Weird, everyday "connections" to celebrities and their relatives

My mom was a 3rd cousin to Phyllis Diller

PeeWee Herman’s sister was the attorney who helped my gay friends adopt their kid.

I most definitely have a celebrity connection, but if I were to explain what it is, I may as well post my name! I'm not a celebrity myself, but it would still be to easy to figure out my identity (something I don't want to do on DL).

r1, cool!!

My worldly, bookish late uncle was a visiting professor at a British college for a couple of years and struck up a friendship with a fellow educator, with whom he kept in touch for years. In passing, he mentioned that the man's son was "some kind of musician."

Yeah, the guy happened to be Mick Jagger. My uncle had no idea who he was.

Stanley Tucci’s dad was my HS art teacher.

I am Mrs. Norman Maine

Mama Cass's sister Leah was my entertainment lawyer for a "business divorce" (royalties) in 2023. Leah also put out a few records back in the day. I bought one off ebay on a complete lark, and ended up really loving it!! I'm kind of obsessed with her voice. She told me she could never stop working because she made such bad decisions in her divorce from her musician ex. It's what inspired her to become an entertainment lawyer. And she didn't want me to rush through this "divorce" of assets and then have severe regrets later on.

Sadly I just looked Leah up on Wiki to get some more trivia about her, and it seems she died in November 2024. Wow! RIP Leah. Thank you so much for having my back and not allowing me to throw away some of the royalties I was entitled to just to rush through the process.

Actor Richard Boone was a distant cousin of mine

My ex's mother was Roy Scherer's first cousin.

One of my best gal friend's parents are Bill and Taffy Danoff from the Starlight Vocal Band, of Afternoon Delight fame.

R2 they must live in Nashville. She’s my attorney too.

I was molested by…

Ancestry.com says I'm a 6th- to-10th cousin to a James Bowman (J D. Vance?). I looked up the name when I saw my paternal great-great-great grandmother was a Bowman, and my maternal great-great grandmother was a Taulbee. Two names in both our Kentucky family trees.

My mother was friends with the Black Dahlia's sister. My mom denied any connection to the Short family for years but when Ma died I found Elizabeth's sister's signature in my mom's yearbook

A longtime barista at the Starbucks I frequented in suburban Portland, OR in college had a sister who made Victorian-style lingerie and sold it on Etsy—Courtney Love was one of her biggest customers. I found this out because I had Hole playing in my car once and she asked me who it was.

[quote] Two names in both our Kentucky family trees.

The tree didn’t branch I take it.

My best friend was a backup vocalist for Dolly Parton.

[quote] I found this out because I had Hole playing in my car once and she asked me who it was.

And Courtney played with hole in her underwear.

I currently live on the same street as J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. I used to live two blocks from Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore before their divorce. Western Mass is like that.

I came in my ex boyfriend's ass. So did Zachary Quinto, Jon Kortajarena, and Ricky Martin.

My friend is in a band. They had tour bus driver for one of the tours, his name was Tony. Tony's daughter was at the time dating Ray Parker Jr.'s son. He showed us pictures of the daughter, the son and Ray on his iPhone. He was extremely proud!

This same tour bus driver had previously driven the German electro duo Digitalism for a US tour. Tony was freestyle rapping one night while driving. One of the Digitalism guys recorded him rapping, threw a beat on it, and their song The Ism was born.

Better link for those who wish to hear The Ism in all it's glory.

Courtney Love is into Victorian lingerie? Oh, the things you learn on the Datalounge!

Marilyn Mathers -- the Beaver's mom -- was my first Sunday School teacher (Catholic church).

Tom Brady lived in my town for a number of years. My sister asked me if I had ever seen him around. I said I have no idea what he looks like. Football right?

[quote] Better link for those who wish to hear The Ism in all it's glory.

Not that I condone fascism or any ism for that matter. Isms, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ism; he should believe in himself.

My orthopedist some years back was married to Shelley Winters' daughter. He mentioned to me one day that Shelley had taught their kids how to swim.

[quote] Shelley had taught their kids how to swim.

Is it true that in the water she’s a very skinny lady?

One of my best friends from high school married Mary Kay's grandson (I was in their wedding). He's a very sweet, VERY handsome man and he just adores her.

25 years and three kids later, they are still in love and doing great.

R24 Courtney Love was a vocal Etsy whore in the 2010s so it tracks

I taught at a private summer school and Edward Furlong's then 11-year-old son was in my class. He was adorable but also a real handful.

He used to Google himself and show the other kids. lol

Apparently Courtney is into fashion, but she always looks terrible.

Sissy Spacek and I had the same typing teacher. Decades apart, of course. I would stay after class and she would tell me all about her.

My cousin went to the same high school as Michelle Pfieffer (a good 15 years apart) but they had the same English teacher.

The teacher would occasionally talk to his class about Michelle; I'm sure students asked him questions. She worked at a supermarket as a teenager and would often skip school to go to the beach when the weather was too nice not to. Natural beauty, soft-spoken, sweet girl. No obvious aspirations at that time to be a model or actress.

At an annual family reunion, the wife of my father’s first cousin shared that actress Kathleen Turner was her cousin, and she had just seen her at a family wedding. This was during Kathleen’s soap opera days, so naturally my ten(?)-year old self was utterly fascinated by this revelation.

My dad and his cousins were born and raised in LA and most of the family has stayed on the west coast, but one of the cousins ended up settling on the east coast in uppercrust Westport, Connecticut. He and his wife somehow (I’m not entirely clear on the circumstances) know Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski fairly well and occasionally socialize/have dinners with them. My dad’s cousin is a shockingly down-to-earth guy and I’ve stayed at their house before (which is actually quite typically suburban, despite the zip code).

My fifth grade school teacher was Mary Badham's (Scout from "To Kill A Mockingbird") aunt.

Mrs. Dixon's ( her married name) husband ran the local Montgomery Wards store, she once kept two students after class for calling the store "Monkey Wards".

Mrs. Dixon was a humorless twat, she also had really bad breath.

A friend of mine who is a script supervisor in LA was always talking about this friend of hers named Jodie. Jodie was always having problems with men. Getting married, getting divorced. Having a child here or there, dealing with the dads, the exes. Sounded like a TON of drama and headaches. One day my friend was visiting me for a week here on the east coast. And she was like, "Oh, Jodie is Facetiming us, c'mere, let's say hi to her!" And so she clicks on the Facetime call. "Jodie" = Jodie Sweetin, aka Stephanie Tanner from Full House. Even though I have never been a Full House fan per se, I felt very nervous suddenly to say hi, lol. I knew so much about Jodie's private life, I felt so awkward.

My mother’s college “boyfriend”—whom she left to return home and end up with my father—was Frank Prial, who became Paris bureau chief of the NYT and later their wine critic.

David Corenswet’s father was my acting teacher.

I once found myself sitting next to him in a Midtown restaurant. I wanted to tell him that my mom still had his Georgetown student ID card…but he was with his wife and I chickened out.

One of my cousins is an A-list political/Fox News celebrity and I'm not saying who it is.

Anyway, I have another cousin whose baby sitter was Marcia Wallace!

My cousin married Harry Dean Stanton's nephew. The groom's mom was HDS's sister.

I have three. All are slightly ridiculous.

(1) My stepsister was a scriptwriter on Nell Carter’s sitcom Gimme A Break.

(2) I have a framed photo in my living room of my stepfather with Lena Horne at a dog show.

(3) The spot where I get my takeout fried chicken is allegedly - according to the photo taped onto their wall - the same place where Jay-Z bought his fried chicken when he was a teenager.

My father's best friend was actor Eugene Roach, who is probably best known to DLers as E. Ronald Malu on SOAP, and the AJAX dishwashing guy. When my parents separated (after a blowout argument), my father lived in Gene's Westwood Apartment that he kept while working in L.A. Gene was GREATEST! So funny....and I remember him wrapping his arm around me, "How ya doin kid, are you okay?"

Is your cousin an irredeemable cunt in real life, r43? At least tell us that much.

when george c. scott's son got married, the bride gave her purebred dog to me.

Kate Bush's dad was my doctor and my friends and I used to play in the fields on the farm Kate grew up on. She'd moved out by then though.

My friend was a wig maker, stylist in his native London and he did JUDYS hair. Hes now 85 and going strong. He knew many others but JUDY is the winner. Lorna Luft was at his previous house party just weeks before i befriended him. And he spoke only kind things about her. He was often out with Sinead OConnor; just the 2 of them. Another friend, a hairdresser, did Kylie Minogues hair and she was nervous and asked him to accompany her to the tv studio where she was bring interviewed. He said she was very sweet. A friend now lives beside Steve Martin, of whom im a huge fan and theyre friends with Diana Ross's son; whom i met and only knew who he was when he had to leave to collect his mom , to take her to the grammys, where she was presenting an award. Ive some others too.

Those are great ones, R50!

My sister’s best friend’s mom is Barbara Ann of the Beach Boys’ song.

Fun fact: George Harrison’s wife Oliva went to Hawthorne High just a few years after the Wilson brothers. …when music worlds collide.

R49 did you run up the hill there?

Olivia*

R32 Furlong married the actress Rachael Bella on April 19, 2006. The couple had a son, born in September 2006.[14] On July 8, 2009, Bella filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.[22] Later in 2009, she sought to dissolve the restraining order which she had previously filed, so that Furlong could have parental visits with their child.[23] In 2012, Bella alleged in court documents that their then-six-year-old son had tested positive for cocaine, which led a judge to rule that Furlong's visits with him must be supervised.[24]

DAMN

[quote] Lorna Luft was at his previous house party just weeks before i befriended him. And he spoke only kind things about her.

Did he say whether he partook of her in an unwanted manner?

David CoreNSweat’s mother was my fitness instructor.

My uncle was part of Slash’s security for a long time.

R43, if Marcia W was your cousin's babysitter, and if your cousin and you are in the same age group (big if), then you were born around mid 1950s. So the A-list Fox celebrity maybe was born ~1950s-1960s. Sean Hannity?

R3, Stedman, is that you?!

My cousin is a teacher; years ago she taught LL Cool J’s kid and she said he and his wife were among the nicest parents in their (snobby upper class) school.

Buckley? Brentwood? Certainly not Harvard-Westlske.

[quote]My father's best friend was actor Eugene Roach, who is probably best known to DLers as E. Ronald Malu on SOAP, and the AJAX dishwashing guy. When my parents separated (after a blowout argument), my father lived in Gene's Westwood Apartment that he kept while working in L.A. Gene was GREATEST! So funny....and I remember him wrapping his arm around me, "How ya doin kid, are you okay?"

His name was Eugene ROCHE.

A male friend of mine had a one night stand with Alexander Skarsgard in NY in the late 90s.

Sure, Jarl.

Whatevs r65. The basement dwellers here always shit on real gossip.

R65 - "Jarl"!

Big dick and versatile. My friend never saw him again but it was a night to remember.

R64 - I choose to believe you (and your friend) because even the idea of it is hot af.

I went to college with Stephen Root for two years. We were in the same theater classes together.

I graduated from college with Susannah Hoffa. The two of us, and 3,987 others.

He must have been in his very early 20s, Here he is 2001 in Zoolander.

Hoffs*

The mother of a friend of mine is/was Martha Hyer's sister.

R72 - Baby Northman!

My friend’s dad went to prom with Florence Henderson.

the prom!

This is extremely random, but speaking of the Zoolander scene at R72, the black roommate ("orange mocha frappucinno!") and his wife and kids were at a cozy hotel in the Berkshire's for New Years 2019. His name was Asio and her name is Angela. I still get little texts from Angela once in a blue moon sending love. I was there celebrating with a boyfriend and doing some skiing for a few days. We and Asio and Angela (and a several other lodgers) brought in the new year together in the warm and comfortable common room. Angela, the wife, was a model but she was really, really natural and down to earth. I think he was a model too, in addition to the odd acting gig. Angela had some incredible small batch tequila that she shared with me and my boyfriend. Their kids were truly adorable and very smart. I never would have made the connection between him and the Zoolander roommates, but he had mentioned he did a little action, and when I looked up his name, boom there he was. Zoolander roommate. Got to "act" next to a then-unknown A. Skarsgard.

*acting, not action. Although, who knows? Maybe he did an action movie. Or knows where the action is.

My sister-in-law’s cousin was Anthony Quinn’s last wife.

r72 he was born in '76 so yes he was in his early 20s.

When I was a kid, we lived across the road from Ricky Nelson when he resided at ye olde Mulholland Farm, formerly Errol Flynn's "infamous" house. We'd sometimes be playing on the side street that Ricky would have to take to get in and out of his place. He'd be in his very recognizable red Pantera and wave to us as he drove by (always very slowly). When it was reported that he died in the plane crash, it was very eerie thinking we'd never see him again. It made the property seem even more haunted. We never saw that car again either. Years later I read that his brother David sold it.

A very close friend of mine’s father dated fried egg titty, mushroom cap haircut DL fave Bonnie Franklin in the late 1970s. It was not a happy relationship.

That is incredible, R82. What a trip!

He wasn't any kind of celebrity when this happened, but my parents lived across the street from Carson Daly's mother and stepfather, and knew the family. I was there the day a neighbor lady (the gossip on the block) came over to spread the news and tell my mother that "Pattie Caruso came over to my house last night with a bottle of wine, crying over Carson having announced that he's going to enroll in a seminary after he graduates to become a Catholic priest." Pattie was supposedly extremely upset over Carson's plans because she wanted grandchildren. While I'd never interacted with teen Carson, I'd seen him frequently, and for some reason, I just started to laugh.

My nephew dated a girl on some tv show when they were teenagers. I met her once and he told me beforehand to not make a big deal about her being famous. I told him I had no idea who she was, so that would NOT be a problem. She wasn’t some big teen star or anything. I don’t even remember her name or what show she was on—I know it was a network drama. I asked him years ago whatever happened to her, and apparently once she hit 18 and got access to all her money, she quit acting.

Someone in my family married the first cousin of John Galsworthy. PBS fans from the 1970s will know he wrote The Forsyte Saga.

I wanted to be Rick Nelson's neighbor......for a start.

My high school classmate's little sister was a 10+ year girlfriend of O.J. after the trial that made him infamous. Christie Prody.

And that classmate recently got sent to federal prison for charges surrounding cocaine distribution. I hadn't really kept track of him, but my Dad relayed the news.

[quote] My friend’s dad went to prom with Florence Henderson.

Did she have Wessonality or at least good lube?

I understood that a relative of mine was in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, and when I was there I rather haughtily asked where it was exhibited.

They practically laughed in my face and said they had warehouse upon warehouse of portraits. Only a fraction of them ever see the light of day.

When I was a kid, we adopted our puppy from a litter Vanessa Williams’ family’s dog had. She was maybe 14 at the time and she was the most beautiful being I had ever seen in my life. My mom was friendly with her mom and my brothers knew Vanessa and her brother in high school.

I worked in a law firm where Faye Dunaway's brother was a partner.

I worked on a development project with Kevin Bacon's sister Elinor. I'm 1 degree of separation!

Not really a celebrity, my father’s cousin was married to George Bamberger, he had a full career in baseball as a player for the Baltimore Orioles, batting coach for the Os who won the World Series 1970 , then manager for the Mets and Brewers.

My uncle lives next door to Andy Warhol's nephew.

My great aunt used to see Michael Keaton sometimes in the small grocery store she shopped at in Big Timber, Montana. She even got his autograph once had it on her refrigerator for years. He had a ranch somewhere nearby and lived there part-time. She said he was very nice.

My fraternity brother and roommate dated Nicole Brown’s younger sister. They went to the prom together (Dana Hills HS), after which they met up with Nicole and OJ and were offered copious amounts of blow.

R93 I worked at a law firm where I shared a secretary with a partner who leased a house in BH to Faye. Listening to one side of a conversation with that difficult tenant was FUN! The secretary had to do the dirty work of handling Faye.

My cousin dated George Harrison before he was really famous. I guess he dumped her because she wouldn’t fuck him, because she told me, “it was the most expensive ‘no’ I ever gave”.

Random babysitter connections—a student from my teaching days was a mother’s helper to Meryl Streep summers in Connecticut when Streep’s children were young, and a former coworker babysat for Betty Friedan (a million years ago, obviously).

A good friend had as a great uncle Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He has Fulton’s pocket watch and a few other mementos.

Back in the late 60s my late bff's parents hosted Coretta Scott King for a couple of days, and forever after that bff's Mom would cattily tell anyone (including me) who even mentioned Dr. King that "Coretta stayed at OUR home, and I put out my best linens on the guest bed... and you know how everyone says she has "good hair?" Well she doesn't--my best pillowcases and pillows were RUINED by all the GREASE she puts in her hair to make it look like good hair!"

Miz Gloria was something else.

When I owned my retail business, the men's clothing store across the street from me was owned by Streisand's cousin (on her father's side - their fathers were first cousins). At first he played this up for a bit in all the interviews he did. Now, nearly 20 years after, he's tired of the inquires about his famous relative. (He's Jason's age). Very nice guy, no family resemblance at all.

Good hair?

A friend of mine had Johnny Mathis as a baby-sitter. (Chances are somebody remembers him.)

[quote] Sadly I just looked Leah up on Wiki to get some more trivia about her, and it seems she died in November 2024.

Did she choke on a ham sandwich, R8?

Robert Fulghum (All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten) was my high school art teacher.

Everyone on my father's side of the family knew Merv Griffin was *homosexual* as far back as the late-50s, early-60s.

Merv's wife Julann had a BFF. As I recall her name was Lorraine? That I'm not sure about. Anyway, the two besties grew up and attended school together in the same small town located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Even after Julann moved away and married Merv, she remained very close to Lorraine. It wasn't long after the marriage that Julann confided her husband's big secret to her friend.

Anyway, Lorraine had two older sisters and told both of them. One sister named Gladys was married to my great uncle, Sam, so Gladys told him.

Gladys and Sam lived in the same Southern California city as my parents, and Sam ended up telling my father, who then told my mother.

My parents were very liberal, so didn't care, but my oldest sister remembers them kinda joking about this when she was very little. Merv was on "I've Got a Secret," and they joked, "He sure does!"

When my friend started teaching middle school in the mid-80s, she remembers Joy Behar (who lived in Providence, RI for a few years) was a substitute teacher in the school system and they used to have lunch together in the teacher's lounge whenever Behar subbed in her school. She remembers she had a frizzy afro, and talked about missing NYC all the time. She did say she was very well-liked.

Behar was here because her husband at the time (her first husband) was a professor at the state college in my neighborhood. I believe it was a three-year position he took. I found out a few years ago they lived a couple of streets over from me, and her husband walked to the college every day (less than half a mile) and Behar drove the car.

My grandmother was Tallulah Bankhead's cousin. My great-grandmother met Tallulah at some family get-together.

[quote]I worked in a law firm where Faye Dunaway's brother was a partner.

That’s MISS Dunaway to you, r93!

But seriously, did she ever call? What was he like? Do you think they were friendly?

[quote]R105 Good hair?

That’s a dated Black phrase for hair that’s not kinky.

Our company did a lot of television advertising in Central NY. We went to WSYR studios to do some interviews for an upcoming company anniversary. Got to say hello to David Muir. Did not seem like a big deal at the time.

David Tyler Muir?

[quote] That’s a dated Black phrase for hair that’s not kinky.

Oh so that was a Teacak post.

My dad used to play tennis with Fess Parker in Santa Barbara at Parker's house.

R115 The one and only DTM. He was a local weekend anchor at the time.

One of the families in our neighborhood had a dad that wasn't always around.

I found out years later that he was a Hollywood script writer. I think he wrote scripts for a number of Norman Lear shows and a few other 70s era shows.

Eh, sorry, not really a specific celebrity thing, I probably got this game wrong.

My parents met actor Robert Webber on a golf course in South Carolina and were friendly with him for years. Nice man. Wouldn't gossip though except to say he hated both Ryan O'Neal and Leigh Taylor Young.

My younger sister babysat Jay Baruchel a few times when he was around 11 or 12. He was fascinated with her big tits. They still talk and I suspect something went on between them when he came of age.

That same sister got into a fender-bender with one of Céline Dion's many brothers in a mall parking lot. She said he was very nice, and obviously gay... she described him... and I said no.

I used to see Justin Trudeau's iconic father Pierre on the street quite often after he left politics. His law office was close to where I worked. We only spoke once. Killer smile.

Pertaining to a thread about Omar Sharif's gay grandson - I worked with his mother Debbie for about five years and met the kid several times. I last saw him around age 12. Smart kid. She was divorced from his father Tarek by then,a total princess type but was in on the joke and played it up. "OMIE" was a little devil when it came to the men she dated.

Also Rufus Wainwright as a kid at the library where I worked. Unruly smart-mouthed little brat.

My uncle was Howard Cosell

I know-Who??

I remember him r121. How many other of your family members had his distinctive way of speaking? How was he when with family?

No one else spoke like Howard thank god

He was actually a decent man-didn’t see him on a regular basis but when I did he was very pleasant to me

My good friend in high school, Dawn Davenport, blew Richard Speck.

When I first moved to Western Mass years ago, I ran in the same circle as this at-the-time rather loose canon character named Ezra Prior. He was younger than us, he was "artsy" and "weird," and for an aspiring comedian, seemed to take things very seriously. I later found out that he was the son of Nanette Vonnegut, daughter of uber-famous author Kurt Vonnegut. Both of Ezra's parents were Artistes with a capital A and his grandfather was, you know, a worldwide legend icon. I can only imagine the level of either pressure or dysfunction to be the heir to all that. I heard that Vonnegut could be cruel and was a depressive.

We've long since lost touch. Last I have heard, Ezra is a reflexologist and massage therapist in Holyoke. I wish him well.

I lived in the same Beirut apartment building as spy Kim Philby in 1961.

My friend's uncle's wife's daughter (from a previous marriage) was married to Dean Stockwell.

That is crazy, R126

That is pretty wild r126.

Western Mass person here again, who lives on the same street as J from the band Dinosaur Jr. Also lived two blocks away from Black Francis of the Pixies on the other end of the street (yes both of these alt-rock icons lived on the same street for a few years). Reading about the guy who's sister got into a fender bender with Celine Dion's brother jogged my memory. I was involved in a multi-car fender-bend on Route 9 in Hadley, MA with Rivers Cuomo's brother Leaves during Covid. It was not my fault, but I was the loser who ended up at the end of the collision centipede. Rivers Cuomo is the lead singer of the band Weezer.

Don't has me how I knew it was his brother, besides that we exchanged information. Ok I will tell you: I was on tour with a band that opened up for Weezer at one point in my life, and discovered that Rivers' brother taught at UMASS and lived near me in Western Mass.

The second we all got out of our cars on Route 9, and Leaves Cuomo aka James Kitt (alias for his teaching career) and I locked eyes, I was like "Oh wait, you're Rivers' brother, right?" He was like "Yeah." I just....knew, somehow, and I was correct.

I saw what you did there, R106.

Drew Barrymore’s mother works as a therapist and my friend is one of her clients.

My grandmother died before I was born, but my mom told me that my grandmother told her that she was friends as a kid in New York with the Gish sisters (Lillian, Dorothy). I looked them up and my grandmother was the same age as Dorothy. My mom said the Gish apartment and my grandmother's apartment shared an attic and they played up there.

R132 I hope she's a better therapist than she was a mother.

Forgot to mention a few, among them Courtney Love. I knew the father of her bass player. She was pleasant enough but was staying in one of Melissa's Dad's spare rooms and expecting take-out every time they ate. Nick payed without complaint. She wasn't wasted, just wine. Nick didn't really drink much wine and had asked me for help. I'm no expert but I know a few good Bordeaux. RIP Nick. A true straight friend of the gays.

[quote]I worked in a law firm where Faye Dunaway's brother was a partner.

Did he know you were a little homosexual boy?

Bette Davis's son Michael Merrill was the attorney of the partner of one of my friends.

[quote]We've long since lost touch. Last I have heard, Ezra is a reflexologist and massage therapist in Holyoke.

Holy-oke Masssachusetts!

My uncle (my father’s brother) never had a career per se, just a long list of disparate jobs, one of which was assistant to John Ross when he was producer of “The Patty Duke Show.” Ross and his wife Ethel were drunks who talked Patty’s mother into letting them make Patty a star and they managed (and mismanaged) her life and career until she was an adult.

My uncle worked for Ross for the first two years of the series when it was shot in NYC and my mom and I visited the set (I got to cut school for the day) which was a thrill that inspired my obsession with show business. When the series moved to LA for the third and last season (they got slaughtered by “Lost in Space” in the ratings) they wanted my uncle to come along with them. If he had, he might have had a leg up in a career out there, but he had seen and heard too much. He loved Patty but he was disturbed by the way the Ross’s were exploiting her and John Ross has begun to put moves on Patty, which the teenager found horrifying.

In her book Call Me Anna, Patty mentioned my uncle by name as someone who was always kind to her while she was shooting the TV series she hated.

My parents were best friends with Dr & Mrs. Anonymous. Their daughter married Jon C who managed at various times Tanya Tucker, Paul Simon & Blue Oyster Cult. At the wedding reception,the older kids pointed out to the younger kids, like me, that the guy in the leopard pants was an original member of Blue Oyster Cult.

I also overheard Eddie Simon, Paul’s brother, say how glad he was that he “didn’t have to date chicks with fat thighs anymore.” That stuck in my pre-pubescent brain & I made sure never to have fat thighs. Not that Eddie Simon was a prize.

When I moved down to Manhattan for college & forever (I thought) Cyndi Lauper was one of the cool “shop girls” in one of those cool affordable vintage clothing shops that were all of NYC in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. And she sold me a skirt! It was black & gold & off white. It was sparkly & so was Cyndi!

R135 that is amazing. Melissa seems like a real sweetheart of a person. She and Courtney are still close to this day.

I was a receptionist in an L.A. law office and one day some Attorney Scoggins called. I said, "Are you related to... Tracy Scoggins?" He said that Yes, she was a cousin or something.

I said, "Well, you tell her there are still a lot of Colbys fans in this particular firm, and we wish her the best!"

R141, she's the epitome of beautiful old soul, and has been since childhood.

She had a rough time when Nick died. He had been a journalist, local celebrity, newspaper columnist. All of us from that community were in mourning.

It felt to me like Melissa could have gotten lost in all that shuffle. I don't know her well.

I was close to her father. He called me sometimes to know what gays think. He even came to a few gay bars with me. For research. Seriously.

I'm somehow related to the actor who played 'Uncle Junior' on The Sopranos on my father's side. They were cousins (my father's mother and his mother were half sisters, as they shared the same father). My aunt (father's older sister) used to correspond with him in Italian for decades, until she passed in 2018 at the age of 94. My dad remembered meeting him when he was in his teens, and my grandmother would go to NYC to spend time with her half sister in the summer for a few days (my aunt and my dad would accompany her). I just googled him - he's still alive at 94 (both my dad and my aunt are deceased).

My sister is married to Jeremy Renner’s dad.

I hope she didn't gift him with a snowplow a few Christmases ago.

The late actress Sandy Dennis and I are second cousins. Never met her.

Well, that's too bad! She sounded like an interesting person : (

On the other hand, I wonder what celebrities think when they get the call, "Hi! I'm your second cousin and I would like to meet you!"

My father played college football with Alex Karras.

^^^I had sex with Alex Karras when we both got stranded in the Denver airport^^^

Finally, I have an everyday connection to a celebrity

How was sex with Alex Karras??

He was a lion in the sack

Nathan Lane’s sister-in-law was my son’s student newspaper advisor when he was the editor. They were very close. We saw Lane at her funeral. He was very attentive to his niece.

R43, never mind who it is, the real question is does your cousin believe his own bullshit?

I already mentioned Nathan Lane. Here’s 3 more-

1. My aunt and mom grew up with Connie Francis and my aunt and Connie were very good friends.

2. My mom used to sing backup for Frankie Valli when the 4 Seasons were the 4 Lovers and playing the local dive bars around Newark NJ

3. My dad grew up with and was good friends with Dave Toma, the famous undercover cop played by Tony Musante on a series in the 70s. When Musante quit, Toma was retooled and became Barretta. My dad was an usher in Toma’s wedding.

I love Steven Root! Please tell us he was a good guy R70.

My parents used to frequent the pizza joint in Astoria, Queens in the late 1940s, where Tony Bennett was a singing waiter, locally famous for his voice and sunny personality. And my mother would sometimes work as an usherette at a local movie theater when Tony sometimes ushered as well.

One weekend morning my parents were driving to Jones Beach when a new song “Rags to Riches” came on the car radio, and when Tony Bennett was named as the singer, my mother said my father almost lost control of the car they were so excited that he’d finally broken through and made the big time as everyone had predicted.

Years later in the 2000s my mother was in Macy’s of all places, and saw Tony Bennett looking at merchandise. She went up to him and introduced herself, and they reminisced for a few minutes about the old neighborhood before he got his start. She said he was lovely and very gracious, though he clearly didn’t remember her.

My friend used to live down the street from Cybill Shepherd’s brother. He’s as nutty as his sister.

One of my mom's friends took a trip to LA when I was a kid and somehow met Red Skelton on the street when they were both parking their cars. She was at our house one day and went on and on about how nice he was, and how she'd always been a fan, and how funny he was on TV. My mom really hated Red Skelton as a performer; it was fun to watch her putting on a smile as she listened to this (nice) woman.

R142 I fucking LOVE you!! ❤️

[quote] Nick payed without complaint

Paid!

I went to HS with Kevin Spacey, Val Kilmer and Mare Winningham. They were drama kids. I was a stoner, so therefore don’t remember anyone.

When I lived in New Hope I ran into Antiques Roadshow’s Noel Barrett quite often at the liquor store. Fabulous pony tail. Always wearing cool shoes and watches. I notice those things.

My small town midwest babysitter left our small town for the bright lights of Wichita Kansas in the early/mid 70s where she partied HARD with her roommate. Years later she was shocked to discover her former coke snorting roomie was in Star Trek The Wrath of Khan. Yes, I'm one degree of separation away from the legendary Kirstie Alley, pre Scientology.

Domestic Violence Barbie, comes covered in bruises and no self esteem.

Noel Barrett was famous in Illinois for sweet-talking novice antique dealers into taking him with them when they visited prospective sellers. He relied heavily on the show to sell both dealer and owner. Nobody liked him.

Seeing a Pat Benatar video in another thread (the only really good video of hers) just sparked a memory of another tenuous connection. Dennis Benatar’s girlfriend was my roommate; it was shortly after he and Pat divorced. He was pretty damn cute then. I only remember meeting him once.

I met an old woman at a dinner at my aunt's house years ago. She was from Hoboken and claimed she knew of Sinatra when they were in high school. She said he was a total nerd and he was constantly picked on. If true no wonder he didn't graduate and went through life with a huge chip on his shoulder.

That is really cool, R167. It's a bit confusing because when I Google "Dennis Benatar" up comes image after image of Pat and her guitar player and husband since 1982 Neil Giraldo, who has always been incredibly handsome. The only photo I see of Dennis that I can trust is the IMDB one of him with white hair and a baseball jersey on. I guess he was a production manager or assistant director on A League Of Their Own. Was he even remotely in the ballpark (no pun intended) of a Neil Giraldo? I remember drooling over Neil as a little kid.

R169 / R167 - so is that Dennis or Neil in the photo at R167?

[quote]I worked in a law firm where Faye Dunaway's brother was a partner.

Tina! Bring me the fax!

[quote]He was actually a decent man

Howard Cosell was a fucking icon and a great man.

R170 The photo R167 linked is 100% Neil Giraldo. Notice he and Pat are doing a joint interview at a radio station. Most if not almost all of the photos of Pat with a man, are of her and Neil.

Sorry. I fucked up. Yes, that pic is Neil Giraldo.

This pic is Dennis.

Courtney Cox lived next door to me for about 10 years when I was growing up. And my older brother dated her for a year or so while they were in High School.

R164 When I saw Kirstie Alley as a pre-fame contestant on an old Match Game episode I thought she looked coked out of her mind.

She still managed to win the super match though.

Both my sons' fourth grade teacher was Gwen Stefani's godmother

My step-niece is first cousins with JoBeth Williams

Another step-niece was BFF with Fawn Hall in HS.

My older son's good friend's step-mother is Sherrod Brown's first wife. I'll see his friend next week.

R162 hey, one of my best friends from college—a fraternity roommate—was also a stoner from Chatsworth. That could be another weird, everyday, connection.

R175, did she suck his…well you know?

Oops, forgot that Harry Belafonte's son lived in my dorm for one semester

Neil Giraldo was such a hot piece of Italian ass back in the day, you can see why Pat was crazy for him.

I went to high school with a girl named Frosti and there's about a 100% chance that she's now a famous porn star.

My youngest sister (again) went to Westmount High when Kamala Harris was a student. She didn't know her.

Frosti was on Survivor

As a grad student, I was in a play with one of Martin Luther King's daughters.

Did she have “good hair”?

My friend's daughter went to Barnard the same years as one of Woody Allen's daughters.

Speaking of Barnard, my onetime grammar school best friend married Anna Quindlen after they met at Columbia/Barnard. (Do the gays know who Anna Quindlen is?)

I was in some classes with Bill Smitrovich, who played Patti LuPone's husband on "Life Goes On." Patti is NOT one of his FAAAANSSS!!!

r135 my older cousin lived on the same dorm floor as Hole's first bassist, at BC in the late 80s. She dropped out after freshman year to join a band someplace, then onto Hole.

[quote]R187 …the same years as one of Woody Allen's daughters.

The one he married?

Mia is bitch.

R178 There wasn’t much else to do there besides getting high.

My grandmother was childhood friends through high school with Ethel Shutta. She was in “Making Whoopee!” with Eddie Cantor and years later introduced “Broadway Baby” in “Follies.” this is also how we found out that my grandmother shaved 5 years off her age.

My mother's sister's husband, aka my uncle through marriage, once mentioned that Buddy Hackett was some form of cousin to him. It was the 80s and my family was Jewish, so I had heard of Buddy Hackett. He was still in the zeitgeist. I was also a little kid who didn't give a shit, so I don't remember the details. But I will say, that now that I am an adult and can Google "Buddy Hackett," he and my uncle share and uncanny resemblance. Both in their respective youths and in their silver years. Shocking resemblance.

[quote] Do the gays know who Anna Quindlen is?

I do! I loved her books, even if they are served with a heaping dose of frau.

Earlier today I thought of a vague celebrity connection I have, but now that I’m here to report it, it’s so tenuous I’ve forgotten it!

Pathetic [bold]: o

This kid I knew in junior high school was Bette Middler’s cousin, but he never met her.

My grandfather played poker with Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Roy Cohn.

I have a close family friend that is almost like family that used to spar with a teenage Tony Danza.

[quote]This kid I knew in junior high school was Bette Middler’s cousin, but he never met her.

Was that in junior high or middler school?

I went to a party for New Years several years ago at a very well-connected neighbor's home. Fred Armisen was there.

Speaking of Seth Meyers: He grew up eight houses down from me and went to my elementary school!

I sometimes forget but the creator of Girls attended my high school. I did not know her though which is rather odd. She definitely could not have been a senior yet during my freshman because she would not have been able to join that school as junior.

[quote]Pertaining to a thread about Omar Sharif's gay grandson - I worked with his mother Debbie for about five years and met the kid several times. I last saw him around age 12. Smart kid. She was divorced from his father Tarek by then,a total princess type but was in on the joke and played it up. "OMIE" was a little devil when it came to the men she dated

If Omar Sharif Jr's father is named Tarek then...how's he a junior? 🤔

My mom used to work with Pail Newman’s brother in Cleveland Ohio. She said he seemed bitter about his brother’s success.

It’s spelled PALE Newman!

Idioot.

For 33 years I lived in a house right around the corner from Benjamin Bratt's childhood home in SF. His Mom is/was a nurse and still lives there. Never saw or met her. I heard from neighbors who knew him that he's very nice. I used to see his brother, Peter in the neighborhood. I recognize his face from just now Googling "La Mission" to remind me how to spell Benjamin's last name. Had no idea that brother Peter made that film and that he's a noted film maker, scholar, and activist!

For The Eldergays... my sister's best friend, who lived two doors down, dated the brother of olympic swimmer Mark Spitz. I met him a few times. He looked like Mark but was even more handsome. My sister's friend noted that I always stared at him. I was 15. I wanted to say, "I'm not star-struck; he's just so damned good-looking!" but kept my mouth shut.

After having just read through this entire thread, I want more information about only one post: The guy whose ex-boyfriend was ejaculated into by Ricky Martin!!! TELL US EVERYTHING YOU KNOW! Does Ricky ever shake his bon-bon for other tops? What's he like in bed? Penis size? Kinks? Does he rim? What's his type? I NEED ANY AND ALL INFORMATION!

Joannal Woodward.

My granddad worked at the Cleveland Veteran’s Hospiral for years. Halle Berry’s mom worked there too and my granddad remembered her bringing Halle to work - as parents have to do at times.

My grandad was also friends with Harvey Pekar, the creator of American Splendor, who worked at the same VA hospital. When my grandfather died, we were cleaning out his things and K came across a 1st edition pristine copy of American Splendor. .

R203 Seth Meyers’s wife interned at my sister’s office (City of LA) while she was in law school.

R208 I used to see B Bratt fully naked in the locker room of Chelsea Piers gym—Law & Order’s studio was at the Piers when Bratt starred on the show.

My high school friend’s cousin was the husband of Shari Belafonte-Harper. He’s white.

You can imagine how this was talked about in Mississippi in the 1980s.

[quote]You can imagine how this was talked about in Mississippi in the 1980s.

Not positively, I'm guessing.

[quote]I used to see B Bratt fully naked in the locker room of Chelsea Piers gym

r213 Well?

I don’t kiss and tell. […he was as good as it gets]

I am now a locker row buddy with Jay O. Sanders—he’s a very nice guy. I told him that his wife is a DL favorite.

R215 they had progressed a bit. They crowned their first black Miss Mississippi in those years….top 5 at Miss America.

[quote]My sister is married to Jeremy Renner’s dad.

So that makes you...Jeremy Renner's, uncle, R145?!

R175 - hello fellow Birminghamian

Courtney Cox was no Mary Badham.

I blew a guy who was in a Broadway flop with DL fave Nancy Dussault (Oh, and Chita).

My next door neighbor was Willy Mays' dental hygienist.

The Say Hey-gienist.

Hello R220! Yes, former Birminghamian here! Left in 1986 to go to Yale and then have been a New Yorker ever since graduation.

Did you grow up in Birmingham or just moved there later in life?

Cut it out you two. Take it outside. ;)

My friend's father was a friend of Wilford Brimley's. Met him a couple of times when we were young and had no idea who he was.

My sister went to the same high school as Stevie Nicks when she was a senior and my sister was a sophomore (or it could have been the other way around, I'll have to ask my sister).. My brother went to the same HS as Karl Rove in their sophomore year and said he was an asshole then, too. The most notable person I went to high school with was a tall lanky kid whose claim to fame was that he did underwear modelling for a local agency, and his pictures appeared in ads throughout high school much to our giggles. He was most definitely not packing, but did have nice abs.

My ex-sister in law’s grandpa was the Country Time lemonade pitchman for years.

My cousin was once married to a woman from Chicago who was close friend and neighbor of the Emanuel family. Rahm and his MD brother both attended their wedding, which I did not attend.

She also attended Sarah Lawrence with Rahm (not the same class, but overlapped), so they were fairly close

For over 30 years, my sister has been close friends with the sister of Max Weinberg, Bruce Springsteen's drummer/Conan O'Brien bandleader.

I've always known, I've met her a few times, but for some reason never thought much about it. Maybe because I was never much of a Springsteen fan.

I've paid more attention to him these last few years, probably because he's spoken out politically and I appreciate/agree with everything he's said. One night I fell down a You Tube rabbit hole and watched a bunch of his videos, live appearances, etc. Geez! No wonder he's a f'king icon!

Anyway, it only recently occurred to me to ask my sister if her friend had ever taken her to any of Bruce's concerts. She said she went once many years ago, but had to leave halfway thru because it was way too loud for her!

[quote] My friend's father was a friend of Wilford Brimley's.

Did he have the diabeetus?

[quote]Courtney Cox lived next door to me for about 10 years when I was growing up. And my older brother dated her for a year or so while they were in High School.

Yet you still can't spell her name.

[quote]R227 My sister went to the same high school as Stevie Nicks

Well, isn’t that a kick in the cunt!

[quote] Well, isn’t that a kick in the cunt!

Make a reference to the coke spoon next.

My sister was a live-in nanny for a few weeks for Elizabeth Perkins' older sister. I don't remember her name, so I'll call her Kate. She had a baby and a toddler. The kids were a bit of a handful, but Kate was easy to get along with and very sweet. The husband, however, was an arrogant jerk who was always bragging about himself and his job.

A few weeks into the job, he came home from work and demanded to know why my sister hadn't picked up his dirty underwear from the bedroom floor, made his bed, and cooked dinner for the family. My sister's job was strictly to take care of the kids. She also arranged with Kate to attend evening classes two nights a week during her time off. However, at a meeting he called later that same evening, he told her she couldn't do evening classes because she had to be 'on call' at all times because of their busy lifestyle. He also told her that she had to take care of all of the family cleaning, laundry, meals, etc. (for the same salary). The next morning, my sister called Kate at work to come home because she was leaving. My sister didn't have a car, so I went to pick her up. I met Kate, who was crying and apologizing for what happened. She was very petite and much prettier than her sister.

My sister was supposed to meet Elizabeth Perkins the following weekend at a family get-together, but she had no intention of spending another minute around that jerk. This was back in LA back in the mid-nineties, btw.

I feel bad for "Kate," R235, but she needed to divorce his ass and keep the nanny.

[quote]R235 The next morning, my sister called Kate at work to come home because she was leaving.

I love that your sister didn’t give any notice and was basically like, “If you want someone to be with your kids you better get here now.”

Sayonara, sweetheart!

My uncle went on a blind date with Peggy Fleming. He said she was a real bitch.

Dennis Weaver was my distant cousin.

My great-grandma wrote a fan letter to Jackie Gleason. She mentioned they shared the same birthday-February 26,1916. He sent her a signed photo and a dozen roses.

One of my dad's teachers was Amelia Earhart's sister.

Ok R239, that takes the cake. Extremely random, old as dirt reference, yet also utterly fascinating. Wow.

R240 Muriel Earhart Morrissey. She has a Wikipedia entry.

A friend of mine lived next door to the Arquette family and baby sat Patricia.

I took voice lessons in college and was working on one of the songs from “Showboat.” I had the “Showboat” vocal selections with the stars of the film on the cover, and the guy who played piano during the lessons casually mentioned something about “Aunt Ava,” and it turned out Ava Gardner was his great aunt

Muriel Earhart Morrissey lived until the late 90s, dying just short of 100 years old.

The actor Robert Francis (The Caine Mutiny) died young. I worked for his brother’s family. He was a dog show photographer.

I sat behind Anna Wintour at the movies: 14th street Union Sq. Stadiums seating, so I could see all of the labels. Jil Sander blouse and sweater. The glasses came off after the lights dimmed.

Well what did you see r246? what movie.

A Harvey movie

R222 Why did you try to shut this thread down so soon? And how old is your friend now? Or is he dead? And how old were you when you gave him this blow job? 8?

When I was a colorist at a celebrity salon I highlighted Courtney’s trans assistant’s hair, and her/his entire halo of finer male pattern baldness haircut broke right off.

Whoops. Still a man.

R247 I have a quasi-similar story, smaller theater in East Village, saw Brekin Meyer roll in and park in the very front at a late showing of Not Another Teen Movie. It would've been perfect if that particular movie had him in it as he was the go to pothead friend in most of his roles.

Donna Douglas had a part ownership in a bridal shop located in my small Missouri hometown. It's located on Rt. 66 and one time Clint Eastwood stopped at at convenience store for diapers. One of my co-workers had a pic taken with Obama during his 2008 campaign.

Quasi?! Quasi?

Huh?

R6 Was Stanley's dad equally sexy?

My mom worked in a shop in Topeka Kansas where Gene Tierney had worked back when she had a mental breakdown and went to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka to recover.

Lots of celebs/relatives of celebs popped into Topeka to chill out/dry out at Menninger. Mr. Rogers son was there. And, I think Aerosmith started a tour in Topeka because they were all getting "cleaned up" prior to their big tour.

Mr. Rogers son had SUD? Wow!

No offense to you, R256, but I now want to put "SUD" on the Contemporary Words/Phrases We Hate That Have Replaced Other Words/Phrases thread.

R257, Addictions are all the same. Mine is booze because I grew up poor. I’m always surprised at the weird shit middle-class people use as their primary substance. Since the late 90s when people were talking about designer drugs, I’ve expected new wave of rich-people use disorders .

I’m a shithead who can’t fathom growing up with a modern saint. In working with SUD, I’ve met a surprising number of children-of-pastors who are dealing with garden variety levels of SUD.

Also, SUD is a good embrella for any substance - eliminates the classism of alcoholism vs. opioids, cocaine, meth, and other substances.

This thread is the first time I’ve heard of SUD.

I've heard people referring to all addictions as "substance abuse" many times. It makes sense that there would be an acronym.

[quote] I've heard people referring to all addictions as "substance abuse" many times. It makes sense that there would be an acronym.

Shouldn’t it be SAD?

I don’t believe all addictions are the same. Drugs require a criminality that need not exist in an alcoholic. That makes a big difference.

On what planet is SUD an acronym for substance abuse?