Close celebrity encounters of the 1st time

When I was a youngster, I took piano and accordion lessons. I was chosen to play a couple of songs with Myron Floren and the Lawrence Welk orchestra, at Elitch Gardens park in Denver . Then, when I was working, I went to the Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, AK. a few times to assist in major computer upgrades. and met Sam Walton a couple of times. He took our entire crew to lunch in their executive dining room.
 
I worked as an audio engineer for too many years and was hired to provide sound for many 'name' musicians in that time. But those weren't really random.

Random meetings - A band I was playing in was at a Hilton Hotel bar one night. Leon Spinks came in and sat at the bar watching us. Of course I had to say hello. Another night we were playing a club when Artemus Pyle - the drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd - came in and hung out with us. He even got up and sat in for a couple songs. And we briefly bumped into Bob Hope at the airport once. He was in a major hurry and all we got was a hi.

That's me personally. My wife doesn't count. She worked at a large 5 star hotel here in town and met too many celebrities while there. My favorites from her are James Whitmore and Van Johnson. And she took a picture with Chuck Norris. She has near a hundred autographs from some big stars.
 
As you all know I worked in TV & Film so met many, many celebrities... but long before that.. I had 2 very random encounters..

One was when I was 18 and working on the Isle of Arran... and Billy Connolly the comedian and then singer with his band, which included Gerry Rafferty, came to do a little private gig at the local Barn and hotel.. and they invited my friend and I up to have drinks and after concert singing ( no naughty business)... ...just as tho' we were their long time friends.. it was fabulous...

Second Random visitation.. was in my early 20's..I was working as an Usherette in a 3 cinema Complex ( which was big for the 70s, unlike the huge complexes today).. and I needed to go and drop something off at the Head projectionists house about a couple miles away in London... and when I walked into his kitchen, I was in shock.. there was my then Idol.. the singer Bryan Ferry sitting large as life at the kitchen table.. with his feet up on the chair.

He said Hi... I mumbled something in reply.. still in shock, and then I left.. thinking I had to go before I made an even bigger fool out of myself..

I still remember what he was wearing.. a Maxi leather coat.. and Green boots..
 
In 1968 during our family summer trip to the West Coast, we were staying for a few days at the Hotel Roosevelt in Los Angeles. I was in the elevator and actor, Paul Ford got on with his friends. Ford was a great character actor best known for playing' Mayor Shin' in movie' The Music Man'. He was standing about an arms length away from me, I was speechless{was 15} couldn't say anything. When I got back to the hotel room told my parents, brother& sister what happen, they had no clue who I was talking about. I was in 7th heaven took me couple days to get over that experience.
 
I got an autograph photo from Trini Lopez in 1961. I played in a band with Sheryl Crow ( when she was popular---not famous yet ), and met Robin Ford when I wanted to date his girl friend. I brought my guitar over to his house and jammed with him. He blew my mind. Youtube his name and listen to him play. He is almost magical. :)
 
Not a huge celebrity, but definitely a local one at the time (early 80's), Brett Butler, a star baseball player for the Atlanta Braves.

We were living in Atlanta and my daughter was going to the same private school as the kids of many of the local sports players. I volunteered to chaperone a field trip to the Huntsville Space Center. It was an overnighter, and the chaperones were assigned two to a room at a local motel. I found myself rooming with Brett Butler. I didn't realize that he was on the trip because he was on a different bus. I was probably embarrassingly awkward as I attempted to play it cool and try NOT talk to him endlessly about baseball. On the other hand, it was fun to see someone that you watched on TV in "normal" person mode. We did chat about baseball some and overall, he was a great guy.

Another amusing circumstance related to the school. I was driving a Geo Metro at the time and was the one dropping the girls off in the morning. It was always fun to be the little Geo Metro in the drop-off line sandwiched between all the giant sports celebrity SUVs, Mercedes, etc.
 
I suppose a movie producer (and screenwriter) can be regarded as a celebrity, though usually not so well known or recognizable as actors or singers are. I was a pretty young guy. This happened in my mountain-valley region of British Columbia. I was invited to a Christmas party, and George Lucas was there with his girlfriend. Lucas had a hideaway property with a cabin nearby, and the party's host was an electrician (and, I think, had done some work for him). "Star Wars" had come out, I'd heard of it. But I'd been living in a cabin, without electricity, and was quite out of touch with newspapers & the media then.

George sat most of the evening in a comfy chair, quiet, smiling kindly, Next to him, his girlfriend had all the young kids sitting on the floor around her, absorbed in the Christmas stories she was telling.
 
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