As a boy, I shook hands with Ernest Marples who was Minister of Transport in the Tory Government of the time (~60 years ago), and he was our local MP. He was mildly famous at that time, but he would have been much, much more famous if Lord Denning had included a section about his sexual indiscretions (both prolific and unusual) in his official report into the Profumo Affair (a sexual scandal involving the Minister of War having sex with a woman who was also sleeping with a Russian diplomat). Instead Lord Denning briefed the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, in secret and nothing was ever revealed. I amazed to learn about it earlier this year
I once had dinner with Francis Ford Coppola. Seven-of-Nine was a regular in a restaurant I worked in, as was Harry Anderson (of Night Court fame). I could name several others, but it feels like bragging.
I met Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) in college. She was very friendly and down to earth but couldn't sign autographs.
As close as I've ever yet gotten to meeting a famous person, I've worked around Martin Short's younger son when I was a full-time animal care volunteer at Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (about 8 months since I started there). He was pursuing a wildlife veterinarian career; and was kind and shy. He lived off the premises, so I didn't see much of him. I didn't know anything about his relations for some time until my other fellow volunteers were talking about it.
My optometrist recently prescribed sunglasses for me and advised me to wear them on sunny days. As spring has finally arrived in the UK, I have had to wear them a little. Catching the first glimpse of myself in a mirror was a shock (not at all a pretty sight) but it gave me a flashback which belongs in a special sub-category for this thread: The Most Famous Person You Have Nearly Knocked Over in the Street and Then Recognised Them Although They Were Wearing Sunglasses (even if you didn't exactly meet them). It happened in the spring of 1973, outside the front door of 'The Kings Arms' in Oxford. It's on a crossroads which is always busy with pedestrians including townsfolk, tourists, students and dons, and it is quite often glimpsed on TV in the background behind Inspector Morse or his sidekicks and spin-offs. I was walking briskly southwards when I had swerve to my right to avoid colliding with a man walking slowly towards me. He was a little taller than I am, with a very straight back and a slightly bemused expression on his face. He had short iron grey hair, a navy blue raincoat and the legs of his trousers were cut quite tightly and ended above his ankle bones. As mentioned before, he was wearing dark glasses: but his face was instantly recognisable. It looked much older than his body. It was slightly jowly and very heavily lined: perhaps the sort of face that a Roman emperor might have had at the end of long reign with many battles, many difficult decisions and a good few orgies too. It was W H Auden, some of whose poems I had studied a few years earlier for my Eng Lit O-level exam. Auden had lived in the USA for more than 30 years, hence the cut of his trousers. But he had just returned to Oxford following the death of his partner. I wonder if he was thinking about his student days as he walked up the road. Sadly he died suddenly that summer while he was on holiday in Austria. Auden was probably the greatest English-born poet of the 20th Century, so perhaps if this thread is read by an Internet archaeologist in 100 years time, his name may be the only one that they recognise.
Last summer I fed Ban Ki-Moon with rice crispy and mealworm cakes! I have also “stolen” iced buns belonging to the King of Sweden.
Not really anything to brag about (especially as I support Birmingham City) but as a ten year old I had a meal and drinks with Paul McGrath and Nigel Sphinx... Both Aston Villa players at the time. Also met Gary Mcallister (ex Leeds player) a coupe of times, but not THE Gary Mcallister, just my second cousin who shared the same name... My auntie did once sell a photo of him to a colleague as the real Gary though, collecting a football trophy at school!
Have met Ian Rush, Jan Molby, John Aldridge and John Barnes, all as parents at the school I’ve just retired from. I have also taught the children of Olympic Cyclist Chris Boardman, but he sent his wife to parents’ evenings!
As a Blues fan it gives me a certain sense of satisfaction knowing I've been getting his name wrong for over 25 years!
I haven't run into any "famous people" in public but I do want to share a story of one of my close family members. So one of my cousins got a job at Facebook and I don't remember the full reason why but him and his girlfriend got to stay at comedian Adam Sandler's house. I believe since his girlfriend was a secretary to him and he liked her very much (not sexual of course).
As someone not in the first flush of youth, I can claim The Beatles and some other groups from the 60s - the result of hanging around outside stage doors waiting for autographs. Later on, there was Bernard Haitink, renowned Dutch classical conductor, at the Royal Festival Hall. Boris Becker and I came within covid19-transmitting distance (had it been around then) at Roehampton. And more recently, at the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, I had my photo taken with one of the Longest Johns, who are famous in that world.
What's famous ? From a birdmans view I've met quite a number of 'localy' well-known writers, breeders and zoo-directors. Had several longer talks with mr. Fritz Geschke - founder of Weltpark Walsrode - and his son in law and succesor as director of the park Wolf Brehm. On a more international scale I spend a day with A.J Mobbs ( UK ), birdkeeper and breeder of Australian finches and keeper of Hummingbirds. In the 1970s and 1980s he published a lot of articles in the Avicultural Magazine and wrote several real good books: - Bicheno Finches - Gouldian Finches - Star Finches Their care and breeding - The complete book of Australian finches - Hummingbirds ( from this book I've a copy which he personaly signed for me the day I met him ) In the 1980s he visited a friend of my in the Netherlands and the 3 of us went first ot a 'famous' Dutch Softbill-breeder and dealer, Siem van 't Hart ( had the world first breeding with the Coleto ) and after that we went to a large bookdealer in The Hague ( mr. Mobbs liked to buy books ! ( also liked to sell them of course - being an author ). During the tour we had long conservations about ... bird-keeping and breeding. Further seen and spoken with some local celebs like Hollands best known "Schlager"singer Frans Bauer which lives only a few streets away from me.
