Share Your "I Met a Celebrity" Stories!

[The JD]

In 1982, I met Kate Pierson of the B-52s, after first pinching her ass. Here's the back story:

I was at a tiny hole-in-the-wall club, maybe 50 people in the audience, which made the place feel pretty packed. The woman in front of me was wearing this white backless form fitting dress with these small white pom poms all over the dress, each spaced out a few inches from the next pom pom. The guy next to me was pretty excited by the woman in front of me, but wouldn't talk to her. Instead, he kept pointing at her, and yelling at me, "That's tape! That's TAPE!!"

Or so I thought. What he was really yelling, of course, was "That's KATE!" At the time, though, I thought he was trying to tell me this woman's dress was made of tape, so what did I do? I bent down for a closer inspection. It didn't look like tape, and I yelled that back... but he was even more frantic at this point, exaggeratedly pointing at her, and continued to mouth (I thought) "THAT'S TAPE!!"

So I bent back down, my head about 4 inches from her ass (because the club was so dark, you know), and just to be sure, I reached out and carefully pinched one of the pom poms on Kate Pierson's ass. When I stood back up, I informed him, "NO! I think it's COTTON!!" but to no avail. The poor guy was bent over double laughing at what I'd just done.

After the show, I met Kate, and of course realized then what the guy had been trying to tell me. I didn't mention the communication misfire to her, and if she was ever aware I had pinched her ass, she didn't mention that either.

[Kätzchen]

Years ago, back in the late 1990s, I leased my own hair station in a gay friendly sector of my metro area. I shared a station with another practitioner; she worked four days, I worked the other three. It was on one of the days, where we both switched out on the same day (Wednesday) and she was running behind schedule and asked me if I would take on a last minute client of hers, who just happened to be in town. That client turned out to be Cindy Williams of Laverne & Shirley tv fame. She was a very interesting, down to earth person. She shared with all of us, in our close quarters salon that the one reason she loved coming to get her hair done at our salon was because it wasn't a well discovered place for other people of celebrity status to be found. I listened quietly while she conversed with our salon owner, whom she happened to know personally (they grew up together).

Those were the days, back then. I really enjoyed my time at that salon while sharing a station with another hair dresser. Every practitioner in our salon represented a sector across the LGBTQ spectrum. Fond memories I have of those years, spanning the 1990s.

[Orema]

I met Roberto Fonseca (pianist) after a concert. He took a photo with the group I was with and was gracious and kind to us.

I used to run into Ruth Gordon when I lived in NYC in the late 1970s. I saw her at least 3 times walking down the street.

I saw Red Buttons coming out of a restaurant as I was going in.

I saw Mickey Rooney going up the escalator as I was going down one.

I was a client coordinator (i.e., book appts) at a video post production facility in the mid 1980s and used to book chyron editing sessions for Michael Jackson and Tony Bennett. I never saw them because they only came to the studio in the middle of the night.

[homoe]

Mary worked with Wanz the guy and singer wearing the orange suit on Macklemore's "Thrift Shop" video.

When I'd go down to meet Mary after work often times he'd leave before her and he'd walk out first and past me...

[homoe]

when I worked at Video Visions in Milwaukee (this was after she was released from prison).
Lawrencia Ann "Bambi" Bembenek, known as Laurie Bembenek, a former police officer convicted of murdering her husband's ex-wife. Her story garnered national attention after she escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution and was recaptured in Canada, an episode which inspired books, movies and the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run". A re-investigation of the case followed, and in December 1992 a judge reduced Ms. Bembenek’s life sentence to 20 years after she struck a deal with prosecutors in which she pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. She was immediately released for time served.

On November 20, 2010, Bembenek died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon at the age of 52

[JDeere]

I met country singer Doug Supernaw back in the early 90s at Iah aka Bush Airport. We were waiting in line to get through security and I asked for an autograph, received it and talked with him till his turn through security. Good guy just had bad habits and some issues.

Currently hes fighting cancer but in remission. Still plays venues every now and then.

[nhplowboi]

I was passing through Chicago (I assume it was O'Hare) when Oprah and her entourage passed by. I remember she was wearing a big fur coat. I had just been in a shop that had a mag with her photo on the front page. I was looking at the mag in the shop and then looking at her and I was like what the heck. At the time she was such a new celebrity I wasn't even sure how her name was pronounced. I am not an autograph hound but it would be hard to run down a celebrity and ask for an autograph when you can't even say their name.

[A. Spectre]

My wife and I are huge fans of the musical group 'Cowboy Junkies', a band from Canada. We attended a concert in Chicago wherein post concert the lead singer was out and about in the lobby just making conversation with us. My wife was verklempt, the lead singer hugged my wife, my wife hugged her. Margot Timmons asked us to be her guest at the next evening's show. How awesome is that?