OMG, aren't you _______?

I am not famous. I like it that way. I have always said "I'd rather be rich than famous." I am a fly under the radar kind of person. That being said, for some odd reason, I run into famous people quite a lot. I don't know why, I am not a "groupie" person...I don't go looking for celebrities, and yet, I run into them all the time. It's always weird for me 'cause I'm not an autograph person, and I'm not the kind of person who says "OMG, your _____." Usually, I do a double take and walk on, since I don't know what else to do. Here are just some of the famous folks I've seen along the way...and said nothing to:)
1) Baby and Ginger Spice-I was shopping after work when I was a trader, walked into a store in the Atrium, and there they were...short, tons of makeup, and thick accents. They were in town for a promotion, I saw them on the news wearing the outfits they were trying on in the store. The whole thing weirded me out, so I called the only 12 year old I knew and told her I saw the Spice Girls. She thought it was the coolest thing ever...she was the only one I knew that would.
2) Prince Charles-I was in Stratford Upon Avon with my Mom. We were seeing Taming of the Shrew. It was hot in the theater, during the intermission we went outside. He literally almost stepped on my foot as he walked by. Much shorter than I would have expected, and larger ears.
3) Michael Jordon-I was in a bar, he was in the corner with his entourage. It was so funny because everyone in the bar was acting all cool and not staring at him. The second he walked to the valet to get in his car, the whole joint pressed their faced against the window to stare. So funny.
4) Aaron Eckhardt- I was running on the waterfront this summer, and there he was, just running the other way. Hot, hot, hottie...I just stared as he went by. What else was I gonna do..."OMG, you are so hot!"? Yeah, not me...
5) Keanu Reeves- Sat behind me at a baseball game. I kinda felt bad for the guy. He made it through a few innings before everyone figured out who he was and stared at him.
6) Andy Garcia- Filming a movie on my street. Whatever...
7) Jeremy Piven- Riding a bike on the waterfront. I don't know why, but they always seem smaller in real life.
8) Barack Obama- You aren't gonna believe me, but he and his wife were at my wedding. I knew him before he was a friend of Oprah. Kinda weird that he is like the biggest thing ever now...He doesn't call so much anymore, maybe he's been busy:)
9) Chris Farley- This was kind of sad. It was the same place I saw the Spice Girls, and it was the week before he passed away. He was so funny:(
10) David Byrne-Just walking down the street with a yellow backpack. He was in town for a concert and he was just out bopping around. I loved the Talking Heads!
11) William Hurt- He was wandering around Denver Airport...kinda looked lost.
12) Mario Lopez- This was when he was Slater. My bro and I saw him in a Gap on Melrose Ave. in LA. We were both like..."That's Slater".
13) Joe Strummer- Saddest of all. He was at a record store promoting his last CD. The Clash is the best band ever! He passed away shortly after. I know if I would have said anything, I would have sounded like a blithering idiot. "OMG, you're Joe Strummer...The Clash is the coolest...You are the coolest...My bro says U2 is the best band ever, but I say it's the Clash!" Yeah, I refrained from that...
So, I run into famous people, and I never say anything. Which makes me wonder..."Who would I talk to if I ran into them?" Maybe Bono, or Christian Bale...how about Andy Roddick? Then I think I would just sound like a blithering idiot (think Chris Farley Show). Think I'll stick to the double take and walk away...
What about you, brushes with fame?

65 comments

  1. You have had some cool celebrity sightings. I have seen a few myself, some I talked to and some I didn't. One guy I did hold a conversation with in the mid 90's was now Oscar winner Forrest Whitaker. Happy TT.

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  2. Hey the Barak thing is awesome!

    I live in Nashville. Um, so I've seen Wynona, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Billy Ray (when Miley was only a baby), Lance Bass, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Nicole Kidman (she lives here now but clearly shops elsewhere, evidenced by my post earlier this week on the lack of Manolos here), Kid Rock, Emmy Lou Harris, Eddie George. That's all I can think of.

    When I was in LA with my daughter we ate dinner at Spago and saw Keifer Sutherland. And John Laroquette (sp?).

    I'm with you. I would never say a word.

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  3. OOOO BAAAAAAA MAAAA!!!!!!

    Next time you see him, squeeze his cheeks for me. He's my politico crush.

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  4. Me? Not so much. Hubby, however, went to high school with Fergie, use to go see No Doubt when they were a high school garage band, gave Pamela Anderson a pair of earplugs at a Kid Rock concert, and watched the movie "9 Months" with Julianne Moore in her trailor (he was the medic on the set for a portion of one of the Jurassic Park movies - I think he met Jeff Goldblum and Steven Speilberg as well.)

    You, however, have had some way better sightings!

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  5. Hmm. Apparently the chick that played Rory from Gilmore Girls was a frosh when I was a senior.

    Personally? Umm...in Nice at the airport we saw Elton John who was not looking for attention (according to his reps)yet was wearing one of his hats & sequined sunglasses. His luggage when we landed in NYC? ALL Louis Vuitton, including guitar cases & filled five carts. Seriously.

    And, Pres. Bush (1st one) at the Houston Rodeo. He also apparently uses our family dermatologist.

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  6. I have seen a lot too:
    Michael Jordan, Jeremy Piven (those two in common).
    Mos Def, Jesse Metcalf (gardener from Desperate housewives), Karl Moalone, Usher, Ted Danson... and those are all within the past year. Crazy.

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  7. Richard Simmons.

    Jealous, aren'tcha? ;-)

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  8. Isn't it strange how people think famous people are so much different? I ran into #2 in Atlanta (believe it or not).

    I've encountered so many celebs, I think the only time I ever looked twice was at the Plaza in NYC in Trader Vic's when Michael Caine walked by our table. I was tempted to follow him - now that is a movie star!

    The most interesting occasion for me was with the diva Rinatto Scotto. She is very shy. Backstage at the Met in Atlanta we were talking. (I'd met her sev times that way). She was doing a record signing at a local store the following day and was terrified no one would show up. She literally begged my mother and I to be there when the signing started. We were. She was extremely grateful. People started arriving. We stayed until we were sure she was okay.

    SJR
    The Pink Flamingo
    http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog

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  9. I don't know who all of those are, but you seem to have seen a lot of celebs. Who next, i wonder?

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  10. Meg Ryan, Penny Hardaway, Tyra Banks, Chris Webber, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone and John Stockton. Since a lot of them are basketball players, they are definitely NOT smaller in person! I didn't talk to any of them either.

    Did you speak to Obama at your wedding?

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  11. "Barack Obama- You aren't gonna believe me, but he and his wife were at my wedding."

    Na uh. April fools joke a little late? Really?

    Oh, I had the worst April fools joke played on me today. Oh boy, I gotta blog about it!

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  12. Wow, that's an amazingly high number of famous people. There aren't too many celebrities visiting the midwest, but I was in line at the grocery store once with Tony Dungy. I'm pretty sure that's all I got.

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  13. Interesting post! And one I think I will steal. Because of various things in my life (work, friends, etc.), I have met many celebrities. Still do.

    I do never seem to meet the ones I'd go ga-ga over though. Maybe that is just as well....

    Fun post - thank you. So...are you voting for Barack?

    Smiles,

    Holly
    http://theabundanceplace.com

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  14. I live in LA but I've never seen a celeb. here. I must shop at the wrong places.
    I did see Tori Spelling and Mehgan Fallows(sp?) in the Toronto airport.

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  15. So, can take a guess as to who you are voting for this election?

    Boy, your have a LOT of brushes with fame. Of course, where I live, we get no one who is anyone.

    When I lived in a bigger city, I did walk past Martin Sheen on the way to work. He was shooting a movie. He was WAY shorter than I thought!

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  16. In 1992 I saw Dale Earnhardt and his wife Teresa in an elevator. I smiled and said hi and so did they and that was that. (He was a NASCAR driver for those of you who are racing fans.)

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  17. That's a lot of celebrities. I realize that I don't know where you live... That's a lot of celebrities. I've seen a bunch in the Denver airport. They always seem to have altitude sickness! ;)

    Great list! Happy TT!

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  18. You have really had some amazing close encounters! I live in Chicago and haven't run into that many famous people! The only ones I've ever run into are from years ago: Freddie Prinze, Shaun Cassidy, and when Robert Redford was filming Ordinary People here, we went to go watch.
    Great TT == and keep us posted on who you run into next!

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  19. Angelina Jolie, while she was making Tomb Raider II in Kenya, we were on safari. She is even more beautiful in person. We just smiled and said good morning, we were staying in the same hotel and she was walking past us into the breakfast area and she said good morning to us, so we said good morning back. My husband and I were bickering it was so funny. My daughter who is 17 now was around 11 then and she totally missed the whole thing. We looked around for Angelina and she must have been taking breakfast in the VIP area because we couldn't find her.

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  20. Those are some pretty cool sightings. The only celebrity I've met is Roger Ebert. Of course, he also went to the same high school as me.

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  21. that's pretty cool . . I touched Charles Barkley's butt once in a club. That's about it.

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  22. You're way ahead of me. I count only Mia Farrow--in a diner in New Milford with her kids.

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  23. I can't think of any celebrity brushes. I think the only one I met was Thomas Madden who played Ruben Kincaid on the Partridge family. That was some years ago.

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  24. Wow, that was quite a list. I had Gary Moore (I've Got a Secret) Game show host as a patient once. Also Rosie O'Donnell came into the ER of the hospital I worked in.

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  25. Wow, you've got some cool stories. I love Talking Heads too! It seems like William Hurt has a perpetual lost look on his face.

    Some of my celeb brushes with fame are: Spike Lee, Mr. T, Chuck Woolery, Robbie Rist, India.Arie, Adam West, Eddie Vedder, Barbara Eden, Jerry Mathers, Cheryl Ladd, and Lisa Whelchel.

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  26. I loved this post!! I have always felt the same way, rather be rich than famous. I cannot imagine living in this glass bowl. It would drive me CRAZY!! Living in NYC I used to see famous people often... but... oh, I used to pray I would run into Mr. Brad Pitt. Oh, I would pray!
    If you see him... tell him I said hello!!
    Best,
    Audrey

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  27. I met Oprah. I was on her show. Seriously. She did a makeover on me and one of my friends.

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  28. OMG...can I touch your hand??? lol...I totally love Andy Garcia!! I would have loved to see him in person. Thats pretty cool stuff:) Happy TT my friend.

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  29. OK, wait a minute! Why didn't you title this post "Barack Obama was at my wedding"? :) And how did he end up there?

    Andy Garcia came to my church one Christmas Eve. Other than that, I've got nothin' except seeing an old game-show host in the mall one time.

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  30. That's funny, I saw Scarlett Johannsen at Denver airport over winter break during a layover.

    Awesome about Obama!!! I'm impressed!

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  31. You've seen far cooler people than me...especially Obama. I saw Ed Harris at Sundance (not the film festival, just the resort, we were just there walking around), I walked past Cory Feldman and I met Rudy from the Cosby Show...and I've met a bunch of the Osmonds. Yeah...so not cool. LOL!

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  32. wow lucky you My kids would have soo loved to have seen Michael Jordan we had a birthday party for him once he did not come but we had invited him

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  33. dcrmom took mine. I saw Richard Simmons--tiny red shorts and all. This is sad, isn't it.

    I had a lot of "Is that who I think it is moments," but could never say for sure.

    Saw a lot of Detroit sports stars growing up--no biggie, though.

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  34. the andy roddick one made me laugh....he lives (or at least part time) in Austin....I have seen him at the Mex place I go to more times than I can count!

    Obama, really?? kinda cool.

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  35. Whoa!!!! Hold the phone...before we get too far here...

    The Clash is the coolest band EVER! That being said...I'm starting wonder what's going on here. Aren't you the same person fawning over Barry Manilow????

    That just doesn't compute. I need to take a moment here...I just can't understand!

    The Clash == Cool

    Barry Manilow != Cool

    That whole torrid mess is gonna cause me some problems. So back to the famous people sightings...

    1. Kirby Puckett at an autograph session
    2. I sat next to Ron Gardenhire at the local baseball game. His son was playing on the team in my town. He was just a Dad, so everyone left him alone.
    3. I went through airport security in DC with Isaac Hayes. He was kind of a jack a$$.
    4. When I travelled more for work, I used to run into many random b-listers.
    5. I've also met many of the beloved Minnesota Twins, of course.
    6. The medical facility that I work at now hosts many famous people. Most of which, we can never tell you about.

    The Clash == Cool. I need to think about the rest of that for a while. You might need to explain how that other concept can co-exist with The Clash == Cool. I'm so confused.

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  36. You're so lucky to have meet them.

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  37. Wow! The only celebrity I've seen out of context (that is, not somewhere I was expecting to see them) is the late actor Richard Mulligan. He was in the tour group ahead of us at Neuschwanstein castle.

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  38. WOW! I'm also not one to go up to ask for autographs or go fawning over a celebrity. Having said that, I haven't met all that many and I certainly haven't had Keanu Reeves sit behind me. I think he'd send me over the edge.

    You and I have something in common now. I saw Michael Jordan at Singapore's Changi Airport several years ago.

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  39. This is too cool! I haven't seen too many celebrities out and about in my area-lol! I did see Dr. Phil at my younger brother's graduation from SMU (Southern Methodist University in Dallas). My brother and his son graduated law school together.

    You can check mine out here

    Have a great day!

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  40. Amazing. You've meet a lot of people.

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  41. That is so awesome! Obama was at your wedding? Nuff said.

    And you saw Andy Garcia? I am insanely jealous. I lurve him.

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  42. Oh and I met Keanu, when his band Dogstar was playing in our town. At first I didn't even expect to see him but I walked right up to the stage (which was at knee level) and there he was. during their break, I spoke to him for a couple minutes and he was so cool. He acted like he wasn't even a celebrity. It was nice that there wasn't that many people trying to get all over him. He was really sweet.

    I also met the goo goo dolls. Their band was playing in our very small town and of course the bar I worked in had a private party room upstairs, and yes, I got to serve a few drinks!

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  43. Great list of a lot of great people to have met!

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  44. My biggest brush with fame? I met Didi Conn (Frenchie herself!) at Sundance when my dad was working there.

    Your brushes are far cooler but I actually drew Frenchie a picture and she told me she would put in on her fridge. I totally believed her.

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  45. I think I'd have gushed in most of these cases. Come on, you know they are used to it.

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  46. Oh-I forgot-I went to school with DJ Qualls-lol!

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  47. You are far more touched by fame than I ...zippo contacts for me.

    Happy TT mine is up.

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  48. Who is Aaron E.?
    I saw Steven Wright standing around in Lionshead, he looked goofy, I said hi and smiled. Janet

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  49. You are so funny -- the most famous people I've seen in real life were Cal Worthington (a local cheesy car salesman - but I was 9 so I thought he was a celebrity), Mr. T, and Bill Clinton (before he was Prez).


    I got nothing on you! :)

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  50. i've had some great celeb run-ins over the years. My favorite has to be Tom Cruise celebrating his birthday in Telluride!

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  51. Quite a list you have there. I've had only one celebrity sighting and that was in San Francisco last fall and I can't even remember who it was. LOL - lead singer of some band I'd never heard of and I wouldn't have know who it was if my friends hadn't said something. Happy TT!

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  52. I think I know who you're voting for ;) You saw Keanu Reeves and didn't wrap your arms around him? That's some restraint. I don't think I could've held back.

    When I lived on South Beach I saw a few celebs: Robert Di Niro (barf), Burt Renolds (barf-o-rama), several Miami Heat B-ball players (they clearly stood out whereever they were), and Leonardo Di Caprio (a wee feminine).

    I'm with you on the double take and walk away.

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  53. I have an aunt who's really good at spotting celebrities. Me, I've seen a few. Maybe more than a few.

    I'll always remember seeing Lars play drums at the first MetalliBash I threw. I was watching him and was so struck by how ... human he was.

    Weird, I know.

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  54. I think I should get your autograph. Of all of those, I'd take Chris Farley's autograph- he was seriously funny!

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  55. fun list! i once saw Vanna White at DuPar's. that's about it ...

    thanks for stopping by!

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  56. Wow. That is a freaking ton of sightings. Sheesh! I haven't seen anyone "famous".

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  57. Wow! You've seen a lot of celebrities! I saw Vince Neil at the Las Vegas airport last week, Eddie George and Bono at a club in LA abput three years ago.

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  58. I worked at an upscale sports bar and had the honor of being the VIP room waitress. So I had met lots of sports celebrities. That was really cool!

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  59. Great post, wish I'd seen more famous people. Sadly, just some snooker players in the UK. I've met Maynard Ferguson, but he died a few months later. So sad.

    Thanks for stopping by, I've seen you around (in a good way), always nice to see a new face. Pop by often.

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  60. Keanu Reeves? You said nothing?? Hmmm, I have dreamed of him before. I should do a post on people I've met and talked to... and then wished I hadn't cuz I was always embarassed after for saying something dumb!

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  61. I think I have a bit of a phobia about meeting any person who really impresses me or am a fan of their work. It's the gushing idiot thing with me to.
    The Clash and The Pogues are my two favourite bands and I had a chance to go to a record signing years ago with the Pogues. I'm sure Shane's memory would completely black-out most experiences within about five minutes after the event, but given that he is an absolute genius when it comes to writing I just couldn't bring myself to meet him.
    Anyone met Johhny Depp, I'd definetly have the same feeling.

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