Which celebrities or famous people have you spotted in public?

I saw Chris Isaak walking down a street in the East Bay in the mid 90s.

Shopping district where I worked. Not high end but close to the rich side of town.

"Where were you at?" Let's don't.

I was on a flight with Robert Plant - very tall, haggard, and quite rude. He made a point of flinging his guitar around so people would notice.

I also saw the incredibly hot Steph Curry going into the movies a few years ago - he was much hotter in real life even than in photos.

Sally Struthers walking up street in SanFrancisco. She waved and smiled after a guy on the bus yelled out, “Hey! That’s SallLee Struthahs!”

On a flight out of Newark about ten years ago, Freddie Muniz was sitting next to my partner and me at the airport. He looked sickly and was resting his head on his girlfriend’s lap,

My partner never believes me when I point out famous people. He poo pooed me the day before when we walked past Billie Jean King on the Upper West Side. “Oh, it is not!” he said. I said “I’ll prove it to you.” and yelled “Hey Billie” simultaneously tossing my half-eaten Shake Shack burger at her head. Not all of that is true. Perhaps my partner is right to not always believe me.

Sam Waterston several times at ATL. It was when the show "I'll Fly Away" was on (c. 1991-1993). It was filmed in a small town outside of Atlanta.

When I was still in college I interviewed Paul Wellstone for the local tv station I worked for. This was when he was first running for Senator in Minnesota. He was very bright and energetic, and tiny.

I also met Herb Kohl, Senator from Wisconsin who was also very tiny….and very “friendly” to young gay me.

Robert Morse (my first at age 10), JFK Jr., Joel Grey, Joan Rivers, Bob Dylan, Eddie Vedder, Joan Báez, Steve Jobs

I worked a summer job at a hotel. I saw John Denver who was very friendly. David Cassidy who was being “herded” by his mom. They were both very small. Neil Diamond who nicely told me through a crack in the door to “come back later.” He seemed nice but sleepy.

I met Renee Zellwegger in Paris.

Ron Jeremy's at an airport. He was scribbling in a journal.(very messy writing).

Bernadette Peters shopping in the West Village with her assistant who was carrying a large garment bag. Hard not to notice her.

Dalai Lama at the Ritz Carlton in Montreal.

Gwyneth Paltrow at my local paper store, small island town in Maine

Christian Slater at bar on UES

Crazy Alec Baldwin drunk at an AA meeting in nyc

Wanda Sykes.

Gay bar in Philly.

I drunkenly walked up to her and told her I enjoyed her in the (brain fog) .... (brain fog) "that show with Julia".

She was tiny and thin. And she was too nice to a drunk guy who couldn't string a sentence together.

Jeffrey and Ina walking together near Lincoln Center. She was ruddy-cheeked and kind of splotch.

Chris Noth wearing a pork pie hat in whatever that area south of Union Square and north of NYU is called.

John Cena at Logan Airport back in 2007-2008 when he was just wrestling famous. He was alone and everyone gave him plenty of room but since I don't care about athletes I took advantage of the open space and sat about 4 seats away.

Jon Stewart on the street in Midtown New York several years ago, engaged in an animated conversation with a companion.

Andie MacDowell about 20 years ago at a North Carolina coastal restaurant. She breezed in with her entourage that included her then-husband Paul Qualley, her children, and the children's nanny. While we initially excited to be seated at the next table - the novelty wore off quickly. Andie proceeded to talk too loud and to yell at her children throughout the meal, as in "Sarah Margaret, how many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that." Everyone else in her party looked bored or embarrassed by her behavior.

I saw Elijah Wood (quite short) with a small entourage at Highland Park Bowl.

Margaret Thatcher arriving in a limousine, surrounded by security for a private tour of Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ.

She was arriving as we left.

Her hair was a shocking shade of red, and her famous immovable helmet-hair style was no match for the desert winds on that day . While her clothes were obviously expensive, they weren't flattering. She was talking very loudly at her all-male entourage.

She gave the overall impression of someone's humorless self-important dykey grandmother, clomping around like a truck driver, demanding to be noticed.

Vin Diesel at a nightclub snorting lines and doing Russian Kazotzky Kicks back to back. Looked out of his mind.

Chris Noth and Michael Moriarity at an opening night performance of The Rose Tattoo in 1995. Circle in the Square uptown. They are both tall, 6'4" or more.

Anne Heche at another play. She was outside smoking; seeing her, just post-Vicky/Marley, was more memorable than the play.

I interviewed Peter Allen for my college radio station. My (straight) friend was supposed to do it, but he had no idea who PA was. I went with him, and I just took over. I'd been taught by experts, as it were, a month earlier, so it was easy to talk with Peter. We drove him around town (DC), and went to his show that Saturday night at a place called Way Off Broadway, somewhere near the Lost & Found.

I discussed sweaters in the new Calvin Klein shop at Saks in Beverly Hills with Candice Bergen in 1978, and held up some clothing to my body, modeling it for her. I didn't let on that I knew who she was.

I was in a Verizon store and I swear I saw Stevie Nicks in a Verizon store, near my home. It was only a few seconds, and she calmly but quickly left the store. She looked great!

Michael Jackson, Bobby Cannavale, Ray Davies, Johnny Cash, are some that come to mind. I’ve been alive for almost 57 years so I’ve seen some things by now. Michael Jackson was a strange whispering creature accompanied by some children. I was in a Tower Records and he came in.

I sat near Tim Bagley (theater director character in Grace & Frankie) at an Outfest movie showing.

I saw Santa Claus in the Hooters parking lot, fingering a waitress. My partner didn't believe me, but I yelled, "Hey Santa"! Santa threw a beer bottle at me, annoyed that I'd interrupted his fingerbang.

I was recently standing in line behind Thad Luckinbill at the Rite Aid in Santa Monica. He is even better-looking in person.

Had a drink next to Patti LuPone at a hotel bar in a town that she was filming a movie in and Anna Wintour sneaking out of Joe's Pub with her head down before a Christeene show started.

Tell us about Bib Dylan, R8!

*Bob Dylan. Got over-excited and didn’t proofread. I love him.

JFK JR. All the time. I used to bike all over the Upper West Side in the early 90s when I was in my early 20s, and so did he. Later, he and Darryl Hannah also lived across the hall from some friends of mine from college (they had the whole park side of the floor, the river side was broken up into multiple normal-people apartments. Anyway, he was hot.

I’ve bumped into so many other celebrities over the years. Too many to mention. John John was royalty.

Some of our DL denizens in Minnesota have to have seen "Bib" and his kids- they played in Little League there every summer and stayed on the farm he co-owns with his brother. Jakob alluded to going "back there regularly" in an interview, so I'm guessing most of the clan still makes appearances.

Christopher Walken once signed a receipt for me. He was very tall and polite.

I saw lots of celebs when I worked retail in Studio City. That's the place to shop if you want to see them in the wild.

This is only relevant to Canadians, but Nicholas Campbell (daVinci’s Inquest, etc.) near the Royal Theatre in Victoria. He was smoking (gross) and had negative ass - like, it was the smallest, boniest ass I’ve ever seen.

Also in Victoria, in the ‘90s - I hung out with Pete Shelley & the rest of whichever Buzzcocks were doing a revival at the time. He hit on my boyfriend, whose band was opening for them. I mean, hello! [bold]I was right there[/bold], lol.

1984: The Queen Mother in the backseat of a Bentley as it was exiting Clarence House on the Mall. She pulled herself up by grabbing hold of the open window. I was with a couple of friends. She waved at us...the Queen wave.

Laura Bush and her daughter Barbara eating at the next table with a young woman who was the daughter's age and two older women (young woman's mother and friend. This was in a restaurant near Broadway. We're were dinging there after seeing a play. As, apparently, were they after seeing another show. It's a small place. The secret service agents were seated at the entrance. And all the big SUVs and police were waiting outside. She was very pleasant, as was the daughter.

Jackie O was in front of me in line at a Merit Farm on the UES when I was in high school (c. 1980). She was buying cigarettes. As was I.

Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn at the next table at a restaurant on the UES,

You always see some actor and actress in the audience of a play.

Bill Murray on the subway.

I worked on Capitol Hill in DC. Saw lots of politicians. Celebrities too. Favorites were Coretta Scott King and Helen Hayes. Both gracious.

Ray Liotta in front of me in a check out line at an A&P in NJ. Nice looking, but a pockmarked face.

Also, Jack Nicolson on the boardwalk in NJ.

While attending the 2019 Braemar Gathering in Scotland, I happened to spy Dame Judi Dench enjoying her lunch and chatting with friends. Later I saw, someone who everyone knows, Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth. Tagging along was her oldest son, Charles and his wife, Camilla.

I almost literally ran into Tom Stoppard once on my way to work in Sydney. I was walking up from the Quay and he was probably on his way down to the Opera House for a rehearsal of his then current play. It was all I could do not to bow.

Susan Sarandon on 57th Street in NYC. Her former husband, Tim Robbins, walking out of a restaurant on Main Street in Santa Monica. Chelsea Clinton in Walgreens on 23rd and Park Ave South in NY. Also, on various plane rides (mostly between NY and LA): Doris Roberts, Liam Neeson, Chris Kattan, Jeremy Piven, C. Thomas Howell, Jesse Jackson, Marg Helgenberger, Polly Holliday, Robert Goulet, Christine Amanpour, Merideth Vieira, Bill Maher, Fran Drescher, Lisa Rinna.

Oprah at the Corner Bakery in Chicago in 1993 on a Sunday morning. She had no makeup on and looked completely different than she did on her show. I stood right behind her in line. Nobody bothered her.

I saw Prince sitting on a bench on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis in 1984. It was lunch time and he was people watching. I did a triple take. He noticed my reaction and nodded at me.

Jackie Kennedy in a elevator in DC in 1990. Bony, angular, oddly shaped face. Not at all attractive in real life.

In maybe 1995 - I was getting my hair done at the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills (I am female). I was sitting ing the chair had my smock on and the color and foils in my hair. I looked into the mirror and in the seat behind me the woman had her hair color in and was looking at HERself in the mirror. The woman was doing a total Marilyn Monroe routine and touching herself with veiny hands - she was totally into herself. It was Ann Wedgeworth from Evening Shade and the The Ropers. She was married to Rip Torn once and used to belong to The Actors Studio so I don’t know if she was doing “a sense memory” or and exercise but she was TOTALLY INTO IT - it was bizarre. I was too young and stupid to say hello or speak with her - it was memorable!,…………… Around the same time I was director of sales at a hotel near the Irwinsale speedway and not far from the Pomona Fairgrounds. For filler rooms I used to book a lot of one night rooms for small acts and singers working the county fair circuit. One Friday all of the girls in housekeeping were buzzing around and wanting to make sure to meet and get an autograph from the girl singer who was going to check in that night. I said sure - whatever - It meant nothing to me at the time - it was Selena.

[quote] Chelsea Clinton in Walgreens on 23rd and Park Ave South in NY.

Did you see Secret Service, R37? I always wonder what SS does while their charges do mundane stuff like Walgreens.

So many. So many.

David Bowie in sneakers and sweats on an early morning walk in Chicago in the late 80’s. He was as slim as he looked in photos but I always assumed he’d be tall. He wasn’t. He could tell I recognized him as I’m sure my jaw was on the ground. He nodded as we passed each other.

I worked at an amusement park & saw Neil Patrick Harris in his Doogie days, but from a distance.

Pauly Shore came up to me on the water ride where I was working & tried to come into the control booth, which I was not having. He was really annoying & acting like his moronic Totally Pauly self, which was obviously fake.

Bob Newhart was in front of me at a hotel desk in St. Petersburg, Fl as I was in a huge rush to check out. I didn’t see him and the clerk said “Here’s your mail, Mr. Newhart.” As he turned around, I tried to say something but just stared at him and squeaked iut “Well, Hello”. He just paused and gave me that bemused Newhart look and said “Well, Hello” You had to be there.

Gary Busey on the boardwalk in Santa Monica. He was all teeth. You could see those chompers a mile away.

John Lithgow walking his dog on the UCLA campus at 6:30 am, during his Third Rock days. We made eye contact but he had a totally befuddled look on his face, like you’d given him a calculus problem to solve.

Marlee Matlin at Nordstrom. She was quietly returning something when a shopgirl recognized her and starting acting starstruck. Marlee got embarrassed and hightailed it out of there.

Hugh Jackman last month as he exited the Winter Garden theater after a performance. I was walking through the area and noticed a throng of fans mobbing him. He indulged them with selfies and autographs. He had an aura and holy shit, he was very handsome AF in real life. You could feel the positive energy emanating from him. Much taller than I expected.

his

Sorry about the typo above ⬆️

Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston at an art gallery opening I attended in San Francisco. Paul Simon in an elevator on the UES (his office was on the floor above ours). Mikhail Baryshnikov at a Moroccan restaurant in San Francisco. Dianne Feinstein on a street corner in San Francisco. She was a city supervisor at the time, and she was asking people in our neighborhood if they were being inconvenienced by a movie shoot that closed down a street.

Jimmy Carter one evening at a resort. Two big guys in front of him two big guys behind Jimmy hunched over in the middle and Rosalynn walking behind outside the quartet of protection. Memorable image.

When I lived in New York I saw Ellen Burstyn and Hank Azaria in Central Park (different occasions). I also sat in front of Patricia Clarkson at an event at Lincoln Center.

Queen Elizabeth within handshaking distance at the corner of Wall and Broad.

Ali MacGraw, jewelry store, 3rd Street, Santa Monica, CA

Kylie Minogue, exiting as I was entering, fucked if I remember resto/street, Sydney, NSW, Oz

Jeff/Beau Bridges, sitting across from the table from me, Versailles Restaurant, Culver City, CA

Bryan Brown walking past my house!

Emmanuelle Macron being driven past my house! (Upset the cats - I suppose they are Marine supporters).

Judy Davis coming out of a restaurant as I was walking in. Screams cunt without saying a word or giving a look.

Richard E. Grant whilst waiting to cross a road.

Being pushed into a Heliopolis sidestreet lest I catch a glimpse of Mubarak passing by in his motorcade.

[quote] Emmanuelle Macron

You've provided the female spelling. Emmanuel is the masculine spelling.

* Harry Hamlin with his new wife at an airport. Handsome but exceedingly moody looking. "HE'D be a handful to live with!" said Mummy incitefully. Sexy hands though, with manicured, squarish nails.

* Peter Allen in a disco looking urgently for a fuck, which he eventually found. He poured us champagne. A battered face. However I saw his show Up In One, and was utterly charmed and wowed. Such a shame it was never filmed. Broadway magic.

* Marlene Dietrich at the stage door. From 20 paces, a goddess; from 5 paces, an elderly, very drunk Prussian general in very good wig. She handed me a wodge of snaps of herself to distribute which were grabbed from my hands, and gurgling, promptly stuck her tongue down my throat. Yeah, I was pretty young male thing, but bitch please!

Andy Williams and post-Spider Claudine Longet---In a jewelry store near Maxim's, Paris---Let them be.

Yoko Ono---Tiffany's, NYC---Spoke to her, she held my hand.

Tim Curry---Stage door exit, "Spamalot"---He signed my "Rocky Horror" album cover.

Jimmy "Sausage" Dean---Sat next to his dinner group in the Kennebunkport Inn---Let them be.

Rev. Al Sharpton---Random UES Italian restaurant---Husband went to say hello when Rev. Al and friend were done eating. It was all cool.

I forgot one who had more star power than any of them: Scott O'Hara. Wow did he radiate it. The first time I spotted him was a block away, and said to myself "Who the FUCK is THAT?!" And that was when he was CLOTHED.

Grew up in Manhattan so have seen dozens, particularly at the Reebok gym on the UWS in the late 90s/early 00s when I was in high school/college.

I am bad at recognizing famous people until after the fact, e.g., I'll think "Oh, that guy looks familiar. How do I know him?" and then realize it's because I've seen him on TV.

The only celebrity I recognized right away was Woody Allen who looks like someone doing an impression of Woody Allen. He was walking down a street in the West Village talking with two middle aged women who looked like they might have been studio executives. (Or I may have been projecting and they were his cousins or neighbors.)

He was wearing khakis and a tweed blazer--his usual getup--he was short--and he was noticeable enough that even jaded New Yorkers were giving him a second look, or trying really hard not to.

[quote] incitefully

Oh Dear, though it actually works in a Freudian sort of way

And it's HM the Queen not HRH.

Lots but I am in Manhattan a lot - or at least was before COVID.

I sat a couple of rows in front of James Earl Jones at a play in NYC. Same with Richard Gere.

I saw Chelsea Clinton and Monica Lewinsky within a week of each other in NYC - this was back in 2001 so Lewinsky was still somewhat "controversial"

I saw Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson walking down 5th Avenue. Tony Danza and Sylvester Stallone coming out of a wedding at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Steve Martin, Paul Rudd, George Stephanopolis and his wife (he's gremlin sized) walking the red carpet for the opening of one of Steve's plays in NYC.

When I was in London, I happened to be there for Trooping the Colour, so I have seen the entire Royal Family in the flesh. Liz, Philip, Charles, Camila William, Kate, Harry, Andrew and his Girls, Anne. Same trip was also the premiere of a Spider-man movie in London, so I watched some of the red carpet arrivals - lots of Brit celebs who I don't know but I did see Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.

[quote]Emmanuelle Macron being driven past my house! (Upset the cats - I suppose they are Marine supporters).

Was he starring in Emmanuelle's Revenge or Emmanuelle in Venice?

Seriously, though, I'm pretty sure most cats would vote fascist. Fascists make the sure the food bowls are filled on time.

I was in an elevator with Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey. I knew Daltrey was short, but he's really short. Like 5'4 short.

He wasn't a celebrity at the time, but my parents lived across the street from Carson Daly when he was a teenager. His step-father had built the home and that's where the family lived in Santa Monica. I'd see him on occasion. I was there the day the gossipy lady next door told my mother that "Mrs. Caruso is really upset because Carson told her that after he graduates high school he wants to go Loyola Marymount and become be a priest!" We were puzzled why she was upset because they were all Catholic, but I guess it was because she wanted grandchildren instead of a celibate priest.

Steve Wozniak at a mall in San Jose and Lou Ferrigno wearing a green polo just to make sure we knew who he was, in a lift at the Beverly Hilton.

Danny Glover, Wells Fargo ATM in North Beach SF. Frankie Valli, Macy’s tie department in San Jose. Billy Idol, Fairmont Hotel men’s room, San Francisco. Tony Curtis, Luxor casino, Vegas.

The Majesty outside Buckingham Palace, she drove by a few feet away. The next day Charles drove by as I was about to cross the street after exiting Westminster tube station.

Tom Cruise at The Monster. Well, me and my BF were inside having a cocktail and he was outside while filming a movie on a Saturday afternoon. Very handsome, very short.

Barbra Streisand, Jason Gould and Jeff Bridges while they were filming The Mirror Has Two Faces in Grand Central. She was five feet from me. I didn't recognize her for a few minutes. She is very petite.

Jason Gould again, near FIT. I was heading towards 7th Avenue, he was walking uptown. Saw I recognized him and smiled. Seemed like a sweet guy.

Kate Winslet as she was walking to play opening.

Ivanka Trump walking down the stairs of the Central Park South exit of The Plaza with two young children. Next night she entered and seated at the table next to me at a restaurant at the Chelsea Piers. I thought she was staking me.

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal in a gift shop on 5th Avenue in Park Slope on Christmas Eve about 10 years ago. They stood next to me discussing an item. They seemed very chill, no pretense.

I used to see Robert Reed and Paul McCrane (not together) frequently on the streets of NYC in the early '80s. Reed was always wearing a leather jacket. During the same period, I went to see the play 40 Deuce, starring Kevin Bacon and Orson Bean, and Lisa Brown was outside among the people waiting to go in. She was trash talking Bacon in fun.

I used to see Stephen Sondheim a lot in the late 80s/early 90s. Mostly just walking down the street in Midtown, sometimes alone, sometimes not. A very distinctive walk, like a drunken sailor.

[quote] Ivanka Trump walking down the stairs of the Central Park South exit of The Plaza with two young children. Next night she entered and seated at the table next to me at a restaurant at the Chelsea Piers. I thought she was staking me.

And she thought YOU were the vampire, R67! lol

Damn, auto-correct or simply misspelled words. I always have to remind myself to proofread before hitting "post" here. Just reread my post from above. I was "dinging" at a restaurant. Ha

The woman who played Elizabeth, Hyacinth Bucket's neighbour in Keeping Up Appearances, at a bus stop in London.

Glenn Close in a restaurant in Palo Alto. The woman is TINY.

Working in a bookstore also in Palo Alto rang up the purchases of James Mason, Shirley Temple and Jack Warden. Warden and Mason were in town filming Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait." Yes I'm old.

Server in the restaurant in Hyatt Lake Tahoe waited on: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Billie Jean King. Eastwood was a stick of wood, Hackman a sweetie.

Also saw a bunch of 49er football players everywhere but who gives a shit. Joe Montana was cute though.

Michael Landon

Brad Pittt

Tilda Swinton

John Hamm

George Clooney

Penn Badgley

Kevin Bacon

Matt Bomer

When I was a teenager, we went to a taping of the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. So we saw both Sonny and Cher for a extended time, as well as Jack Palance, the guest for that episode, and the cast including Teri Garr. Apparently Steve Martin was also a cast member, but I was unaware of him then. During a waiting period, actor Ted Ziegler came into the audience and shook my hand for some reason.

Twenty years after that, I was working at a newspaper, and Sonny Bono was running for a California State Senate seat. Someone said, "Sonny Bono is in the office," and I walked around to see. He was walking through the office in a suit with other men also in suits. He was smiling and shaking hands with people, then went upstairs, presumably for an interview. The interview never ran in the paper, as far as I know. He ended up losing that election, but he did go on, of course, to become a U.S. Congressman.

One beautiful bright Spring morning in 1990, I was walking west on Prince St. in NYC towards the N subway station. There seemed to be no one on the sidewalks out in front of me, somehow. There had been rain, the sidewalks were wet, the sky was completely clear and the light reflected from the wet surfaces was blinding. There was one guy, walking towards me, on the same side of Prince, I spotted him about 2 blocks down the street. He was wearing a khaki colored, long trench coat, like lots of guys (used to?) wear to work back then, and the same kind of more formal hat that men used to wear to work, but had stopped wearing, mostly by the 1990s. As he got close to me I noticed that he was kind of looking up, then over and then down at the sidewalk, in a way that seemed a little odd. As he came even with me, I realized that it was, in fact, Teri Garr. Immediately behind her, there was a young guy, about 30, with dark hair and unshaven, who was crouched down and was "duck-walking" right behind her, and giving her instructions: "Look down to the right! Good! Now look up, over to the left! Perfect! Now, back at the sidewalk!" They did not pay me any attention at all. It trailed off as they went on by me, eastward, and on towards 4th Ave. There were no cameras anywhere in sight. They were obviously rehearsing something, it had to be, but it was very, very weird.

I was in an art gallery on 57th in NY very early one morning, with a friend of mine. We were the only people in the place at the time. There was a white office door ajar in one of the rooms, and there was a lot of bright, artificial light in there behind it. Behind the cracked door we could hear, but could not see, the voice that was clearly Donald Sutherland's; he was talking about an artist (maybe Basquiat, but I'm not certain about my memory of that); obviously he was being filmed or recorded. We didn't see him, just heard him talking.

When I lived in NY in the early 2000s I saw Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Tilly (separately) at bars on 8th Ave. As a server in various restaurants, I saw Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Andrew Cuomo (total asshole to "the help") and Ma Clavin from "Cheers."

I hope you slapped Chelsea Clinton for being ugly

Diana at the cinema with a group of female friends and lots of security men at Queensway in London.

Baby Spice shopping in Hampstead. She is really tiny.

David Soul in Hampstead. Grumpy.

Antonio Fargas in Marble Arch. I waved and he gave me a big smile.He was appearing in some jukebox musical in the West End.

Marc Almond in a club (Duckie, which is to close after 27 years). He was lovely, very friendly and chatty.

Judi Dench, shopping in Hampstead.

Emma Thompson and her sister in a cafe, Hampstead.

Alan Rickman in Liberty (department store). Causing a WAP moment for all the female staff.

Robert Lewandowski filming a car ad on a side-street in central Warsaw. Handsome af.

British actress Celia Imrie, on a cruise ship that toured Australia and New Zealand. Her and her husband’s table was next to ours and we had a very nice conversation all through dinner. I finally told her I recognized her, and mentioned some of her movies and tv series. I think she was surprised an American knew her career.

A friend introduced me to Edie Falco one Sunday in Greenwich Village. They were neighbors/fellow actresses. This was during the first or second year of THE SOPRANOS, I think, and I didn’t watch it till a decade later.

Chatting with her now would be so surreal because I totally identify her with that character of Carmella. She was small, thin, tan, wearing casual white clothes while she hung out on a bench waiting for a brunch table. Very nice. Calm.

R79 Soooo jealous, except for David Soul the wife beater. I even had a crush on him back in the day. Smart of him to flee to the U.K.

I have to say, I lived in NYC for a decade and almost never spotted celebs in the street. The only 2 I noticed were Debbie Harry and Diane Keaton - each just for about 10 seconds.

I’m nearsighted, tho. Maybe they were actually all around me.

Liam Neeson on CPW. HUGE. Like a Sasquatch.

I saw JFK Jr. on three occasions, on the street in NYC. He looked exactly the same in person as he did in photos. Strikingly handsome man. Even if he hadn't been famous and had just been some anonymous guy, he would've stopped traffic and people would've said "who is THAT?"

Posters who create list of celebrity names with no additional insights are missing the point.

[quote]Andrew Cuomo (total asshole to "the help")

I've never seen Andrew or Chris Cuomo in person, but I know many people who have and every one of them has said the same thing - they're total assholes. Rude, arrogant and awful to people they consider beneath them.

Sitting next to Gavin MacLeod ("Captain Stubing" of the Love Boat) for the better part of an hour while we listened to the, of all things, the Muster Drill.

When I was a teenager, I went with a friend (massage therapist) to do a house call for Peter Allen. Neither of us knew who the hell he was. Allen told my friend he works on the stage. My friend said: "Are you a stage hand?" (I am not kidding.)

After the massage, a younger man arrived at the house (on a bicycle), very comfortably, as if he had been staying there.

When we left, my friend said he's (Allen is) gay and that the guy on the bicycle was his BF.

I called my mom and she told me who PA was. My mom was a huge fan of Liza Minnelli & Judy Garland.

I saw Kate Nelligan shopping at Zabar's.

I saw Bill And Hillary at "Hamilton".

Jonathan Groff in a London sex club.

Peter Allen in the Ramble.

John Lloyd Young in my mouth.

Oprah at the Borders Bookstore downtown Chicago mid 90’s . It was a Saturday and spotted Stedman waiting for her at the front so I went to the New Age section and there she was . Tiny and three shades darker than on tv.

Flipped off Michael Jordan in traffic one morning because he was holding up Traffic and I was late for work.

Met Sheri Lewis in the lobby of the King of Prussia Ramada Inn . She was checking out and had Lamb Chop in a suitcase!

Saw Pope John Paul II coming out of the Vatican when I was on a trip to Rome .

Saw John C Reilly on Broadway in Chicago one Thanksgiving Weekend.

Saw Antonio Banderas at the D’Orsey but didn’t recognize him.

Went to a soap opera event back in the 90’s and met Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa.

Bumped Into Cleo Laine on the street while she was waiting for her car. She said John had left earlier and she figured something was miscommunicated. I waited with here until someone showed up. It was getting late and the neighborhood wasn't so great. She was lovely, direct and appreciative.

In no particular order:

Bernadette Peters in the United Club at La Guardia with a female traveling companion. Perhaps her PA.

Obama (multiple times) pre-presidency at my health club.

Oprah (multiple times, same health club) unrecognizable is sweats and baseball cap.

Stedman (ditto). He's still shows up on occasion.

Gaga flying United to Tokyo. Everything was pretty low key normal until she exited immigration at Narita and a thousand waiting fans went nuts.

Hugh Jackman and wife having dinner in Sydney.

Diana Ross and family in the row in front of me for Starlight Express in London. They held the curtain for her arrival. The cast knew exactly where she was seated and played the whole show to her.

Bill Clinton, post-presidency, in his offices in Harlem.

Barry Manilow pre-fame, hanging out at a small Rush St bar between Bette's shows at Mister Kelly's, early 70's, chatting up me and bartender.

I sat next to Gayle King on a flight from NYC. She never stopped working the whole time and brought her own food.

[R27] I saw Bob Dylan at the Whole Foods salad bar in San Francisco. Between you and me, he looked like he might have smelled.

For prissy [R87] Robert Morse: on the streets of Boston after just seeing him in Sugar JFK Jr.: Went to school with him Joel Grey: stage door sighting Eddie Vedder: Market Street near the Warfield in San Francisco Joan Báez: Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. She was seeing some younger relative perform. Steve Jobs: I knew Laurene at one point in my life.

I forgot to mention: Jackie On Assistance: at the school I went to with her son Stevie Nicks: some restaurant in NYC Brian Setzer: in an elevator in a Memphis hotel Lady Bird Johnson: a politician’s DC office Barbara Mandrell: a reception in DC

Sorry, a Nashville hotel, not Memphis

Fabio driving his Porsche on Sunset Blvd the day of the Oscar's when they were held in LA on a Monday!

Rutger Hauer at the Griffith Park observatory.

Johnnie Cochran in NYC, nears Times Square.

Gallagher walking down 7th Ave in Times Square. Dressed in his usual garb.

Melissa Rivers having dinner in the same little restaurant in Brentwood Village that I was dining in.

OJ and Nicole at Knott's Berry Farm when I was a kid. Probably around 1980, 14 years before he chopped her and her friend up.

Conan O’BRIEN, total dick. All I said was, “is that you, Conan?” He looked like someone shit in his cereal. What I should have done was ask him, “what is best in life, Conan?”

Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Opening of of a sporting goods store. Everyone laughed because I ran into his crotch. I was young then.

I threw a paper airplane at Richard Simmons and was ejected from an arcade style shopping mall.

Gloria Steinem around 30 or so years ago.

We were sitting at the same table opposite each other at pre-lecture meet and greet.

Very physically striking, rail thin, lux hair-cut, wearing a dark red velveteen shirt and some classy looking jewelry.

She was aloof; like she couldn't be bothered, and I didn't attempt to speak to her.

I want to praise her anyway, though, because she walks the walk. She shows up at activism in remote burgs, whether or not cameras are there to record it. I know because I saw it myself.

Crossing the street in front of the Metropolitan Opera in NYC I saw in the crosswalk walking right in front of me, coming toward me Tony Randall. I was so surprised I stopped in the middle of the street and stared at him. He kept walking and kind of laughed because I was just standing in the middle of the road still staring at him, dumbfounded 🤣luckily there was no traffic!

Chicago:

John Mahoney smoking a cig during intermission of a play around 1988. Jeremy Piven filming a short-lived TV show in the West Loop, around 1995. David Schwimmer at a mall on Mich Ave. around 1995. Bruce Willis filming Mercury Rising around 1998. Barack Obama speaking at my law school when he was running for state senate in 1995.

New York:

Mario Cantone on the street in Chelsea, early 2000’s Chris Noth at an outdoor Christmas market near the Flatiron building, about 10 years ago.

R100's story about the Met reminds me one Good Friday evening I was to go to see *Parsifal* there, in1990. My buddy had hurt his back and couldn't use his ticket (the opera's over 4 hours long), and asked if I would try to sell it for him there. It was a dreary, pretty rainy New York Friday evening. Our tickets had cost $100 each, pretty good money 30 years ago. I was meeting 2 other folks there, and made sure to get there early to try to sell the ticket. Not too many people were around, but there was a guy who was out there, under an eave, all bundled up in a lot of tweedy clothes and wearing an tweed cap, obviously searching for a ticket or tickets. I asked if he need one and he nodded. I approached and he asked, with an Irish accent, to see where the seat was located. They were good seats on the mezzanine, but with a partial view of the stage, slightly to one side. He looked hard at the ticket, shook his head and handed it back to me. It was Van Morrison.

I live in NYC and have been in settings and venues and even social events for decades where I have spotted and met famous people. You kind of get used to it and realize that they are just people like yourself. Easily the most mysterious and fleeting incredibly sought “celebrity” in her time I used to see on a regular basis. My parents lived across 52nd St from her building. When I used to switch my car from one side of the street to the other (530-6 pm change for alt side parking) she’d come down 52nd Street same time ravers day returning home from her regular walk about: Garbo! You could set your watch by her. And too many others to even list! Celebrity sighting in NYC is like bird watching, lol.

Telling Lord Sterling (he was Sir Jeffrey then) why his bridge crew weren't getting a successful anchor drop in the bay at Grand Cayman.

I saw Malcolm McDowell and Jeremy Piven on the same day in Chicago, not together, which is funny because they were both on "Entourage" at the time. Both in the Gold Coast. McDowell was alone walking down the sidewalk, he was extremely skinny, birdlike. Piven was with two extremely tall, leggy blonde women who looked like twins. This was before he got anorexic looking and installed hairplugs, so he was pretty hot but definitely had that douchebro energy.

Saw John Slattery buying a 6-pack of Peroni beer at a convenience store in Santa Monica on a Saturday night. This was when he was on "Mad Men." Sort of rumpled but still extremely handsome. Same trip to LA, I was walking down a sidewalk in Los Feliz and dropped a loose key. Woman walking toward me bent down, picked it up and handed it to me with a big smile. It was Jenny Slate.

In Minneapolis, where I live, was sitting at a bar in Loring Park with my husband when Josh Hartnett came in by himself and sat down. Was chatting amiably with the bartender, like he was a regular. Unbelievably beautiful man.

Through my job, I've seen most of the major US politicians and prominent political journalists of the last 25 years at one time or another. For the most part, nothing special -- although I will say that, probably not a surprise, Obama just glows in person.

Chelsea Clinton at a UPenn coffee shop. She was with other students and I was trying to place her, thought she might have been in a class with me.

Then I saw 2 secret service guys at the door. They gave her some distance. I felt sorry for her to have to live that way. She was laughing with her friends though.

Woody and Soon Yi walking down Madison in light rain. Soon Yi was holding an umbrella for both of them.

Pope Francis down Market St Philadelphia in his Pope mobile. Wasn't part of the official route but maybe he was taking a short cut to the start.

Chelsea went to Penn?

Pam St Clement, (Fat Pat from Eastenders) at a Stonewall fundraiser at the London Palladium. She was utterly charming. I felt she had real warmth. Tony and Cherie Blair were in the royal box.

Zandra Rhodes at the opera.

Rudolf Nureyev in Paris, just walking down the street. I’m old.

Calvin Klein at the old Bowery Bar, 20 years ago. He looked like a walking corpse even then, I cannot even imagine how frightening he must look in person now.

MT as ex-PM come unannounced to plant a tree.

No plaque ever marked it out, which is probably why the tree still stands after all these years.

I met queen Elizabeth in new Westminster, Canada around 1970 when I was a kid. She was typical boring old polite lady. She posed for pic but my camera did not work. Some ladies got out of the way to allow the shot. This was a formal meet and greet. She was alone.

I have lived in LA twice, NYC once, and travel a lot for work. I used to work in entertainment so I am only listing people I have seen randomly, not at work functions. I also used to have to cut by Rockefeller center for work and would see whoever was performing for the Today show for several years.

Random run-ins:

Matt Dillon in the UWS a few times

Bernadette Peters. It’s the hair. You can’t miss her. She also lives in the UWS

Madonna in traffic at on LaBrea, turning left on Beverly, presumably going to her Maverick offices on Beverly

Paris Hilton at the Spice Girls reunion concert at (then) Staples Center

Paul Schaffer near where Letterman taped, just standing on the street

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard at the Grange hall restaurant (long gone)

Anthony Bourdain in Paris on Isle St. Louis

Martha and Alexis Stewart crossing the street

Cyndi Lauper and her husband actor in the UWS a few times. She was kind of in cognito. He's huge, very distinct, you can't miss him. She's tiny.

Jon Voight and Andie McDowell walking out of the Ritz Carlton in Dallas

Bill Clinton in a limo, reading a paper, drove past me in Boston

Tony Hale (Gary from Veep) in the American Airlines lounge at LAX

Sheryl Crow going into a restaurant in LA

That ugly dude from Counting Crows multiple times in LA – hip dive bars, movies

Fabio a few times in Pavillions in WeHo in the 90s

Matt Damon at a gym in the UWS

Lynn Redgrave talking to Jack Nicholson as they waited for their cars at valet at a hotel

Jeremy Piven, pulled over to stare at my friend’s tits in his car

Anna Nicole Smith when she was HUGE in WeHo

Laura Bush at the Zodiac room having lunch with friends at Neiman Marcus, downtown Dallas

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton in Riverside Park

Sylvester Stallone pulling into a hotel valet in Beverly Hills

Rode the elevator with Katie Holmes and Dianne Wiest at the Plaza in NYC (much more excited to talk to Dianne, who was super sweet and shocked at being recognized).

Debbie Harry on her phone near her place in London Towers

Sandra Bernhard in restaurants in LA (Jones) and NYC (Pagani, now closed). We talked about the time she went on Letterman and said "do not throw shade at me Miss Letterman - Paris is Burning!" and had a good laugh over it

John C. Reilly in the 90s at Formosa Café (ugly)

Quinten Tarantino and Rosie Perez at Chez Jay in Santa Monica. Rosie's voice is as annoying in person as real life.

Kathy Njimy and Jenny Garth at some bar in Hollywood in the 90s

Biggie Smalls in some club on Sunset

Susan Lucci dining at Sinatra's at the Wynn. She's in great shape for her age, TINY. I was shocked that she was eating....bread!

No R107, she was visiting.

I was working in Manhattan since the last 7Os, so way too many to mention.

Probably THE biggest old Hollywood movie star I ever saw randomly walking on the street was Ingrid Bergman on Madison Ave. Stopped me dead in my tracks to watch her walk away. A woman also stopped to watch her, looked at me and said “Was that..::?” And I nodded yup. That would’ve been around the time she played Golda Meir in a tv movie (and the DL thread about that made me think of spotting her.)

[quote]Ron Jeremy's at an airport.

Jeremy's what?

Penis??

[quote]r112 Jon Voight and Andie McDowell walking out of the Ritz Carlton in Dallas

Whores.

Nicole Kidman at a screening of When Harry Met Sally (1989) just prior to her hooking up with Tammy.

I worked at an office bldg in the same complex as the hotel where visiting basketball players stayed. When I went out for lunch, I would see giant athletes walking around. I have no idea who, though. Later, while working part time at Macy's, I waited on two men. One guy was new in town and the other was his friend helping him get his new apartment set up. One mentioned playing football at Texas A&M. "Oh, were you teammates in college?" I asked. One answered yes, but looked a bit deflated. After they left, an older saleslady came up, agog. They were both Dallas Cowboys, one having recently been traded from another team. I have no idea who. Elvis Stojko, though, him I recognized when I was traveling on business. He was in the economy section, shoving a carryon into the overhead compartment.

He’s not a huge celebrity but I met Noel Fisher (Mickey from Shameless) at a party about three years ago. Super friendly and humble, also super short.

Saw Miss Lindsey, with her parasol, strolling down the walkway along a row of blooming cherry blossoms. She purposely dropped her floral print handkerchief over her left shoulder, and smiled and giggled as four admiring gentlemen scrambled to pick it up for her.

Olivia Newton John at her store "Koala Blue". There was a man I took to be her bodyguard standing along the wall, watching customers.

Joel Grey, stage door.

Barack Obama, Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade, the year he was running for the US Illinois Senate seat. (For those who don't know, the politicians jockey for position at the front of the parade - it's a big deal.) I don't follow politics, but Obama recognized the person I was with, who worked for a prominent non-profit organization. Obama called out their name and came over to talk. I was introduced and said hello. (The parade had not started yet and was forming up near where we were standing, with all the pols in front.) He spoke to us for a bit and then said goodbye and as he walked away, he turned back to me and said "X (the person I was with) is great!" As he walked away, I asked X "Who was that?" X replied, "That's Barack Obama. He's running for the Senate." X knew him and Michelle from events (both work and social) when he was a Community organizer.

Rob Lowe in Montecito, CA back in the 90's at an open air café. He was with his young son and was trying to get the kid to sit down and eat. Rob was wearing khaki pants with a stain near the ass area where he had sat down on something the kid probably dropped. It was wonderful to see such a perfectly beautiful man being a dad and with a stain on his pants. He smiled a beautiful smile and waved. My husband had no idea who he was. Oy.

Back in 1968, I was 8 years old and my parents took us to Chasens restaurant which was where the stars dined back in the day. They saw Robert Stack whom I hadn't heard of. I saw Carol Burnett standing in front of the restaurant with her daughter Carrie Hamilton who was 5 at the time. Even as a young gayling, I knew Carol Burnett! My dad then arranged a tour of Paramount studios and we were taken on the set of "Mission: Impossible" which was very popular at the time. We met Martin Landeau and Barbara Bain who were so nice.

Molly Shannon, yesterday, on some silly looking bike, in Larchmont Village, talking wtih someone she knew outside of Jeni's ice cream. She looked good in person.

Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”) and Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences”) are (separately) regulars at my favorite Mexican restaurant. He’s intense; she’s very self-contained.

Marlee Matlin (“CODA”) shops at our local Whole Foods. Radiant with very striking eyes.

Steven Yuen (“TWD” and “Minari”) is a friend of a friend via their kids’ mutual school. Very low-key and humble.

Melora Hardin (“The Office”) and her “DWTS” pro partner, Artem, struck up a long conversation with us at a pre-rehearsal lunch spot. They are both luminous— she has a genuine warmth and sincerity; he’s more guarded but has spellbinding ice-blue eyes and a sexiness that the camera doesn’t capture.

For the Joanna Cassidy troll, we struck up a casual friendship at a lecture series and exchanged notes for a short time. Very private, fiercely intelligent and principled, and a bit intimidating.

Obscure one: Ed Kerr (“Seaquest”) was my seatmate on a flight to Missouri- he was headed home for a reunion. Made deep conversation the whole flight and gave me his number (not in a hookup way: we knew people in common).

My favorite: Miley Cyrus playing semi-inebriated twister with friends at a Palm Springs resort- she and my dog adored each other. Open, sweet, and generous.

Lived in LA for 35 years. My partner worked in the industry. Saw em all. And yes they are mostly small with garbage can sized heads.

John Waters and Selma Blair, who was beautiful and demure in a classy gown, quite a contrast to her character, "Ursula Udders," in A Dirty Shame. At The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.

Charlie Sexton browsing in Book People, also in Austin. We both looked up at the same time over a display, made brief eye contact, and I was mesmerized by his bone structure. I forced myself to look back down at the books, but it was hard not to stare.

Malford Milligan, of Storyville, buying a broom at the H.E.B. off of Red River.

While in NYC in 2004/2005 it was a “blink or you’ll miss them” kind of thing:

-Chris Noth, jogging in Central Park. I thought he looked like Big and when I heard others whispering, I knew it was him.

-Reese Witherspoon pushing a stroller with one of the kids in Union Square. Walked by so fast I was tempted to do a double take but I didn’t.

-Via word of mouth: a friend saw Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall storm into a store in NYC and acted entitled and rude like they owned the place. It was right after But I’m A Cheerleader came out and probably also around the time Natasha was consuming tons of drugs and turning her apt leased by Michael Rappaport into a drug den. My friend was annoyed by their demanding attitudes.

Faye Dunaway. In NYC. Stunning beyond words.

How I envy you, R127. I would also not be able to look away from Charlie Sexton.

r128 Even now Ms. Lyonne retains such charms.

Hugh Jackman was the first celebrity I saw after moving to NYC. He was in a play at the Circle in the Square Theatre and was out for a run in Central Park. I was at Columbus Circle to apply for a job as a bike delivery guy. He was with his trainer (or a male friend) who was as handsome as him. He smiled at me as I stared at him and I, because I am perfect dolt, was confused. Since that day, I've had a soft spot for him. Gay or not, I'd hug him (or at least, try to) if I met him now.

Karen Black on Pico Blvd.

She asked if there was a coffee shop near by. I got flustered and mumbled my answer which annoyed her.

I was star struck from Airport 1975 SALT LAKE, SALT LAKE!!!!

Jesus Christ himself attended my local church one Sunday many years ago.

I would have lost my cool R133. I LOVED Karen Black (or rather, still love her, even though she's dearly departed). Her Scientiology involvement is suspect, but she seemed like a good person—a true eccentric, unabashed and (possibly) entirely unaware of just how strange of a creature she really was. She was a true original, and a great actress.

Tony Roberts walked past me at the line for "Spamalot." He looked bemused at the crowd.

Matt Lauer on a sidewalk, talking on his cellphone. This was right after a "Today" show.

Rev. Al Sharpton in a random Italian restaurant on the UES.

Jimmy (not James) Dean eating dinner with his family in the Kennebunkport Inn.

I met singer Connie Smith and her (then) husband Marshall (I was a teenager and found him very attractive)--when she married Marty Stuart I wondered about her marriage to Marshall even more..........

Quincy Jones in New Orleans. He was with some white lady. No idea if it was Rashidas mom...........

Buck Owens and Roy Clark in Nashville (mid 80s)... They were recording a Christmas Special for tv at the Grand Ole Opry Hotel... Roy Clark was yelling at people behind the scenes........

Jeff Probst (before Survivor) he was the host of Rock and Roll Jeopardy. Total Asshole.......VIDEO CLIP of what he looked like back then. I knew who he was the minute I met him.

Sat next to Michael Rappaport at a bench at The Grove in LA. I didn’t say a word to him as I didn’t want to bother him unless he said hi first

Jason Robards in the theatre district in Manhattan in the 1980s. He was doing a play on Broadway at the time. He smiled at me because I did a double-take when I recognized him.

Sucked off George Michael at a restroom at Will Rogers Park in the 90s