Strangest celebrity encounter you've had?

[JimB52]

Last month I was at the urinal at work and the door bursts open, desperate, hesitant, dancing feet behind me, then he chooses the 'handicap' urinal next to me over the open stall and starts peeing like a race horse - "oh man, I waited too long" "ahhh", etc. I glance over, and it's Michael Strahan.
I comment that the water's cold . . .

 

[Barkless Dog]

When on a trip I walk into an elevator and there was Patrick Ewing of the NY KNicks!

At first I thought I was imagining but later I found out the NY Knicks were in town and staying at our hotel!

 

[casualmadness]

Probably the strangest encounter with a celeb was when I met Kari Turner (from the show JAG). I was at a benefit gala and she was the emcee. After the gala ended, there was a VIP party in one of the rooms at the hotel. I was at the VIP party, having a drink when Kari Turner approached me and said, "do I know you from somewhere?" I told her that she most likely had me mistaken for someone else. She then asked all the usual questions..."what do you do? Where are you from? Where do you live? Have you done any television?" etc. I told her that I likely just had one of those faces.
So anyway we talked for a few minutes and she insisted that she had seen me around.
After a few minutes of conversation with her, someone else approached us and asked for a photo of the two of us. Before I could even respond, Kari put an arm around me and leaned in against me to pose for the photo. So I put an arm around her and smiled really big and the camera lady snapped a few pictures.
After that, she got mobbed by about 20 people who weren't actually invited to the VIP party but somehow managed to find it. It was in a conference type room in the hotel. So there were no locks or anything on the doors.
Anyway, she got swept up in the mob and started signing autographs and posing for pictures and stuff.
The really strange part about that is that two other people that night had approached me, insisting that the knew me. The other two, however, were not celebs. They were jsut regular folks like me.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Probably the strangest encounter with a celeb was when I met Kari Turner (from the show JAG).

Now if that had involved Catherine Bell and some chocolate sauce, wow. . . nice thoughts!


Not me, but my brother bumped into Billy Connolly in a local chip shop! (every year we have a vintage motorbike show, and he usually goes to it).

My dad's cousin was in a pub down south and bumped into Robert Plant (turned out to be Plant's local)! They apparently chatted away for a good few hours. Of course nobody believed him. He sent a letter to the pub for Plant asking if there was any chance at all he could get a backstage pass to a show Zep did in london last year, and didnt hear back for a while. About a week before the gig he got a phone call from Plant asking how many passes he was needing, so he got a few for his brothers & the wives, and they went!

Jammy sods

 

[roberthelpus]

Quick, late night trip to Krogers (grocery store) and I see someone who looks familiar in the produce section. I circle around with my cart (trolley for y'all in the UK) and the young cat who is with him asks "Can I help youe?" I say "Is that who I think it is?" He says "Who do you think it is?" I say "Dizzy" Hearing his name Mr. Gillespie turns and says "How are you young man?" My jaw drops and I mumble something and I stupidly wander off.

I'm pretty sure that the younger cat who was with him was local and just trying to be a little protective. To this day I wish that I would have gotten over being so dazed because everything that I have ever heard about Dizzy say that he's a real sweet cat and probably would have been happy to chat.

He was a last minute replacement for Spyro Gyra at the Cincinnati Zoo's Jazz series, otherwise I'd have been at the show if I had known about it. I've seen hom play a few times before. Once at the Colonial Tavern in Toronto when I was 16, which was really nice in such an intimate setting.

That was around time when I all but didn't speak to people that much, prefering to comunicate by scatting Dizzy and Bird BeBop lines. It's just a phase. He'll get over it

 

[peterbright]

Red Sox & Twins train here...see them all the time.

 

[RED5]

Being in NY? Between the City and the east end? Celebs used to run free here before the media got ahold of 'em.I got a couple, but my favorite happened back at the Fillmore East. I had comp tix for Black Sabbath's first appearence there, company I worked for had supplied the opening act ("Sir Lord Baltimore" BTW) with some equipment, so we got freebies. between acts I headed out to the lobby, they had this airlock type deal between the theater proper and the lobby, all old movie houses had 'em back when, and as I turned the corner into the door to this space, I collided,hard with a tiny black man in a cape,and his entourage. we both stumbled, I excused myself and the realized that I had nearly knocked Miles Davis unconcious. My brush with celebrity.

 

[MJ5150]

I was working security at a Phil Collins concert. I was running between two tour buses to get from one end of the parking lot to another. As I got to the front of the bus, the door started to open, so I pivoted my body sideways to still squeeze through. Right as I got to the door, a man steps out and I laid him out like a LB hitting a RB on a blitz.

I picked myself up off the ground and went to check on the other person.....there was little Phil Collins laying on the ground a few feet away from me cussing me out. He was about half my size, so all he could do was yell at me.

-Mike

 

[kobass]

There's a Chinese restaurant/jazz club in Rhode Island by the name Chan's. It's a great place-a small intimate room, and they get some decent names there from time to time. I went to see the Larry Coryell Trio (Larry with Mark Egan and Paul Wertico).
My wife and I arrived early. You have a choice of ordering off the menu, or you can have the buffet. We opted for the buffet. As I was standing in line, I noticed that Larry Coryell was right next to me. I turned to him and said "you may want to stick around for the show, I hear this guy's a pretty good guitar player." Larry deadpans back "Don't believe a word of it. It's just a bunch of BS/hype."
He's a cool guy, and needless to say, they killed.

 

[spade2you]

Mr. Mohawk (who is of course actually Travis Barker from Blink 182) leans in and says, "I make more money than you'll ever dream of" and walks away with his hangers on.

Meh, when the fad is done, they'll be as broke as the rest of us because most spend it all pretty foolishly.

I've been pretty lucky. I met Billy Sheehan and he was cool as hell.

 

[IAmTheDood]

i played in an Amateur golf tournament around 1995 when i was in college, It was one of the big Amateur tournament qualifying.. Tiger Woods was playing the same day and the same event .. saw him on the practice tee when I was warming up and chatted with him.

I've chatted with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Fred Couples, Greg Norman to name a few.. usually if you go to pro tournaments during practice rounds golfers are pretty descent fellows.

I've ran into a few other celebs in my time ... Mark Wahlberg, Joe Dumars (Old pistons player, current president), Bill Laimbeer, Jeff Daniels (actor - lives in Chelsea, MI where I grew up), and a few others ..

 

[The Golden Boy]

"we sound a lot like Blink 182." My drummer makes a weird face and then says, "oh, I don't know if you want to sound like them. I think their music sucks."

Mr. Mohawk (who is of course actually Travis Barker from Blink 182) leans in and says, "I make more money than you'll ever dream of" and walks away with his hangers on.

Pretty much exactly the douche like response I would have expected.

Let me get this straight...

So your buddy makes a ****** comment about his band, dude is a "douche" for responding?

Just checking...

 

[bassman1185]

I work at an A/V company setting up and running PA systems here in Iowa. Last year was ridiculously busy for us because of all the political stuff that was going on. Last summer, I set up and ran sound for a smallish (around 200 people) event for Chris Dodd in Ft. Dodge (an hour north of Des Moines), and Paul Simon was there, so I actually ran sound for him. It was just him and his guitar, no band, so it's not like it was a terribly difficult setup to run, but we didn't actually get to do a real soundcheck before stuff started. He was a really nice, soft-spoken guy. Here's the extent of our exchange:

PS: (gets up on stage and plugs in his guitar, starts to strum) "Can I get a little more guitar in the moniter?"
Me: (turns up guitar in the moniter)
PS: "A little more..."
Me: (Turns up the guitar a little more)
PS: "Just a little more..."
Me: (Turns it up a little more)
Moniter: FEEDBACK!!!
Me: (Turns guitar down a little)
PS: "Ok, that'll do!" (Launches into Mrs. Robinson)

 

[The Golden Boy]

I was working security at a Phil Collins concert.

I don't know why... but for some reason I read this TWICE as "I was working security at Phil Collins Airport."




As far as my own odd 'meeting celebrity story' thing...

I ran into a guy who I've known for 20 years or so- he does a lot of promotion, used to run a club or two... at the time he was managing Dustin Diamond. Dustin happened to be in the bar- I met him and stuff then Jack got Dustin to sign an 8x10. My name is Dave, so he signed it "Dave, Dustin Diamond." But being pretty liquored up, his first "D" looked more like an L, and the a- it looked like an O.

So for a while I had an 8x10 that said "Love, Dustin Diamond."

 

[JonathanD]

Just what the title says. Funny, weird or whatever.

I've got a couple but I thought I'd start off with the story from my drummer that prompted this thread.

About five years ago, my drummer, his girlfriend and his parents were in Las Vegas for a weekend. On Saturday he and his Dad decide to go see Bruce Willis And the Accelerators (don't ask me, I mock him regularly for this) and are enjoying the show but they keep noticing this skinny guy with a mohawk running around the stage. He's getting water, he's taking pictures, he's talking to Bruce between songs etc. A bit strange, but whatever.

After the show my drummer and his dad have a late night dinner in one of the casino steak houses. While eating they spot this same guy walking with three or four women and a couple dudes. So my drummer flags him down and says, "hey we saw you at the show. You looked a bit out of place, are you a roadie?". The guy says no, that he's a friend of Bruce's and helps him out a bit when he's in town, but actually he's a musician himself, a drummer. My drummer says he is too and they talk a bit. Finally, my drummer asks what kind of band he plays in. He responds, "we sound a lot like Blink 182." My drummer makes a weird face and then says, "oh, I don't know if you want to sound like them. I think their music sucks."

Mr. Mohawk (who is of course actually Travis Barker from Blink 182) leans in and says, "I make more money than you'll ever dream of" and walks away with his hangers on.

Pretty much exactly the douche like response I would have expected.

That cheered up my next hour at work.
Thanks!
Jonathan

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Let me get this straight...

So your buddy makes a ****** comment about his band, dude is a "douche" for responding?

Just checking...

 

[Peaved]

Alain Caron and Otmaro Ruiz were touring with Gino Vannelli, and we were all staying at the Omni hotel in Jacksonville, FL. After the show, I went back to the Omni and had some martinis in the bar, and the band + Gino showed up. I've known Otmaro for years, and he's quite the prankster, but after some martini's I'll do just about anything. Otmaro suggested that we moon Gino, at least down to our boxers,so we mooned Gino.

Well, the band thought it was pretty funny and when I invited them to a party in my room they agreed (minus Gino, lol). The party was great fun, but all I remember of talking to Alain was smiling and trying hard not to look drunk.

Okay, so no "big" names here, but these musicians are heros to me, so it was definitely my strangest celebrity encounter, lol.

 

[Mark Wilson]

She did not look like that at the time. She looked like hell, and was totally wasted, but I'm sure it was her.

That is not a large rack.

 

[Gard]

OK, another Sammy Hagar one.

Some of you "old fogey" TBers may remember my former life in Orlando and the band that you all helped win the first Hard Rock/Cabo Wabo Tequila national battle of the bands.

So, anyhow, the band is a large-ish outfit, 7 guys (not counting the 4 man horn section and 2 female backup singers that sometimes gigged with us! ), so here are 7 dudes, piled into the "green room" at Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas, just having completed a 7 hour plane trip from Orlando, checkin' in, checkin' things out...Sammy comes rollin' into the room, takes a look at us, and proclaims "Damn, there sure are a whole lot of you M***** F*****s!!!"

Later that night, as we're getting ready to go onstage, he comes back into the green room, tells us all that it's a house rule, no one goes onstage without doing a shot of tequila...so, we all load up (his añho is good stuff!) and proceed to toast to the whole experience.

Apparantly, Sammy doesn't really drink...he looked at me after I did the shot and said "Lemme see your glass, man...) as soon as I held it up, he said "Good job!" and proceeded to tip his shot into my glass...said "Hey, you ain't done yet!"....funny guy, really nice too.

He also got up on stage with us and did "Black & Blue" one night, that was a blast....

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

He was about half my size, so all he could do was yell at me.

-Mike

You should have shouted something along the line of "Viva Genisis" or "That one was for Pete!"