I met a few movie stars while skiing in California but so long ago can’t remember their names.Not important anyway.

I guess it depends on who you consider a celebrity, and in what venue. Meeting a celebrity where they are the featured item (such as an autograph signing or a lecture) doesn’t impress me.

The first which comes to mind are in 1977, on the SMSU (now MSU) campus, I was walking between classes, and looked up, and there was Red Skelton walking across campus. No one was paying him the slightest bit of attention, (My fellow students likely didn’t know who he was) so I walked up and said hi. Chatted about two minutes and he signed my copy of a student newspaper, and I wished him well at his presentation that evening. I had been vaguely aware he was giving the presentation, and had his clown paintings on display, (I was on the paper staff, after all) but didn’t expect to see him just walking down the sidewalk like an ordinary person.

The second was at one of the the early Archon sf conventions– this one was held at the Chase Hotel. There was a man sitting on the floor in the corner of the lobby telling a story like a teacher with people sitting crosslegged around like storytime. I had no clue who it was, so I wandered over. He looked like a big friendly teddybear. So I asked who he was. I got one of the ‘how stupid are you?’ looks, before being told it was Stephen King. At a later Archon, my husband and I wandered into the bar looking for a soda, and a gentleman with a British-sounding accent asked if anyone had a can opener. Husband passed his pocketknife over only to discover the fellow had a can of Guinness which at that time, at least, did not have poptops, and the fellow was Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame.

I’m sure there are St. Louis and Missouri celebrities I’ve met, (Ron Elz is one) and plenty of St Louis and Missouri writers but I don’t consider politicians running for office as a big deal (Those know nationally would be Warren Hearnes, Harriet Woods and John Danforth– yeah, me and a gazillion other people have met them). I can’t say I actually know anyone who is nationally and generally famous.

Kurt, I have a deep sea fisihg yacht, in Hawaii, plus a P-Cat. I have met and associated with hundreds of “celebrites” from sports, politics, movies. (I know every one of the Fonda family, Including “Hanoi Jane”. Peter, her brother,is a personal friend. He owned the Tatoosh sail boat. Hanoi Jane arrived, and he pleaded with me to let her go with us on a weekend trip that we had planned aboard my boat. I relentend. I have never learned to hate anyone, except her.

Others for example. Mort Werner, the executive VP or NBC who hired Johnny Carson. Takamiayama, who was the first American to become a Grand Chapion in Sumo Wrestling. He, and 5 more in his stable went deep sea fishing with me. The back deck was filled with beer. They were out for about 4 hours and drank all of it! Yes, we caught fish. Norman Mineta, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, under both a Democrat and Republican administration. We have been fishing buddies for years, and meet in Hawaii in May and spend two weeks on my boat and fishing or whatever.

Now, for my last…A friend of mine and I was sailing my P-Cat. We sailed 7 miles to a Lahaina Resort Hotel, had a beer at the beach bar. A Cute lady asked where we were going. Lahaina Harbor She asked if she could sail down with us. She did. I asked if she would like to go into the Pioneer Hotel for a drink. She did. We were seated and every person in the bar turned to look at us. I checked to see if my fly was open. It wasn’t.

One brought over a napkin and asked her to sign it. She did. Mary Tyler Moore.

Chuck Yeager almost ran into me in an Indy Camaro Pace car on the way to the pits from gasoline alley at Indy. I caught him out of the corner of my eye and he stopped about two feet away and smiled and waved. I also sat with Tom Wopat (Luke Duke from “The Dukes of Hazzard”) on a flight from Nashville to Chicago. He was on his way to California to do a Christmas Special.

Since I worked in news and sports for years, I’ve rubbed elbows with a lot of famous people. Outside of work, the most memorable stars I encountered was Elizabeth Taylor who was in front of me in the betting line for the ingural Arlington Million race at Arlington Park in Chicago back in 1981. The other was waiting for a cab at the Minneapolis airport with Kevin Garnett, then of the Minneapolis Timberwolves.

I met Santa Claus many times! MERRY CHRISTMAS St. Louis!

I once, literally, ran into Harry Carry. He was coming out of the press box and I was walking by—and crash! (Neither of us was paying attention.)

I used to worked in a comedy club, so I have met lots of comedians and comic actors. I also used to work in the hotel where the Muny actors would reside while in town and came across many “famous” people that way.

Oh my TOTD friends. If there was any doubt that I had been a good girl this year, put them aside. Obviously I’ve been a very good girl as Santa has announced he is sending me George Clooney!

What’s your idea of a celebrity? I have had numerous contact/sightings with sports celebrities over the years. I saw the Pope when he came to St Louis. Every time I go to the Fox or the Muny I see Broadway celebrities. How many Hollywood celebrities, hmmm, never. And I won’t be rushing out to try to see George Clooney, although I really did like his character in Michael Clayton.

When I worked at the stadium parking garage as a teenager in the 70’s, I met a lot of the football and baseball Cardinals. I met Kevin Costner when he was a nobody. I saw Clint Eastwood in San Francisco when he was filming a “Dirty Harry” movie. My favorite though was in 1982 when the Birds won it all and I was waiting for the parade to start. My brother and I were admiring the Cyldesdales when a limo pulled up. Out popped Gussie. We walked right over and shook his hand. That was a great day.