Ever meet someone famous...

[BrokenolMarine]

... and been surprised by what you found?

Over the years, I have been lucky enough to run into a few here and there... whether in the line of duty when working...
Most often, meeting those somewhat famous among the shooting crowd while attending seminars, training, or shooting pistol or rifle matches.

I have actually met a few whose names would be very familiar to a good number of folks here... and as a credit to the shooting community, MOST were generous of their time, quick to share their knowledge and experience and extremely friendly and down to earth.
Some of them were names very well known... in various circles... their names appearing on the covers of shooting magazines, under the titles of books, and as instructors in TOP shooting schools across the country.

That being said... ... there was ONE that I met who is very well known, and the two times I ran into him was just the opposite. Aloof, rude, and arrogant. I thought that maybe it was me, but no... Everyone I have talked to said that this guy was that way with all the peons. If you weren't a sponsor, a paying customer, or a possible valuable contact... you were beneath him.

There is also a top competitive shooter, very well known in the game, that's the same way.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not talking about walking up to someone during an ongoing match and trying to draw them into conversation, or interrupting their pre-match prep or focus. (Some of these guys make a living at this stuff and it's business... I understand that... ) I'm talking about making an attempt to say hello after a match or at the awards dinner or social. Maybe ask a simple question about gear or tips for success by a new shooter to the game, and getting burned, snubbed, downright insulted...

Nah, I wasn't there, but the person who shared the story with me was... and was someone I trust, someone who had no skin in the game and no reason to lie about it. More rumbles about similar conduct from other veteran shooters reinforced the same type behavior, just like the subject above. Meh, not everyone is pleasant to be around I guess.

I'll not share any names, good or bad, as I don't want to influence posts. The question is more about your experiences meeting your heroes...

They say you shouldn't ... Maybe there is a reason.

[BigAl52]

Next time I go to Seattle Id like to meet Sir Henry hes famous isnt he.

[BrokenolMarine]

Next time I go to Seattle Id like to meet Sir Henry hes famous isnt he.

From what I hear...

[ditchparrot]

I spent two decades as a mainstream sports journalist and I've met a bunch of very famous people. I've been face to face with Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, Joe Montana, etc. Most of them are decent people to deal with. There are notable exceptions, with Mr. Bonds being one, and I don't mind saying that because it's the flat-out truth and anybody who's ever had the displeasure of being in his presence knows that.

I also encountered celebrities from other realms during that period when they attended sporting events. I'll never forget the night Charlie Sheen showed up at a Sacramento Kings game and hung out in the media dining area before the game. He was great – very friendly and willing to chat with anybody. When the game started, he had seats in the front row, right behind the press table, and I listened to him get more and more belligerent as he continued to pound cocktails. He was nearly incoherent by the time the third quarter tipped off. If he hadn't been who he was, he'd have been thrown out of the joint.

As for shooters, I once drank too much whiskey with the late, great Tom Knapp in the DPMS trailer on the final day of the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. We'd done a long interview and he had some time to kill, so he wanted me to hang around and talk about bird dogs and such – and have a few shots. I had to catch a plane back to Sacramento that evening, and that was an ordeal.

I've met Dan Bonillas, one of the great trapshooters of all time. He's an outstanding human being, but I already knew that, as my older brother had been buddies with him a couple decades earlier.

I played a round of golf in Lake Tahoe with John O'Hurley (J. Peterman from Seinfeld and the former host of the Family Feud). He's a very funny guy and an excellent golfer.

[Les]

I remember many years ago coming across one of the 'stars' of a television "soap opera", and I was surprised to see how short he was. He looks so much bigger on TV!

[daytime dave]

Be careful what you wish for..............................................................................it might come true.

[BrokenolMarine]

Back when I worked patrol, our jurisdiction had a "cultural arts" center and though it wasn't big enough for A list stars we did get those who were just starting to really make a name for themselves, and a few on the down slope of their careers.

As part of our rotating assignments, we did surveillance in the lot there... a lot full of BMWs, Audis, Mercedes-Benz, and the like when events were going on; a prime target for thieves. We also provided personal protection details when it was warranted.

What struck me during one of the PPDs, running into someone I had watched perform on Saturday Night Live when I was in my senior year... as nice as she was to those around her... was how sad she seemed at this point in her life. But if what we see from the press and read in the print media is even partially true... perhaps fame and fortune isn't always the dream we would hope it would be.

[clovishound]

Don't know if this really counts, but Clovispup and I are big Dr Who fans. The last two years we have gone to a smallish Who convention. They had a lot of the stars from the earlier years. Some are fairly well known from other roles. Peter Davison, Tristan from All Creatures Great and Small, was there the first year. Many of the supporting role actors were there as well as a couple of the Doctors, like Sylvester McCoy, of The Hobbit fame.

The highlight of the first con for me was a great 5 to 10 minute conversation with Wendy Padbury while she was waiting for a taxi at the end of the con. Very nice and down to earth lady. I didn't intend to monopolize her time, just wanted to let her know how much we appreciated how much we all enjoyed meeting people we felt like we had come to know from the small screen. She seemed more than happy to stand and chat for a good little while.

[RanchRoper]

Over the years met a couple. Geddy Lee from the band Rush. Cowboy singer Ian Tyson. A few of the 1960's Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. My brother worked in a clothing store and sold Alice Cooper some stuff a few years ago. My wife had a drink with Bill Cosby one time (haha kidding)....

[CT_Shooter]

Tim Hardin bummed a cigarette from me when I was eighteen while I was standing outside during a break at a college concert that he headlined in New Jersey. I was thrilled to talk with him.

I also met the current POTUS in the early 90's when he was visiting Bridgeport, CT. looking for a casino "deal". It never happened; the mayor was indicted shortly afterwards. At the time, I was an intern at a TV station, traveling with the beat reporter and cameraman for the late evening news (I started college at age 42). I had my SLR camera with me and snapped this image for my Photography 101 course.

Trump

Trump Photography 101_small.jpg (37.29 KiB) Viewed 1520 times

[RanchRoper]

Roy Warhurst produced my CD's. He played fiddle with the Sons of the Pioneers in the 80's and 90's and knew Roy Rogers. We still hang out once in a while.

[Steve51]

Only one time. Back in the sixties, my family was returning home from visiting relatives in Texas. We went through New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama on the way home.
There happened to be a sport and travel show going on in Mobile and it was not far from our Motel. My dad took my brother and I to the event. We met Paul Hornung (Green Bay Packer Running Back) there and my brother (not a bashful bone in his body) asked him for an autograph and he politely gave him one. I was pretty backward and never said a word - I did not get an autograph.

[Travlin]

I sat about tern feet from Pat Boone in a club on Cocoa Beach Fl. in the early seventies.

[JEBar]

I was privileged to be able to say that Colonel James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe was a friend of mine ... Nick was a remarkable fellow, the only Army officer to escape from a Vietnamese prison camp ..... his bio can be seen in this link ===> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_N._Rowe <=== he's the father of the current US Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program taught to high-risk military personnel (such as Special Forces and aircrews) and the U.S. Army doctrine which institutionalizes these techniques and principles to be followed by captured personnel .... SERE is taught at the Colonel James "Nick" Rowe Training compound at Camp Mackall, North Carolina (FT Bragg) .... his book "Five Years To Freedom" is based on his time time as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese .... we have an autographed copy that is stored in our most secure safe .... frankly, from an emotional standpoint, its a hard book for us to read .... he was a great guy, a credit to our country

[ditchparrot]

Over the years met a couple. Geddy Lee from the band Rush.

I'd like to meet any or all of the Rush trio. They all seem like good guys, although Neil Peart (arguably the greatest drummer the world has ever known and a pretty fair songwriter) is reportedly very uncomfortable with celebrity status. That's why he wrote the song "Limelight" from the Moving Pictures album.

I'm a big fan and I've seen them in concert seven times.

[BrokenolMarine]

I was teaching Avionics to young Marines and Sailors as a Staff NCO in Memphis in the mid 80s, and the guest at our SNCO ball one year was Carlos Hathcock, the most famous Marine Sniper of the time. My copy of his book, "Marine Sniper, 93 Confirmed Kills," bears his Autograph. It too is stored in my Safe. He gave a speech at the dinner for the ball, and we all expected stories of his exploits, his longest shots, the time in the jungle, ... glory.

Instead, he spoke softly and quietly about his love of the Corps, the brotherhood, and how he never felt more at home than the time he spent with his fellow Marines; whether on active duty or like then, at these functions. He was a very humble man and patient with all those who spoke with him at the dinner and asked for autographs. He avoided talking about the contents of the book, or discussing the war or actual battle related shooting. He would talk about shooting and marksmanship, and later made his living training military and law enforcement marksmen. He was happy to talk about rifles, pistols, loads, techniques, and competitions.

I counted myself lucky to have met him before he passed.

[BigAl52]

Be careful what you wish for..............................................................................it might come true.

Okay Dave then the next time I go to Seattle I could meet Daytime Dave and Sir Henry at the same time.

[RanchRoper]

Over the years met a couple. Geddy Lee from the band Rush.

I'd like to meet any or all of the Rush trio. They all seem like good guys, although Neil Peart (arguably the greatest drummer the world has ever known and a pretty fair songwriter) is reportedly very uncomfortable with celebrity status. That's why he wrote the song "Limelight" from the Moving Pictures album.

I'm a big fan and I've seen them in concert seven times.

Geddy Lee had a black Maserati in the parking lot with tickets all over the dashboard. Parking, speeding, maybe both.

[daytime dave]

I have met some celebrities, some famous people and some notables. If I met them in a work related mode, they were a mixed bag. I was working in a department store in college when a famous magician came to the men's dept looking for a fedora. We didn't sell them. I advised him and his people where they might look. If we did have such a hat, I doubt we would have had one large enough. He thought quite highly of himself.
He was one of the few with his "people" around. Most I have met are by themselves and not easily recognized. Upstate NY is off the beaten path mostly. Notables come through, but rarely. By themselves, they are usually regular types. Those with "people" with them never seem to be. Even the "people" seem to be unreachable.

A couple of months ago I met our neighbors grandson. He is a professional model of some note. I had just wanted to meet him as his grandparents are such good friends. He dutifully came over with his grandfather and was introduced to us. We were in the back having a fire. He was summoned to take the kids for ice cream shortly thereafter. He said he'd stop back. About an hour later, he did. All by himself. He sat with my girlfriend and I and talked for a long time. She went to bed and he and I talked and drank around the fire for hours more. What a great guy. He had asked us when we were going to be at camp this fall, because he was going to return with his girlfriend and wanted us to meet her. She is even more renowned than he.

His grandfather texted me last week and said two things: it was going to be in the 80's this weekend with perfect weather and his grandson was coming and bringing his girlfriend. We went to camp and had a great time. His girlfriend was charming and friendly. They had to leave early yesterday and came by to say goodbye. I presented her with a small bouquet of just picked flowers. You could see the genuine look. These two travel the world and go to some of the most lavish parties with celebs and notables. In our small sphere, they can relax and are truly, genuinely, great people.

On a side note, a lesson in life. When you are helping your neighbor take out his dock, you wear your swim suit. When his supermodel grandson is helping, even though you have lost a hundred pounds and have never looked better, when the super model takes his shirt off, you leave yours on.

[BrokenolMarine]

Great story dave. Great story.