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I recently had a chance to visit with some old friends and the subject of famous people we've met came up. It was then that I realized that not only had I met several celebrities throughout my life, but I've actually had incidents that go waaaay beyond the "may I have your autograph?" stage. Not all are very flattering (for me!), but some of them are actually quite humorous, and I thought I would take a few moments to share them with you. Please note, that they are listed in no particular order!
1998:
Glenn Hughes (The Village People)
1981:
Cyndi Lauper
1989:
Malcolm Forbes
1989:
Ric Ocasek (The Cars) & Paulina Porizkova (Supermodel)
2005:
Jon Bon Jovi
1991:
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
1996:
Francis Ford Coppola
2005:
Mike Lupica
2000:
Carol Alt (Supermodel)
1994:
Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac)
1976:
Dick Young
1989:
Patti LaBelle
1984:
Regis Philbin
2001:
Joe & Yancy Butler
1981:
The
Doobie Brothers (John McFee &
Bobby LaKind)
1995:
Joe Canzano ("Joey Vann" of The Duprees) |
My
Brushes With Celebrity
came up to me, asked me to play YMCA by the Village People and told
me to call up Glenn Hughes to lead the audience in the group dancing
segment. I didn't know who Glenn was, so I asked the Groom, who said
that he was one of the original members of the Village People. Well,
dressed in a suit, I would never have recognized Mr. Hughes as the
group's "Biker"
or "Leather
Man." He
was gracious and did the YMCA dance for the cheering crowd and then
returned to his seat. When I got home, I pulled out my old Village
People LP's and saw the pictures. It was indeed Glenn Hughes. About
two years later, I read that he had passed away, after a long battle
with lung cancer.
almost
a "cult"
following around the metrolpolitan area (New
York/New Jersey/Long Island).
Friends of mine were among the band's faithful and after catching
the band at a local club, I too was hooked! I went to see the band on
Thanksgiving eve at Malibu, the legendary New Wave Dance Club in Lido
Beach, Long Island. I was standing by the stage, with my back leaning
against the front of the stage (so
I could take a break from dancing and face the woman I was hanging
out with).
All of a sudden, I was hit in the back of my head and when I turned
around, there was Cyndi, who yelled at me to "get
off my monitor!" For
a woman, she packed quite a punch!
When
I arrived, the restaurant Manager directed me to set up for the
birthday party being held on the main floor. Good for me, because, as
it turned out, there were actually two different parties being held
at the restaurant, with a bridal shower up on the second floor.
Anyway, I was setting up my gear, when an older gentleman entered the
room, came up to me and said "Oh
boy...a DJ! We're gonna have fun tonight!" I
spoke briefly with the man, while I continued setting up, without a
clue to his identity. Well, the guests began arriving and I then
began to recognize the party goer's as the social elite of New York
City. Kitty Carlisle-Hart and former NYC Mayor John Lindsay, were
among the guests in attendance. I then realized the gentleman I spoke
with earlier was none other than billionaire publisher Malcolm
Forbes, who by the way, walked to and from the restaurant--no
limo...no taxi...not even a motorcycle
(as he was well known as a "chopper" enthusiast!).
Imagine....a billionaire, walking alone at night in New York
City...no doubt, a very brave man!
were
at the restaurant for dinner and not attending the party. 
They
were seated by the bar, waiting for their table, when the restaurant
manager, came up to me and said "play
something by The Cars." My
party was in the middle of their dinner, so I was in "background
music"
mode, so the guests could enjoy their meals and not have to fight the
volume of the music to have their conversations heard. So, I decided
to play a Cars song called "Drive,"
which was about the only song the band ever did that was mellow and
could blend into my dinner mix. It was then that Ric Ocasek came over
to me and asked "Did
Marino (the restaurant manager) tell you to play this?"
to which I replied affirmatively. He said, "I'm
glad you picked a song that I'm not singing!" (The vocals were
supplied by the band's drummer, the late Ben Orr). I
told him I knew that. Before long, both Paulina and Ric's son came
over to the DJ booth. Ric's son (who,
at the time, was about 11 or 12 years old),
was interested in my DJ equipment, and I invited him to come behind
the booth to check it out. Paulina also came back for a look. Next
thing you know, Marino got his camera out and Paulina's got my
headphones on, pretending to be the DJ! The pictures hung on the wall
behind the bar for years afterwards. 
Armed
Forces returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Station
had arranged for Jon Bon Jovi, who owns a summer home in the
Hamptons, to appear at a local venue (The
Stephen Talkhouse)
for a private acoustic concert, with all proceeds going to Soldier
Ride. JBJ would also stop by the radio station before the show for an
on-air interview with DJ Lauren Stone. We were all very excited about
JBJ coming to our station and (some
of us)
wanted to 
make
a good impression. I took it upon myself to clean the bathroom,
which was used by everybody at the station. Needless to say, it was a
disgusting mess, as Radio Station personnel (particularly
the Jocks!)
aren't the tidiest of people! So, I donned the rubber gloves and with
a sponge, disinfectant and paper towels in hand, tackled the job. At
one point, I was on all fours, scrubbing the floor, when the Sales
Manager looked in and wondered what the heck I was doing. I told her
I wanted the bathroom to be up to spec for the incoming celeb (just
in case, y'know?).
She thought I was crazy! Anyway, JBJ came by at 6:00 pm, said hello
and was introduced to everybody present, including myself. I shook
his hand and thanked him for performing for the charity. He couldn't
have been nicer! He then went on the air with Lauren. At the
conclusion of the interview (a
great job by Lauren!),
he came out and asked me where the bathroom was! Imagine...Jon Bon
Jovi pissed in the bathroom that I cleaned! It was a proud
moment for me! LOL!
But
this year was different. From the very beginning, there was a buzz
in the air, coming from the crowd in the center of the dance floor.
When the crowd cleared, I saw the reason why....a very tiny woman
with grey hair, who had been the center of attention. It was none
other than Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famous radio & television
personality, who, along with her husband, were Pratt alums. At one
point during the event, Dr. Ruth approached the DJ booth, pointing
her finger directly at me and clapping her hands, exclaiming "you
are very good....very good!" Her
husband, spent the better part of the evening hanging out by the DJ
booth and conversing with me, so as not to get caught in his wife's
star shine! P.S.--after the party was over and the guests had all
left, we were packing up our equipment, when Dr. Ruth and her husband
came back into the ballroom, took all of the floral centerpieces from
the tables, and loaded them into their cab!
as
he was known by his classmates, sat right in front of the DJ booth,
and at one point during the affair, came up to me and made a song
request! Later, the guests passed my wireless microphone around the
room, introduced themselves and updated everyone on what they've been
doing since graduation. When the mic came up to Mr. Coppola, he stood
up and simply said "Hi...my
name is Frank...and I make movies!"
He then handed the mic back to me and sat down in his seat. He seemed
to prefer to be in the background and not the center of attention!
I
was working at a cluster of radio stations on the east end when I
first met Mike. He came by the radio station to plug an upcoming
charity event, the annual Artists vs. Writers Softball Game. A couple
of weeks later he stopped by again to promote another charity
function. I heard a knock at the station's front door at 7:00 am and
was truly surprised when I saw Mr. Lupica standing outside the front
door. I was unaware he was coming by and when I let him in, he
groggily said "Good
Morning"
as he shook my hand and whispered "got
any coffee?" I
told him I didn't, but would be happy to make some for him. I
brought him back to the studio where he was about to go on the air
with the morning DJ, Brian Cosgrove. Before I could ask him how he
took his coffee, the studio door closed and the "on
the air"
light went on. I turned on the coffee maker and went back to work.
After the coffee finished brewing, I checked back several times to
ask him how he would like his coffee, but the studio light never went
off. I didn't dare go inside, nor could I catch his attention
through the window. About half an hour later, Lupica emerged from the
studio and I told him the coffee was ready. He gave me a look and
snarkily said "yeah,
thanks a lot!"
as he took off! It was then Brian told me, during the interview,
Lupica kept asking him "where's
the heck's that guy with the Starbucks?" Starbucks,
indeed!
mobbed
with people looking to return unwanted gifts and pick up post
Christmas bargains. We weren't anticipating such traffic and didn't
have adequate store coverage. Our customers patiently waited their
turn on line, and we did our very best to keep up with the inflow. I
was at the cash register, taking care of a customer, a woman in her
30's (guessing),
who, when I was typing in her customer information into the
computer, realized was supermodel Carol Alt! I told her that I could
have her gift ready for pick-up in 90 minutes. She started yelling "I
don't have 90 minutes! I have to be on a plane in an hour!"
I tried to explain to her that there was other work to be done ahead
of her and that I couldn't guarantee it would be done any sooner than
90 minutes! She wasn't satisfied with my reply and started screaming
at me, "That's
bulls*#t! I was told you'd do it for me right away! Don't you know
who I am?" All
the while she was yelling at me, she was also talking on her cell
phone. "Do
you know who I'm talking to? Do you know who I'm f#@king talking to?
Howard Stern! F#@king Howard Stern" (Ms.
Alt appeared in Stern's bio-pic "Private Parts").
I could actually hear Stern on the cell phone saying "Put
him on the phone, let me talk to him!" By
this point, the other customers on line were starting to get annoyed
by Ms. Alt's tirade. I asked her to please step away from the
register so I could speak to her without holding up the line any
further. I took her aside and told her I would take care of her (ahead
of the others),
if she would just "sit
down and shut up!" Then,
without a word, she sat down, and folded her hands in her lap like a
little school girl. I went in back and completed engraving her gift.
When I brought it out to her, she started cooing "Oh,
you're wonderful....thank you soooo much!"
Truth is, I couldn't wait for her to leave the store!
This
is another retail story. I spent the better part of 14 years working
for a company called Curtains & Home in a variety of positions.
At one point, they went into catalog sales and I worked in their "Customer
Call Center"
processing orders. One afternoon, I received a call from a very nice
woman with a British accent wishing to order a "Celestial
Shower Curtain"
and accessories. During our conversation, I asked her what part of
England she was from and related to her that my older siblings were
born in London. When it came time for me to get her shipping information
(and credit card number!)
I realized that I had been speaking with Christine McVie from the
legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac! She even offered to send me an
autographed picture! How cool was that?
watch
my beloved Mets. I also used to hang around the stadium after the
game to try to get player autographs. It was the last home game of
the season, and my buddy and I had managed to sneak into the Press
Level. We got into the elevator and were soon joined by none other
than the Mets Chairman of the Board, M. Donald Grant and famed Daily
News columnist Dick Young. I got both of them to autograph my
baseball. Somehwere along the way, I must have said something to Mr.
Grant, that prompted Mr. Young to say to me,
"What are you? A f#@king wise-ass?" I
only wish I could remember what I said to Grant! Must have been
pretty good!
Madison
Square Garden, where the "Ringling
Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus"
was going on. The party goer's came directly from the Circus to the
affair. Although the event was filled with celebrities, I was so busy
spinning, the only one I remember seeing come in the room was "The
Mayflower Madame",
Sydney Biddle Barrows! (It
was also the night that I was filmed working the "wheels of
steel" for a story on the event for Entertainment Tonight, but I digress!).
Anyway, that evening, the "National
Adoption Center"
was honoring First Lady, Barbara Bush, and R&B diva, Patti
LaBelle. Mrs. Bush was not in attendance, but Ms. LaBelle was. She
was introduced to receive her award and handed the microphone, which
was hooked up to the house PA system. Within seconds, it was clear
that the audience was unable to hear Ms. LaBelle speak. So I gave a
wireless microphone to one of my DJ's (Otis
Brown),
and told him to go to the front of the stage and hold the microphone
up so Ms. LaBelle could be heard over our sound system. Well, Patti
saw the microphone, said "gimme
that"
and grabbed it from Otis hand. Then she saw Otis, (who
is black, stands around 5'7", is clean shaven and shaped like a
triangle...broad shoulders, tiny waist and muscles upon muscles!)
and said "oooo....you're
cute!"
and she rubbed the top of his bald head! Forget it! Otis was in
another world for the rest of the night, dancing around, singing "she
rubbed my head...she rubbed my head!" Okay,
so I didn't meet Ms. LaBelle face-to-face, but I did play a key role
in the story and I still have that wireless microphone!
was
"Home
Month" with
sales on all home related items. They also featured special
celebrity in-store cooking demonstrations. One day, the celebrity
guest was none other than Regis Philbin. This was before his
celebrity exploded with "Live
with Regis & Kathie Lee."
Anyway, Gimbels on 33rd Street was a really old building and didn't
have an updated air-conditioning system. It was more like
re-circulated air. It was the middle of August and the temperatures
that day were in the mid 90's. So, to say it was warm in the store
was an understatement! So there's Regis and about 100 people in the
crowd, doing a cooking demonstration. I'm just an innocent bystander,
watching the show. Regis was complaining about the heat, while doing
his "schtick"
with
the audience. He saw me standing there (I
guess my name badge & fake flower gave me away!)
and started yelling at me to turn up the air conditioning! Next thing
I knew, we were standing toe-to-toe and he was right in my face,
screaming at me in front of everyone! All I can remember is my right
fist curling up getting ready to punch him in the face! In
retrospect, I wish I had! I would have gotten my 15 minutes of fame,
that's for sure!
I
was hired to perform at a Wedding reception by a Mother of the
Bride, planning the nuptials for her daughter, who lived out of
state. During the course of our 
conversation,
she mentioned to me that her brother was the drummer for the 60's
Folk/Pop group "The
Lovin' Spoonful." I
said "Cool,"
while I quickly grabbed my ever handy copy of
"Billboard Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn." I
flipped to where "The
Lovin' Spoonful's"
top 40 hits (and
the names of the band members)
were listed. I then asked her "is
your brother Joe Butler?"
She was impressed that I knew that (which
I didn't, 'til I looked it up, of course!).
It made working with her extremely easy. She was also quite
specific as to what types of music she wanted played at her
Daughter's Wedding...oldies, oldies and more oldies! Especially songs by
"The Lovin' Spoonfiul"!
At one point during the reception, she requested that I play the
Spoonful's hit song "Summer
In The City"
and dedicate it to her brother Joe. Joe Butler currently is the
lead singer for an updated version of "The
Lovin' Spoonful" (sans
John Sebastian),
performing the classic hits, new Spoonful material and his own new
songs. BTW, Joe's daughter is Yancy Butler, the very hot
actress who starred in TV's "Witchblade"
and
more recently in
"South Beach." Yancy
was a bridesmaid at the wedding!
At
the age of 21, I was working as an Assistant Manager in the
Domestics and Fabric section of T.S.S. Department Store in Elmont,
New York. One Friday evening, the sales girl from the Fabric
Department ran over to me and said "There are these two hippies
at the cutting table who want to buy all of our black
fabric....I think they're on drugs!" I came over to speak
to the two men and asked them how they were paying and what they
wanted that much fabric for. They said they needed it to cover
the speaker bins for the Doobie Brothers concert being held at
Belmont Race Track the following evening. I asked "Do you
work for the Doobies?" The taller guy said "Man, we are
the Doobies!" Skepitcal, I wrote up their order.
They paid in cash and asked me if I was going to the show. I
told them I didn't have tickets. The taller one said "Give
me your name and I'll put you on the guest list." I did
and thanked them for their purchase. As they left the store, I
raced to the Record Department and grabbed a copy of the Doobies most
recent album "One Step Closer". The photgraph on back
cover of the LP listed the group members by name. The two
"hippies" were in fact John McFee and Bobby LaKind, both
members of the band! The following evening, I took my
girlfriend to Belmont Park and went to the "Will Call"
Window. Sure enough, their were two tickets in my name!
Better yet, when the usher took our tickets, he led us to a staircase
on the side of the stage and set up two folding chairs on the stage,
directly behind Michael McDonald! Un-freakin-believable!
playing
the song "You
Belong To Me"
by The Duprees, my sidekick at the gig, Chris (The
Greek)
Kavasilas, told me the Bartender working the affair said to him "Thank
you for playing my song." Assuming
that it was the guy's wedding song, I said "No
problem," as
it's one of my favs! Chris said, "No,
you don't understand....that's HIS song! He said he's the singer on
THAT record!" I
asked him to find out the bartender's name and he told me "Joe
Canzano." I
pulled out the booklet from the CD case and looked inside. Sure
enough, it listed Joe Canzano (a.k.a.
"Joey Vann")
as the lead singer on "You
Belong To Me." I
looked at the picture on the CD and looked at him. Save 30+ years
and a couple of pounds and he hadn't changed a bit! He came over to
the DJ booth and we chatted for a moment or two. I then asked
him to autograph the cover of the CD for me. When I got home, I
took a look in my Whitburn book, which said that "Joey
Vann" had
died (mysteriously)
in 1984, eleven years before
this encounter!
(CUE: Theme from "The Twilight Zone" playing in the
background) .