MetroDad's Top 10 Celebrity Encounters

Last week, I grabbed some burgers and beers with my fellow NYC bloggers, daddytypes and Laid-Off Dad. 

While we were hanging out, I started asking Greg (of daddytypes) about a recent post he'd written discussing his conversations and e-mails with various celebrities with whom he'd exchanged parenting tips.  Naturally, I thought I'd be able to bribe Greg with Diet Coke until he told me who those celebrities were. 

Needless to say, Greg is a much better man than I am and he totally refused to reveal his sources or give me any good gossip.

Anyway...the whole conversation got me thinking about MY random encounters with celebrities.  Having lived in NYC for most of my life, I've had my fair share of celebrity sightings over the years.  You see them everywhere in New York...at the market, at the playground, or at restaurants around town.  However, I'm fairly jaded and non-plussed about meeting "famous" people.  Who really gives a shit?  For the most part, the celebrities I've met have been fairly boring and didn't really have much to say.  I also abhor this growing trend of putting celebrities up on a pedestal.  Drives me nuts. 

However, there are a few celebrities I've met over the years where there was a good story involved.  So naturally, I thought I'd post my favorites here on the blog.  Please note that the following stories are all true and, for better or worse, most likely reflect more poorly on me than on any of the celebrities mentioned. 

That being said, here are my Top 10 favorite celebrity encounters...

#10. Kevin Costner

It was 1991 and I was in Sun Valley, Idaho, skiing with some friends from college.  It was late at night and we were drinking at Whiskey Jacques (one of the all-time grungiest and funnest ski bars anywhere.)  I'm standing at a urinal pissing out about 20 gallons of beer when the guy next to me says, "Really tapping that valve, aren't you, buddy?"  I turn around and who do I see?  Kevin Costner!  Without missing a beat, I let go of my penis, put both my hands on top of my head, and yelled, "Tatonka!"  My buddy Will started laughing so hard that I think he may have peed all over the floor.  However, I'd like to report that Costner was totally cool.  Not only die he laugh with us but he also ended up buying us a few pitchers of beer.  Very down-to-earth guy and extremely likable in person. 

#9. Leonardo DiCaprio

For me and my friends, the party of the year in New York was always the MTV Video Awards show.  For the after-party, MTV would take over Bryant Park and turn it into the greatest one-night scene you've ever witnessed.  Every year, a friend of mine in the music industry would get a single ticket to the party.  And every year, my buddies and I would go down to Kinko's and pay off an employee to make exact duplicates of that ticket.  Man, some of those guys at Kinko's are geniuses!  Anyway, in 1997, we were at the bar hanging out when Leonardo Caprio came over.  One thing led to another and, before we knew it, we were all drinking tequila shots together.  Let me tell you something.  For a tiny, little guy, Leo DiCaprio can drink tequila like a Mexican donkey.  For a solid hour, he drank all of us under the table.  In fact, the next day, my buddy Andy had to call all of us to ask how he got home.

#8. Howard Stern

When Howard Stern was on the radio, BossLady and I used to wake up to him every morning.  Many times, Howard would say something so outrageous that we'd both wake up laughing hysterically.  Back then, Howard lived in our neighborhood so we'd always see him walking to the park.  In person, he was the nicest, sweetest guy.  Every time he saw us, he'd come over and start playing with MetroDog and tell us how he was going to get a French Bulldog just like him.  One morning, we're listening to his show and suddenly he starts talking about MetroDog!  How fucking cool is that?  (FYI...MetroDog is sort of a celebrity himself.  If any of you are on AOL, surf around the portal and you'll see him.  He's the official AOL dog in all the online promos.)

#7.  Mayor Ed Koch

Another urinal story.  Happened right after Ed Koch lost his re-election bid to be NYC's mayor.  I was at some random off-Broadway play and, during intermission, I went to the Men's room.  There must have been 10 urinals lined up in a row.  It was more like a trough than a toilet.  Anyway, as I was taking a leak, I looked to my side and I saw that the guy peeing next to me was Ed Koch.  Holy shit!  Ed Koch!  Everyone else in the bathroom notices him too and a few guys start pleading with the ex-Mayor, "C'mon, Mr. Mayor.  Say it!  Say it!"  Koch just continues peeing and doesn't even say a word.  He just smiles coyly and goes to wash his hands.  However, right as he's leaving the bathroom, he turns around to all of us, gives us a big thumbs up, and, with a giant shit-eating grin on his face, yells, "How'm I doing?" (the famous catch-phrase of his mayoral term.)  Needless to say, the entire bathroom erupted in laughter and applause.  It was awesome.

#6. Ray Manzarek

When I was in college at Berkeley, a friend dragged me to Cody's Bookstore on Telegraph Ave. to hear Ray Manzarek, the famous keyboardist for The Doors, give a lecture and poetry reading.  My buddy was a huge Doors fan.  Me?  I was more into The Cure, Morrissey, and The Smiths.  I never really listened to The Doors.  However, for some reason, I decided to tag along with him and I'm glad I did.  Ray Manzarek turned out to be a fascinating man with some amazing stories to tell.  After the reading, he invited a bunch of students to Zachary's for some beers and pizza together.  For the next few hours, we listened raptly as he regaled us with stories about Jim Morrison, John Coltrane, poetry and his love of opera.  Possibly one of the most fascinating people I've ever met. 

#5.  Liev Schreiber

Back in the late 90's, one of my friends was dating Liev Schreiber.  One night, a bunch of us decided to meet up at a bar down in the East Village.  However, I had just gone to a cocktail party and showed up at the bar completely wasted.  When my friend introduced me to Liev, we shook hands and I said, "Hey, good to see you again. We met last week."  He was totally polite but said that he didn't remember ever meeting me.  Of course, I got totally annoyed and kept insisting that we had met before.  By the end of the night, I was totally pissed off and thought that he was an arrogant a-hole.  Sure, he may have seemed like a nice guy but I knew the truth.  Or at least I thought I did.  Turns out that the week before, I had seen him.  At my home. On my TV.  While watching "The Daytrippers" on DVD.  I'm a complete and total fucking idiot.

#4. Phoebe Cates

Back in 1994, I was living in a tiny apartment.  The place was too small to swing a cat but I absolutely loved living in the building. One of the main reasons?  Because Phoebe Cates lived there!  Dude...Phoebe Cates!  For a young man in his 20's who spent many long hours during his youth replaying the pool scene in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," life doesn't get much better than that.  All of you men out there know what I'm talking about, right?  Anyway, I'd like to say that Phoebe Cates is even more beautiful in person and would probably even look great wearing a trash bag.  One time, she turned to me in the elevator to say hello and I totally spazzed out.  I don't know exactly what I said but it came out like, "boogahasdjoaooga."  I think she thought I was retarded.  After I got out of the elevator, I wiped the spittle off my chin and banged my head against a wall for half an hour.  Smooth, MD.  Smooth. 

#3.  Sting

My friend, Henry, spent some time as a struggling NYC actor and was once represented by an agency owned by Ian Copeland, the brother of Stewart Copeland (drummer for the Police.)  One night, back in 1987, we were hanging out at Henry's apartment when the doorbell rang.  We opened the door and Ian walks in with Sting and a few other people.  Everyone starts milling about and socializing except for Sting, who becomes engrossed in some of the art books that Henry owns.  Honestly, I forget the guy is even there until I feel a light tap on my shoulder.  I look up and Sting is passing me a joint.  I didn't really smoke pot then.  However, the one thing I did know is that when Sting passes you a fucking joint, you better smoke that shit up! 

#2. Bruce Springsteen

Recently, our friends took their daughter, Laura, to Sesame Place theme park.  During the parade, Elmo came by and brushed his hand against Laura's cheek.  Apparently, Laura was in such awe that not only was she rendered speechless, she also couldn't stop touching her cheek to make sure it really happened.  Well, that's sort of how I felt when I met Bruce Springsteen backstage at one of his concerts.  He shook my hand and said, "Good to meet you."  That's it.  The whole encounter took less than a second but I almost fainted like the pathetic little schoolgirl that I am.  Truly sad.  However, for a die-hard Springsteen fan like myself, this was as good as it was ever going to get.  I can now die a happy man. 

#1.  Carson Daly

Every year, I have to go to Vegas for the fashion industry's bi-annual trade show.  I hate being there and I usually try to get back home as soon as possible.  A few years ago, all my clients pushed up our meetings and I found myself with a free night.  So, after dinner, I decided to hit the blackjack table by myself.  The last two times I had been in Vegas, I hadn't done any gambling.  Well, you know when you've been dieting and you reach for that one potato chip and, next thing you know, you've eaten the entire bag?  That's me at a blackjack table.  Once I get started, I can't stop.  I started out with $50 and, after a few hours, I was dead even but had a pretty nice buzz from all the scotch. 

Two guys end up sitting next to me at the table.  Suddenly, the three of us start going on a fantastic run.  We can't lose.  I'm not really betting that much so I'm still only up about $300.  But we're partying, laughing and having a fun time.  That's when I realize one of the guys was Carson Daly.  As it turns out, he's a pretty cool guy.  Did you know he was a theology major who went to college on a full golf scholarship and briefly considered entered the priesthood? 

Anyway...as Carson and his buddy are getting up to leave, he asks me if I want to join them at a small party in a private part of the casino.  Sure, I say.  After walking around a bit, I don't even know where we are anymore.  Suddenly, we enter this room and...BAM!  Music is pumping and they've set up private casino tables for the guests.  I grab a few more drinks, cruise around the party myself, and then sit down at one of the private blackjack tables.

From there, the details get a little fuzzy.  At 6:00 am, I remember stumbling around the casino to find my hotel room.  Three hours later, my alarm clock goes off.  I wake up, look over at my bedside table, and what do I see?  About $4,000 in hundred-dollar bills! 

Since BossLady and I used that money to pay for a much-needed new fridge and toilet, that's my favorite celebrity encounter. 

Anyone else got any good stories?  Let's hear them.

Comments

[Peter]

Stern is the MAN!
I am glad he is kind in real life.

[Binky]

I am so jealous of MetroDog for getting shouted-out air time on the Stern Show. By the way, you are truly missing out if you haven't joined the revolution on Sirius Satellite Radio. His show is mind-blowingly spectacular now that he isn't shackled by the FCC. As for stories, I got nuthin'. Somehow, I don't think eating at a table next to Billy Crystal quite qualifies. Even though I share your who-gives-a-shit mentality toward stars, there's something about those stories of yours that makes me yearn for the city life.

[Lumi (Pickle's Mama)]

I don't know if this is totally lame or totally rad...but...

In 1999 I hung out with Al Gore at a County Fair and gave him an Elephant Ear.

100% true story.

ps...LOVE Howard Stern. Great post, MD.

[Janet]

That's cool you met Howard Stern.

I met Prince. I got his autograph. I was 18 and he was shorter than me in his heels.

I met: Doogie Howser (What's his name?), Savion Glover, Ben Vereen and my favorite in the whole world (the necest) Gregory Hines and Misha Baryshnikov and Susan Sarandon in a park with her kids.

Cool, this NYC thing.

[Velma]

Dude! How come none of MY celebrity encounters involve unexpected cash windfalls?

[sparklykatt]

Please explain the "tatonka" reference.

New recruit to you blog. I'm loving it!

[Mother]

Shit. I guess I need a urinal.

Oh and a swanky job in NYC :)

I met Scott hamilton on a plane once.

And I saw anna kournikova at a mall in Detroit.

And I had sex with Johnny Depp.

But that was in my dream last night.

Love #5 BTW... heh

[honglien123]

I've never met any celebrities, but let me provide you with my dream encounters.

Ursula LeGuin: (Yes, I know; don't say it.) I briefly thought of moving to Portland after I sell my house and maybe buying one in the West Hills; dreamt we could be neighbors :sigh:.

Eric Bana: I've got a girl and boy, he's got a boy and girl...I've always dreamt of bumping into him and exchanging parenting stories if I don't start the conversation with "boogahasdjoaooga."

And! A truth I've learned in life...never underestimate a little person. They are bottomless pits.

[METRODAD]

Sparkly..."Tatonka" is the Native American word for Buffalo. There's a scene in "Dances with Wolves" where Whitey (Kevin Costner) is trying to communicate with a Sioux Indian. Both of them start this (unintentionally) hilarious pantomine scene where they're trying to communicate the word "Buffalo." It's like a drunken version of charades.

[Pattie]

Let's see...

I had lunch with David Prowse, who played Darth Vader, at a Japanese steakhouse here in Knoxville. My then-boyfriend won a contest at the local comic book store, so I got to tag along. I have a pic of me sitting on Darth Vader's lap.

I met Weird Al Yankovic after a concert. He was impressed when I told him how I used to play "Nature Trail to Hell" and scare my sisters, making them cry. His response? "Cool."

I helped Reggie White order a bunch of books when I worked at a bookstore. He was nice enough to autograph his book for me, as well as sign autographs for my dad and sister.

Bruce Campbell held a book reading at the Barnes & Noble here and was a fantastic sport. We arrived at about 6:30PM; the reading was to last from 7-7:45PM. We left at 12:30AM, and he was still signing books. He'd also promised to sign Evil Dead memorabilia for the die-hard geeks after the books were signed.

And at AdventureCon just a few months ago, I met Ray Park (Darth Maul in SW Episode I) and Adam Baldwin from Firefly. They were both very nice, posed for pics, and I now want to marry RP after I tire of Rich. (Kidding!:) ) It'll be before then.

To think, I met all these people without ever leaving Knoxville. :) Which reminds me--I ran into Cameron Mathison from All My Children in NYC in May. Very nice, posed for a photo, and much taller than he seems on TV. Oh, and those laser-blue eyes...

Now I just need to run into Wentworth Miller and Johnny Depp, and I can die happy.

[Nan]

1. My childhood home was a few houses aways from Mena Suvari's house. I was friends with her older brother, and she was a few years younger than me. She was quiet and sweet. At the time, she was modeling locally - no movie work yet. Her brother, who was a heavy set guy, stopped talking to me after he lost a lot of weight and became our high school hunk...like a bad teen movie.

2. I worked at a local music company in which I was the marketing director. We sponsored numerous concerts and hosted autograph sessions. I met a lot of musicians, but the only ones I was really excited to meet were Herbie Hancock and Ben Folds. Otherwise, we hosted Widespread Panic, Jack Johnson, Hootie & the Blowfish, Eric Johnson, Barenaked Ladies and many, many others. We would hang out with them backstage, and basically it was just a drunkfest.

3. I volunteer at a local organization that was awarded a $30,000 grant from Oprah's Angel Network. She handed us the award in person backstage. We were given free tickets to attend a special show (not aired on TV). It was more of a motivational talk that she gave. Anyway, she took the time to talk to all of us (probably 12 people), and her photographer took a nice group photo. She seemed down to earth during the short time we spent with her.

[Pattie]

Oh, and I met Jackson Bostwick, who played Captain Marvel on Shazam!, last week when he directed my cat, Yum Yum, in a horror movie that he's filming nearby.

[JJ Daddy-O]

Growing up in the NYC, like MD, I've seen many a movie star or supermodel in their skanky Saturday-morning-trip-to-the-deli outfits, with the baseball hat and sweatpants. I guess I just haven't been drunk enough to walk up and start up a conversation.
One of my favorite things when visiting NYC now with my Baby's Momma (not an NYC native) is to spot famous folks as we are walking along and to mention it to her- "we just passed Woody Allen" "Where, where?" "He just got into that cab over there" "Dammit!" I swear I haven't made any of them up, honey.

[JJ Daddy-O]

I will say my big brush with the famous came while I lived in Atlanta, I was working as a photo assistant and we went to Athens to shoot REM for one of those posters they hang up in libraries ("READ"). They were pretty cool guys, and had all brought various books they were reading to pose with, but the funniest thing was they were talking to each other about how they couldn't get on the comp list to get in to a show that night with the band The Church. "What did we ever do to those guys?" "I don't know they must not like us."
Since we were standing in a room with about 50 gold records on the walls at the time, I felt like saying "geez, guys, buy a freakin' ticket!"

[Hygiene Dad]

Tatonka! Freaking Hysterical

I bagged John Hughes' groceries for years. (He lived in our town.)

I went to high school with Chris O'Donnell.

I rode an elevator with The Man of La Mancha himself, Robert Goulet.

Wow, that's it. My life is sad.

[Melrose Mama]

Yesterday, I was at one of the farmer's markets in L.A. and Matt LeBlanc tripped over my stroller. He was very nice about it though. It was totally my fault.

[samantha Jo Campen]

Um, just a lame story about meeting Robin Williams at Washington Square Park in April--my first trip ever to NYC. There's the story and dumbass picture of the two of us here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/backtome/126658587

[Lori]

Not me, but my husband met Harrison Ford twice - once at a scifi convention in CA, and once at an airport in Houston. I'll have to post the story sometime.

I always thought Howard Stern must be a sweetie off the air. Nice to read confirmation. :)

[Brent]

The Phoebe Cates one was the best. I think every red-blooded American male over the age of 35 has fantasized about her at one time or another. Can you believe how long ago that movie came out?

[moosk]

despite living in nyc for quite few years, my best celebrity tale is from college.

flava flav - somewhere between his days rapping with public enemy and his resurgence on the surreal life, he found himself sitting next to me on a flight from nyc to houston. the saddest part was i really had no clue who he was (despite the really large, red plastic clock hanging around his neck). he had to explain... and show off his mad rapping skillz by making up something about my bird who was eating his way through the crappy carrier i was transporting him in. flava was actually incredibly nice -- chatting with me most of the flight (sharing his views from racism and philosophy to old school rap) and introducing himself to my parents at the baggage claim. i think i may still have the several numbers he gave me should i want to join him for a rockets game... too bad i never took him up on the offer.

[Mrs. Davis]

You have great celebrity stories! Mine are mostly B-listers and/or me losing my cool.

I had a flight from NY to Minneapolis with Al Franken - he was right across the aisle, but we barely said hello because i fell asleep as soon as we took off.

I met Sherman Helmsley in the lobby of a hotel in DC, and Hulk Hogan in the elevator of a hotel in Chicago.

I met Evander Holyfield at the Atlanta zoo. Biggest handshake EVER.

I spotted Mike Mills from REM hanging out in an Atlanta bar in 1991, and screamed "OMG, it's REM!!!" It was just him, not the whole band. Up until then, everyone in the place had been playing it very cool.

[Sarah]

I sold Gena Nolan a pair of jeans when I worked in a department store in Duluth, MN. She had just had a baby and was buying a men's size 29. Unbelievable.

It was kind of funny because a couple of other clerks in the store came running up to me with the whole "you'll never believe who's shopping here" thing. I was like, Great! Now, who's Gena Nolan? because I never wateched Baywatch.

In the end, she bought her jeans at my register so I guess it was still pretty exciting.

[Mike]

Billy Dee Williams. I ran and bought a can of Colt .45 and took my picture with him. He's one hell of a malt liquor picker.

[liz]

I lived in Chicago for 3 years after college which is a good place to run into celebrities, since I lived right off of Michigan Avenue. The only time I've been really starstruck was riding on an elevator with Steven Tyler at the Ritz at Water Tower Place. That man is teeny -- I'm 5'3" and was 115 lbs. at the time and he wasn't much bigger than I was. He just oozed coolness and "star"-ness. The elevator started making funny noises and his bodyguard joked that if the elevator got stuck, we could have a sing-along. Unfortunately, the elevator did not get stuck.

My other favorite star sighting was (in the early 80's) Mr. T driving his big white Mercedes around wearing all his gold chains and he had a little Mr. T air freshener hanging from his rear view mirror.

[Tony]

Wow! Great stories.
Yes, If Phoebe Cates said anything to me I would have licked the wall and cried for mama.

I actually have a lot of encounters..

But the best one was hanging out with Michael Anthony Hall and Scott Baio at a club VIP lounge in Hollywood years and years ago.
Scott was making out with 3 chicks (at one time). I was a little drunk and said "Charles, you're definitely in Charge!".

He didn't think that was very funny and I had to leave.

[zygote daddy]

Um...Lars Ulrich used to be my neighbor. I know, kinda lame. And Phil Lesh's kid started a band with my little bro (how cute, right?), so I've gone over to their place a few times. Then there's my little bro, who got to tour with The Dead when he was like 14. Little motherfucker was more excited about getting out of school for a week than playing Red Rocks or hanging out with Bob Dylan.

[Dan McCulley]

I give...
what does tatonka mean?

[Mr. Big Dubya]

Steve Tyler after the birth of daughter, Chelsea. I worked in the hospital where she was born and had about a 15 minute conversation with him late one night. I've also run into Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford in Boston-area locales.

Robert Smith and Boris Williams in a club in Leipzig, Germany while they were on the Disintegration tour in 1990. One of those uh...uh...uh...uh moments.

Jay Leno and Carl Reiner (different days) while I was interning at WHDH-TV in Boston.

I used to work security at Foxboro Stadium back in the day so I've barbecued in the parking lot with Curtis Martin, Drew Bledsoe and a host of others on a few occasions.

The Phoebe Cates story makes me mighty jealous. Mighty jealous.

[Henitsirk]

In high school I went to see "Amadeus" at a movie theater in Malibu. Dennis Weaver was there, looking all McCloud in cowboy hat and boots and a big belt buckle.

Also I used to see Robert Young (Marcus Welby, MD) at the local bookstore, and Tom Selleck driving around town (if I remember correctly, in a red Ferrari, natch.)

[Steve C.]

Holy shit! That "Tatonka" line is hilarious. MD. I wish I were that witty to come up with something like that. I always come up with something good to say 3 hours later when I'm back at home.

My best celeb encounters were when I worked in a plastic surgeon's office in L.A. You would not believe how many people came in discreetly to get work done. We saw a lot of celebs there but my favorite sighting was Axl Rose!

[Melissa]

Dude! I have to say it...so you're like Carson Daly's whore? ;)

[Ian]

Loved the part about you meeting Springsteen. I shook hands once with Mick Jagger once and felt the same way. Almost fainted like a schoolgirl.

[Leora]

Daddytypes, Laid-Off Dad & Metro all hanging out together in NYC over a few beers? That's like a celebrity sighting itself.

[L.]

My great-grandmother`s urologist was Katherine Hepburn`s father.

Really.

[rach!]

I met Candace Cameron at a hockey game when I was 7. It was my birthday, and Full House was my favorite show. I met one of the guys from the Flaming Lips a couple years ago. They got the key to our city.

Most (all?) of you are parents and probably don't keep up with this, but I know some the Uprights. They were about to get huge in the ska scene, and then Richie got murdered. Another one on the local level, I sort of dated a guy whose father draws the cartoons for the local paper.

My high school forensics coach went to school with Brad Pitt. He annoyed the shit out of her.

A friend's mom went to high school with Rush Limbaugh and took him to homecoming one year because she felt sorry for him. No joke. Everyone in their high school hated him.

My dad is on first name terms with the members of the Moody Blues and has received a few shout outs from stage before. My sister and I have both gotten drum sticks after shows (their drummer likes to give that shows sticks to kids in the front row), and she's met them a few times.

Speaking of my father, he used to be really, really good at darts. He would win tournaments and be in magazines and part of his shtick was he would throw darts with me in one arm and then walk up to the board and I'd pull them out for him. So for those magazines, he'd pose with me.

[R2Dad]

R2Dad, no. R2Mum--sure. Something about dating Chris Isaac--I told her I didn't want to know. That was right after she told me that apparently, she had third hand (so to speak) knowledge that Chris has a ginormous unit. There is a plaster cast of it somewhere. Greaaaaaat.

[rwc]

My family used to have a condo in Park City, UT where we spent Christmas skiing. Robert Redford looks a lot older in person and takes his g-kids skiing. Corbin Bernson seems like a pretty good dad.

Of musical note, my wife is friends with Justin Roberts from their post-college days working together in Minneapolis, MN. Very cool guy who makes great kids music.

[candace]

Kris Roe from The Ataris used to be this kid who hung out at my husband's college band's shows. After The Ataris had that Boys Of Summer cover on the radio, they were playing shows all over the US. They came to Cincinnati and he called up my husband and the other guys (all but one were living in Cincy at the time) and invited us all to the show. During the show, he called the band to the stage and they played a song together.

After that, Kris got my husband's band back together for a recording session. Then he bugged out (I'm not supposed to reveal details) and the recording is languishing at the studio.

[Rinna]

Found you via perezhilton.org. These stories are pretty funny. I never run into ANY celebs here in the boonies of Canada. I'd love to live in Noo Yawk!

[Kathy]

Very funny stories. I would love to meet Ray Manzarek.
I met two members of the B-52s at a bar in Richmond VA and they asked me if I knew where to get any coke. I drunkenly replied, "I refuse to support anyone who does that stuff, man, that is sooo uncool..." And as my friend quickly dragged me away I yelled, "I love Rock Lobster though!"

[Girl con Queso]

I was out with a friend in Austin one night. We were walking from one fine beverage establishment to another, and needed to cross a very non-busy street. We looked both ways, and no cars were coming. We'd been drinking, sure, but our judgement wasn't all that impaired.

There was no one coming.

However, as we were half-way across the small street, out of freaking nowhere, two bikes, excuse me, cycles, were slamming into us. Or swerving very fast not to slam into us.

It was, of course, Lance Armstrong.

Because only I could be hit by Lance Armstrong on a bike.

And, to this day, I have the bike tire marks on my pants to prove it.

[Angie in Texas]

my former brother in law is andy roddick. (he's in nyc right now . . . )

i met robert mondavi jr (he's really sweet and reallllllly funny.)

tommy lee jones used to live in the next neighborhood when i was a kid. (i lived in the crappy neighborhood; he did not.)

larry elder (the sage) bought my girlfriends and i some drinks in DC. (and he was super sweet.)

i ran into leslie stahl at the DC airport once - really ran into her: as in knocked her down as i tried to get to my gate. (she was very cool and understanding about it.)

the rest of the "encounters" are like sitting near them or nano-flash encounters.

O, and my really good friend HSG (hot scientist guy) was named pop sci mag's top 10 most brilliant scientists . . . that's pretty cool, though not famous.

[lisa k]

hey r2dad, my sis dated Chris Isaak, too. She was like 19 years old at the time. He's got a total Asian fetish. But he's a cool guy, and frickin' freaky yet hilarious at the same time.

My only brush with fame was with Pat Morita when a bunch of friends and I went out for dinner in High School about 20 years ago. We almost attacked him - we all loved Happy Days and The Karate Kid. He was super nice, and I remember him saying, "wow, that's a lot of Filipinos!" and doing the Arnold laugh for us.

[Kickette]

I too have had witnessed the Leonardo DiCaprio drinking capabilities... in 1998, in London at the celeb it club of the day, China Whites. We were all drinking Absynthe... and really, that's pretty much all i can remember...

[Kelly]

I met Billy Baldwin in Stillwater, OK at Eskimo Joe's. Apparently he was an honorary inductee to the Wrestling Hall of Fame at Oklahoma State. Who knew I'd meet a celebrity in Stillwater, OK? Have any of you even heard of Stillwater, Oklahoma?

[kara]

I've gotten to meet my share of famous musicians while I was hanging out and working in clubs in college... but by far my most cordial celeb encounter was the day Meryl Streep helped me buy shoes. She and I used to live on the same street (okay, like 2 miles apart on the same street, but you dig) anyway, I was trying to buy a pair of shoes for this wedding and I couldn't make up my mind. I had the dress with me and I needed the opinion of a woman and she happened to be the only one in the store. She seemed a bit confused when I walked up to her and said "I'm really sorry to bother you, but..." and then didn't ask for an autograph.

[Waya]

You jet setter you MD! That was hilarious about Tatonka shoutout. And I think Phoebe Cates is absolutely breathstaking too from a woman's point of view, and I don't play that way.

Here's my brief encounters w/celebs:

Stood 2 feet from Kurt Russell and was too tongue-tied to ask for autograph. He was in Boston with Goldie Hawn (she was taping a movie with Steve Martin, I think it's called "House sitter" or something like that). I didn't realize he was so short.

We (hubbie and I) went to an X-Files convention back in the 90's(I know, go ahead and say it!) and met the "smoking guy" and "Kryzchek" (sp). But no Mulder or Scully though.

We met Elizabeth Shue at a charity event. She was a tiny thing not like how she looks in the theater.

And Lisa K and R2Dad, I have a friend in LA whose friend also dated Chris Isaak and she said that he "hung" pretty well. And he does have this thing for Asians.

That's all my celebs encounter, pretty lame huh?!

[landismom]

Hmm, well, I went to high school and college with Calista Flockhart (also college with Kristin Davis from Sex in the City.) I went to a university with a pretty solid acting program, and I know a lot of working actors, although most of them are not really famous.

In my post-college life, most of my celebrity encounters are politicians or related to political events. I met Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Wright through work on the Kerry campaign in 2004.

I once had the privilege of sitting next to Adrienne Rich at an event where a truly awful poem was recited. She leaned over to me and made snarky comments about the poet. For a reader like me, that was pretty close to heaven.

[BudDaddy]

I was in Vegas with some friends eating at N9ne at the Palms. Tara Reid was at the table next to us, drunk, and doing a stripper dance.

No. I don't have proof...but as soon as I got home I bought a camera phone just in case something like that happened again.

It hasn't.

[papa2hapa]

I shook the hand of James Bond. He looked me in the eye and gave me a firm shake and said, "Nice to meet you, son." Then we posed for a picture, and then he went to go shoot part of his film.