Many of us have met famous people. But when it comes to actual physical contact, what is your greatest brush with celebrity? Because I once shook hands with Bill Clinton. Now he wasn’t President yet, but he was still Bill Clinton, so I figure that’s better than the time I kissed that red-headed chick whose name was Kathy Griffith, I think.
-TomWhen I was about 8 years old Jim Varney put my hand in his mouth and pretended to devour it. He had long white hair and was dressed like Colonel Sanders.
I can top Bill Clinton.
I once shook hands with Donny Whalberg and Sylvester Stallone while getting an autograph for my then-girlfriend (1991, my high school years)
Jesus…
vicki lewis was way hotter than kathy griffith!
I met Frank Sinatra when I was much younger, he apparently is good friends with my mom’s boss at that point, and I got his autograph.
funny part, I had no idea who he was.
This thread is gonna be weird.
You can amend it to “Who is the most famous person you’ve had sex with” if it makes you more comfortable.
I can’t wait to see the inevitable fight break out. I can’t imagine what would start it in a thread like this, but the keys thread somehow generated one.
It’s a toss between shaking Carmen Electra’s hand and slapping the shoulder of the guy who played Skreech on Saved By The Bell. Very strangely, both at a video game tournament in Hollywood.
Also, I was within touching distance of Mikhail Gorbachev at the Texas State fair. I was doing some consulting work with Anheuser-Busch and was there observing the people who handle those huge Clydesdale horses, which were making an appearance at the fair’s parade. Gorbachev just walked up and started asking us questions about the horses through his interpreter. There were three very large, very unfriendly looking Russian men with him that put all thoughts of physical contact out of my mind, though. This was in the mid 90s.
I got to meet Steve Vai who is a famous guitarist. It was nice :)
It will happen when all those people who’ve met Derek Smart are forced to defend his worldly fame.
As a kid, we were staying in Philadelphia, and also coming by to stay in the hotel was the VP of the USA – one Walter Mondale, a very nice fellow who stopped while walking to come shake my brother’s and my hands.
Went to a Rangers baseball game back in the late 80’s to see Nolan Ryan, and got to shake hands with the firstborn son of the president, the team’s owner. Seemed like a pretty good guy. That guy eventually became President.
Bumped into Gene Hackman once at Rancho Encantado near Santa Fe, while I was going into the main building and he was comin’ out.
Also in Santa Fe, we had a bit of a wild extended family dinner at the Pink Adobe – the table caught fire, among other things; after the meal, Roger Miller put his hand on Mom’s shoulder and thanked her for the evening’s entertainment. She always wanted to meet one of her childhood heroes; just not like THAT.
But the winner for me: Bill Cosby came to my hometown in 1990 or so to help raise money for the Carver Academy. Got to pose with him in a photo, and there was physical contact involved.
“Why don’tcha move out to California with all the other bums? … Maybe you’ll be famous! Ha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard… you? Famous? With that noise? Ha! I’ll see you in jail. Give me a break Stevie, stop it. You’ll see! Mark my words!”
Oh… does meeting YOU count?
For the 2004 presidential race, my wife and I volunteered to help set up and run the campaign stop for the Kerry campaign here in Madison. When they announced the call for volunteers, the biggest name that was going to show up and play for the crowd was Dave Grohl, which I was pretty jazzed about, but not too many other people cared.
We worked the whole day, volunteering. We basically stood behind the stage, mingled with the press and dignitaries. It didn’t get really, really cool until later in the day. We were standing around, talking with Kelly O’Donnell from NBC (adorable) when Russ Feingold came up to us and asked us for our opinions on the best standing area for a view of the stage. Later that day, the surprise guest arrived, and after using up all my “damn, I’m cool” gusto to get a photo of my son with Dave Grohl, I melted like a drooling piece of warm butter when given the opportunity to shake hands with Bruce Springsteen. Yes. The motherfucking Boss.
Later that day, I was helping cart some Capital brew back to the press bus, and we were stopped so that Kerry could walk by after an interview with Tom Brokaw. Eying my Kerry 04 Volunteer shirt, he came up and shook my hand…while I was holding a case of beer. Not to be outdone, and thinking I must have been someone special, Brokaw shook my hand, too.
I’ve got some bad, hand-shaking “oh my god I’m near someone famous” photos here.
Oh! And once, I got kissed (on the cheek) by DJ Rap.
“Right on to all them English girls named Charissssssssssssssssa.”
You tell me:
[ul]
[li]Carl Reiner
[/li][li]Johnny Rotten
[/li][li]Matthew Gallant
[/li][li]Angie Gallant
[/li][li]Alan Dunkin
[/li][li]Anne Rice
[/li][li]Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones
[/li][/ul]
gonna have to vote for johnny rotten, but as a former cowboys fan it’s tough to deny ‘too tall.’
Shook hands with Alan Bean, one of the Apollo 12 astronauts while getting one of his books signed last year.