Rubbing Shoulders with the Hoi Polloi
By calcynic
@calcynic (433)
United States
August 22, 2008 7:07pm CST
Has anyone out there ever had a chance meeting with a celebrity, big or small, and had it turn into a real bummer?
I've had a couple, but one really sticks out in my mind. I was in the terminal at Hickam AFB in Honolulu, heading back to DaNang after 30 days leave. I was reading "Stranger in a Strange Land" and was approximately 10 pages from the end, when James Darren, the actor from Time Tunnel and pop singer from Philly, sat next to me. He was headed to Saigon to do a USO show. We talked for a while, both being from Philadelphia, we had a bit to talk about. He struck me as a good egg and I was a little sad when they called his name for his flight. I shook his hand and he wished me the best. I went over to the info desk to find out where I was on the flight draft and when I went back to my seat, my book was gone. I looked around and saw Darren walking thru the gate carrying it. Man...I was pissed and bummed. I shined it on, but it stuck in my craw for a good while.
Lucille Ball snubbed me, but that's another story.
Anybody....anybody???
3 people like this
3 responses
@zigzagbuddha (4601)
• United States
23 Aug 08
I once had it bad for a British singer that had been shipped back to England. I used to hang around his best friend because, well, we were friends, but also because I missed my true love so bad.
One day he was playing the piano in the lobby of the Scientology Manor where I was living at the time. I was leaning on the piano watching him play when I noticed a blond girl glaring at me from across the room.
As it turns out she was thinking I had designs on 'her man'. When I told her 'fraid not, it's his best friend that is my heart throb, she relaxed and we got pretty friendly. We used to have coffee together and she admired my creativity and even came to my apartment to go through my scrap material collection.
Then I found out that she was not just some blond named Lisa who was hot for my friend Danny, she was Lisa Presley. I was stunned and amazed and the next time we had coffee together I asked her how weird was it to have grown up with Elvis Presley as your father?
Well. She got up from the table and that was the last cup of coffee we ever shared. I had the opportunity later though to salvage my dignity when she came driving by me and another friend as we were walking down the street and pulled alongside us with an invitation to go 'clubbing'. I said "No thanks." And proceeded across the street. My friend followed along behind me with an expression on her face like "what the phuck did you do that for?" But I knew.
2 people like this
@vanities (11395)
• Davao, Philippines
23 Aug 08
you really never expected it that someone like those celebrity will took your book!!well i had some experiences and i like to mention my last trip in manila where i got to see some local celebrity in the mall..but i was not able or have the opportunity to chat with them or even shook hands..since theyre so many people around and just contented on watching them shaking hands with the fans..
@olivemai (4738)
• United States
23 Aug 08
I do not think so!
Maybe he thought you left the book and wanted to return t to you?
Or he was so bored and wanted to read it. Thought you were done with it?
Oh well, it was a long time ago now.
I heard you met Whoopi Goldberg! 
@calcynic (433)
• United States
23 Aug 08
Yep...coming back to California from N. Carolina. We hit an ice storm in Wetherford OK. and could barely hold the road. we stopped at a truck stop to try to get a room and Whoopi Goldberg was standing by a gas pump next to her huge private bus. I said Hi and we stood there shivering and talking for a minute. Her bus was gassed up and her driver yelled "All aboard". She said she was gonna chance the trip back to Berkeley; her driver was first rate. I thought she was nuts, as there were trucks all over the median strips on I 40...they skidded off the road. The last I saw was the rear end of her bus fishtailing up the on-ramp. I really thought I was gonna read her obituary in the next morning's paper. She made it...it really took a first rate driver to get thru that crap. We stayed the night in a fleabag motel.
1 person likes this
