Tell your best story/stories about meeting someone famous.

Here's one from me.

About 3 years ago, my wife's company was having their annual XMas party at a restaurant in KZoo.

I'm walking back from the restroom and as I pass by this one table where a man and woman were sitting, I notice that the man is none other than Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (real name, Alan Ruck).

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/stefaniafm/cameron.jpg

Anyhoo, I get back to the party and I tell my wife and she finds it interesting but not earth shattering. She mentions the sighting to a co-worker who goes absolutely berzerk, goes running over to the guy's table and starts yelling "It's Cameron! It's Cameron!". She asked him if he would stop over to the party and say hi, and he agrees to do so.

Apparently, he was in KZoo performing in a play at the local theater, but he was "too sick" that night so his understudy was filling in for him (not too sick to go to dinner, but oh well).

He proceeds to walk around and shake everyone's hand that is interested, signs a few autographs, and turns down several offers to have drinks bought for him.

Of course, nobody knows his real name, so everyone (drunk) is excitedly yelling at him calling him "CAMERON!!". Which I would imagine got pretty old back in say, 1988 or so.

So in summary, Cameron's a seemingly nice guy.

In my last job, I had a sales/client relationship with the great Bob Gibson, a native of and resident of Omaha.
Nice guy, kind of cold at first, but warms up. Word got around fast that you DON'T ask him for an autograph, so I never did.
One day while I was working there, he got in a little fender bender with a guy here and beat him up. Gibson was, I believe, about 65 at the time.

I'm 6'4", probably 6"5 in NBA terms. I was with a short male friend and former co-worker. We were going up to meet and greet John Cleese after an entertaining talk of his. He's a pretty tall dude himself, as I discovered up close. He stood on his toes so he was just a -little- taller than me and said "You must be Shorty!" with that British voice of his. I still get called Shorty by my friend every once in awhile when I see him.

I've met a ton on NBA players. I often work the corral in the loading dock at the palace so i get to talk to a lot of the players

back in my caddie days, i got to meet a bunch of local celebs, meaning i either carried for them or was atleast in their group. off the top of my head, alan trammel (bout a 15 hcp), nick harris (bout a 10), hansen (in the same round as harris. dude is a golf fiend. he was about a 2 at the time. i got the feeling he would take 1/10th the money to scrape by on the pga over being an elite nfl kicker. he honestly wouldnt shut up about it. it actually got grating), dennis archer (i would have to call him a chode, but he was there probably only because he had to be. he was on the palm pilot literally every second he wasnt hacking up the course. not a good golfer), william clay ford sr (only takes carts these days, and is widely dispised for driving his cart everywhere, included onto the green on every hole. when i caddied for him he seemed like a pleasant enough guy, but i get the feeling everyone is afraid of him), ford jr (nice guy, but i was told he was cutthroat behind closed doors, shortly there after, he had a ruthless rise to power, and subsequent fall. probably had something to do with the advice i gave him). a few others. a bunch spoke at our caddie banquet, but that doesnt really count as meeting them.

one year, i was stuck on the course when i would have otherwise gotten to caddie for battier. didnt even get to meet him, but i was told he mentioned that he wanted to finish his career in detroit, fwiw.

in my current job i've gotten to shake hands with a few foreign dignitaries from europe, but no one people would find interesting. think the prime minister of the czech republic and the mayor of warsaw. theyre not even american.

the funny thing about trammel relates to that seinfeld where kramer see joe dimagio at the coffee shop (kramer tries to distract him while he's dunking his donuts but cant, cuz he had such great focus). trammell is the only guy i've ever seen who would carry on a conversation throughout his entire swing, including the backswing (in golf, probably the #1 rule to ettiquette is complete silence during the backswing). it didnt affect him at all, he ws equally crappy either way.

I used to sell food, one of the companies I repped was owned by Franco Harris, we went on a couple sales calls together. Guy looks like a 5-6" square. Can't tell he isn't wearing pads.

My father in law is friends with Dan Gilbert, been in his lux. box twice.

Where do I start???

Alec Baldwin (when he's in town) hangs out at the coffee shop I frequent every morning.

I once said "hi" to Wayne Gretzky and his hawt wife at the Iceoplex (where the Kings used to practice). Also met Tony Granato and Marty McSorely there.

Sold three Vespas to Kate Hudson, and met Kurt Russell in the process. I'm also the un-official scooter pusher to Maroon 5. Jon Lovitz hangs around from time to time and asks stupid questions.

Met Ray Romano. He's taller than you might think. So is Harrison Ford. Didn't recognize him until I noticed the scar on his chin.

An old friend of mine co-owns a day spa with Kirsten Dunst's mother, though I've never personally met Little Miss Saggytits.

William Shatner once asked me to move out of the way at a cafe. Almost asked, in retaliation, how his wife is doing.

That chick from "My Name is Earl", Nadine Velasquez, is the sister of one of my co-workers. Damn hot in person, but short.

Said "hi" to Jay Leno at the In-n-Out Burger on Moorpark and Van Nuys, right here in the beautiful San Fernando Valley! You think his chin is big? Try seeing it in person. Reminds me of that movie, "Mask" (Not "The Mask").

Met Smokey Robinson. His eyes are mesmerizing. Nice fella.

Once spoke to Clint Eastwood when I worked at Universal Studios Hollywood (a really long time ago). He was heading up to the movie theater to see a matinee. Guy wouldn't shut up. Nice, but talkative.

And, the show stopper -- met Shaq (while he was a Laker). It's difficult to place into words just how "big" this guy is. Not just height, but MASS. He's fucking enormous.

call this the Denny McClain thread.

Err in my younger days met alot of detroit people at my job at media play.

Met Federov and his younger bro(i think it was his bro). His english was horrible at the time. Couldnt say "laser disc" clearly to save his life.

Met Dumars who was shopping with his fam. He's cool peoples foreal.

Met thomas Hearns. I think he was ready to kick my ass for not understanding his mumbling ass.[smilie=peepwall.gi:

Met Hearns even further back at ihop when he just won a title. Wearing his belt to breakfast.

Met Grant Hill several times(he was a frequent at media play). Knew it was him when you saw the Tahoe outside. He only avoided people once. But I felt him. Can't be cheery 24/7. Otherwise he did photos and everything.

Met Johnnie Morton, he's a prick.

Met Don Reid, didnt even realize it was him until he left.

Met Tamia also, very soft spoken and seemed cool enough.

Met Tupac's mother when she did a book signing.

Met Yzerman too. Also seemed cool enough.

I used to work at Service Merchandise (RIP) in Okemos while I was going to MSU.

One day John Engler was in the store so I walked up to him and asked him if he needed help. He was there to buy a football game for his Sega Genesis (Madden '96 maybe?).

He was not skinny.

I've met a lot of famous people, but don't have many interesting stories about that meeting apart from John Cleese above. I've seen John Salley wearing the longest pair of leather pants I have ever seen, with this amazon babe who he made look small though she was nearly as tall as I was. Met Laimbeer and his wife, too -- he's Laimbeer, she's nice. A long-ago ex-gf's parents (they were rich, she was bitch) lived a few doors down from Isiah Thomas and I saw him a couple times. Said my howdys to Drew Carey, Adam Sandler, and Corey Haim in Vegas, but that's hardly a stretch. I shook Gerald Ford's hand after he was president, along with about a gazillion other people. On the geekier side, I've exchanged emails with Roger Ebert and Marvin Minsky, and bought Linus Torvalds a beer at a hotel bar. Oh, and I told Leonard Nimoy to live long and prosper, but I'm past that now. I've met Rene Auberjonois, too. I've been out on Cass Lake with Bob Seger, but I think every sufficiently-old Detroiter has a Bob Seger story. He played at every 50-60 year old's high school prom.

Musician stories... oh, yeah! Sheryl Crow got a drink right next to me at the State Theater, after finishing her act (she opened for Crowded House) and a month or two before she became "All I Wanna Do" famous. I had pegged her for a lesbian after that song, but wasn't there to see her at all. In fact, I wasn't really there to see Crowded House -- it was about trying to get in some girl's pants who was interested in Crowded House, and I was getting a drink because that wasn't going so well. For all I know, Sheryl Crow was checking me out at the bar... heh.

Moxie:
I live in fear of the day that a spaceship enters the Earth's atmosphere to take you back home.

Singing "All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Poon" is strange?

Seeing some blonde nymphet surgically attached to Drew Carey at the Hard Rock Hotel is abnormal?

Gosh, you earth people are so weird!