1. Donald Trump: bumped into (literally) on the sidewalk in front of the Plaza Hotel in NYC — extremely well dressed and in an extreme hurry.
2. Hugh Hefner: rubbed elbows at a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC — extremely short and homely with an extremely tall and beautiful wife.
3. Ralph Nader: stood next to in coat-check line at Mayflower Hotel in
4. Nancy Reagan: suddenly realized I was standing next to her (she was unaccompanied) as we waited on a street corner near the White House for light to change so we could cross the street — unbelievably short and thin (maybe 4’10” an 90 lbs) with an unbelievably huge head.
5. Michael Douglas: sat next to at a technology in media conference in
6. Patrick Ewing (NBA Hall of Famer): stood next to in elevator in
7. Larry Holmes (former heavy-weight boxing champion): at conference in
8. Phil Lesh and Bob Weir: at party following Grateful Dead concert — total stoners.
9. B.B. King: at private party in
10. Steve Jobs: participating in technology and politics confab as part of National Governor’s Association meeting in
11. Bill Gates: shared lunch and chat on three or four occasions on East and
12. Bernard Ebbers: met the former WorldCom chairman several times and later hosted and introduced him at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington, D.C. shortly before he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for $11 billion in stock fraud — appeared to be the most down-to-earth, honest, good-ol-country-boy businessman I’d ever met.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
My Dad's Celebrity Encounters
by JAKE KIRCHNER
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Wow, this is a good line-up. My favorite image is Michael Douglas smiling blankly at a technology conference.
ReplyDeleteSmooth moves, pops! What about when we ran into Hillary Clinton at rockefeller center? I remember her being really friendly/down to earth, but i was also about 12 years old at the time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I totally forgot about sitting next to Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Clinton and her mother, Dorothy Rodham, at Rockefeller Center at lunch that time. Hillary stopped at our table and chatted very amiably on their way out. A very nice Christmas treat.
ReplyDeleteI also forgot about sitting next to Dick Van Dyke (a well-known recovering alcoholic at the time) at a bar in Mid-town Manhattan in the 70s. It was a little awkward recognizing him and knowing he knew I was wondering what he was doing in a bar, so we just said hello and smiled and ignored each other. I would have otherwise loved to have chatted him up.
I'm particularly impressed that you, on multiple occasions, noticed with which hand Bill Gates was eating.
ReplyDeleteIn his younger days, Gates would also fold his arms over his chest and rock rhythmically back and forward while speaking. He grew out of that habit over the years. Interesting guy.
ReplyDelete