I mentioned last week that I checked out Wynonna Judd’s autobiography from the library and that I really want for Sister to introduce us so that we can go ahead and start our journey down the inevitable road of being Best Friends Forever. Well, last night I was reading her take on meeting famous people: Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Tammy Wynette, etc. – and I started to think about my own encounters with the Rich and Famous. Mine is such a lame list. But I’ll share.
1. Meeting Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. backstage at a concert in Meridian.
2. Meeting Lee Greenwood outside the Temple Theatre in Meridian. This was when “God Bless The USA” had only been played about a thousand times, as opposed to the 16 bajillion times (and that is an actual number) that it’s been played since.
3. Seeing Amy Grant at the former Sunflower grocery store on Highway 100 in Nashville.
4. Seeing Amy Grant just two nights later at the James Taylor concert in Nashville (maybe Amy and I are also meant to be BFF, though I’ll have to watch my back for Stacey D. if that happens, and only those of you who went to college with me will get that).
5. Seeing TG Sheppard (is your heart pulsing with excitement?) in a restaurant in Gatlinburg.
6. This is a long one. When we were juniors in college, Merritt, Tracey, Katy and I went to Washington, DC for spring break because isn’t it the nation’s #1 spring break destination? OH, we had the best time. We went EVERYWHERE, much to Merritt’s (not really) delight. Anyway, when we were leaving our White House tour, which was kind of special because a sorority sister’s daddy was in the Secret Service and hooked us up, we saw a limo pull out of the gates, and we did what most 20 year old girls would do: we chased it. Much to our surprise, it stopped. The window rolled down. The first thing we saw was a dog. The second thing we saw was Bob Dole, who was MOST kind. And we were so flustered that we really didn’t know what to say, so eloquent me spoke up and said, “So. Are you off to do? Some important things?” But isn’t that sweet, y’all? At the time he was the most powerful man in the Senate, and he stopped to talk with some college girls from Mississippi. Love that memory.
7. Meeting Emily from the Indigo Girls after their concert at State. I tried to talk to her about the lyrics from “Ghost,” and oh it’s all just so unbelievably awkward that even 15 years later I don’t like thinking about it.
8. Meeting Chris Parnell after a Groundlings show in LA. This was in his pre-SNL days, and since he was from Memphis, and I was from Mississippi, I wanted to let him know how well he represented the South. He was very nice. That very same night I saw Mike from “Real World: Miami,” but we won’t count that one.
9. Seeing Ivana Trump outside of a restaurant in NYC. My brother stuck his entire body out of the car (we were about to leave the restaurant) and did one of those Jethro Clampett cat-call whistles so that she would look our way. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard. In fact, I know I haven’t.
10. Meeting Point of Grace, Chris Tomlin, and Louie Giglio through stuff at church. Y’all have heard all about that. And I know they’re not famous to all, but they’re famous to me, so there.
So – what are some of your encounters with famous folks? And Sister, you have a DECIDED advantage in this area, so maybe you’ll just want to give us your top 5 or so – because I don’t think Blogger can handle your list. :-)
Tell it all in the comments.
LM, I have always wanted to go to the Viking cooking school. Merritt, I loved Northern Exposure, though JC is much cuter now than he was then. And you’re right: Sister’s job is RIGHT up your alley.
So, um, riveting information in the comments so far. Good work. :-)
Hey Boo!! Honestly, I am quite unimpressed with my Famous List. I remember when Randy Owen from Alabama bought me ice-cream in an airport. I rode up an elevator with Jack Black in NY recently. Former Miss America Heather Whitestone came to Tupelo last year for a church event and we spent a lot of time together. I followed Donald Trump and then wife Marla around NY for about an hour at the Macy’s parade years ago!! You know that all my old aspirations of acting (ha ha) have prevented me from meeting anyone significant. The Sweet Lord knows I would just jump in their suitcase. Ha Ha I’ll return if I think of any others. Oooh! I just remember. Molly and I had our picture made with Matthew Broderick and Brad Garrett!! That was fun!! I met Brook Shields and Kathy Ireland at the Stars over Amory about 2 years ago.!! Whew Whew!!
Too funny! Have i even met anyone famous? I don’t know. I do know all of NEWSONG, only because I’m related though. See, that seems so sad. Poor me. I need to go on a little hunt for famous people. I’ll let you know if I meet with success. ;D
Faith – NEWSONG counts for about 10. So see? You’re doing really well. :-) And EK – I do not know about this Jack Black incident. Did you speak to him? Did you know who he was? Or did Molly have to tell you?
Oh, goody. Let’ see now. As you know, if there’s anyone who longs to meet a celebrity, it’s me. My meetings (or they may actually be classified as stalkings) are as follows:
1. I was with you for the Bob Dole incident. I think you were the only one who knew who he was. We just saw the limo and knew he was someone important.
2. In 1996 Chris O’Donnell and cast were in the area filming “The Chamber”. After two unsuccessful attempts to see him, I finally coaxed T. Riels into accompanying me and Will (aged 3 months at the time!!) to wait for him outside the Extended Stay Suites until he came out of his room, which turned out to be about 2 hours. We literally sat on a bench and made friends with his driver and waited. When he came out, he walked past us and all I could utter was “Hi.” He waved and said “How are you?” and got in the car. Poor baby Will was starving to death b/c of his crazy mother.
3. In 1999 George Clooney and cast were in the area filming “O Brother Where Art Thou?”. Once again, I dragged my children out(now there were 2 of them, aged 3 and 1) in the hot Mississippi summer to the Square in Canton where they were filming. They finally cut the scene and George (I call him just George) came walking up to the area where I was waiting ,with his entourrage behind him. Several people closer to him than I was asked for autographs and pictures so by the time he got to me his entourrage said, “I’m sorry but Mr.Clooney can’t sign any more autographs now, etc. He has to go.” So in a last ditch effort, I screamed out, “Please, can you just say hello to my baby?!” He turned around, looked at baby Molly and said “Aw, she’s so cute!”
Well, she is cute. He needed to see her. I was just making sure he did. Anyway, that’s it. But I’m not giving up – we’re going to New York in May and maybe I’ll strike gold on that trip!
This list is SOOOO random!!!
Emily Proctor shops at our store whenever she is in town. I know she’s not a huge star but most of you will remember her from the West Wing…the fiery little blond they kept in the basement! She’s really nice and so down to earth. She’s on CSI Miami now, which doesn’t do a thing for me.
Paulina Porizkova is a friend of a client of mine and I got to meet her once at their house….she’s literally about a foot taller than me, but I think the extra foot “ate up” her personality!
Got to meet Bette Midler backstage after her concert here.
Merritt – I literally had to cover my mouth when I was reading your comment so my laugh wouldn’t wake up Alex, who is asleep beside me on the couch. OH you and the celebrities. Didn’t you see Julia Roberts at a make-up counter when you were in NYC? Did I make up that story? Or am I confusing you with Janie on that one?
Bubba – I think Emily Proctor is ADORABLE. Cute Southern girl. I saw a photo spread of her house in People / In Touch / In Style, maybe? Had no idea about your Paulina or Bette incidents…but I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. Wait. Was the Bette meeting the time Mark referred to her dress as the most beautiful “curried cinnamon” color he’d ever seen? Because that’s one of my favorite lines EVER.
Boo – me and the Julia Roberts thing goes like this: The first time I was in NY with girlfriends, one of them said we HAD to go to ABC Carpet and Tile. Not knowing what in the world it was and thinking it must be something like GCO, I politely said “no thank you.” Well, she went and saw Julia Roberts there in the elevator. So next trip to NY I went to ABC and it is GREAT. But I didn’t see Julia there that time. However, I think ABC is where that scene from S&TC when Charlotte and Trey are looking at new beds and Bunny joins them – was filmed. Remember? It’s got beautiful stuff.
Yes, I do believe it is where Bunny told Charlotte that “you simply haaaave to have a bedskirt – you can’t not have a bedskirt, Charlotte – it’s unsightly.” And then Bunny sat on that very firm mattress and said, “Oh, it’s sublime.” :-)
Yes, and as they all three lay on the bed with Trey in between his mother and Charlotte, he looked up, closed his eyes, and said “Now THIS is heaven!” A sure sign that the future was not too bright for Trey and Charlotte!!!
First of all, Merritt — you put a smile on my face!!!
No, I did not know Jack Black’s name but recognized him from that movie he was in with Bruce Willis and the King Kong commercials. I said hello and he did also –pretty uneventful. He was with a girl that wasn’t too cute — my personal opininion!
1) When I was at State, I went to hear John Grisham give a talk in the classroom of one of my English professors. This was after A Time To Kill had been published but before The Firm had come out. So, basically nobody knew who he was. I knew who he was because I grew up my early years in his hometown of Southaven and had been church friends with his sister Wendi. So, basically, I was going to hear Wendi’s brother talk (I had stumbled across A Time To Kill in the Bookmart in downtown Starkville a few months earlier and thought it was neat that Wendi’s brother had written a book–that signed copy is about the only thing I own of any monetary value). Anyhoo, there were literally about 15 people at the “talk.” It was very intimate, and he told us about how his new book (The Firm) had been optioned as a screenplay; he VERY sarcastically and jokingly said, “Yeah, they’ll probably cast Tom Cruise in the lead.” Anyway, the whole thing really just became kind of a discussion group. Pretty neat in retrospect.
2) Was flying out of the Atlanta airport about 3 years ago and ended up in the bathroom with Laurie Smith from Trading Spaces. She and I were washing our hands and doing the make-up thing at the same time and chatted casually. I’m pretty sure we talked about how hot it was (which BooMama can confirm is a favorite topic of mine). Problem is…I didn’t even know who she was (not really a fan of design shows, sue me) until a hoard of women “de-planed” and rushed the bathroom. Most of them recognized her right away and the poor woman was seized upon, especially by this one little girl and an old gray-haired lady.
3) In 1998, I went to the media grand opening of Animal Kingdom at DisneyWorld for the publishing company I worked for. It was pretty cool, and I had some close encounters with Sidney Poitier, Jane Goodall, Drew Carey, Michael J. Fox & Michael Eisner. I actually started following Michael Eisner very closely at one point just because he had such a ridiculous number of people in his entourage. I stalked him for a while and then was asked by one of his people to “please step away” (My mom was there with me, and she says, “Actually, they rushed at you and told you to GO AWAY!)
4)This is my favorite.
Went to Arlington, Texas, for a media trip about five years ago (I think). Very boring except that on the second night there, we were supporsed to go to watch a Texas Rangers baseball game from one of the super-nice boxes. About mid-morning on that day, I decided to go to the Arlington mall…also boring. I called the hotel and asked them if a hotel shuttle could come and pick me up. They said one was already on the way to pick up another hotel guest. So, I waited. After a few minutes, an EXTREMELY large man in what I can only describe as “velveteen” slippers came out of the mall; there was a smaller man fussing over him and basically kissing his butt. I recognized the large man as Jose Canseco right away (the Rangers were playing the Devil Rays that night, and Jose was playing for the Devil Rays at the time); he was the other hotel guest waiting for the shuttle. Jose was not friendly and was a real snot to the other guy, who I can only guess was his agent.
The shuttle came in just a few minutes, and Jose, the agent and I were the only passengers. Jose had previously played for the Rangers, so he knew the area very well. He knew exactly where he wanted to go…and it wasn’t back to the hotel. He told the driver to take him to the “massage parlor” about two miles away. We pulled up to the “massage parlor,” and Jose got out, stuck his head in the door, talked to what I can only guess was one of the “massage therapists” for about 5 minutes (no doubt “negotiating” the massage “details”), called for his agent to come on in, and then yelled to the driver to be back to pick them up in 15 minutes (!?!) and to not be late. All the while, I sat quietly in the shuttle with my mouth agape.
I was a party to dropping off Jose Canseco at his favorite “quick stop.” At the game that night, Jose hit a home run.
I think it’s telling about my personality that I recognized Jose Canseco but not Laurie Smith!!
OH my word – you’ve never told me the Jose story before. Oh my word. There is so much in that comment that I want to address but I won’t because I’m a curious person by nature and I feel in my quest to know every single detail I would say or ask something inappropriate. :-)
You reminded me of one I forgot. I too saw John Grisham on that same tour through campus. We had an English department symposium with him in this little meeting room in The Union – there were MAYBE 25 people there? It was RIGHT before he hit it big, and he was so laid-back and personable (out in Left Field Lounge that night, if I recall). I remember when you bought “A Time To Kill” and mentioned that an old friend’s brother wrote the book, and I thought that was neat and all but had no idea who he was.
Which also reminds me – Emma Kate, you and I saw John Grisham one time, too! Don’t you remember? We were in Square Books in Oxford (when we went up for Akins’ mama’s funeral), and we ran smack into him at the checkout, and we spoke to him and you said, “Oh, I bet you know my uncle…he’s from Amory and I believe y’all were in law school at the same time…” and you basically gave him a brief history of the Creekmore clan. He couldn’t have been any nicer.
Ok, I forgot…I have seen Laurie Smith, too. It was when Trading Spaces first came out, and I was one of the only people I knew watching it. So I saw her at Jason’s Deli one Sunday for lunch and Spence knew how much I loved her and made me speak to her. I told her how much I loved the show and thought she was very talented. She couldn’t have been nicer and I have since seen her around town several times (she lives here). But I don’t speak to her every time I see her b/c I’m sure she doesn’t remember me.
Once while in Vegas, I spotted the cutest Yorkshire Terrier inside the hotel where I was staying. I spoke to the puppy and crouched down to pet him. Without looking up, I had a brief conversation with the person holding the puppy’s leash, only noticing that she was wearing very high heels and a fur coat. After getting my “puppy fix”, I stood up and discovered that holding the leash was none other than Miss Liza Minnelli. I’m pretty sure this was before her stint in rehab. It’s a wonder she didn’t slap me.
On the same trip to Vegas, I was waiting for an elevator when a nice black man in a white suit came up and stood beside me. When the elevator arrived, he motioned for me to enter first. When I said, “Thank you,” I noticed that it was Smokey Robinson. There were 3 girls already in the elevator car and one of them said, “Oh! You’re…uh, um, he’s…Sm-, uh, oh, uh.” I looked at Smokey and started giggling. Smokey started giggling. When the elevator stopped at his floor, he stepped out, did a “Motown turn” and said, “Yeah, I am!” and the elevator doors closed. The 3 girls screamed.
I was at a party and Mickey Mantle stopped by (I don’t remember why). Bigger than life, nice as could be, cute as a bug, and a big ol’ flirt! God Rest His Soul.
The Cast of “Driving Miss Daisy”. I was fortunate to visit the set the day they were filming the scene where Hoke and Miss Daisy are getting ready for their trip to Mobile. In addition to meeting the cast, I went all through the house, room by room, not knowing how the they all were being used for the movie scenes. Very memorable day.
And, since Mary Winkler is in the news for shooting her minister husband, I’ll point out that all of that drama is taking place in McNairy County, Tennessee which is home of the late “Walking Tall” Sheriff, Buford Pusser. I met the famous sheriff twice, sans ax handle, both times in Meridian, back in the early 70’s just prior to his untimely death. The movie was HUGE, as was he, and at the time he was a living legend. And I have no idea why he was in Meridian.
And, P.S., speaking of larger than life… I recently met cutie-pie John Corbett, a.k.a. Adian from “Sex and the City”. :)
Have yall forgotten about seeing Andre Aggasi at MSU when he was dating Amy Moss?
OK…thanks to Sister I have a few. Sister hooked me up with a cool job at Opryland so I got to really hang with the stars. My favorite was meeting Richard Marx and Kenny Loggins at a benefit that I helped organize for Cystic Fibrosis. I got to walk, with security, up to their rooms after they checked in. I gave Richard all of my contact info and he said, “I am low maintenance, if no maintenance at all.” Then there are others thru O’land…Kenny Chesney, SheDaisy, Keith Urban, Vince, Amy, Clint Black and Lisa, Charley Pride (loved him), I drove Little Jimmy Dickens in a golf cart in the back hallway to go make an appearance at something. I set Charles Barkley up on an interview with ESPN in the Delta Ballroon lobby. OH! I almost forgot! Charlton Heston came for an NRA rally that I was in charge of. It was pretty cool to hang with Moses himself! We was very, very nice. On the way out to my car that night I almost got run over by Dick Chaney’s motorcade.
So O’land may be to easy (there are probably more that I have forgotten about), so here are some more. My mother and I went to New England summer of 96 and all I wanted to do was go hear the Boston Pops. I thought that the conductor, Keith Lockhart was pretty hot too. So we went and they were awsome as expected. On the way out mother said to me, “wanna go meet that conductor?” “NO MOTHER!” Before I knew it she was talking her way thru the stage door to tell him that she was Margaret McLaurin from Hollandale, MS and that she just wanted to say HI and that she enjoyed the concert! This is also the same woman who, while in Memphis on a weekend away from the W, met Elvis at Graceland and got a grand tour of the mansion by the King himself. THEN had a Coke Cola with him out by the pool. I, on the other hand, shopped with Lisa Marie in New Orleans while Chris followed Nick Cage and his body guards down the street. We were down there about 4 years ago for Martha Scotts wedding and just happened to run into them. She is about 4 feet tall.
BUT, my all time fav is when George H. W. Bush was running for re-election and he made a stop in Greenville. I was standing along the clap line and he came our way and I shook his hand and said, “Mr. President, I love you!” And he looked me in the face and said “Thank you so much”. YALL, my picture was on the front page of the Clarion Ledger the next morning!!!!!
Goodness Goodness, this topic is so much fun. Well, I most certainly do remember running into John Grisham. And you know Boo that Sam and Warner did ALL the landscaping for his Oxford home and his home in — can’t remember — long way off.
Also, when Brad was getting his pilot’s license about 2 or 3 years ago, he went to Memphis for a weekend cram session and was in class with Morgan Freeman. He and Morgan — he said they were on a first name basis — ate lunch twice with one other guy. They talked planes the entire time. Brad did ask him what his favorite movie making experience was and he said “Driving Miss Daisy.” He invited Brad to join him at his restaurant in — can’t remember. Shocking — isn’t it!! I can’t remember anything these days.
How did I not know ANY of these stories? Sister, I promise you’ve never told me the Liza / Smokey stuff. And Aidan is dreamy. LM, I had no idea that you spoke to the PRESIDENT (nor that your sweet mama met Elvis), and EK, you have never told me about Brad and Morgan Freeman. His restaurant is supposed to be WONDERFUL…LM, have you ever been? I had forgotten about Andre Agassi being at State for those few weeks…he had that white Porsche and would wait outside the Hand building to pick Amy up from her 11 o’clock MWF class. And I would SWOON because he was so cool with that long hair and all. :-)
I would like to hear more details about John Corbett, please. Is he tall in real life? Because they all look tall on TV then turn out to be shorter than I am – depressing.
John Corbett is all that and then some. ;) Very tall, nice build, and personable…much like the character he played on S&TC. Very nice guy. Merritt, you wouldn’t be depressed or disappointed. :)
“All that and then some” – OH MY. That’s some high praise right there…I can’t wait to hear Merritt’s reaction.
By the way, D and I keep laughing really hard because I keep randomly saying, “I would like to hear more details about John Corbett, please.”
Merritt, you crack me up. One of a kind, you are.
The resturant that Morgan Freeman has is Madeni’s (I may have misspelled it). I have not been but it is TOP on my list of things to do ASAP. He also has a blues bar called Ground Zero and Boo, your best friend, Wynonna, was here for the grand opening.
I almost finished Wynonna’s book last night – and based on the last three chapters, we really are BFF. I was concerned after her last Oprah appearance that she couldn’t see how her mother was manipulating her, almost talking down to her, but I know from my reading that she DOES get it, and I feel much better now. I want to go to Madeni’s and stay at The Alluvian – that would be my perfect anniversary weekend.
I’ve been to the Alluvian and I HIGHLY recommend it. Just trying to tie all these posts together now…let’s see: Rachael Ray went to Madeni’s and Ground Zero on TV the other day, and OOHH, did they look good. I think we need to all get together and go have an eating party in the Delta!
Now, one more thing. Spence felt the need to tell me (at 5:40am, no less) that he had just had a dream b/c of this post. All of the famous people were on his mind, and he dreamed that Bill Clinton knocked on our door, came in and talked for a few hours. Apparently he was in the Metro area trying to raise money for the Miss.Extension Service. So, that’s Spence’s contribution. A dream visit with a celebrity.
Merritt, THAT is a nightmare!!!!!
Yall come on up to the Delta! We will take an eating, sleeping tour of the “holy land”. OH! and let’s not forget about the spa and the Viking cooking school too.
Sister, why don’t you just hook me up with John Corbett and let me see for myself if he’s “all that and then some”. I could be your secretary, personal assistant, or watergirl, whatever you needed. I don’t know much about your job, but from what I can gather, it’s right up my alley. Any openings? Does anyone remember him from Northern Exposure? Seems he’s always playing the hippy type.
Daphne, oh my gosh, that is so funny! I wish I had heard you tell that story at Soph’s house. Next time we see each other, I have got to hear you tell it (the one about Jose, of course).
Merritt, sorry no openings :(, but I DO have “Northern Exposure” on DVD.
Well, thanks anyway. Keep me in mind should anything change. Nice frowney face.