The recent death of comedian and actor Jerry Stiller made me sad. Most people’s deaths make me sad. But I happen to know that in this case, the cliche everyone spouts is true: He’d had a great life.
How do I know? He told me.
Years ago he and his wife, Anne Meara, were guests of honor at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska. At that time I worked at the Anchorage Daily News, and was given the chance to interview them both before they got here.
Both of them were perfectly delightful. The conversation with Stiller went on for quite a while, and at the end of the interview he said he wanted to send me a copy of his autobiography, “Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara.” I thanked him and said that I appreciated the offer but that it wouldn’t be necessary.
He sent it anyway, with a personalized inscription, and I still have it.
At the end of the conference there’s always a tour from a glacier cruise company. Stiller saw me come aboard and waved me over. I spent the entire cruise sitting next to him and listening to him tell stories about his beautiful wife and his amazing children (actors Ben and Amy). He told me more than once how lucky he had been in his life, to have had such a wonderful marriage and incredible children plus the chance to do what he loved.
Sniffling yet? I am, too.
But that’s not the only point of this post.
This memory inspired me to do another of my “Minor Celebrities” contests. I’ve done a couple in the past and they’ve always been fun. They’re based on a routine from the old Fly By Night Club in Anchorage, which asked showgoers to write down their most tenuous brushes with fame and drop them in a box.
During intermission the cast would read them and bring the tellers of the best (i.e., the worst) stories onstage. The audience would vote on the weirdest and the winners would get underwhelming prizes. (If I recall, it was promotional stuff given to the bar by various booze salespeople.)
And of course club owner Mr. Whitekeys turned the entries into a book: “Elvis Presley’s Pharmacist Was My Sunday-School Teacher.”
In order to prime the pump, I’ll offer up a few more of my own super-distant connections to greatness:
One of my former co-workers is the mother a musician in the Grammy-winning band Portugal. The Man.
My partner once used a urinal adjacent to the one used by Brother Guy Consolmagno, the official astronomer for the Vatican (and a close pal of Stephen Hawking).
I have sat in a Subaru passenger seat that has also been sat in by Patricia Neal and Edward Albee.
Also, Patricia Neal once called me a “di-vine woman.”
My sister’s husband’s brother played the coroner on “True Blood” and Dr. Phlox on “Star Trek: Enterprise.”
Also on the subject of the “Star Trek” multiverse: My partner’s son’s wife-to-be’s great-aunt-by-marriage’s sister is the new voice of the ship’s computer on “Picard.”
Wanna be minor? There’s a prize for it!
Here’s how you, too, can become a minor celebrity:
Think of your most sketchy, stretching-it-pretty-damn-thin association with someone or something famous.
Leave it in the comments.
And maybe win a FABULOUS PRIZE! Okay, it’s actually just a copy of “Elvis Presley’s Pharmacist Was My Sunday-School Teacher,” signed by impresario Mr. Whitekeys.
The deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m. EDT Sunday, June 7. If I don’t hear back from the winner by 11:59 p.m. EDT Monday, June 8, I’ll have the random number generator pick another name.
Good luck!
So one of my long time friends I went to elementary, jr high, and high school friends was neighbors with Neyo before he got famous. Also my sisters brother-in-law and sister-in-law are semi famous on YouTube for their parody skits Regarding twilight and other various tween franchises. Lastly my best friend slipped in the produce isle at our local grocery store and carrot top saved the day and checked on her. lol
I once met Candy(david Canary) of Bonanza at a Circus when I was really young. He also played on a soap in later years. I corresponded twice with Gorilla Monsoon, a wrestler from New Jersey. To me wrestling sure isn’t the same anymore! I never met him, but I am from the town where Les Brown, the band leader was originally from. Will have to think this over for a little while in case I can add to it. Can’t you tell I am old!
My brother and his best friend used to watch wrestling on a UHF channel out of Philadelphia, and I remember hearing the name Gorilla Monsoon. Memories.
Oh my, I had a terrible crush on Candy when I was a kid watching Bonanza. Everybody else had it for Little Joe but I was stuck on Candy and Little Joe’s spotted horse. Years later I watched David Canary on All My Children but it (or he) just wasn’t the same. He was a terrific actor though.
My brother went on a vacation to Necker Island (owned by Richard Branson) with Tito Ortiz (MMA fighter)
My brother also knows Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker.
Niiiice.
Only one: My former (now retired) co-worker’s husband’s great-niece by marriage is Cheryl Burke from “Dancing with the Stars”. At the time I had not heard of her & still haven’t watched the show, although she has become more famous since that time.
My former neighbor and former fellow Gourmet club member Jim is currently a cast member (a scientist) in a History Channel show called “Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch.” My beloved aunt Mary (married to my Mom’s brother) was a first cousin of Patrick McGoohan, who was “Secret Agent Man” in the 60s. I spent kindergarten through 8th grade at the same schools as former pro boxer Gerry Cooney.
Awesomely distant examples!
I think Gerry Cooney lives in the town I live in now in NJ, but I haven’t met him.
First, Donna, that was a GREAT story about Jerry Stiller. I’m sniffling, too.
Second, here’s my entry in the contest: In the late summer of 1976, I was roaming around Carmel, CA, as part of a much longer trip to CA I took by Greyhound bus after graduating from college that year. I happened to be in the Scottish Shop there when who should walk in but the actor Gavin MacLeod and his wife. I recognized Gavin from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (The Love Boat was not yet with us), and ducked behind a pile of tartans to observe while his wife squealed, “Oooh, look, Gavin, here’s the MacLeod tartan!” and similar remarks. I could tell by the look on his face that he’d cheerfully have throttled her if possible. I managed to restrain myself until they and then I left the shop, and I spent the next 10 minutes working off the accumulated giggles.
Alas, I have never had any sighting or contact with a celebrity. Nor do I have any relatives who are married to someone who has a relative who has a friend…as far as I know. However, my youngest son Robby was an ardent Ghostbusters fan as a child. This in the time of VHS tapes. We rented Ghostbusters I and II so often the video store manager strongly suggested we buy them. He had all the get up…the Proton Pack, outfit, a plastic replica of their firehouse headquarters and their vehicle…Fast forward to his late twenties. He heard of the “girl” Ghostbuster movie being shot near his town. He immediately applied for and got the job of a member of the audience in the concert scene. He loved every second of it but never formally met the stars of the movie.
This counts!
Aww that’s such a sweet story!
I actually do have some sketchy stretch connections! Not full on stories though.
1. I went to school with a kid who was briefly Cameron Diaz’s step-nephew. I don’t recall what marriage.
2. PiC used the urinal right next to David Tennant at SDCC one year. He didn’t know who he was. XD
3. PiC’s former coworker’s cousin is Sendhil Ramamurthy.
4. My ex went to high school with Jessica Alba.
5. I studied martial arts alongside the guy who later consulted on and developed the fighting styles in Avatar: The Last Airbender. No wonder they seemed so familiar!
Where to start? Butterfly McQueen from Gone With the Wind walked up to the jewelry store I worked in and asked which department store sold a certain perfume. She sounded just like she did in the movie. I was at The Augusta National for The Masters golf tournament one year and was standing with some people talking with Spanky from The LIttle Rascals when Tennessee Earnie Ford walked up and asked “Hey, what are y’all talking about?” We literally stood there for half an hour talking about anything and everything. There were others but these were the nicest interactions you can imagine.
What fun!
My Great Aunt Babe owned the Mode ‘O Day women’s clothing shop in Newport Beach California. Actress Gene Tiereny (Laura, Heaven Can await, etc) was a customer and gave my Great Aunt a beautiful pink silk dressing gown that she had worn. It was passed down to my mother and now my younger sister. I spent hours in my mother’s closet coveting it. My Grandmother Ruth (on my dad’s side had a girlfriend who cleaned John Wayne’s boat, also in Newport Beach.
Can you get any more distant than this? One year we were in the Phoenix airport and saw Jamie Farr (Klinger in MASH) in the crowd waiting to get on an airplane (not ours!) We didn’t bother him, he and we were just there.
LOL, I wasn’t going to play, but some of the things you posted convinced me.
In the early 70’s there was a TV show about two long haul truckers (I think the name was ‘Moving On’ but can’t confirm via google). On of the stars was actor Frank Converse. I was in a local book store with a friend and spotted Mr. Converse in the store. I had read somewhere that he really didn’t like being approached, so instead we stalked him around the store.
In the late 90’s I was working in the area of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor when the show Homicide was being was being filmed in Fells Point a couple of blocks over. One evening I came out of work to see Giancarlo Esposito in his character’s famous retro Volvo, stopped at the red light at Pratt and President’s Streets on the edge of Baltimore’s Little Italy. We made eye contact and he looked scared to death. So I just said “Nice car”. The light changed and he drove away.
The ex-husband of my BFF married the daughter of the designer of one of the original Star Trek items (can’t remember if it is the uniform or the Enterprise model).
Local celebrity encounter, Rhea Feikin is HUGE in Baltimore for the work she does for MD Public Television. I once shared an elevator and a couple of comments with her in the parking garage after a Baltimore Center Stage performance.
Used to live in Baltimore and recognize some of your comments.
Aaand My Wife’s Aunt went to high school with Rhea Feiken….Aaand as memory serves she got her start hosting a kids show called “Romper Room” with a bunch of prescoolers….I tuned in daily…
In the 90’s, I was visiting Chicago with a college group and we decided to get lunch at a Greek diner, where John Reznik, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls was meeting with his manager. We decided not to bother them but all 10 of us are 100% sure it was him.
Also in the 90’s on a trip to Atlanta with the same group, we got a chance to be in the audience of CNN’s Talkback live. It was short notice, so the only people I could tell were those whose phone number I knew by heart, who would answer a collect call from me during the day, which was just my Grandma. She did tape it for me, but I was only on camera for a few seconds because I couldn’t stop giggling. She swore it wasn’t really me and eventually taped over it with an episode of Matlock.
I just love the part about your grandma 🙂
I used to work at a resort in Scottsdale, AZ and I helped several celebrities during my time there. Unfortunately I usually didn’t know who they were until the bellmen went nuts afterwards. The exception was Patrick Swayze. He was a really nice guy. His brother went on a few dates with my sister for a while, so we had something to talk about.
Wow, I loved Patrick Swayze. A married woman swooning over him in Dirty Dancing!
I spontaneously met and went thrift shopping with Carrot Top for about an hour. I assume you would approve.
Not a fan of Mr. Top as such, but I do approve the thrift-shopping.
I have a double from the same event! I went to Superbowl XXXV (January 2001) on a date with Don Shula’s Nephew — in Uncle Don’s seats 🙂 While at said Superbowl, I went to use the ladies room – had to use elevator to get to that level..and who is in elevator with me, but none other than Sting! (Former lead singer from The Police — he was the opening act.)
Kevin Bacon’s sister worked with my soon to be stepdaughter and she offered to give my future husband dance lessons because he did not know how to dance. The saying goes six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon!!
A high school acquaintance (who I’m Facebook friends with) was the bass player for Donna Summers for 17 years until she passed away. Now he is bass player for Mickey Dolenz (Monkees).
I am also (supposedly) related to Chris Daughtry (singer), very distantly, on my great aunt’s husband’s side.
We loved watching BoomTown on our local Boston Station. Rex Trailer, a singing cowboy, was the host. He also came to our small town 40 miles outside of Boston when I was about 10 years old. My sister and I waited in line for hours to say hello to him and to his sidekicks on the show, Cactus Pete and Sgt Billy. It was a great experience and I’ve never forgotten it and I’m sure he remembered meeting us for many years, too.
Awwww…as a kid growing up in Massachusetts, I loved Boom Town too. My other local favorite was Bozo. A close third was Major Mudd. As an adult I learned that Frank Averouch, a minor celebrity, played both Bozo and Major Mudd (with his cardboard rocket)! But Rex Trailer was really in a class by himself. Remember the bus trips to Disney Land in California? I always begged my parents to go but to no avail! Nice you got to meet Rex Trailer.
I have a few:
I went to high school with Spike Lee, journalist Ray Suarez, and anthropologist Robert Sapolski. Ray attended my sweet 16 party, Spike might have been in one of my photography classes, and Robert sat next to me in my sociology class. I was also in a jewelry design class with designer Mizrahi.
My dad met Red Skelton on a flight to Carmel Ca.
I shook hands with a guy who was in Game of Thrones, Kit Harrington. I got served hamburgers by that cooking guy that does military benefits with Gary Senise. I also shook hands with John McCain. Sorry I can’t remember all the names.
Three famous people went to my high school: Edie Falco, Billy Joel and the Long Island Medium Teresa Caputo. Teresa graduated after me; the other 2 before me.
This looks like fun, I have a few too!:
1) When I was younger my dad was into acting. He did some work at Source Theater with Mike Judge and auditioned for the doctor for the movie Her Alibi back in the 80s. I asked him what Tom Selleck was like, he said tall.
2) In high school I lived a couple miles down the road from Tom Clancy. He drove an old military HumVee so we always saw him driving around town, he often stopped at the liquor store/Chinese food restaurant at the end of my block. A friend of a friend babysat his kids.
3) I was friends with a woman who’s husband was Jacques Cousteau’s science officer and was on the original team that found the Titanic with Bob Ballard and they got to meet James Cameron. He also had his own show, briefly, on the Discovery Channel.
4) A friend of a friend used to serve coffee to Terry O’Quinn (Lost) when he would come into her Starbucks in Baltimore
5) I was an extra in Head of State when it was filmed in Baltimore. Chris Rock came by to say hi and gab with us for a while. He was very nice. He was also really funny when he would start to ad lib.
The owner of the company my husband works for in Little Rock is the father-in-law of actor Judge Reinhold. He comes into the business occasionally and my husband was able to get an autographed photo for our daughter.
Huh — just remembered this.
My dad was stationed in Germany at the same time Elvis Presley was there. (Yes, the army.) He didn’t talk much about it, and died from multiple melanoma about a decade ago. The year before he died, they were talking about Mr. Presley; he was one of my mom’s favorite performers, and actually died on her birthday (Aug. 16). My dad said, “I knew Elvis when he was in Germany.”
This was the FIRST TIME my mom had ever heard this, and she pestered and pestered him for more. He was rather close-spoken anyways…and wouldn’t say another word! And never did.
I’ve always wondered HOW he knew Elvis and WHY. But he definitely knew him — or he wouldn’t have said so. He was that kind of guy.
When my husband was in high school, he had a paper route in our Massachusetts city. He went to collect payment one Saturday afternoon and rang an older woman’s doorbell. Paul Anka opened the door and paid him his weekly payment for the woman who was his mother. They had a brief chat about music of the 60’s.
Paul Anka still performs concerts in Naples, where we live now in southwest Florida each March and still is a heartthrob of the local ladies who love him in the 60’s.
Many years ago, my hubby, my best friend Marilyn, and I went to the Peabody hotel in Memphis for the music and dancing on the rooftop. When we got ready to leave, hubs had just a little too much to drink, so Marilyn and I were leading him through the lobby when we ran into Jerry Lee Lewis. Hubs saw him and yelled out “KILLER!” Jerry Lee was taken aback, but stopped to speak to us.
My daughter and I used to visit an art gallery in Boulder when she was in college. It was run by the mother of Sheryl Lee, the actress who portrayed Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks.
Also was on a flight with Jerry Springer.
Did you have to fight the urge to yell, “LAURA!”
I was once entertaining clients with a coworker at a fairly high class restaurant in Philadelphia (Steve Poses’s “Frog” – this was sometime in the 1980’s). Carol Channing and her party were at a nearby table. That in and of itself wasn’t what was notable, though. Ms. Channing brought her own food to the restaurant! It was in various silver flasks and containers that she pulled from a large purse and served herself using the restaurant’s plates and cutlery.
I have eaten at that restaurant! It was around 1977, though. First place I ever ate cucumbers in yogurt with dill.
I still have the old Frog Commissary cookbook; a couple of their salad dressing recipes are in regular rotation at my house. These days, they run the food service at the Franklin Institute.
I don’t count the VIP Meet and Greets that I paid to meet musicians.
While seeing Paul McCartney in Las Vegas in 2002, I looked over and saw Tony Curtis and a very young blonde taking their seats. I was on the aisle on the floor and they were sitting about 6 ft away from me in the front row on the side. Lots of people went over to say hi to him. When they left, I did the same thing.
I used to live in Boulder, Co. At one time Robert Redford’s daughter was attending school there. I saw Robert Redford at a restaurant, but was too shy to go over to him.
About 25 years ago I was asked to be an extra in the movie The Station Agent which was being filmed in my town in NJ. I had to decline due to the fact that I had my two young children with me. I would have loved to be in the bar scene as I’ve lived in this town all my life and never have been in that bar!
Oops, left out a degree there – Peter Dinklage was in the movie and not so long ago in Game of Thrones. He grew up in a town in my county. The General who’s troops caught Osama Bin Laden grew up in my town and went to my high school.
I don’t remember all of the details of the story Dad told me, but here goes: In 1955, Dad and some buddies were hanging out in Lonoke, AR. They were walking along railroad tracks when they came to a flatbed truck with a pitchman standing on it, giving a spiel about the special “tonic” he was selling. After the spiel, a young man came out with a guitar and sang one or two songs. The next year, the young man with the guitar had a big hit with “Heartbreak Hotel.” So my Dad heard Elvis BEFORE he was Elvis.
In the late 70’s a movie was filming in my home town. My brother’s summer job was with a sign company. They were hired to do some of the set construction for “Our Winning Season” starring pre-“Breaking Away” Dennis Quaid. There was a need for period correct cars for one scene. My brother volunteered our old tan Ford Ranch Wagon (which Dad meticulously maintained.) Tenuous enough: childhood family car had brush with celebrity?
The more tenuous, the better.
I’ll play! One midweek morning my Dad, working the the supermarket, rang up some snacks for Kevin Bacon. One of the ladies at the front desk of the dentist office I work for met both Jack Nicholson and John Denver through work.
I have a couple of real oldies:
My paternal grandmother was born in 1900 and attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music, circa 1920. She had a beautiful operatic voice and would sing in the local speakeasies of the day. One night, the place where she was singing was raided by police. As it turns out, Al Capone was in the club! She escaped through the bathroom window. After her father, my great grandfather, found out, he demanded she come back home to Massachusetts, where she lived and raised her family, passing away in 2000 at the age of 100.
Another oldie: My mother and a girlfriend were visiting New York for the day in the early 60’s, and stopped into a bar/restaurant for some lunch. A man approached them, said he had recognized their Boston accents, and introduced himself as Stan (Stan the Man) Musial, future baseball Hall of Famer. My mother said he was a lovely gentleman and couldn’t have been nicer.
And a few small ones: I went to 5th and 6th grade with Carroll Spinney’s (Big Bird himself!) niece.
My best friend’s brother met Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker of F-Troop fame on an airplane.
And one last really weird one that I am not sure even applies: I worked for a local municipality and would often receive some not-so-polite phone calls from Sigmund Freud’s elderly niece. She was NOT nice!
I think my most tangential connection is that I have a friend whose brother was highschool friends with one of the main actors in The Office. And it’s more local fame than national celebrity, but I thought it was sooo cool that my college roommate’s uncle was the former (vice governor? assistant governor?) of our state.
When I was graduating from Immaculata College (now University), way back in 1976, Mother Theresa was to receive an honor at the commmencement ceremony. Crossing the campus from another event to the ceremony with my family, I almost ran into Mother Theresa. I mean, literally. I just managed to avoid knocking her over. She was very nice about it. I have been periodically mortified by the memory ever since.
I am a big fan of the avant-garde musician Philip Glass. He passed by me with an overflowing cart at the world famous Zabar’s deli counter on the Upper West Side of Manhattan years ago and he smelled wonderful. I got so ferklempt I thought I would trip and plotz! Does this count Donna? Thanks!
FERKLEMPT – Yiddish for ‘overcome with emotion’
PLOTZ – ‘explode with emotion’
I’ll play. I worked at Nordstrom in LA in the late ’80’s. I can remember helping June Haver, Joanne Worley, Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits.
Back in the 1960’s my Dear Mother belonged to a horsemans club (MWHA). Every year they had a banquet with a guest speaker. The one year they got Burt Reynolds when he was on Gunsmoke.DM was given the job to pick him up from the airport, take him his hotel and then to the banquet. My kid brother and I got to go along. And he was so very kind…Kid brother was about 3 and Burt took a liking to him…played with him and gave DB an autographed pic. He was such a nice guy and chatted with DM about how he traveled a lot and worked a lot. He had the hardiest laugh…
I know the contest is over…but here’s mine. My high school choir teacher was also Patrick Swazy’s high school choir teacher. He said he didn’t go by Patrick back then, they called him bubba. And that Patrick’s mom helped sew all the costumes for the musicals the school put on.
Back when we lived in NYC, my ex-husband once installed a toilet for Peter Gabriel (original lead singer for the band Genesis). Gabriel was friendly and polite to my ex, made him a cup of tea, and asked how he liked being a plumber. Ex, who is more of a classical music guy, had never heard of Peter Gabriel.
Late on this, but I will give my two cents anyhow. 🙂 I taught Adam Sandler’s nephew. I also met him in person when he was the guest speaker for graduation at the school I taught at (He went to school in Manchester, NH).
My kids’ uncle is the first cousin of Amy Yasbeck. The uncle was raised with her for several years.
My ex was the opening act (have to admit he is a great singer) a few times for James Taylor’s brother Livingston.
I know it’s past the due date, but I had one to share. After high school in 1970, my sister bummed around Europe for 3 months, starting her travels in England and visiting her pen pal. Someone in England gave her an address and said go there, this person can arrange for you to meet Vanessa Redgrave. My 18 year old sister knocked on that door. It was the actual home of Redgrave, who answered the door! She invited my sister in for tea, and the rest is a famous family story!
Late, but…
A college ex smoked pot with one of the members of Collective Soul at a party.
A college friend from Austin spied Willie Nelson hanging out in a truck in a parking lot. She had some tater tots and, wanting to meet him, went over and offered him some. He accepted and offered her a toke.
Not all of my stories involve pot! Or music.
My grandma worked at the tv station where Phil Donohue got his start.
The house next door to a work colleague (who lives in Santa Monica) was purchased by Pierce Brosnan.
good read. thanks for sharing