Friday, March 19, 2010

Name Dropping

The other night, we rented 2012. Let me clarify. My husband and I rented 2012; my girls are much too young to watch such an intense movie. My 12-year-old didn't even put up an argument, instinctively understanding that her mother was protecting her from horrific nightmares about the world ending. Anyway, in 2012, the president of the United States is played by Danny Glover, and watching him refuse to board Air Force One reminded me of the time that we were getting onto a plane and there was Danny Glover sitting in an aisle seat in first class, just as normal-looking as you please, wearing a baseball cap and working on a laptop. My daughter, 8 years old at the time, was wearing her favorite pair of neon green socks pulled way up over her kneecaps and walking slowly through the plane tapping on armrests and staring at people straight in the face, just like excited 8-year-olds aboard a real jet aeroplane tend to do. Mr. Glover smiled at her and said hi there, and she smiled back and whispered hi, having no idea that SHE JUST CONVERSED WITH DANNY GLOVER.

Danny Glover was not my first brush with fame. When I was a teenager, my family went to eat breakfast at a tiny little restaurant in tiny little Skagway, Alaska. While we were waiting to order, I recognized Charles Martin-Smith sitting at one of the tables. At the time, I had no idea that his name was Charles Martin-Smith, but I recognized him from movies I had seen and I spent the next 20 minutes trying to convince my parents in hisses through a plastered smile and clenched teeth that the bass player in The Buddy Holly Story and, for crying out loud, the guy from American Graffiti was RIGHT THERE. Eating pancakes! They did not believe me. Oh, the sweet victory, when on the way out of town we drove past huge spotlights and big cameras set up on the side of the road . . . he was starring in the Disney film Never Cry Wolf, which was being filmed just outside of Skagway.

Then there was the time I saw Brigitte Nelson walk past me in a Las Vegas hotel . . . a heavily-tattooed Axl Rose riding his motorcycle sans helmet in the lane next to me on the Pacific Coast Highway . . . Halle Berry in Florida. Oh, and we can't forget Sterling Knight at the mall.

How about you? Ever surreptitiously stare at a movie star as he tried to eat his morning meal?




Dinner last night: ham steak with pineapple sauce, baked potato, green beans






6 comments:

Unknown said...

I was once flying on my friend's stewardess pass and their was once first class seat left, but I had to wait till the last minute to make sure no paying customers took it. Well, at the last minute, who walks up? Emmitt Smith, who at the time was still a Dallas Cowboy. He took my stinking first class seat and I had to fly coach. Just for that, I never voted for him on Dancing with the Stars.

Joey Lynn Resciniti said...

I've never met anyone more famous than Terry Bradshaw (four time superbowl winning quarterback of these here pittsburgh steelers). Yeah, so I really haven't had any brushes with fame.

I do call all of our gloves "danny glovers" though. "It's cold, better put on your danny glovers." It's really fun around here.

Classic Passion said...

Michael Douglas said thank you to me in a toilet once.

Karen M. Peterson said...

I've had the pleasure of meeting a few celebrities. Usually when they were in the middle of filming something or were at an event and meant to be seen.

Bette Midler and William Shatner are probably the most notable. But I once confessed my love to Ian Ziering. And he was absolutely charming.

Sadia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sadia said...

I've had the opposite happen. My old friends have gone onto fame. I'm talking about the kinds of people with whom I spent hours practicing for the high school play, and the folks with whom I stayed up all night in college working on papers.

My buddy from bilingualism class and Glee Club is now a producer for Dan Rather and one of Washington's 25 Most Beautiful People. My high school "big sis" is a published author, with a movie out based on her bestseller. My hall-mate from sophomore year performs at SXSW and has multiple albums out.

It's surreal.