Famous People You Have Met

[toptuan]

Years ago I was in a Macdonalds on my way home from a late night gig in London.

Some posh bird sat at the same table as me as it was the only one with a spare seat.

Some guy bought her a takeaway and they both left.

Out in the car park when I left another guy asked me what the lady had talked to me about.

Turned out he was a scribbler following Princess Di.

What's a scribbler?

[JetsetBkk]

What's a scribbler?

A journalist.

[JetsetBkk]

Actually, in that job, the only signatures I ever wanted were ...

Fascinating stuff xbusman - please post more!

I always believed Michael Landon's public image - bugger! You totally burst that balloon!

[xbusman]

Oh lord, dont get me started. Have not thought of the stories for years, nice part of being in Thailand. When you always get introduced as the "bus guy" the questions come fast and thick. Fun for the first year, a bit thin after ten, when I left after twenty I just may have moved to Thailand to get away from all that. Then there is the added fun of taking care of people years after they buy someone elses product form a company who subsequently went bankrupt (low bidders often do). Then the late night emergency calls from MR XX (fill in the blanks) who want YOU to do something about it IMMEDIATELY are nowhere near as fun. Its nice to be gone.

But stories, oh yeah, there are stories. Life on the road in the busses always has stories. Away from home, on tour for whatever reasons, people do goofy stuff to keep from going mad. So there are so many I have forgotten most of them. Only the really bizarre stand out and that is stuff that stays on the road.

I think Ray Dolbys story was wonderful. How he started, what he faced, the people that stood by him. I love the Merle Haggard stories, that man was an old roadie when he started. His driver was with him for over twenty years when I met them. Worse than a married couple. Amazing how close you can get to someone in a dark quiet bus over millions of miles and decades. Too close sometimes. Then there is the story of my company taking on the Toyota Corporation AND WINNING. Letters from Bill Clinton and Mr Matsusita trump Toyota legal department no matter how big and how smart. Lots of Bill Clinton stories, he seemed to take to the road quiet easily. Ray had some interesting times, he loved to drive but that was kind of exciting for the rest of us. Even Joe Adams, Rays right hand, was interesting in his own right. I dont know if it was true or not but he claimed to be a veteran of the only black fighter squadron in WW2. If you knew Joe like I knew him, you would not doubt his claims either.

Then there was life on the set. We spent a lot of time on movie sets keeping busses operating and ready. We also made mobile editing and daily screening coaches. You can see our busses in a few movies, the one I like best is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Clints bus is in the movie a number of times, parked in the back of the shot. A big grey Prevost, built in about 88 or therebouts, with rear windows that leak. Try as I could, I never did get that fixed and Clint was always so patient and good natured about it. I would not have been if it were my million dollar toy. Set life was funky, people hopping in and out of each others bus and testing the suspensions. The bus drivers always know too much about everything. You business agent might be there or might not. Your road manager comes and goes. People in the cast change daily, but the bus driver.... He is with you every minute you are on the road and let your hair down. If you really want to know, ask the bus driver.

So many stories. And to top it off, I became the historian for the company which invented custom coaches in 1952. I interviewed the old timers and got their stories about Elvis Presley, Hank Sr and the like. Hundreds of em. Most of them true and the ones I doubted should have been true. Lots of tragedy too. That world can be wild wild but the falls are bigger and harder too.

I would love to write them down some day but I know road stories have to stay on the road and die with us. People need their dreams and dont need to see the humanity of their heroes.

I might write Ray Dolbys story down some day though. In my opinion, that man is deserving an biography for the rest of us.

Anyway, enough for now.

Edited February 9, 2008 by xbusman

[bulmercke]

Chatted with Mike Gatting for about half an hour (cricketer - ex-Middlesex and England batsman) on one of Ian Botham's charity walks in the early nineties.

A really friendly guy.

[mrbojangles]

I do some TV extra work sometimes as a bit of an hobby really. And yesterday i was at Northwich Victoria (Manchester Uniteds reserve team ground) filming a new Nike advert. I was a policeman in the ad and i must admit Nike spare no money, Guy Richie was Directing it.

It was Man United V Arsenal and all the players who stood in for the real team players, where picked cos they have football skills and look like the real players, i.e Eduardo, Evra, Carrick, Gilbert etc. So i thought it would be filmed with them and then the real players would be super imposed later.

Wrong, Ronaldo and Tevez turned up (Rooney cried off). I had my picture took with Tevez, he's a bit of a weirdo and ugglier close up than i could ever imagine and pretty miserable, so i look hansome next to him.

However i have changed my mind about Ronaldo, i knew he was tall and muscular but close up he's even more so. I also thought he was up himself. But in between takes, he was doing 'keepy uppies' with all the other extras and having a laugh and joke. I was just amazed at the skill he has, he can make the ball do things i have never seen before.

Hat's off to him for that but mainly the fact that unlike Tevez, he didn't keep on going back to his entourage but had a laugh and joke with the cast and extra's. Don't get me wrong, i will always hate him whilst he wears a Man United shirt.................................................but maybe i'll hate him a little less now

[andyadam]

I guess nobody here can back up their claims.....

Give it a rest!!!!

[Governor]

Frankie Fraser, The Kray Brothers and most of the great train robbers, to name but a few.

[pop_corn]

Jean Claude Van Damm at the Tunnel last night

hahaha i met him 2!!!!!!

he left quick anyways.....

[pop_corn]

- Kurt Cobain said hi to me and asked me to hold his beer while he blew his nose. (small venue, 100 people, before he hit it big, and no he had a cold, it wasn't coke.) Saw David Grohl as he passed by and he made a joke about Kurt coughing up a lung. Sort of hyper but one very happy guy with an infectious smile.

- Joey Ramone in NYC, he walked in with his g/f to catch the show. Very quiet and had a soda water.

- David Bowie. Heathrow airport as he was being escorted out by a Virgin air rep. He was small and sickly looking. People were politely keeping their distance. He looked exhausted but was saying thank you and smiling to people. Totally unexpected.

- Former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. Lived around the corner from him when I was going to school and would see him alot on the stairs going up from the park. He was so small. Very polite guy that would always greet you with a smile and a hello or ask how classes had gone that day. No police bodyguard ever.

- Donatella Versace in Miami. She had a face like over stretched wrinkled parchment that's dyed brown. Looked like a nasty woman.

As for the insistence to provide photos, I'm glad people don't have pics. It's an incredibly obnoxious intrusion to shove oneself on anyone and demand a photo. I feel for those "celebrities" that have to deal with that crap.

u r so lucky!!!!! I hv always wished to met Cobain, unluckily i didnt :D

david bowie, joe ramone! woooooooooooow.........

awww... but cobain....*sighs*

[bulmercke]

Frankie Fraser, The Kray Brothers and most of the great train robbers, to name but a few.

HMP Parkhurst?

[aaaaaa]

I've met George Harrison in '93 or '95

met Thaksin and his wife in Emporium I think in 2004

oh yeah - one of (I don't know which one) Miss Thailand in Sana Luan during some huge public function (Kin Kai 100% ) - she was giving to everybody free fried chickens

if I am not mistaken (about 1st name) - Alfred Ford

[TheWalkingMan]

American baseball players

Reggie Jackson - I had to kick him out of the batting cages for not wearing a helmet.

Ricky Henderson

American Football player - Todd "The Stork" (can't remember his last name). I think I saw his Superbowl ring.

Sprinter - Carl Lewis

Stand up comedian - Marc Curry (actually knew him before he got semi-famous) He was the taxi driver in the beginning of the movie Armageddon.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw - shook his hand while another guy with small eyes looked at me like I was an assassin

And some pro basketball players

TheWalkingMan

Edited February 16, 2008 by TheWalkingMan

[SeaVisionBurma]

met The Pixies in Hobart last April, after their last gig in Australia (first time they toured oz)

They were in a mates waterfront bar/restaurant following the show, I rocked in, realised who they were, and shouted them a drink.

Then left them alone, couldnt bring myself to ask for autographs or photos, they must get too much of that <deleted>.

All of them were there - Charles Thompson, Joe Santiago, David Lovering, and Kim Deal. Funniest thing was that Kelly Deal was there as well, and looked 20 years older than her identical twin Kim.

However they were really cool - Kim, Kelly, David and Joe all came over and shared ciggies and drinks with me and some friends, and when we locked the bar up we took Joe and David out to a mate's club - they were flying back to US next morning and wanted to tie one on for their last night.

The concert? It &*&^ rocked, almost had tears in my eyes, great gig.....

[pampal]

oh yeah - one of my ex boyfriends met Henry Rollins in a bookstore, and got a signed card for me and Henry made a joke about getting my number. I wish I was the one who had met him.

Henry Rollins is Gay, so unless you are a man, he wouldn't be interested.

Actually, he's straight. He is a gay rights and social justice activist, and is obviously secure enough in his masculinity not to care what HOMOPHOBES have to say about his defending gay rights. He is from Washington, D.C., and I know people who know him, and he's into women, and the feeling is mutual.

He has decided that he's gay, but you cant accept that for some reason.

You are the homophobe, since you won't let him decide his sexuality, but want to delude yourself into thinking that he's straight.

He has been starring in Gay magazines since the late 1970's. Alot of the scenes involve other men. If he likes men, it's his decision and not yours.

Go find a straight man to stalk. You might have better luck.

Edited February 28, 2008 by pampal

[alanpartridge]

I had a superb buffet lunch yesterday with Roy Blower and yes I used my 12'' plate.

A.Partridge

[BigSnake]

Patty Duke

[trompelemonde]

met The Pixies in Hobart last April, after their last gig in Australia (first time they toured oz)

They were in a mates waterfront bar/restaurant following the show, I rocked in, realised who they were, and shouted them a drink.

Then left them alone, couldnt bring myself to ask for autographs or photos, they must get too much of that <deleted>.

All of them were there - Charles Thompson, Joe Santiago, David Lovering, and Kim Deal. Funniest thing was that Kelly Deal was there as well, and looked 20 years older than her identical twin Kim.

However they were really cool - Kim, Kelly, David and Joe all came over and shared ciggies and drinks with me and some friends, and when we locked the bar up we took Joe and David out to a mate's club - they were flying back to US next morning and wanted to tie one on for their last night.

The concert? It &*&^ rocked, almost had tears in my eyes, great gig.....

I'm in awe of you and to be honest extremely jealous as well

[patsfangr]

Non-Americans probably won't know most of them!

Billy Sullivan (founder of The New England Patriots)

Patriots players: Julius Adams, Sam Cunningham, Raymond Clayborn, Sam Hunt, Steve Grogan, Willie McGinest, Troy Brown, Corey Dillon, Rodney Harrison, Tedi Bruschi

Earl Holliman (actor)

Angie Dickinson (actress)

John McDonell (CEO, McDonnell Douglas. Wife and I sat with him at a dinner event in Bejing)

[Deke]

John Denver.

I think it was 1985. I was standing in the line to show my boarding pass at Narita airport right behind some short guy with a guitar slung over his shoulder. Suddenly there were all kinds of people taking pictures of me.

When I asked one of the (Japanese) picture-takers what was going on, she told me that the guy in front of me in the line was "a famous singer". He then turned around and introduced himself although after I saw his face, no introduction was necessary. He was very personable and we more or less carried on a conversation all the way to the boarding gate.

[aries27]

also saw and had an autograph with the air supply in 2000, manila airport after they did a gig in boracay...

[jkinbkk]

Had a few beers with the Tubes in thier tour bus, backstage at Knebworth. Frank Zappa was there too, nice man.

I was at that gig too!

[Shuddee]

I did a telephone interview with the lead singer for The Tragically Hip when their hit single Gift Shop and its accompanying album came out. I also did an interview with Hunger when their hit Vanishing Cream was out. Both interviews were for subsequent newspaper articles that I wrote that were published in a city/county newspaper in the States.

[prodriver]

Got introduced to Long John Bawldry at the Marquee Club, Wardour Street by a mate of mine who John fancied rotten being a right "nine bob note". Also had a few beers with Rod Stewart in the Fox across the road from the Marquee when he was singing in Long John Bawldry's band.

Went back to Canned Heat's hotel suite after their gig for a party in London( I was roadie for the warm up band).

Ginger Baker lived just round the corner from me in Wembley. I was fueling up my Healey 3000 at my local petrol station one day when he drove in with his Jensen Intercepter. I said "nice motor man" as he had trumped me with his car. He just smiled and said thanks!

[TenDreams]

My mates a session drummer, he got us into a gig where he supported the Fun Lovin' Criminals at the Brighton Centre. After the gig we went to the party at a club down the street, there was a huge queue and some even huger bouncers at the front. As we had passes on we just strolled past the crowd to get in, but the bouncers weren't having any of it. After about 20 minutes of standing in place, Huey, the legend, rocked up and said to the bouncers, "Hey, if these guys ain't comin' in, I ain't comin' in." So, then we just walked in, passed the people at the front of the queue which hadn't moved, and the confused security guys.

We hung out with the 3 guys from the fun lovin criminals all night, I think fatboy slim (Norman Cook) was probably there too. Clearest memory is Huey not removing his sunglasses all night, but some girl removing his baseball cap and doing a runner with it.

Have also met Hexstatic, DJ Krush, DJ FOOD, oh, and David Prowes <SP> (Darth Vader) was my god-parents next-door neighbour when I was a kid. Yeah, I bugged the hel_l out of him.

[Shuddee]

Many years ago (take note), I had David Copperfield put his initials on my ticket to his magic show. This was before the forced sex case just recently put out on the news against Copperfield (I think this was just an attempt by someone to get at his extreme wealth, by the way).

I also was three feet from the Ozzy Osbourne group of four when I was in California. I believe it was in Malibu, but I spent some three and a half hours waiting for the signatures on my CD jewel case insert.

[deon]

I have also meet Howard Marks, aka mister nice a few times , he is 1 sound bloke .

Edited April 18, 2008 by deon

[lazeeboy]

on a trip back to the uk last month i met kevin spacey at whatley manor in mausley ,seemed an ok guy .

[oldgit]

I met Catherine Zeta Jones on Mumbles beach,South Wales.She was in a queue buying an ice cream and I recognised her as the young actress in Darling Buds of May.Had a quick chat then off she went.Stunningly beautiful woman.

[kiakaha]

I guess nobody here can back up their claims.....

Give it a rest!!!!

Sly should really lay off the HGH(Human Growth Hormone)...he has a baby growing out of his hand for christ sake !