Who's the most famous person you've ever met?

When the Anrea Doria sank off Nantucket our ship, and others, retrieved much of the floating debris and personal items. We happened to retrieve one of Ruth Roman's traveling cases - -does this count? 🥴

As a side note, we also sank some of the lifeboats that broke loose as the Andrea Doria sank and came to the surface inverted. Used the 40 mm. mount and it was surprising how many shells it took to sink them due to the many individual segments of these 26' boats.
 
I met and actually kind of "igged" Jackie Wilson at Lloyd Price's Turn Table in N.Y.C. I also met and had a nice chat backstage with my crush at the time, Pervis Jackson of The Spinners when they appeared at The Cheetah in N.Y. I met Cuba Gooding, Sr. at a jazz club in Montclair, N.J. He told me I had pretty lips...but then again he was pretty high. 😅 I responded earlier in the thread that I'd met Sydney Poitier. He was walking around the Montreal Expo 67 by himself. Just found the photo I took which didn't come out so well because I was trying to hurry and take it.
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Pecos said:
Captain Thomas Kelly US Navy Metal of Honor winner.
I spent quite a bit of time working with him when I was stationed in Korea in 1985 to 1988. He was a class act in every way.

General Louis Wilson USMC Metal of Honor winner and Commandant of The Marine Corp
General Wilson was Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa as a 3 star in 1970 to 1973. He made it a point to meet all of the Navy and Marine Officers on the island. He was quite a gentleman and easy to talk to even when I was a W-1. That Metal of Honor hanging around his neck was mesmerizing to say the least.

I did get to salute President Eisenhower when he came to Treasure Island, San Francisco to visit ailing Fleet Admiral Nimitz in 1961. I was an E-3 and part of a "ripple salute" formation as his vehicle drove to the residence of Fleet Admiral Nimitz. There were still a few five star officers around in those days. Nimitz used to go to the PX every now and then but he was very discreet and slipped in and out very quietly.

Senator McCain's father was still on active duty as a 4 Star Admiral in charge of all Pacific Forces while I was there in 1966 to 1969. I went to a luncheon where he spoke when I was a CPO (E-7) and it is easy to see where Senator McCain got his values. It was quite a speech!!

One night I sent one of my young technicians up to Camp Smith where Admiral McCain worked to fix some electronic equipment. As my E-4 was leaving the 4th floor, he boarded the elevator with Admiral McCain. They sat out on the front steps of the building and watched the sun come up over Pearl Harbor. My young sailor was never quit the same after that and he got more serious about life, ….. and the Navy.
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Hey Pecos——I met your Admiral Rickover. He was in charge of the Navy’s nuclear sub program. I was working at Allis Chalmers where reactors were built for the Naval nuclear program. I was serving my internship in Engineering and he came through our department as part of a tour of the facility. He saw my Marines coffee cup and we ended up talking about the Navy/Marines relationship for maybe 10 minutes.
 
oldman said:
Hey Pecos——I met your Admiral Rickover. He was in charge of the Navy’s nuclear sub program. I was working at Allis Chalmers where reactors were built for the Naval nuclear program. I was serving my internship in Engineering and he came through our department as part of a tour of the facility. He saw my Marines coffee cup and we ended up talking about the Navy/Marines relationship for maybe 10 minutes.
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I never met him, but I sure have heard a lot of stories about him and most of them were pretty wild.
I got to know one Navy LT who was on his staff, and I am not entirely sure that he ever completely recovered his sanity after that tour of duty.
Rickover was on active duty until he was 83 and I believe that still holds the record.
 
Tom Gaddis, author of the Birdman of Alcatraz. He was a friend of the owner of an independent bookstore in the Portland, Oregon area. I told the store owner about the book I was writing about what my brother did, and he introduced me to Tom. Tom helped me get the article about my brother published in Oregon's largest newspaper, The Oregonian.
 
Royce & Jeanie Kendall, of The Kendalls.

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Wow, you guys have met some big-name celebs and other notables.

At a little league awards ceremony, mid 1950s, I won a baseball for having the best W-L record and most SOs. Guest that night was Raymond Berry who was just starting his pro football career with our hometown team.

This is the guy who's now in the Pro Football HOF and who was the favorite target of Johnny Unitas.

He was also an NFL head coach with the NE Pats. As a head coach, he led them to a Super Bowl where Ditka's Bears killed them. Overall he had better than a .500 record as HC.

Anyway, he autographed my baseball which, sadly disappeared. Sat on a bedroom chest of drawers until early 70s.

Guess he was the most notable person I've met.
 
In Washington Square Park, in 1981, was there with husband & baby and we see Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary. I had seen her so often in concert, TV, whatever, I thought I knew her so we went over and started gabbing. She was with 2 men. She asked if she could hold our son, & of course, after knowing her a million years on TV we said "Sure!"

A couple of years later, same Park, little son made friends with William Kunstler's little girl, and since we went most Sundays spoke with him a lot. We had many mutual people in common, but never met before.

My DIL is cousin by marriage to a Very Famous Actress, and as her Family is close, I got to see her every family get-together, but not since pandemic. What's most shocking about this, to me, is knowing a family that is so close and contact each other frequently. Not used to all these folks being nice to me. I'm not worthy---just kidding, lol.
 
Kathleen’s Place said:
Wow! You have all met a lot of famous people🤩
My only claim to fame was attending a party at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s when he was still Lou Al Cindor 😁. The only thing I remember about it was he was very very tall, lived in a really really nice apartment, and someone stole all the record albums I had taken.
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I saw him & his wife at the "Cheesecake Factory" in Woodland Hills, CA. around 25 years ago. I said "Hi." I remember thinking, "Unlike other famous people, there is NO WAY he could disguise himself at that height."
 
win231 said:
I saw him & his wife at the "Cheesecake Factory" in Woodland Hills, CA. around 25 years ago. I said "Hi." I remember thinking, "Unlike other famous people, there is NO WAY he could disguise himself at that height."
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LOL - I rode with him in an elevator about 30 years ago in North Hollywood. Just the two of us. Kind of awkward. I finally broke the silence with, "I guess sunglasses wouldn't be much of a disguise for you, huh?"

He laughed and it eased the tension.
 
I have met more famous people than I can count I guess. Mostly Professional athletes, team owners, hall of famers in NFL, NHL,NBA,MLB. Actors, politicians, musicians....on and on.

BUT the person I admire most of all the people was Bishop Fulton Sheen. He is on his way to becoming a Saint. I shook his hand and he blessed me.


So I got that going for me.
 
J.B Books said:
I have met more famous people than I can count I guess. Mostly Professional athletes, team owners, hall of famers in NFL, NHL,NBA,MLB. Actors, politicians, musicians....on and on.

BUT the person I admire most of all the people was Bishop Fulton Sheen. He is on his way to becoming a Saint. I shook his hand and he blessed me.


So I got that going for me.
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I remember him! What an honor for you❤️
 


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