Personal encounters with cast members (as in not at conventions)
- Thread starter indycar
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I met George Takei whilst I was doing a Broadway show (in the orchestra) and George came backstage afterwards and hung out for an hour or so. Whoopie Goldberg came to the show twice. I had also met her a few times before, once at a recording studio in NYC, and I played in the band at her 50th birthday party. I also met Avery Brooks at a rehearsal in NYC. Many years ago I met Jimmy Doohan at the Universal Hilton breakfast buffet and I met Michael Dorn at a hotel bar in NYC.
I've met and/or worked with an assorted collection of Trek guest actors including Joe Piscopo, Joan Collins, Ben Vareen, Kipleigh Brown, and Vanessa Williams. I think that about covers it. I've met a few other cast members and guests at conventions so that doesn't count for this thread.
That certainly is a lot. These were all chance encounters (as in you didn't know they were there until you saw them), correct?
Chance encounter with Doohan, Dorn, Takei, and Collins. I was hired to work with Piscopo, and Vanesa Williams, an I hired Vareen for a concert about 5 years ago. I actually wanted to hire Avery Brooks but was talked out of it. Also, I met Robert Picardo at a convention and he recognised me! He had been to the show I was doing a couple of days earlier and I missed out on meeting him because I ran to catch the train that night. Oh well.
This technically counts...some friends and I went to another city to see Gates McFadden and Walter Koenig back in '94. Before the convention we were window shopping and Walter strolled on past doing the same. We were all taken aback and said hello, then sort of "stepped back" figuring he would want to keep moving rather than waste time with us, but he stood around and chatted for a good five minutes. A good egg, that man. 
Also ran into Pegg once and he acted like a bit of a jerk. C'est la vie.
Also ran into Pegg once and he acted like a bit of a jerk. C'est la vie.
I met Walter Koenig when he made an appearance for the opening of a local Blockbuster Video in the late 80s. So not at a convention, but still a formal, "controlled" setting. He was nice.
Not me, but a friend:
He was working security at a local mall theater in the mid-1970s where Shatner was appearing.
Later in the parking lot, after closing, my friend discovered his car wouldn't start, so he popped the hood and went to work on it. He was a mechanic, so he knew what he was doing. With his head under the hood, he heard a car stop and someone say "Need any help?" He reflexively said "No thanks, I got it." He heard "Okay, good night." And when my friend looked up, he saw it was Shatner driving away.
He's always been mad at himself for missing the chance to hang out and fix his car with Captain Kirk.
He was working security at a local mall theater in the mid-1970s where Shatner was appearing.
Later in the parking lot, after closing, my friend discovered his car wouldn't start, so he popped the hood and went to work on it. He was a mechanic, so he knew what he was doing. With his head under the hood, he heard a car stop and someone say "Need any help?" He reflexively said "No thanks, I got it." He heard "Okay, good night." And when my friend looked up, he saw it was Shatner driving away.
He's always been mad at himself for missing the chance to hang out and fix his car with Captain Kirk.
And of course there was the time in 1976 when Nimoy visited the Two Guys department store in Hackensack, where my wife worked in the camera department, and she handed an SX-70 to a coworker and said "Take my picture, take my picture!!"
It might be inappropriate to make such a remark here and I don't know how you'll appreciate it, but I feel compelled to say that your wife is a very beautiful woman.
In undergrad. This actor was on campus to do a talk, but that's not the chance encounter part. His talk was organized by a student group and academic dept, and it was very well organized. But before the talk, for some reason, everybody involved with planning needed to attend to a variety of different matters at the last minute. I was walking down the hall when a door opened and my friend popped her head out. She asked if I could sit in with their guest for about 10 minutes, because everyone else was deployed. I said sure, I'd love to lend a hand, so I entered the room.
And then there he was, sitting at the end of the meeting table. None other than George Takei himself.
When I turned around, my friend had already left and shut the door. Oh yeah, I was nervous and struggled to come up with things to say, but Takei was pretty open and conversational, like he was genuinely interested in meeting me. It was my job to welcome him, and he instead made me feel welcomed. It was neat.
Though internally for me, it was more like Troy meeting LeVar Burton on Community. Just replace Takei for Burton and me for Troy.
And then there he was, sitting at the end of the meeting table. None other than George Takei himself.
When I turned around, my friend had already left and shut the door. Oh yeah, I was nervous and struggled to come up with things to say, but Takei was pretty open and conversational, like he was genuinely interested in meeting me. It was my job to welcome him, and he instead made me feel welcomed. It was neat.
Though internally for me, it was more like Troy meeting LeVar Burton on Community. Just replace Takei for Burton and me for Troy.
Met lots and lots of the cast at conventions over the years, but since you were asking about stuff away from conventions there isn't really a whole lot. Being in the UK kind of limits my chance of randomly bumping into anybody from Trek.
Oh, but there have been two or three coffees/lunches/train journeys with my dear friend Chase Masterson in the last couple of years. Do those count?
Oh, but there have been two or three coffees/lunches/train journeys with my dear friend Chase Masterson in the last couple of years. Do those count?
Met lots and lots of the cast at conventions over the years, but since you were asking about stuff away from conventions there isn't really a whole lot. Being in the UK kind of limits my chance of randomly bumping into anybody from Trek.
Oh, but there have been two or three coffees/lunches/train journeys with my dear friend Chase Masterson in the last couple of years. Do those count?
You're a lucky man!
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