Best conversation you've had with a celebrity?

[CaptJimboJones]

I had a conversation with Andy Summers (guitarist for The Police) a few years back after a show where he was playing with his jazz band (I was there with a friend who was reviewing the show for a local paper and we were allowed backstage for an interview.) We mostly talked about our mutual admiration for Charlie Mingus. Sting's name never came up. (This was long before the Police got back together for their reunion tour.)

 

[siskokid888]

When I was a kid, I ran elevators in Rockefeller Center in NYC, and often worked near NBC studios and Warner communications, so I've had conversations with tons of celebs. When Letterman (who I used to see regularly) was on NBC, he would occasionally have something called "the lazy show", where he would do the show from his office, while dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. There would be a dedicated elevator to bring the guests up. That night the guests were Teri Garr (very nice lady) and the comedian Richard Lewis. After I brought Lewis up, I took the elevator back to the main floor. Nothing was going on, so I went back up to Letterman's floor to listen to the show. When the door opened, Lewis was in the elevator bank pacing back and forth and talking to himself. I said "sorry", and went to shut the door, but he said, "no, its cool, I'm just getting ready for my apperance". We talked for about 20 minutes about stand up comedy and acting and how he readies himself, then we went off onto sports and politics and other things, until he had to go on. When the show was over, I took him back down to the main floor. As he left the elevator, he turned, put his hand on my shoulder, and said "hey man, thanks a lot, I really appreciate it" and left. What he was thanking me for I don't know. His stage persona is not far off his actual persona. That's just one example of the encounters I've had.

 

[tharpdevenport]

actually had Brent Spinner come to my grandmothers last birthday party, she was a Huge Data fan, i ended up asking him a ton of behind the scenes questions

Such as? Don't leave my hyperspanner dangling.

 

[Guartho]

You guys are making me jealous. The only famous person I've ever talked to is Jesus.

 

[voggmo]

Bruce Dickinson backstage at House of Blues. We chatted the battle of Britain, Spitfires, Aces etc. Told each other some jokes. He was very funny & made sure everyone got some time with him.

 

[Outpost4]

I talked with Phish's bass player, Mike Gordon, last week. Nice guy. I thanked him for the years of fun. He seemed to like that.

I had a meal with bluegrass legend John Hartford. I can't remember a thing we talked about.

Prince was rude to me once, but I think I have to get to the back of the line on that one. I smoked a joint with Wavy Gravy, but again, that's nothing special. I found I shared my birthday with String Cheese Incident's drummer, Michael Travis, and we both agreed we liked having the same birthdate as Lionel Hampton as (in unison, for the other people involved in the conversation) opposed to Hitler. Everyone laughed.

 

[Sephiroth]

actually had Brent Spinner come to my grandmothers last birthday party, she was a Huge Data fan, i ended up asking him a ton of behind the scenes questions

Such as? Don't leave my hyperspanner dangling.

oh, mostly what the other actors were like

 

[TGTheodore]

I also had a lot good conversations with Van Johnson and Bobby Van* when I directed them in Damn Yankees a few decades ago.

Nice guys. You just never stood too close to Van (he'd goose ANYbody), and you made sure Bobby was the focal point when you went out for a late breakfast after the show or a rehearsal.

--Ted

* Big MGM stars, for you youngsters out there. Van was the #1 box office star for a few years in the late 1940's. Bobby was mostly a dancer in the movies, and then a headliner on Broadway in the 60's and 70's.

 

[Aragorn]

I had a long steak dinner with Chicago Cubs legend Andre Dawson about two months ago. For such a mighty ballplayer, he was so very quiet, reserved and humble -- a gentle giant.

So basically he's someone who could've benefited from having Scott Boras as an agent?

 

[cardinal biggles]

I ran into Al Gore at the Au Bon Pain at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia back in 2003. Just as he was leaving, I asked him for an autograph, and as he was signing the paper we had a brief exchange:

Me: So what brings you to Philadelphia?
Al: Well, I'm on my way to New York with these two gentlemen (gestures at the two guys he'd been eating and talking with) to see about a job. I was the first person to get fired, you know.

If Gore had been that personable during the election, who knows, history might have played out a little differently...

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I spent a whole summer working with Tom Hanks in 1976. Had many conversations with him, and don't remember a single thing we talked about. If I had known then he was going to become so famous I'd have paid more attention, and been a lot nicer to him.

Maybe that's a lesson that you should treat everyone that way.

 

[Finn]

I once met Senator Chistopher Dodd in his office briefly in DC. No real conversation though. Mom said I once threw a toy train during a plane trip when I was tiny and it hit a well known basketball player (from the 1970s, I forgot who) in the head. Mom said he was understanding and returned the toy.

 

[Hermiod]

Oh, I should say I had a conversation once with my local MP. I won't say who he is but he's not a member of my party of choice and he foolishly knocked on my door during a local council election to ask for support for the Labour party candidate.

He's not such a bad chap, though I disagree with his politics.

 

[John Picard]

Oh, I should say I had a conversation once with my local MP. I won't say who he is but he's not a member of my party of choice and he foolishly knocked on my door during a local council election to ask for support for the Labour party candidate.

He's not such a bad chap, though I disagree with his politics.

Did you call him a "right cheeky bastard"?

 

[Hermiod]

^Er, no. I talked all proper like.

 

[Mistral]

I really hadn't considered it before but my high school Gov teacher is now a US Senator-imagine that. Had more than one conversation with him.....

 

[auntiehill]

I think the longest conversation I had with a celebrity was with Alexander Siddig, when I was in his fan club ages ago. A group of us had gone to one of the conventions where he was appearing, and he actually remembered us from the meeting almost a year before.

We waited for him to finish his line at the signing table and then went over and asked for photos. He kissed everyone on the cheek (*sigh*) and said, "You're that lot from the club!" He had come running in that afternoon, so we asked what happened, and he unloaded about how Creation had him booked in a hotel on the other side of town, and not sent a car for him or told him how to find the place. He'd been in a mad dash to find an ATM, so he could get cash, so he could catch a cab that would get him to the convention. He joked about being a typical over-dressed Englishman, because he was wearing a full suit in New Orleans---in August, when it was over 100 F. He was sweating buckets! He's always been very nice, every time I've met him.

I also had a nice conversation with John Rhys-Davies; it was right after he left Sliders. He was a great flirt, and made me blush! He was very wistful about the cast of Sliders and talked about how much he would miss working with them, especially Jerry.

 

[Kail]

I spent a whole summer working with Tom Hanks in 1976. Had many conversations with him, and don't remember a single thing we talked about. If I had known then he was going to become so famous I'd have paid more attention, and been a lot nicer to him.

Maybe that's a lesson that you should treat everyone that way.

I try to be nice to everyone, and I was to him. My point was that if I'd known he'd go on to super stardom I'd have been REALLY nice to him. Out of the ordinary, kiss his ass, over the top nice. I like people, but I'm not gonna be that way to everyone. For one thing, I don't have the energy.

 

[Tulin]

Very brief conversation with George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch. It was Sept 11th 2001 so nobody there was in a very talkative mood. Ben Burtt was more open to having a chat, although we mostly talked about the events of that morning.

Had a very intimate dinner once at Club 33(if you have to ask what it is, you won't understand if I tell you)in Disneyland with an extremely senior and legendary Disney Imagineer, whom I will not name. Had a very frank and open dicussion about the newly opened Disney's California Adventure across the esplanade and how much he hated it.

As a Disney fan I was trying not to let my eyes bug out as he spewed vitriol and how the company had wasted some of THE MOST important real estate in the world on that piece of carnival trash.

 

[Faldor]

talking Star Wars with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost was pretty cool.