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Evil Knielvel, Cast of "The Nanny," Cast of "Married With Children," Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Lewis, Bonnie Hunt, Star Jones, Barbra Walters, Meredith Viera, Joy Behar, Charo, Michelle Stafford, Rich Little, Rick Wakeman, Micky Rooney,John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Nancy Cartwright, Joe Biden, Kirstie Alley, Leeza Gibbons, Pat Paulson, Jeff Beck, Tim Bogart, Carmine Appice, Heart (without the Wilson sisters), Henry Winkler, Cindy Williams, Barry Manilow, Tony Curtis, Robert DeNiro, Merrill and Donny Osmond, The Smothers Brothers, Chick Corea, Jenna Elfman, Anne Archer, Isaac Hayes, Mary Wilson, Dita Von Teese, The Oakridge Boys, Will Farrell, Bob Mackie, James Blunt, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mathew Broderick...

Okay, I guess the list is longer than I thought. Better just to say I've had some great opportunities to meet many celebrities.

How old is Charo? Really? I saw her on Mike Douglas when I was 16. I'm 52 now. She still looks like she's in her 20's.

Ben,
Charo has to be in her fifties, but she looks amazing! She is tiny, thin, gorgeous and sweet too. Good for her!

Charo... 55? Hmmm... I'd bet against that.

I looked it up. Wow, her name is...

María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Moquiere de les Esperades Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Najosa Rasten

I've never seen a name so long.

She was born in 1951. So, she's about 59. The gal can actually play hell out of the guitar.

Kootchie, kootchie!

I always thought that Charo was an act and that the actress never was as illiterate and dumb as she comes across as.

Yes, she was very much an act just like Norma Jean had "Marilyn."

Thanks for the conformation Heidi. I still love the "image".

Where do I begin... first, let me explain that some of these were quite accidental but all included an exchange of pleasantries or a simple "hello." I make it a policy to never ask for an autograph (it seems to make them more relaxed) and I can't remember a single person on this list being aloof or unpleasant. Most were met in Admiral's Clubs at airports around the country. Many in restaurants and some in everyday places like hardware stores, golf courses, churches or auto parts supply stores.

Here goes (in no specific order):

George Foreman, Mickey Rooney, Bob Hope, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Dottie West, Richard Simmons, Mrs. Henry Cannon (Minnie Pearl), Mel Tillis, Tandy Rice, Larry Gatlin, George Lindsey (Goober), Tony Bennett, Eddie Arnold, Jerry Reed, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Hugh O'Brien (Wyatt Earp), Mike Huckabee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Andres Segovia, Ben Hogan and Glen Campbell.

This is probably as close to "fame" as I'll ever get... LOL!

In my teens, I used to dress up as a clown with the church and go visit nursing homes to cheer people up. Much fun in doing that. Anyway, I assembled, sewed and created my "ultimate clown outfit" because I was doing this clowning thing often. Then at some point, the group decided to go to a Halloween costume party contest at the Philadelphia Zoo, so I went and entered. The judge was (at the time) one of the most well-known and liked Phillies - Tug McGraw. I was voted as the best costume, got to shake Tug's hand and get his autograph. But the interesting thing was, Tug didn't do the voting. Being a good dad, he let his two young kids pick the winners. Turns out I was really the favorite of young Tim McGraw.

Most likely it was around the same time. It's all blurry to me too.

Okay - here's a list of some of the ones I remember: John Liney (newspaper cartoonist that drew "Henry"), Tug McGraw, Tim McGraw, I've had MANY conversations with the late Larry Norman, Phil Keaggy played and signed my guitar once, Randy Stonehill, Steve Morse, Rod Morgenstein, T Lavitz, Jason Scheff, they guy from Duran Duran, Bootsy Collins, created MIDI-controlled sounds for Bob Weir, worked with Joel brazy (keyboardist for Kenny G), jammed and befriended Tommy Mandel (Bryan Adam's keyboardist), Herbie Handcock, Andreas Vollenweider (got to play his African Kora), Randy Jackson, David Lindley, Sonny Landreth (I'm in a video with him), Mark Farner, Rick Denzien, Janet Jackson's band, I have performed with Steve Preddy (Bon Jovi's first bassist), repaired guitars and sold instruments to Jim Boggia, got tremendous complements on my solo performance (hawaiian slide guitar) and got to jam later that evening with Amos Lee, and the best - got to hang out with Mick Jagger at Epcot (but that's another story for another time).

My apologies to anyone I've forgotten...

Better late than never - there's also Brian Austin Whitney, John Daubert, Iggy, Marnie, Jillian Goldin, and Andrew Aversa - all wonderful JPF'ers that I've had the chance to meet.

OK, another one (borderline, but I hope this counts)...

A friend of mine in High School I fell out of touch with till our ten year class reunion took me back to his parents house that night to play me some of the songs he was writing... They were pretty good. He told me he was moving to Nashville to go for it... I wished him luck and we made a little bet about which one of us would get famous first (I was doing a little acting at the time and had actually just finished a stage production with Ana Ortiz who went on to Ugly Betty)Anyway, We fell out of touch again till '98 when I read that he was the first male artist signed by Scott Hendricks to the Virgin Nashville label. I got back in touch with him enough to wish him luck and exchange a few e-mails. He charted a couple of tunes but the label ended up folding right as the BIG single was starting to climb the charts and he's never become as famous as he deserved... but in 2000 he was on the Strait tour (the one where McGraw and Chesney stole a police horse) and I went to see him in Washington DC. He wasn't a main stage-r but was on the side 'Straitland' stage. He was actually on-stage when my wife and I walked in and when he saw me (which happened to be during a musical interlude in one of his songs) he stepped up to the mic and said "Hi Greg! I won". It was a fun little inside joke and everyone looked at me funny...

Again, not that he's really famous but some of you may remember him. His name is Jerry Kilgore and he had a video of a single from an indie project on GAC last winter and spring... We've stayed in touch and I helped him do some promo work for that new project.

Hey, slow down. Charo is 58. She was born in the same year I was.

I've anchored my sailboat next to Eric Clapton's yacht in Nassau Harbor a couple of times!

When Charo is mentioned, I think that people instinctively ask about her age. I know I did. It's not a bad thing because she looks so young. She is also known for not telling her age. She was that way when I saw her as a teenager and she was in her twenties then.

I met Robert Brown, Bobby Sherman, David Soul, and Mark Lenard (Spock's TV Dad) on the set of the TV show "Here Come, the Brides." (I was in high school at the time and David Soul had been listening to some of my music and was going to give me a critique. But we ended up not having time.)

I got to have lunch in the Universal Studios Commissary and saw Robert Wagner, Tony Franciosa, and Johnny Grant. There were some others too but I can't remember who.
On the way back from lunch, we passed by an office that had the door open and John Cassavetes and Ben Gazarra were laughing as they viewed a film John was editing on a machine. I don't know what the machine is called.

Later that year I also met John Lupton who played the Indian Agent on Broken Arrow. We were both performing at a benefit for the Foundation of the Junior Blind.

Previous to that I met Lloyd Bridges at the Vallermo Fall festival for St. Andrew's Priory in CA. Also met Ray Repp who was well know in Catholic Liturgical circles. He was kind of my hero at the time (15 or 16 years old).

I got to stand next to Burgess Meredith at the Cal State Fullerton production of Ray Bradbury's play Dandelion Wine . He had his old vaudeville suitcase with him. I think he had just finished a stage production somewhere and Ray was a good friend of his. He was very nice and signed autographs.

Here is my funny story about Lloyd Bridges. He was at St. Andew's Priory making an appearance to help the monastery out. (To attract more visitors.) I was about 15 or 16. (I helped out by playing and singing at one of the food areas.) Anyway, there was another girl about my age who wanted his autograph but she felt too shy to ask him and wanted me to get it for her. So I went up to him and asked him.

"Mr. Bridges, may I please have your autograph."

He replied, " If I give you one then everyone will want one. Let me kiss your hand instead."

So he kissed my hand. And then he and his entourage began to leave.

Well the girl suddenly lost her shyness and ran after him so she could get her hand kissed too. But it was too late. No more kissing. Off he went.

Patti Smith, Artimus Pyle, Ed King, Leslie Hawkins, JoJo Billingsley, Dean Daughtry, Robert Nix, Jimmy Hall, Suzanne Sommers, Charlie Daniels, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Skid Row....

Bela Fleck, Abigail Washurn, Smothers Brothers, Garrison Keillor, Jimming Carter, BB King, Bobby Vee, Fabian, Chris Montez, Chris Thile, Arlo Guthrie. I've taken pictures of a ton more.

Ox Baker, Tommy Rich, Joe "Assassin Number 2" Hamilton, and Rock Hunter. They were pro wrestlers. I knew them well enough for them to know me. Years later I met another pro wrestler Terry Funk in the Nashville airport when I was renting a car.

I met Kenny Rogers when Lucille was just taking off. I went to a tennis court to see a friend and there he was, just sitting there! He was in the area to do a show the next night. I got excited seeing him and he got excited when I told him I had the book he had written.

I met Buddy Killen, Bob DiPiero, Tim Dubois, Keith Stegall at NSAI events. There was another one I got into a public debate with that was hot news on the row. Most of the folks were on my side too! Ha!

I met Grandpa Jones and most of the Hee Haw regulars.

I met Bill Anderson.

I met Aubrey Cain--he might not be famous but Dunbar knows who he is.

I met Jim Ed Brown. Heard him singing acapella in his dressing room. It was the first time I'd heard a really good singer without microphones. It was impressive.

And in 1996 I met Vickie. She was a superstar in my eyes. :-)

And there was one more I didn't meet but I saw Keith Whitley two days before he died. It was actually the same day I saw Terry Funk in the airport but I saw Terry in Nashville and saw Keith in Alabama. I remember thinking "he don't seem quite right."