My list of celebrity encounters would be waaaaay too long to list, as I've been working on conventions on-and-off for about 25 years. Some of the more interesting ones, however:
- on the Monday morning after Toronto Trek 20, which I'd co-chaired, I was in an elevator with Garrett Wang. Garrett felt the need to introduce himself.
(That was the same day when David Gerrold kissed me goodbye after I helped him load up his car.)
- at Dragon*Con in 2008, I was helping to set up for the Rainbow Party and George Takei and Brad Altman came in. They were to be the Guests of Honour but were begging off due to fatigue. For some reason I was pushed into the photo, even though my contribution to the party was minimal.
- Ellen Muth: I chaired her first-ever convention, so a year or so later when I saw her at Dragon*Con, she addressed me by name. The following year we had her as a guest at Polaris, and since one of my jobs is to liaise with the author guests, I went to the airport with a few other people to pick up Jim Butcher (author of the "Dresden Files" series of books). Ellen was coming in around the same time, so we were bringing them back to the hotel together. When Ellen came out of the passenger area, she saw me standing there, walked up to me, and said, "Hi, remember me?"
- I've been friends with author Robert J. Sawyer (whose book "FlashForward" was the basis for the recent TV show) for about 20 years.
- I've been called a dwarf by Harlan Ellison. (I was on my knees putting the books he'd just signed into my backpack, and he came up behind me and loomed over me with all 5'5" of his being.) Harlan also once attempted to sell me a combination storm window/bidet on the phone.
- I spent about three hours chatting with author Charles Stross at the 2008 Worldcon, as we were staffing adjacent tables in the exhibit area.
- one Sunday morning, I was on the subway on my way to a Polaris meeting, when Olympic medalist (for swimming) Mark Tewksbury sat down next to me and started a conversation.
- this will only likely mean anything to my fellow Canadians, but I'm friends with the guy who performs Ed the Sock, and Liana K (his real-life wife). Liana worked for me on the 2009 Worldcon, running the Aurora Award ceremony.
- one of my other responsibilities at that same Worldcon was Opening Ceremonies, and I arranged for Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, to give the opening keynote address. I didn't have much face time with him, but I did meet him and got to have a picture taken.
- at that same Worldcon, I got to chat briefly with Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, after I'd manned the mike stand at his talk, as well as author Neil Gaiman. And for some reason Cory Doctorow greeted me by name when we crossed paths. I don't recall ever having met him before that, so I have no idea how he knew who I was (when he called out, we were too far from each other for him to have been able to read my badge clearly, so it was obvious that he recognized me - we must have met when he lived in Toronto, but I honestly don't remember).
- apparently I was serving Sean Astin all evening when I was tending bar at a party during the 2002 Worldcon, but never knew it (I was more excited about meeting author Harry Turtledove at that same party).
- when my ex-husband and I were first dating, one of his roommates was Stacie Mistysyn, who played Caitlin Ryan on
Degrassi Junior High and
Degrassi High. (I believe she's also played the character on
Degrassi: The Next Generation.)
- I bumped into Robert Gant (who played Ben on the Canadian/American version of "Queer As Folk") as he was on his way into a condo building with an armful of groceries. I rather enjoyed teasing one particular friend of mine after that with the information that I knew where Mr. Gant - or perhaps I should say Mr. Gonzalez, as "Robert Gant" is a stage name - lived.
(I also ran into Randy Harrison, who played Justin on the show, in the same neighbourhood at lunchtime one day.)
- I don't often go to bookstore signings, but I made a point of going when Douglas Adams ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") was in town and got the first two volumes in the series signed (he was only signing two books per person).
Now you see why I didn't list all of the famous people I've met - I'd probably be here for days, though I could probably just go through my autograph collection.
