Question of the Day: Ever/Never

This week's question is another double-header.

1) Who's the most famous person you ever met?

2) Who's the most famous person you never met (but wish you had)?

Comments

[mamum2be]

ready for this?

mr. mcfeely and lady aberline from the mr. rogers neighborhood show..

not sure which celebrity i'd like to meet...

[valerie]

I'm not sure who counts as most famous: Bette Midler, Geena Davis or Woody Harrelson. I've met all of them and actually had conversations with Bette and Woody. Bette is much more serious than you'd expect, Woody is a big flirt, and Geena had a cap on that said "Girls Kick Ass." She's also very tall.

I'm not sure who I'd like to meet. I'd love to have Jodie Foster over for dinner, so we'll go with that.

[Anne]

Most famous person I ever met is easy -- Muhammad Ali. Okay, so it was just a quick handshake and photo-op (his hands are ENORMOUS!) but I still count it. He seemed really nice, wasn't able to speak much at that point but seemed to be genuinely pleased to meet people and especially enjoyed the little kids.

Most famous person I'd like to meet? Hmmm. Probably either Bruce Springsteen or Barack Obama. I'd probably have more to talk about with Bruce. :)

[Cal Preece]

I think it would have to be Janis Joplin. Many years ago in Austin, TX, I shared a house with a colleague who worked for the same radio station. It turned out he was Joplin's first husband in Beaumont and when she came to Austin (rarely, but a few times) she always came to our house for a visit with Dave McQueen. My favorite memory of her is Janis in a slip sitting in front of our fireplace sipping Southern Comfort and just being a regular good ol girl from Beaumont.

[Jen]

At the moment the most famous person I have met would be Garrison Keillor but I have also met Petula Clark, Prince and Nick Swardson (the younger crowd knows him). I'd love to meet Christopher Moore.

[elswhere]

I met Brooke Shields once when I was visiting a friend who went to Princeton. We were on our way to breakfast and passed her on a path. All of us were all cool, like, "Oh, Els, this is my friend Brooke, we're in a dance class together." "Oh, hi." "Hi, nice to meet you." All I could think of was how this must happen to her constantly--people being all google-eyed--and how hard it must be to just have a regular life.

Who would I want to meet? Well, I don't know if I'd want to meet her exactly or how much we'd have to say to each other, but I used to visit relatives in Santa Monica pretty regularly and always hoped to run into Joni Mitchell in a coffee shop. So far it hasn't happened, though.

[Fran_Magbual]

Hmm, Mackenzie Phillips asked for a chair from our table at a Starbucks in Honolulu. Of course I didn't recognize her (the years have not been good) and didn't try to talk to her. On the way to the car my husband is like, "That was that actress from that show with the mother and two daughters and the Super!" :-)

I'd like to meet Robin Reagler some day, but if I can't meet her, I guess Sting will have to do.

[Cheryl Rizzo]

I worked for Steve Martin for a few years so I've met him. I've also met Bill Clinton - very brief, but met. And I've met Robin Reagler (she was my high school english teacher in NJ!). Who would I like to meet? Hands down - STING STING STING! Well I don't know if "MEET" is the right word....

[Cheryl]

1. Jennifer Aniston. I was a journalist at the time, and it was a press junket, so we didn't exactly meet cute (as they say in her biz). The most famous people I met randomly were when I worked at Book Soup on Sunset Blvd.--Seal, Ian McKellan, Janeanne Garofalo.

2. I'm with Anne on Barack Obama. He seems like he'd be fun as well as smart. But also Stephen Sondheim, who I think would be painfully reserved, but I love him. Also pretty much every novelist whose books I've loved, unless they're bitches, which would taint my reading of their work in the future.

[amy]

I've met & spoken with Hillary Clinton twice. I've also gotten to meet some cool writers - Suzan Lori Parks, Dorothy Allison, Douglas Coupland, Anne Rice, T.C. Boyle.

I'd like to meet Cormac McCarthy and Margaret Atwood.

[Julie C.]

1. The Beastie Boys are friends of a friend of mine, so I (technically) met them.
2. Antony Haggerty of Antony and the Johnsons. I used to babysit his younger brother.
3. Richie Rich of Heatherette. He was a friend in high school.

I would like to meet Paul McCartney before he kicks the bucket.

[Ppolarbear]

Hmm.....I've met many famous people, but it's just brief "hi, how are you" types of things (and almost all of these are from volunteering for fundraisers for my fave charity). I say my favorites (as in the nicest and easiest to talk to) are Paul Newman, Carole King and Emily Saliers. I also went to high school with Dave Eigenberg, but he's only known to Sex and the City fans.

Who I would like to meet? Anne Lamotte seems like she'd be an entertaining dinner guest.

[Ann S]

I factchecked an article with Betsy Johnson once. Saw Steve Martin at an art show at the Whitney. Was at DiverseWorks when Dennis Hopper came through with his entourage for the opening of the Menil. Writers I've stood in line to meet are Annie Dilliard and Susan Orlean. I interviewed Ram Dass.

I'd like to meet Pete Seeger. Well, actually I've met him and sang a song with him, but I'd like to get to hang out and sing with him some more. And now that I know that Woody Harrelson is a big flirt, I'd like to meet him. And I wouldn't turn up my nose at flirting with Jodie Foster either, if she insisted.

[suze]

I've met as in had dinner with Joanne Loulan (is she famous?), Derek Jarman, Susan Brownmiller, Ian McKellen...

I'd like to have dinner with Vikram Seth.

[Tracey]

Being Australian my celebrities are probably not well known to you all, but I have met Glenda Jackson and had a fascinating conversation about socialist politics. I have also met Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett, who were both very very nice and quite down to earth.

[filmtx]

Audrey Hepburn. Twice. First in 1990 in Houston. Then again a little over a year later at an AFI-Dallas tribute.

[Lori H.]

Ronald Reagan...Bob Dole...a number of other politicians.

Mike Deever - whom I actually spent some time with and liked very much (RR's former Chief of Staff and later a bigwig in the company I worked for)

Who would I like to meet and hang out with - Bette Midler, Etta James, Pat Schroeder.

[Lori H.]

Jeez, completely forgot all the mystery authors I've met, dined with, spoken with, and had lovely email exchanges with over the years.

[Rebecca]

I met Bob Woodward once. I saw John Lithgow at the Art Institute once. He was wearing a beret. Other than that I always seem to be in the bathroom when others are meeting someone famous.

I would love to meet Barack Obama.

[Laurie]

I met Emma Thompson when she was filming a movie called Junior on the campus of UC Berkeley. Got her autograph in my school notebook. She was really nice.

Not sure who I'd want to meet though. I think with too many famous folks it would be a letdown.

[Brenda]

I met Clint Eastwood when my dad past away years ago. He was the mayor of Carmel, Ca at the time.

I wish I would have the chance to meet Ellen or Jessica Biel, or Jen Aniston

[oneofhismoms]

When I was a toddler my family lived next door to Steve Martin in Santa Fe.

I'd love to meet Ellen Degeneres and Lily Tomlin.

[gabrielle]

well I quess it would have to be the Queen, before coming to NZ my dad used to be a guard at Buckingham palace so when the queen comes to visit her commonwealth subjects the ex pat guards and their families get to go to a special meet and greet at govt. house. So when I was little I got to say hello and shake her hand several times. We even have a pic of my sister giving her some sweet peas from my mothers garden.
As a grown up it would have to be Michael Franti.
The person I would like to meet is Angelina Jolie

[Tilli]

The most famous person I ever met and spoken with is the former king of Norway, king Olav.

I would love to meet Meryl Streep.

[Mary]

My partner and I just recently found out that we are pregnant and I've been exploring the blogs... your story is so very interesting...

A friend of ours created a cartoon that features a little boy who has two moms (Buddy G- My Two Moms and Me). The DVD is quite cute and
their website is great- www.buddyg.tv. I've never seen anything like it...

Maybe you would be interested in it?

[writelikeagirl]

I met Amy Ray and Emily Sailiers. Thought my nieces were going to burst with fan girl excitment.

I would love to meet Emma Thompson or Tom Hanks. I'm always a little leary that the people I admire for their work would turn out to be total snobs and it would ruin it for me.