QOTD: Ever had a brush with fame?
I once gave Johnny Cougar Mellencamp a flyer for Otter Fest, we were at the same Mexican restaurant (he didn't come, and didn't read it, the jerk).
I worked my way through college as an usher at a (legitimate) theater, which gave me a few brushes. The most notable was when they gave an award to Jimmy Stewart (yeah, I'm old). We were instructed to stay away from Mr. Stewart, who attended with his wife and what appeared to be a bodyguard, and that approaching him would be cause for firing. I decided that I'd have a lot of job, but probably only one chance to meet Jimmy Stewart, so I approached him when his party was alone in the theater, and chatted with him for a minute and got his autograph. He was as sweet and gracious as you might expect. That autograph is one of my prized possessions, and not only did I not get fired, I worked there for several more years.
Similarly, while in college, my theater group was rehearsing in one of the small theaters in the complex while a gala was going on honoring Grace Kelly, with many assorted luminaries attending. We hung out backstage and gaped at Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and Princess Grace herself (with Princess Caroline) milled about. An extremely well-dressed older lady, obviously bored by the proceedings, sat and watched our rehearsal and chatted with us about our acting aspirations. We didn't know who she was, but it was actress Celeste Holm.
While working onsite at NBC (then owned by my client, GE), I accidentally wandered onto Conan O'Brien's empty Late Night set. I resisted the urge to sit in his chair for fear of being fired. After that, I rode down in an elevator with Jon Stewart and his agent, he having just appeared on Rosie O'Donnell. He's really, really small.
I shook Gerald Ford's hand at a rally.
When I was in B'nai Brith Youth (Jewish youth group), we gave an award to gameshow host Monty Hall for basically being a famous Jewish guy, and he came to accept it.
