Fun Friday: Celebrity Sightings

If one were to believe Reddit, celebrity (be they actors or reality stars) sightings happen all the time. Possibly only if you live in NYC or southern California? I have never encountered a celebrity 'in the wild.' I am not counting scheduled events (I have been up close with John Glenn) or sports figures (I've met a few MLB players and seen football players/sportscasters I can't even name, but that my husband pointed out). However, my husband and my daughters have some memorable stories I thought I'd share here. (Pictures pulled off of the world wide web)

Around 1990, my husband was in Manhattan on business and rode an elevator in a law office building with Kathleen Turner. This was during the height of her movie stardom. He said no one acknowledged who she was and everyone stared straight ahead, because 'professionalism.'

In 1984, while my husband was living in Brooklyn and working at the World Trade Center, he saw Pierce Brosnan on the streets of Manhattan. This was during the Remington Steele years. I don't think my spouse was as excited as I would have been.

By far, my favorite story is when my husband was dining at a small restaurant in NYC in the early 1990's and was seated at a table next to John F. Kennedy, Jr. We were married at the time and I was sooo jealous. My husband was at a business dinner with numerous associates and the women at his table were dying. One went to the pay phone in the restaurant (pre cell phone era) and called her mother!!!! LOL! The best part of the story is that JFK, Jr. had a key ring full of keys attached to the belt loop on his pants, similar to a janitor. RIP John John.

Does anyone remember Slim Whitman? He was best known to our generation for the Ronco television ads, selling his albums. Also, he yodeled. He became popular with the teens in an ironic way, so when he was playing a concert at the famous (here) Richfield Coliseum, my husband and his high school cohorts attended. Afterwards, one of them got the idea to go to the area of the venue where the artists leave and that's where they see Slim get into his limousine. Being teenage boys, they followed the 'Slimo' (as they called it) to the hotel where Slim was staying nearby. When the driver got out to open Slim's door in the back, one of my husband's buddies jumped in. (You can't make this stuff up.) By the end of the night, all four of them had sat in the back of Slim Whitman's limo, obtained his autograph on dollar bills, and chatted him up. According to my husband, Slim acknowledged that the kids their age at the concerts were mostly there for laughs, but that he didn't care and was just glad for the support. My husband still has that dollar bill in a frame, somewhere in a box in the basement, which he pulls out whenever someone new hasn't heard the story!

It's 2000 and Britney Spears is the Pop Princess. We played her CD on repeat in our 2000 Odyssey. My girls were 10 and 8 at the time. My husband was offered free tickets in the company loge for her Oops . . . I Did It Again tour. Let's just say that hubby was as excited as the girls about this stroke of luck. Meanwhile, I was attending a Meet the Teachers night with my younger son, so I missed the fun. As is typical of my spouse, they arrived very early for the concert and were walking around the executive suite level, when they turned a corner and my husband literally bumped into Ms. Spears. Like, he physically ran into her. Her entourage quickly moved her away, but my girls talked about when Dad almost knocked down Britney Spears for quite a while after.

My oldest daughter spent the summer of 2006 volunteering at the big hospital downtown (if you know, you know). Being a Junior Ambassador involved doing just about anything, and one of those things was escorting visitors through the maze of buildings that comprise the hospital. In orientation, they were told they were forbidden to take pictures, ask for autographs, etc. if they ever recognized anyone famous. (Note: Lots of Saudi Arabian princes, etc. have operations here, not that they'd be recognized by American teenagers.) She was chosen to be part of the escort team for John Mayer, who was there to do a Make A Wish concert for a young female cancer patient and the approximately 25 other young cancer patients being treated. This involved greeting him when he exited his limo and guiding him to the building/floor where he would perform. The best part was that she got to carry John Mayer's guitar case (photo above, not necessarily said guitar case, but let's pretend!) She said he was super nice to all of the volunteers, asking them their names and ages, and commended them on their service. And, they were able to stay for the concert. My daughter is a fan for life.

Have you ever met or seen a famous person out in public?