small-time name-dropping

while working the register at a bookstore

George Lucas came into the bookshop I worked at and bought a bunch of The Art Of Star Wars type books to give to the production artists on the Star Warses he was making, so they’d know how to make it look Star Warsy. But it was the weekend and I wasn’t there.

Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant came into the record store I worked at in the 80s, it took me a few minutes to recognize them. At first, I thought they were homeless people.

And, in many ways, they were.

At a charity I worked for, one of our sponsors was an actress called Anastasia Griffith (who was once on the verge of becoming big but never quite made it) and, to raise money for the charity, she organized a gala premiere for this dull straight-to-video film she'd starred in. I can't remember who was at it - apart from Gaby Logan and her husband - but I did talk to Steven Berkoff, who was also in the film. Can't remember what he said or I said though.

- en route for a quick few days in NYC we had a short flight to dublin. small plane. daniel o' donnel was in first class i.e. the front seat with a small curtain across the top of his chair. once we arrive in dublin, i needed to go for a wee, yeah, was in the urinal next to me. no words were exchanged.

- about 10 years ago i had a day in Skipton. wandered into a print/art shop in a small rennovated walkway. fella doing all the prints etc turned out to be Tony 'Terrorvision' Wright.

My great-aunt (who died right before I was born) was friends and penpals with Flannery O'Connor.

I lived in a rooming house that billed itself as having Kurt Vonnegut’s toilet.

Some of these aren't really small names. I worried MJH was pushing it.

I have a few that I like without worrying if they fit the thread.

I briefly went to college with roger waters son.
I sat behind Norman Mailer and Louis Theroux on flights.
Frank Whaley sat a few rows behind me at the movies in NYC.
Through work about 15 years ago I attended a roundtable event on AIDS that Bono was a part of. There was prob about 30 people in the room Weird to be in such a small group with someone that famous.

I like the writer ones. :)

Oh, yeah. I went to school with Hunter Thompson's son. He was involved with the ex-girlfriend of a friend of mine and would occasionally show up at parties.

My stepmother's English teacher had also been the English teacher of Tennessee Williams.

My father claims to have dated Joanna Cassidy in high school but I don’t believe it.

He also accidentally knocked over Donny Osmond coming out of an elevator in Toronto in 1976 - this is actually true as I saw it happen.

my grandparents were undergrads at College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific) when Dave Brubeck was an undergrad there and got to know him a bit.

I met Andrew W.K. once through a friend of mine whose band was opening for him. I think it was only because the band name was "Iron Pizza". Didn't get to chat much but he was super nice. What stuck with me is how HUGE he is. he's like 6' 3" and incredibly muscular. no wonder he got to marry Kat Dennings.

I ate cheeseburgers with Rob Lowe's brother

omg @ Michael Stipe and Natalie sighting that's a big one

i told Helena Christensen i love her work!

Gloria Estefan is a very distant relative, the niece of my godmother. Her son went to my elementary school. As the Miami Soind Machine exploded she still attended the bigger family parties. I remember her as a good mimic and after a couple glasses of wine as a person with a bawdy humor.

stop that's too good

I once shook hands with a shirtless Stipe, but I don't consider that "insignificant" or applicable (as both he and I were working, and we all know that celebrity sightings only "count" if the celeb is not "on the job"...)

(sorry, "small-time," not "insignificant"... had to scroll up)

There is a Michael/Natalie track called ""Photograph" that has been key for us; as far as I can see it mainly appeared on a pro-choice compilation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSUguPOMGo

I ate cheeseburgers with Rob Lowe's brother

Only astronauts edition:
I rode in a limo with John Glenn but I’ve got no recollection where we were going or where we came from or even what US state we were in. Best guess is Ohio.

I also met Judith Resnick at an event when I was 9. It was definitely in Ohio.

RIP to both of them.

I once shook hands with a shirtless Stipe, but I don't consider that "insignificant" or applicable (as both he and I were working, and we all know that celebrity sightings only "count" if the celeb is not "on the job"...)

― Hippie Ernie (morrisp), Wednesday, March 6, 2024 10:37 PM (nineteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

SNACK

Did you pick up a shirt that said Wear A Condom and say “Sir, you dropped this.”

Ha ha ha

I ate cheeseburgers with Rob Lowe's brother

Once I was asked on a small regional flight with a 1-2 configuration to switch my seat from the single seat to the aisle side. I did so without asking (a short flight) and only took this because the passenger was sleeping and I figured it wouldn't hassle them.

https://imgur.com/a/9NuePsE

Oh shoot, well flag away. It was Rob Lowe.

i shared some drinks and conversation once with clifton collins jr and monica keena.

xp That was worth the right-click!

I once shook hands with a shirtless Stipe

I went to the same pavement show as stipe at the 40 watt in Athens. It was the brighten the corners tour. Didn’t notice him until exiting.

Wow that's cool. Did they play "Camera" or "Picket Fence"? They did at this '94 show there (which happens to be one of the best live shows I've ever found online, by anyone)

my life ☹️

Rob lookin' fine as per usual!

Comics and sf cons can make this sort of hobnobbing pretty easy. I chatted with Stan Lee for a few minutes in Atlanta in '78, chatted with Jack and Roz Kirby in Dallas in '86, and Isaac Asimov sat next to us at the costume contest at Worldcon '89 in Boston. My wife chatted with him briefly before the show started and got his autograph. There's a similar thread to this one somewhere because I've told these stories before but not in this thread.

My father took me to a horror movie convention once when I was about 12 or 13 and I got to talk to Tom Savini. He (my dad) made fun of me later because while I was deeply engaged in talk of horror movie makeup, I was standing about two feet away from Elvira, who didn't even cross my radar.

I’ve told this story before on here – one night, in the late ‘90s, I ran into a music writer / musician I knew, coming out of a bar in the West Village. I asked him if he was going to the Yo La Tengo show down the street… he paused and introduced me to James, the bassist, standing next to him (he was hanging with the band pre-show).

love that

Marcia Cross liking my tweet once is better than ANYTHING in person in my life TBH

Did they play "Camera" or "Picket Fence"?

No clue I was about 18 and drunk.

I also worked and was friends with Bill Doss, one of the elephant 6 founders. One of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

I've met Julia Louis-Dreyfus' father. My dad knew him.

Clare Torry, who sang on Pink Floyd's "Great Gig In The Sky", spent the night at our house, years before we moved in (it used to be a B&B).

great vocal

Hate it (controversial music opinion alert).

that’s awesome Heez, in every photo of Bill Doss I’ve seen he looks like the happiest friendliest dude.

my back surgeon (a friend of my parents) was Townes Van Zandt's first cousin

Marcia Cross liking my tweet once is better than ANYTHING in person in my life TBH

lol what did she do to piss off Chachi?

Mike Score of A Flock of Seagulls was extraordinarily rude to me (and several other people) while waiting for an interview to start in 1988. Actual quote: "Don't you KNOW WHO I AM?".

Ivan Novak of Laibach was extraordinarily nice to me (and several other people) while waiting for an interview to start a few years later.

Rob L on a plane v good. Reminded me that I flew on a similarly small plane from CT to NYC with Michael Richards during peak Seinfeld which seemed huge at the time.