Had a brush with Hollywood?

[Jovan]

I forget which Clint Eastwood movie, possibly Firefox, but my sister is in the final scene. She's an extra in the crowd, but in one take as Eastwood walked through the crowd, he accidently brushed her stomach with his arm. She was almost nine months pregnant so he turned and asked her if she was okay.

My Chrysler is everywhere in the background of Robbenberry on Patrol, you can see most of my left side in one scene, and my name is in the end credits twice. It's the only time my car ever put money in my pocket! lol

Here I am with Tim Russ. He directed, played the Red Shirt Bandit and personally approved my car for the film. ("It's ideal", he said when he saw a picture of it.)

Lee

You LUCKY ba***rd. Tim Russ is one of the coolest, most down to earth Trek actors ever. I'd die for a chance to meet him. Congrats on your cameo.

 

[deadpandiva]

When I lived in LA they filmed movies, commercials and TV shows on blck all the time. It was one of the few blocks without palm trees and it had a lot of old buildings so they used it for alot of the NewYork shows. I have seen at least two commercials filmed there since I have moved back to Minnesota.

 

[TessTrueheart]

I was an extra once, in a Swedish tv-series. I played a police officer and felt very sassy in my uniform. Unfortunatley, it was such a boring series I couldn't even be bothered watching the whole thing, so I don't know if you actually see me....:eusa_doh:

 

[LizzieMaine]

A number of movies have been shot around here over the past fifteen years or so -- the most prominent of which was "In The Bedroom," shot almost entirely here in Rockland, and featuring a number of locals in bit parts (the prosecutor guy whose giant talking lips fill the screen in one scene was actually the police chief in a nearby town, and an uncured ham actor from our local community theatre troupe.)

My own brush with Hollywood types was usually the result of my work in the local media. Back in the early 90s, Mel Gibson came to town to film "Man Without A Face," and cut a broad swath thru the area with his entourage. He also managed to enrage tough local fishermen by insisting they remove their boats from the harbor so he could film a particular scene, and a number of them showed up at a selectmen's meeting, where they told him exactly where to get off. I personally had some sharp words for his publicist, when he scheduled his post-filming press conference at a time and place where none of we local reporters would be able to attend. Self absorbed bum.

More recently, I had the privilege of spending some time with Star Trek personality Jonathan Frakes, who appeared as our guest of honor at the Strand for a revival showing of "First Contact" in 2006. He was -- and is -- a swell guy. And also a big one -- I am not especially short, but I looked like a pygmy standing next to him.

 

[The Wingnut]

I had a stint as a starving actor in '05 after losing my job. The bills got paid in part courtesy of the History Channel. Here's my IMDB profile. It's a bit inaccurate as I did another episode after returning from training with the USAF, and a documentary on Amelia Earhart with the National Geographic Channel.

I've met Cliff Robertson, too. I've got a picture buried somewhere of me in AAF service dress shaking his hand.

 

[citRon]

...Have met- Brook Shields, Woody Harellson, Teri Hatcher, Dixie Carter, George Strait, Steve Guttenberg, Trisha Yearwood, David Lee Murphy, Dwight Yoakam, Terri Clark, Jon Bon Jovi

...close enough to slap- Al Pacino, Bruce Springsteen, Martina McBride, CottonTop (shoulda took that opportunity lol)

 

[ortega76]

Like a lot of Chicagoans, I got to be an extra in "Road To Perdition".

I've met Alice Cooper, Robin Wilson (from the Gin Blossoms), tons of comic book authors and writers (my favorite memory EVER was meeting Marvel legend Stan Lee).

 

[Ryan]

The Maytag guy, Gordon Jump. He also played the boss in WKRP. They filmed a Maytag TV commercial in the building next to my house. They needed more light and wanted to use my driveway/backyard for lighting equipment. At first I wasnt going to charge them but the site manager was very rude, demanding and real b*tch so I made up a price that set off a frenzy. Before the shoot, Gordon sent someone over to invite me to his bus size RV. He said they were all talking about me and he wanted to meet me. When I walked onto the bus, he laughed and said he liked my style. He was a nice person, humble and down to earth.

 

[Jovan]

My own brush with Hollywood types was usually the result of my work in the local media. Back in the early 90s, Mel Gibson came to town to film "Man Without A Face," and cut a broad swath thru the area with his entourage. He also managed to enrage tough local fishermen by insisting they remove their boats from the harbor so he could film a particular scene, and a number of them showed up at a selectmen's meeting, where they told him exactly where to get off. I personally had some sharp words for his publicist, when he scheduled his post-filming press conference at a time and place where none of we local reporters would be able to attend. Self absorbed bum.

Your last three words describe him as to the point as possible. Intolerant or bigoted would also apply.

More recently, I had the privilege of spending some time with Star Trek personality Jonathan Frakes, who appeared as our guest of honor at the Strand for a revival showing of "First Contact" in 2006. He was -- and is -- a swell guy. And also a big one -- I am not especially short, but I looked like a pygmy standing next to him.

Everyone is meeting Trek personalities but me.

 

[Miss Crisplock]

Yesterday I met Tanya Lemani, the bellydancer that did an episode of Star Trek. Does that count?

 

[KY Gentleman]

Absolutely! :eusa_clap

 

[Jovan]

Yesterday I met Tanya Lemani, the bellydancer that did an episode of Star Trek. Does that count?

Six degrees of separation.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Everyone is meeting Trek personalities but me.

Sorry to do this to you, Jovan, but . . . at the same filming I also met Robert Beltran and Robert Picardo. Picardo is as kind and funny as anyone can be.

I've also met: Jay Leno five times (Great tour!); Kathleen Turner; Maclovio Perez, a local weatherman; Lindsey Wagner at a Ford show; and I've delivered flooring to Louis Anderson, a bed to the grandson of Cecil B. Demille, and a bookcase to Johnny Bench.


Lee

 

[skyvue]

I moved to NYC as an actor nearly 25 years ago, but the only movie I managed to work in was VAMPIRE'S KISS (1989), starring Nicolas Cage, and in that, I was just an extra.

One of my great regrets is that I didn't, on the day that I arrived in New York City , begin to keep a journal -- or, at the very least, a simple list -- of the famous people I met or encountered along the way.

I mean, imagine you had an uncle or friend who'd lived in Los Angeles in the 1930s and '40s (perhaps some of you do) and had kept some basic notes about his encounters with the stars of the day -- that he'd served drinks to Humphrey Bogart, that he'd met Myrna Loy at a party, that he'd spotted Jimmy Stewart at Chasen's.

Wouldn't that be cool?

Well, I never started my journal -- it didn't even occur to me to do so till I'd lived here a number of years -- but this thread gave me the chance to wrack my brain and compile an (admittedly incomplete) list.

Among the people I served over my years working as a waiter and bartender at various restaurants are John Cusack, John Goodman, Evel Kneivel, Richard Lewis, Liza Minnelli, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray (once with his brother Brian, once with Dan Ackroyd and Ahmad Rashad), Randy Newman, Lori Petty, Sam Shepherd, Jerry Springer, Tanya Tucker, Margaret Whiting, and Esther Williams. Oh, and James Doohan from STAR TREK (sorry, Jovan).

Among the writers and performers I've interviewed over the years are Michael Crichton, Don Knotts, Annie Leibovitz, Jerry Mathers, Frank McCourt, Michael Palin, Ann Rice, and John Updike.

And this next long list comprises people that I encountered either on the street, in a restaurant (whether I was working or dining), or at various events around town. I was within a few feet of every person on this lengthy list, and I've placed an asterisk by the names of the people I actually had an encounter with (and about whom I have an at least semi-interesting tale to tell -- if anyone cares to hear a specific story, just ask):

Muhammed Ali*, Tim Allen, Woody Allen*, Tori Amos, Laurie Anderson, Dana Andrews*, Baby Peggy, Lauren Bacall, Kevin Bacon, Chet Baker*, Bob Balaban, Alex Baldwin*, Kim Basinger, Sandra Bernhard, Corbin Bernsen*, Eric Bogosian, Edie Brickell*, Conrad Brooks (Ed Wood associate and actor)*, Blair Brown, Jackson Browne*, Art Buchwald, Steve Buscemi*, David Byrne*, Cab Calloway*, Kitty Carlyle*, Keith Carradine, Rosanne Cash*, Kim Cattrall, Harry Chapin, Julia Child, Patricia Clarkson, Stephen Colbert, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Bob Costas*, Elvis Costello, Cindy Crawford, James Cromwell, Hume Cronyn, Harry Crosby (Bing's son)*, Claire Danes, Tony Danza, Ann B. Davis*, Miles Davis, Robert De Niro, Frances Dee, Matt Dillon, Vincent D'Onofrio, Richard Dreyfus, Griffin Dunne, Aaron Eckhart, Brian Eno, Nanette Fabray, Donald Fagen, Edie Falco, Al Franken, Jeff Garlin (CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM), Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, Richard Gere, Paul Giamatti, Ira Glass, Phillip Glass, Jackie Gleason, Gilbert Gottfried, Adrian Grenier, Farley Granger, Spaulding Gray, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Wayne Gretsky, Joel Grey, Darryl Hannah*, Mary Hart*, Ethan Hawke, Mariel Hemingway, Buck Henry, Keith Hernandez, Gregory Hines, Judd Hirsch*, Dustin Hoffman*, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Lena Horne, Eric Idle, Michael Imperioli (Christophuh on THE SOPRANOS), Joe Jackson, Phil Jackson*, Kristen Johnston, Cherry Jones, Rickie Lee Jones*, Michael Jordan*, Garrison Keillor, Nicole Kidman, Cedric Klapisch, Tony Kushner, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Cyndi Lauper, Fran Lebovitz*, Patrice Leconte*, David Letterman, Al "Grandpa" Lewis, Daniel Day Lewis, Jerry Lewis*, Gina Lollabrigida, Lyle Lovett, Sydney Lumet, William H. Macy, Mickey Mantle*, Frances McDormand (at a vintage clothing show!), Juliana Margolies, Steve Martin, Arthur Marx (Groucho's son)*, Paul McCartney*, Anne Meara, Meatloaf, Mark Messier, Sylvia Miles, Helen Mirren, Katherine Moennig (Shane on THE L WORD), Dickie Moore*, Julianne Moore, Roger Moore, Tracy Morgan, Jaime Murray (the Brit femme fatale on DEXTER), Stan Musial, Liam Neeson, Paul Newman, Mike Nichols, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, Tatum O'Neal, Conan O'Brien, Ric Ocasek, Robert Osborne, Haley Joel Osment, Al Pacino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jason Patric, Will Patton, Les Paul*, Luciano Pavarotti*, Itzhak Perlman, David Hyde Pierce, Oliver Platt, George Plimpton*, Parker Posey, Richard Pryor, Aiden Quinn, Kenny Rankin*, Lou Reed, Debbie Reynolds*, Keith Richards, Andy Richter, Tim Robbins, Julia Roberts, Al Roker, Sonny Rollins*, Issabella Rossellini*, Andre Royo (Bubbles on THE WIRE), Winona Ryder, David Sanborn*, Diane Sawyer, Fred Schneider (B52's)*, Martin Scorsese, Amy Sedaris, Paul Shaffer*, John Schuck, George Segal, Jerry Seinfeld*, Molly Shannon, John Shea, Adrienne Shelly*, Brooke Shields, Russell Simmons, OJ Simpson*, John Slattery (MAD MEN), Patti Smith, Tom Snyder*, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Steenburgen, David Steinberg*, Jon Stewart, Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Michael Stipe*, Eric Stolz, Tom Stoppard, Meryl Streep, Gloria Stuart*, Sandy Sturges (Preston's widow)*, Donald Sutherland, Lili Taylor*, Richard "John Boy" Thomas, Uma Thurman*, Laura Tierney, Marisa Tomei*, Peter Tork*, Calvin Trillin, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro, Liv Tyler, Mike Tyson*, Steven Van Zandt, Abe Vigoda, Sela Ward*, Ruth Warrick, John Waters, Sam Waterston, Richard Widmark, Fred Willard, Rainn Wilson*, Stevie Wonder, Elijah Wood, Fay Wray*, Steven Wright, Michael York, and Billy Zane.

That's not a complete list, but it's a good start.

 

[RetroBabydoll]

My boyfriend is a grip on different shows, movies, and commercials. I like when they have a wrap party for a show and he's able to bring me along to meet different people. The last wrap party was for a show called "October Road."

 

[Jovan]

I will say the only brush with Hollywood I've had is a literal one. As in brushing against the person's arm after a Broadway show asking for an autograph on my Playbill. Me and my fellow drama students back in high school all went to see "Hairspray" with Harvey Fierstein in the role of the mother. One of us in our group had lost his voice for some reason (probably due in part the cooold weather in January). He gave him a suspicious look when he asked for his autograph... we determined Fierstein probably thought he was trying to imitate his voice. lol

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I was an animator on "A Scanner Darkly", made in Austin, TX.

I met Charles Schultz at an art opening of fine art based on the Peanuts.

The premier of Apollo 13 was here in Houston and I do contract work for Space Center Houston designing exhibits and met Gary Sinise and Bill Paxton.

I met Shirley MacLaine at the grocery store.

In college I was on the committee to book entertainment for concerts and such, and as a result met pretty much every famous band from the 80's (rock and country). We also booked Jay Leno to MC a talent show and he invited us to the Hilton for drinks at the bar that night. A very nice guy.

In high school I met Dawn Wells when she was performing in a traveling play (All American Girl? maybe).

Oh, and I met all the Disney Princesses last summer at Disneyland with my daughter. They were all extremely nice, not a diva in the bunch.

 

[BeBopBaby]

Mr. Rogers lived in my town and he used to grocery shop at the store by my husband's old apartment.

Penn Gillette told me that he could eat off the top of my head.

I once grabbed Tony Curtis to get my picture taken with him.

I was introduced to John Waters and totally blanked out and turned into a bumbling idiot in front of him. I was so mortified over my behavior that I started to walk away, but he stopped me.

Does Arch Hall Jr. count?

Butch Patrick once hit on me at a car show because I told him I was a big fan of The Munsters. He was creepy, I got far away.

 

[mrswheats]

I met Bruce Campbell at his book signing, which was fun.
When I was living in Athens, Ohio, I met Jorma Kaukonen (from Jefferson Airplane) a couple of times.

If I hadn't been to lazy to make the trip downtown on my day off, I could have checked out the filiming they were doing for Spiderman 3 (downtown Cleveland, Ohio is chocked full of orginal architecture, which is why movies like "A Christmas Story" were filmed here).

My husband got to meet Tony Iommi (from Black Sabbath).

 

[Big Man]

Several of the scenes from "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed within five miles from my house. During the filming of the fort battle, I worked with local Emergency Management to establish fire suppression and medical evacuation in the event of an accident. The movie making was an interesting process to observe.