OT: Your best celebrity encounters?
- Thread starter MtNittany
- Start date
There was an airport in state college back then. Now commercial flights? I don’t know.i grew up in state college -- before there was an airport in sc the nearest was at Black Moshannon.
when i was a kid in the 1970s we drove there to pick up my dad from a trip and in the airport lobby saw the Hagar Brothers from Hee Haw.
doesnt sounds like much but our family watched HH every saturday -- so it was kind of a big deal
* Joe DiMaggio in the Pittsburgh int airport back in the mid 80’s - walking alone to a gate and I walked right towards him and shook his hand.
* Franco Harris downtown Pittsburgh spring 1972 after he was drafted by the Steelers -walking the streets of the Burgh
* Roberto Duran in Houston at an Astros game where he was attending as an ambassador for the Panamanian soccer team - talked for 5 minutes with him in box seat concession stands
* Both Simon Le Bon (lead singer) and John Taylor (bass player) with Duran Duran at a black Jack table in a casino in Reno, Nevada after their concert they performed, which I did not attend in 1986.
* Barbara Bush at a Sam’s Club in northwest Houston in 1995 checking out next to me. She had secret service agents around her, so the encounter was brief. Nice lady.
* Franco Harris downtown Pittsburgh spring 1972 after he was drafted by the Steelers -walking the streets of the Burgh
* Roberto Duran in Houston at an Astros game where he was attending as an ambassador for the Panamanian soccer team - talked for 5 minutes with him in box seat concession stands
* Both Simon Le Bon (lead singer) and John Taylor (bass player) with Duran Duran at a black Jack table in a casino in Reno, Nevada after their concert they performed, which I did not attend in 1986.
* Barbara Bush at a Sam’s Club in northwest Houston in 1995 checking out next to me. She had secret service agents around her, so the encounter was brief. Nice lady.
Went into a bar with some friends. We see a guy we know so we go over to talk. He introduces us to a guy in his group. It was Lt Gov. Mark Schweiker. I did not even know who he was. He buys us a round. He was cool. He played college football. Two months later he was the governor.
My cousin Buzz Roddy (his father Joe was my mother Helen’s younger brother) is a semi-regular on Best Medicine, on Fox, the comic relief, it seems. A really wonderful man. My Roddy cousins are all very close; we are fiercely proud of each other, we’d go to war for each other. Buzz’s wife Laurie Dawn was the “woman on the bus” in Bridge of Spies.
Yeah that was f-ed up. On the other side I have a good story about Ray Didinger. I never met him but I have a good friend who's kid was a journalism major at Temple. Apparently, Ray did a classroom guest lecture there after which my friend's son introduced himself to Ray and they had a conversation about how best to become a sports journalist. A year or so later when Ray was doing the 'Tommy and Me' performances, my buddy and his son were in attendance and Ray recognized his son by name during the post performance audience Q/A and made a pubic display of how impressed he was by him when they first met. Pretty cool! My buddy was a very proud dad for sure.
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White and Rizzuto were phenomenal together! Rizzuto talking about what he heard on the radio broadcast going over the bridge on his way home after the 6th inning always amused me. I‘m pretty sure Rizzuto lived in Spring Lake, NJ at that time, pretty close to where I grew up.
Heres a fun little story, somewhat related. My father took me and my sister along with my aunt and two cousins up to the Yankees game where Reggie hit his 400th HR. My father played D league (essentially rookie league these days) baseball in Muskogee for the Giants. We were standing by the team entrance trying to catch a glimpse of whoever we could when the White Sox showed up. As they’re walking by my father calls out, “Hey Orlando!”. His old teammates Orlando Cepeda turns around and comes up to my father, excited to see him. They chat for a couple of minutes, then he invites my father in with him so he goes leaving us with my aunt. My father is gone for BP, the first inning, second inning….. he shows back up around the 8th inning, hammered. He’d been running into people he knew from his experience or from his brother’s experience (he also played in the Giants system and played a bit for the Giants and Cubs). Somewhere along the journey he ended up in the booth talking to Bill White who was a friend of his brother. Now that I think about it, his childhood best friend was the Yankees traveling secretary (not Costanza) so he must have caught up to him at some point there as well. In these PC times I would love to say he napped on the drive home while my aunt drove us but I’m sure he drove us all the way back to the Jersey shore. Different times…
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To clarify things, and keep everything accurate, Conlin was a journalist for the Philadelphia Daily News. The Daily News and the Inquirer were owned by the same group, but they operated independently, so Conlin never wrote for the Inquirer.
Probably not a celebrity in the traditional sense, but I did get to meet and talk to the first soldier that jumped out of the plane over Port Point Salines Airport during the Grenada invasion. He was a speaker at a War Planning course that I attended many moons ago.
My grandfather was a JC cop that once picked up Whitey for pissing on the street outside a bar.
Geraldo Rivera in Langans Restaraunt in Manhattan my wife asked him and his group can move down a seat so we can sit at the bar and he was very nice about it. We didn’t realize it was him until we sat down very nice guy advised us to get the Liguine with clam sauce his favorite in the city
Don’t know where to put this, but if I had been stupid enough to shoot video of her and post it online she’d be famous (and I’d be in jail). The absolute hottest woman at my gym was doing donkey kicks like in this video, but with her legs facing out toward the open gym while wearing pink tights. BTW I never have my phone on me in the gym area.
Yeah, well, there's always some woman in the gym where you suck in your gut every time the two of you cross paths.
HAHAHA!!
like Whitey - I’ve pissed on plenty of curbs while growing up in Johnson City in the 1980s … I was just’ a little more discreet about it
Today my good friend @IrishHerb got a hole-in-one on his first shot of 2026, his first ace in 65+ years of golfing.
Herb told me he was going to post this on FB, and I know he wouldn’t post about it here, so now we’re reading about this.
Everything Herb does, he does really well.
Herb told me he was going to post this on FB, and I know he wouldn’t post about it here, so now we’re reading about this.
Everything Herb does, he does really well.
30+ years ago walking in Manhattan with my sister and wife I see Roy Scheider and a woman. I point them out and my sister says she knows the woman, his wife Brenda. I was happy to leave them alone but my sister rushes us over to them. Brenda and my sister greet one another and she introduces Roy to her. My sister introduces Roy to my wife and me but my sister calls me Eric (my brother’s name). I shake Roy’s hand. My wife jumps in and says, “No, he’s Bruce.” Roy looks at the 3 of us like the idiots we were…..I still give my sister and wife crap about that moment.
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I met @fairgambit s wife at their Coraopolis distribution facility in 2001 picking up some Vietnamese tires for my GTI. Lovely lady, the warehouse team looked a bit scared of her.
The tires were schit of course
The tires were schit of course
I was on Curtin Road when I saw BJ "Windy" Hailstones riding his 2 wheeler and carrying golf clubs.
I have a funny “not celebrity” story.
Just after college I met my friend who lived near Princeton and we headed up to the old Yankee Stadium for a night game. Went to Stan’s before the game and quickly had about 4 drinks before heading to the cheap seats. A couple innings in and after a couple more drinks I’m buzzed and look over at a guy who looks like Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now, i am not a theater guy AT ALL - I’d rather have a day long migraine - but that guy is pretty distinctive and was really famous as Cats had come out. I tell my friend Maurice - yo, Mo, that’s ******* Andrew Lloyd Webber! He disagrees saying why would he be in the cheap seats. Fine, point taken, but I point out it’s to avoid the rich people who would definitely recognize him.
An inning or 2 later, I’m still trying to confirm it’s ALW. I mention it to my friend again - he looks exactly like him, he’s ugly like ALW, etc. Maurice again disagrees - that guy is dressed like a slob - no way it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber. Again, I point out that he’s trying to fit in with the slobs in the cheap seats - if he wore something fancy or too nice , that would be ridiculous and would give him away.
Anyway, we’re now about 7 innings and 2 drinking hours in and I’ve been periodically saying my friend is insane and I’m totally right. Finally I say, okay, if we hear this guy talk and he has an English accent, it’s definitely Andrew Lloyd Webber. Maurice concedes that if that happens, he’ll agree with me.
So the Yankees bring a relief pitcher in - the horrible Ed Whitson. He walks the first guy and the 2nd guy promptly hammers a pitch to the gap driving him in. The guy stands up and in the perfect New York accent says - “hey Whitson, you ****** blow!” My friend turns to me with a sarcastic look and says “yeah, that’s Andrew Lloyd ******* Webber - dumbass”
It was a fun way to pass the time, though
Just after college I met my friend who lived near Princeton and we headed up to the old Yankee Stadium for a night game. Went to Stan’s before the game and quickly had about 4 drinks before heading to the cheap seats. A couple innings in and after a couple more drinks I’m buzzed and look over at a guy who looks like Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now, i am not a theater guy AT ALL - I’d rather have a day long migraine - but that guy is pretty distinctive and was really famous as Cats had come out. I tell my friend Maurice - yo, Mo, that’s ******* Andrew Lloyd Webber! He disagrees saying why would he be in the cheap seats. Fine, point taken, but I point out it’s to avoid the rich people who would definitely recognize him.
An inning or 2 later, I’m still trying to confirm it’s ALW. I mention it to my friend again - he looks exactly like him, he’s ugly like ALW, etc. Maurice again disagrees - that guy is dressed like a slob - no way it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber. Again, I point out that he’s trying to fit in with the slobs in the cheap seats - if he wore something fancy or too nice , that would be ridiculous and would give him away.
Anyway, we’re now about 7 innings and 2 drinking hours in and I’ve been periodically saying my friend is insane and I’m totally right. Finally I say, okay, if we hear this guy talk and he has an English accent, it’s definitely Andrew Lloyd Webber. Maurice concedes that if that happens, he’ll agree with me.
So the Yankees bring a relief pitcher in - the horrible Ed Whitson. He walks the first guy and the 2nd guy promptly hammers a pitch to the gap driving him in. The guy stands up and in the perfect New York accent says - “hey Whitson, you ****** blow!” My friend turns to me with a sarcastic look and says “yeah, that’s Andrew Lloyd ******* Webber - dumbass”
It was a fun way to pass the time, though
well-written such that I’m more than willing to tolerate the not-celebrity aspect …
Probably Allegheny. They flew everywhere in the East.
Edit: In those days they flew out of Mid-State Airport near Black Mo. Something called Harrisburg Commuter flew out of UP starting in 1965. Allegheny moved over to UP in 1978. I picked up my brother there once or twice for a game.
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I once saw Joe DiMaggio in Dinky Donuts. You know, I looked in there and there he was having coffee and a donut.
Countless encounters at the race track growing up. I was blessed to grow up in a family of top car racing people so I was around actors/actresses/singers and entertainers have lunch with and talk to them all the time at the race track on weekends.
I think I have forgotten more that I met than I remember at this age of my life ...
Saw Pat Narduzzi cleaning restrooms at a truck stop gas station. Tom and Terry Brands were working the fryers at McDonald’s.
I saw Tony Dorsett vomiting in the lobby of the Edison Hotel.
Sound about right. Used to push my dad’s plane out of hanger back in the 70’s and 80’s. At first thought it was just tied down outside in the early 70’s.
I had two separate interesting conversations in the United Airlines Red carpet club.
The first was in Sydney when sitting right next to me in the bar was none other than Gordon Liddy of Watergate and later on radio talk fame. He was In Oz promoting his book "Will"
The second was in Denver with Robert McNamara. I was transiting to somewhere and McNamara was on his way to Vail.
Both conversations were light and interesting
The first was in Sydney when sitting right next to me in the bar was none other than Gordon Liddy of Watergate and later on radio talk fame. He was In Oz promoting his book "Will"
The second was in Denver with Robert McNamara. I was transiting to somewhere and McNamara was on his way to Vail.
Both conversations were light and interesting
I was walking on the beach in Stone Harbor and ran into Joe Paterno. I got to thank him for all the great memories.
I met Jack Kemp prior to a speech he gave to our Chamber of Commerce. I was not impressed, but once he got on stage he was a different person.
I was tasked with coordinating some speeches by candidates for President. Paul Tsongas was a senator who had won the New Hampshire primary. I called his PA office only to find out I had been given his hotel room phone number. He answered the phone and we talked for fifteen minutes. He could not have been nicer.
Governor Rendell was a good guy to talk to. I sat with him prior to him giving a speech at a charitable dinner.
oK now embarrassing.. I was in NYC at the holidays waiting in line at the Stage Deli for a Ruben. On the speaker they were playing “Felix Navidad”. It was a good time for me to begin singing it way too loud. No it wasn’t. My wife elbowed me and pointed to Jose Feliciano sitting five feet away.
I met Jack Kemp prior to a speech he gave to our Chamber of Commerce. I was not impressed, but once he got on stage he was a different person.
I was tasked with coordinating some speeches by candidates for President. Paul Tsongas was a senator who had won the New Hampshire primary. I called his PA office only to find out I had been given his hotel room phone number. He answered the phone and we talked for fifteen minutes. He could not have been nicer.
Governor Rendell was a good guy to talk to. I sat with him prior to him giving a speech at a charitable dinner.
oK now embarrassing.. I was in NYC at the holidays waiting in line at the Stage Deli for a Ruben. On the speaker they were playing “Felix Navidad”. It was a good time for me to begin singing it way too loud. No it wasn’t. My wife elbowed me and pointed to Jose Feliciano sitting five feet away.
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Ask him about Dorsett’s schwantz! It’s important to that moron!