What is the weirdest celebrity sighting or encounter you have had?

I saw Lou Reed at the bar during intermission at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC. It was Wagner's "Die Walkure," the new production with all the planks that moved around stage. Either 2010 or 2011.

Back in the 80's running for Uconn X-Country we were running down a pretty remote road when a car waved us down and said Bill Rogers is in the car behind. We talked to him for 5+ minutes super nice would have been longer but was pouring rain.

Love reading these. I have a lot but will start with this one. One of my first Hollywood jobs I was a personal assistant to a TV maven so like clockwork I went to the same places every week so people at these shops eventually knew me pretty well. Knew who I was and why I was there and I literally would buy the exact same items for them.

So, at the organic food store (no I won’t say which one), Carrie Ann Moss ends up being there 7 times in a row same time I’m there. No joke. I know my schedule for such stops is like clockwork, so apparently so are hers. By the 6th time the manager comes up to me and goes “umm...don’t want to alarm you but Carrie Ann Moss asked us if we know who you are and what I’m doing here. We told her we know you and you’re cool but just wanted you to know she was worried about it”.

So clearly she was worried I was a potential stalker. I mean 6 times in a row is a wild coincidence in most cases. I missed her on that 6th time so on the 7th I actually went up to her and introduced myself. Told her who I was, that I work for other celebrities and am there at that store twice a week same time, made a little joke, even showed her my extensive clipboard notepad with all the kale, hemp milk, rawvolution bars, etc. on my to-do list. She seemed more relaxed and did get a hint of a laugh out of her.

Thanks....people are people, and that is great to hear.

My brief time (3 weeks) in Jan 1994 in SoBe was enjoyable, but the so-called VIPs tend to be pretentious. That is because of insecurities, there is always someone younger....I did chat for 20 minutes or so with Ed Marinaro, We were at the bar (very chic place) and sitting at adjacent bar stools. Good guy.

Jennifer Lawrence walked past me , she was heading to a Lucky Jeans store in LA. She smelled boozy , but in a good Boozy way , like a young women should smell.

This is a great thread. I have been fortunate to have a number of celebrity encounters, but will boil it down to a few:

1) I once spent a memorable evening with the famous poet laureate of Russia Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who was on the cover of Time magazine in 1971. I was in college and we were sitting in my dark car behind a van. I said this seems very much like espionage and in his thick Russian he said "Yeezz just like K - GEE - BEE". Classic.

2) I spent an hour with Isaiah Washington (Dr. Burke on Grey's Anatomy). He came to our U.S. Senate office to meet my then boss to discuss the presidential elections in Sierra Leone (no crap). I mention this because as we walked through the Senate Russell and Dirksen buildings to meet with my boss once he emerged from a committee, every single attractive Congressional staffer female (of which there are an abundance) who walked by rubber-necked at him. They certainly weren't looking at me. I felt then just a slight taste of what fame must feel like. He was pretty cool, but definitely was convinced his endorsement would sway an African political election.

3) I was in St Andrews, Scotland and standing by the first tee for the Dunhill Links. I literally saw an assorted cast of characters at close range: Bill Murray, Hugh Grant, the late Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, Dan Quayle, and later walked by Nick Faldo talking to some guys on the street. Bill Murray would doff his golf cap like a champion and you had to crack up. Word around town was he crashed a student party later that weekend. Hilarious.

4) I have had three presidential encounters: I met President George W. Bush in Oklahoma while he was in office. A lady next to us told him she worked on his 1978 Congressional campaign (the only one he ever lost) and very quick-witted and with a big smile he immediately responded, "Well, you didn't work hard enough." I saw Donald Trump in the Trump Tower twice in 2004. I saw President Obama numerous times when he was a U.S. Senator. Once he turned in front of me in a hallway and flashed a high-wattage smile to the guy next to him and I remember thinking I was definitely looking at a future POTUS. Not a president, but I once accidentally hit Hillary Clinton with the door as I was walking out of the men's room. She was pretty nice about it. I also once looked out my window and saw Senator Ted Kennedy (dressed to the absolute nines) hitting tennis balls to his big Newfoundland-type dogs.

5 I have met the world's most beautiful woman Queen Rania of Jordan (in Amman), the former prime minister of Ireland and the former president of Colombia.

The first baby sitter killed in the original Halloween movie. Nancy Loomis. She was visiting her sick brother who I knew. I picked her up at the airport. She kept getting calls and turned them all down, saying: "No interviews. Im just in town to see my brother." After the 3rd call in ten minutes I said I have to know whats going on. She said that every Halloween she gets hundred of calls for interviews because she was first baby sitter killed in the Halloween movie. Also she gets flown to horror conventions all over the world. Pretty cool - we ended up going to a halloween party that night.

i sighted axl rose himself getting in his car. LA down town. it was back in the days when he was sporting a greta garbo lifestyle life. he wore a hat and shades but the moves were undoubtedly his.

Early 1980s. I was assigned to cover a boxing card in Elizabeth, NJ. Our usual boxing reporter—the legend, Augie Lio (a lineman for the Detroit Lions in the days of leather helmets)—must have had the night off. The main attraction is a human-interest story on the undercard, a young fighter whose right arm is missing below the elbow. He’s good, and has won a couple of fights. The lure is that he’ll be sparring a few exhibition rounds with a major star. That’s the only reason we’re covering this event. Tommy Hearns is in the house, so he figures to be the one.

Then a buzz starts in the crowd at the back of the arena. Muhammad Ali walks down the aisle. Climbs into the ring. The mayor of Elizabeth hands him a giant key to the city. “Wow,” Ali says. “Is this real wood?”

Ali takes off his suit jacket and puts his massive hands into a pair of gloves. Throws out a few punches, dances around the ring. He’s been retired for about a year. A little paunchy. His punches are still quicker than any I’ve ever seen.

Ali’s in a white dress shirt, dark tie, gray slacks. He lands a few light punches to the one-armed kid, who can’t connect at all. Ali’s just too quick, too smooth, too elastic.

Then the Champ starts fighting with his right hand behind his back. Everyone in the place cracks up, but we see that he isn’t making fun of this guy; in his own way he’s honoring him. They finish the round. Ali’s sweating but he hasn’t been touched. Standing ovation for both fighters.

Ali and his entourage quietly leave the arena.

I covered a lot of fights. I don’t remember a single detail about any of them except that one.

Hillary Clinton...men's room. I won't ask.

Just thought of a few more:

Dennis Haysbert— the All State guy, and he was on the show 24. His daughter was a jumper at CSU Stanislaus and me and my other co-coaches used to see him at a lot of meets. He began to recognize us and we would chat for a while. Years later, I’m working for the same auto rep company, where I have managed the auto displays for the ESPY Awards. I had just finished setting up a Cadillac at the Pelican Hill Golf Course for the ESPY golf tournament, when he exits a vehicle and we bump into each other again. He looked at me like—“we’ve met...” and I said hello, and we were interrupted. I think I’ve seen him 10+ times here and there.

About 5 years ago, I was chauffeuring some GMC execs with a friend for the ESPY Awards. We were their personal Ubers—on call for hours at a time. We had taken them to the after party, and while our names were on the guest list, our manager had not given us the tickets. We got the idea to sneak in with some other celebs as part of an entourage.

We saw a Ford Expedition drive up with middle eastern men getting out, and my friend looks very middle eastern too. We helped the guys out, and realized it was the Iron Sheik—80’s WWF wrestler. His entourage kept yelling, “Who’e got the belt?!?!” Then another, “Ive got the the belt!” That back and forth continued several times—and among the belt shouting, finally the Sheik gets out. 2 men escort him in a wheel chair, as I take the hands of the ladies and help them out of the car. My buddy starts pushing the Sheik in the wheelchair, and I’m walking with my hand on Sheik’s shoulder. His entourage included 4 men, 2 beautiful women—and us. His lead entourage guy makes his way through the sea of people: onlookers, celebs, workers in maroon vests, etc and yells at the top of his lungs, holding an authentic bad-ass WWF Championship Belt over his head: “MAKE WAAAAAYYY, FOR THE IRON SHEIK!!!” My buddy and I looked at each other and went with it. No grins, all business. We went in line, got to the front, and their names were not on the list and they didn’t have any tickets! The women looked worried, the men were furious, security was called, and we slowly backed out and made our way from the red carpet entrance to the back alley. We waited 3 hours in the parking garage, picked up our execs and have been laughing about it for years.

The doors open in too.

This is only weird in hindsight, but when I was in middle school, I went to one of Jerry Sandusky's camps. They had a casino night at the camp where the big draw was that once we'd won our tokens, Jerry himself would be there to trade our chips for prizes. Kids were sent into the prize room one at a time to ensure that we each got some special one-on-one time with Jerry. I guess I wasn't Jerry's type, because I just kind of sat down across from him, exchanged pleasantries, traded my tokens for a football or something, and was allowed to go on my way unmolested. Didn't seem strange at all at the time, but knowing what we know now...

Outlaw wrote:

Just thought of a few more:

We helped the guys out, and realized it was the Iron Sheik—80’s WWF wrestler.

That reminded me of being at a bar (Orlando) around 2003, and I think it was some holiday because there were a bunch of people and seating was scarce, but everyone seemed in a great mood. There was a rather tall and not thin young woman, but really attractive. I spoke to her a bit, then her friend told me that she was a female pro wrestler (I looked on the internet who she was, but have since forgot her name).

In the early 1990s, I helped organize a "pro/celebrity" fundraising golf tournament in suburban Pittsburgh. At the awards dinner afterward, I was seated in between Bill Toomey and 4-time Super Bowl winning coach Chuck Noll. I spent the entire evening talking to Toomey.

Guy Fieri gave me a huge dopey smile and then handed me a plastic cup of lemonade in Healdsburg, CA once at a market/deli.

He’s very short.

Went for lunch with my brother at a sushi restaurant and sat down at a table near Steve Nash. This would have been summer of 2002. We were wearing filthy construction clothing. I nodded to him, which he returned, but left him alone beyond that. I remember thinking he looked thinner in real life than he did on the court.

Great thread

sat in front of Bonnie Rait on a long flight many years ago and she talked loudly for an extremely long time on one of those Airfones at least half the flight, and then her bandmates stood in the aisle and chatted her up. I would have been more interested but at the time, i was annoying. Love her music, though,.

Was in a really great little restaraunt in Netarts, OR, on a cliff overlooking the ocean and a patron with a very distinctive brittish accent was with a couple of women at a primo window table. He was unusually animated and it was Mick Fleetwood. I had a feeling that the women might have been Stevie Nicks and Christie McVie but i didn't want to stare and Mick was pretty fired upa and you couldn't help but hear him mostly.

I was at the opening night of the movie Fearless in '93 in Seattle and was sitting behind a young couple and i started noticing that the longer the movie went on, the more agitated the guy was becoming. By the end, the guy was having a bad time of it, and when the lights came on i recognized them as Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.

I was in a used musical instrument store in the neighborhood and as i was walking by the guitar racks, a really dressed down (expensive jeans and tee shirt) but fashionable guy picks up a guitar, drops to his knee, and started really killing some licks. I didn't know who it was but immediately thought that if that guy wasn't some rock star, he probably could be, This was about 2010 or so. When Chris Cornell of Sound Garden tragically died a couple of years ago, i caught his photo in the paper and recognized him as the guy in the music store that day.

Growing up, i spent some summer class with the young Jason Alexander. Long story shortened, his parents didn't take to me and forebade him from playing with me anymore. The whole thing was every bit as crazy as a Seinfeld episode.