Which famous people have you seen/met/talked to?

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

I want to show off my high-flying/jet-set acquaintances :D so I am asking you to tell me first: Which famous people have you seen/met/talked to?

Of course you would have to exclude famous athletes you have seen in stadia during games (that one is for you Zalgirinis :p) :D

[mktackabery]

I want to show off my high-flying/jet-set acquaintances :D so I am asking you to tell me first: Which famous people have you seen/met/talked to?

Of course you would have to exclude famous athletes you have seen in stadia during games (that one if for you Zalgirinis :p) :D
Okay, I'll bite Juan Carlos, but this may be setting the bar pretty high. I used to be a music buyer at a store in Chicago where I met a lot of authors, musicians, etc., plus I worked in a club once so I had pretty good access for a short, wonderful period of my life. These are people I will claim. I've met a lot of famous people through music that I will not admit to even if you push bamboo under my fingernails:

Luciano Pavorotti (kissed me on the cheek like a big grandpa)
Sting
Maxim Vengerov (very warm person, gave me a big hug for crying at his concert - long story)
The entire bunch: Motley Crue (umm, they weren't sober so I'm not sure this counts), Rollins Band, The Church (something of a religious experience, I'm not sure I actually spoke because I was speechless, does that count?), Sean Nua (band from Ireland)
Bela Fleck
Maura O'Connell
Richard Thompson
Tom Waits
John Gorka
David Wilcox
Coach Sidney Lowe (met him this summer, not at a game, talked to him about Engin Atsur)
Boris Berezovsky (classical pianist from Moscow, ate dinner with him and his family, among the most unassuming persons and most powerful artists I have ever met)
Bobby McFerrin
Ice-T (muscled, handsome, flirt, kept winking at me)
Anthony Quinn (book signing at my bookstore, what a charmer, asked me to marry him! but then again, he asked every other woman there that, so I couldn't take that seriously)
Daniel Day-Lewis (hung out at my music store in Asheville, NC on the weekends while filming "Last of the Mohicans," I helped him find a lot of jazz cassettes he was looking for)
Madeleine Stowe (yes, that beautiful in person, came into the store with Daniel sometimes)
Trent Reznor (looked just like some of the band geeks I dated in high school)
Richard Lewis (the comedian)
Fay Weldon (absolutely gracious woman, really funny too)
Maya Angelou
Rev. Jesse Jackson (spoke at my college, had lunch with the honors program students)I could probably think of more but my lunch break is over . . . so the gauntlet is thrown down now.;)

[qiangdade]

it is a tricky question. most of us know or have met some local celebrities or celebrities in their circle but will the rest know of them? For example i don't even know half the people mktackabery mentioned:confused:

[rchos7]

agree with qiangdade.i've met people that greeks of the forum knows but the rest of you not!

of course i will write here the last one i met and talked for 1-2 minutes.
panayiotis yannakis!i was in the airport when the greek team returned from japan and after everyone left when going to take my car from the parking he was there.i spoke with him for the final and at the end i told him that next year we want spain in the final and take the trophy at their home!he said that everything will be done(ola tha ginoun)!

[DarkoMVP]

I just saw Vengerov perform yesterday - Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

[mktackabery]

I just saw Vengerov perform yesterday - Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. oh I am so jealous!!!! :) I adore him. Which pieces?

[rikhardur]

Well I saw many Portuguese celebs already, but they are only known here lol As for the rest I once saw Evanescence vocalist near some hotel and Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten) in a concert \o/ :D

[Edgar Lopez]

Wow mktackbery your list is huge.... as for me i have met

The hardee boys from wwf
Eduardo Najera
the coach from UNC i forget his name but i know hes famous lol
THE GAME (rapper)
Snoop dogg

Thats it not a long list like Mktackberry but yeah its something o and MKtackberry how did you meet ICE T?

[usausa]

Bill Russell

[mktackabery]

Wow mktackbery your list is huge.... as for me i have met

The hardee boys from wwf
Eduardo Najera
the coach from UNC i forget his name but i know hes famous lol
THE GAME (rapper)
Snoop dogg

Thats it not a long list like Mktackberry but yeah its something o and MKtackberry how did you meet ICE T? I had second-row seats to the first Lollapalooza show in Atlanta in 92 and back-stage passes. I believe you were probably a small child. ;)

[Levenspiel]

I don't like celebrities around me. :P

The only good famous person I met is Adalet Agaoglu, not so famous Turkish playwriter and novelist, but one of the best I've ever known.
I accompanied her to the room where she would talk and asked her a thousand of questions about her works after her speech.

And I've been talking to a famous American for some time, Michelle Tackaberry.

[mktackabery]

I don't like celebrities around me. :P
That is smart, they are nothing special.


And I've been talking to a famous American for some time, Michelle Tackaberry.
ha, hardly, more like a big showoff, but thanks. ;)

[alley oop]

Since this is a basketball forum I will stick and mention the two most of you will know.

I saw and talked at Zeljko Obradovic on my birthday at a Greek nightclub at 4 in the morning. We were both quite merry, but in a nice way, it was very good banter, just like a pal of yours. Very friendly guy. :cool:

And i went to the same school with Antonis Fotsis till I was 15, in fact his dad was my Physical Education teacher. Very funny seeing a guy 1.85 back then being the point guard and also the tallest player of the school team!!! :D

[adebisi]

Excluding lithuanian bball players and foreigners who are playing here, in Lithuanian, the biggest star I met and I've been talking to would be Quaresma from FC.Porto after the game against Inter in Champions League one year ago. Also Marilyn Manson should be mentioned here, I've shaked his hand before the concert in Vilnius, Žalgiris football stadium.

[HIGHLANDER]

I met the Proclaimers a scottish band from Leith, Edinburgh and if u have not heard of them..i don't care..
I also met D.Brown, remember him, played for the Celtics.
And Takis Fisas who plays for my football team Hearts(only the Scots and Greeks will know him).
I also met a Lithuanian legend who played against the Original Dream team and i think he balled on them aswell, can't remember his name though.

[rikhardur]

I met the Proclaimers a scottish band from Leith, Edinburgh and if u have not heard of them..i don't care..
Yeah I remember them, they disbanded some time ago I suppose(?) They were two twin brothers right? I remember their song "Let's Get Married".

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

Just quickly a list of people I have met. I had the opportunity to met most of these due to the fact that my house is merely 200m from the Old Course (StAndrews), probably the best-known golf course in the world, which they often visit to play in. Some of them include:

Johan Cruyff
Michael Douglas
Hugh Grant
Samuel Jackson
Ruud Gullit
and several other Hollywood stars and retired athletes which I know by face but not by name.

Also I met these pro golfers when the British Open was held in StAndrews last year. I came across them in the street of the town:
Tiger Woods
Vijay Singh

Another person I met in the tiny alleyways of my "auld grey toon" is:
Walter Smith (Scotland football NT, Boss)

Also: Lennart Johanson (president of UEFA). I almost stumbled on him in an escalator at Heathrow Airport last November.

Prince William: Studied in St.Andrews at the same time as me, and we hanged out in the same pubs :D

Andrius Mamontovas and Arnoldas Lukosius (aka, the goatee-bearing singer and the mental dancing member respectively of LT United, the Lithuanian representatives in last years Eurovison). We were flying together from Vilnius to Prague (me on my way to the UK, and them on their way to Zagreb for a gig). They had the 2 seats next to mine, but I was too sleepy (6am) and too shy to talk to them).

And finally:
Dalai Lama. I attended a talk of his, last year in Washington DC, on the supposing relationship between meditation and neuroscience.... Mumbo-jumbo.

[HIGHLANDER]

Respect for Samual L and Walter Smith. I don't like the Royal family but i guess William ok cause he likes a party and don't give a f**k what the rest of the Royals think.
The Proclaimers are still together mate and it's 'i would walk 500 miles' the song and the Scots still go wild when they hear it...:cool:

[elaj]

Respect for Samual L and Walter Smith. I don't like the Royal family but i guess William ok cause he likes a party and don't give a f**k what the rest of the Royals think.
The Proclaimers are still together mate and it's 'i would walk 500 miles' the song and the Scots still go wild when they hear it...:cool:
Yeah, great song, I really like it. :D :cool:

[mktackabery]

Yeah, great song, I really like it. :D :cool:
in one of the coolest movies ever, aren't they singing in it too - Valley Girl?? now that's aging me.:o

[mktackabery]

Just quickly a list of people I have met.
JC you are so cooooool. ;)

[qiangdade]

i feel lost here. i don't even know half the people u all mention. Maybe because i don't really care for that stuff:rolleyes:

[CG]

Just quickly a list of people I have met. I had the opportunity to met most of these due to the fact that my house is merely 200m from the Old Course (StAndrews), probably the best-known golf course in the world, which they often visit to play in. Some of them include:

Johan Cruyff
Michael Douglas
Hugh Grant
Samuel Jackson
Ruud Gullit
and several other Hollywood stars and retired athletes which I know by face but not by name.

Also I met these pro golfers when the British Open was held in StAndrews last year. I came across them in the street of the town:
Tiger Woods
Vijay Singh

Another person I met in the tiny alleyways of my "auld grey toon" is:
Walter Smith (Scotland football NT, Boss)

Also: Lennart Johanson (president of UEFA). I almost stumbled on him in an escalator at Heathrow Airport last November.

Prince William: Studied in St.Andrews at the same time as me, and we hanged out in the same pubs :D

Andrius Mamontovas and Arnoldas Lukosius (aka, the goatee-bearing singer and the mental dancing member respectively of LT United, the Lithuanian representatives in last years Eurovison). We were flying together from Vilnius to Prague (me on my way to the UK, and them on their way to Zagreb for a gig). They had the 2 seats next to mine, but I was too sleepy (6am) and too shy to talk to them).

And finally:
Dalai Lama. I attended a talk of his, last year in Washington DC, on the supposing relationship between meditation and neuroscience.... Mumbo-jumbo.



are you playing (actor) in the forest gum?:D :D :D

[HIGHLANDER]

Oh..of couse, another yanky so far up his own arse he got lost in it, he thinks we all have to impress him.. ya radge wee fud munch:cool:

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

Ach, wetch yer mooth ya wee bawbag. :p

Forgot to add Stephen Fry (the Brit ones will know him). :p Was in my department for the shooting of one of his documentaries about his mental illness.

[rikhardur]

Forgot to add Stephen Fry (the Brit ones will know him). :p Was in my department for the shooting of one of his documentaries about his mental illness.
Great actor I should add. What's his mental illness?

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

Great actor I should add. What's his mental illness?

He's manic depressive.

[rikhardur]

He's manic depressive.
I didn't know about that...I'm surprised. He's one of my favorite actors.

[HIGHLANDER]

Who yay callin a bawbag ya wee bufty...
How did u end up in St Andrews anyway Jaun Carlos?:D

[Phantim3dx]

man i feel so out of social ranking when you guys mention such names, those closest thing to ever meeting, shaking hands, and stealing a coffee creamer from his his table(memorobilia i threw it away so many hrs later) was james earl jones in washington dc during my 8th grade school trip.
if it counts i guess president bush because he spoke in my university
oh i did meet a real hot ukranian chick one time when my buddies and I went to a strip bar in niagara falls, canada. it was hot

[rikhardur]

oh i did meet a real hot ukranian chick one time when my buddies and I went to a strip bar in niagara falls, canada. it was hot
You're unbeatable man :D :p

[Jan van Grabski]

i have seen and met quite a bunch of famous people in my life. I dont have time for the full list, so i simply put several example which come to my mind at the moment.....stern (he he, I simply saw him near the NBA headquarters), G. W. Bush, Thurman, Angelina Jolie, Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice, Pope John Paul II , Jeffrey Sachs , Sarah Jessica Parker, Jack Chirac, Solana, Paris Hilton, Karzai, Sergey Lavrov, Kwasniewski and etc.......


and yes, i hate being flight attendant. :D

[muse]

i have seen and met quite a bunch of famous people in my life. I dont have time for the full list, so i simply put several example which come to my mind at the moment.....stern (he he, I simply saw him near the NBA headquarters), G. W. Bush, Thurman, Angelina Jolie, Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice, Pope John Paul II , Jeffrey Sachs , Sarah Jessica Parker, Jack Chirac, Solana, Paris Hilton, Karzai, Sergey Lavrov, Kwasniewski and etc.......


and yes, i hate being flight attendant. :D
Terrible terrible job.*shakes head*:p

[YYY]

I don't think I have ever met any real celebrities. Or maybe I just don't care enough to remember them. ; - )

[DarkoMVP]

I can't say I have met anyone of any widespread fame, just within their own fields and even there, not many.

I played against Brad Gilbert's (former #3 in the world in tennis and Agassi/Roddick's coach) son Zach, and Brad was there watching and chatted afterwards. BTW, I dominated him :)

I played against Anatoly Karpov (former world chess champion) and David Bronstein (tied in a world championship match with Botvinnik) in simuls, but there wasn't much personal contact. These two times, I got killed :(

Martin Perl (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1995) is a pretty close family friend.

Really stretching, Tad Williams, a fairly minor fantasy/SF author, was a family friend, although we have lost contact in recent years.

[Khalid80]

I just came across this thread by mistake :D

I haven't really met that many famous people but here's my list:

1) Ex-prime Minister of Lebanon Rafik Harriri (RIP). Actually I was having dinner with my friends in Down Town Beirut and he was casually walking by next to our table and shook hands with the people sitting next to us. So, naturally, my friends and I stood up and greeted him and he did the same.

2) Rony Seikaly. I met him in a restaurant (Mounir in Broummana, area in Lebanon in the mountains) during the late 90's when he was still in the NBA and playing with the Magic when he had one of his best seasons. I had a small chat with him and was able to get his signature.

(I won't mention the other Lebanese basketball players or foreign players in Lebanon since I have spoken to many of them face to face and it wouldn't be considered as really special, even though i got to have a small chat with Lorren Woods and Rasheim Wright during the last Dubai bball tournament a few months back).

3) I met up with Keith and Liam from Prodigy in KFC way back in 1997 in Lebanon when they were on the "Fat of the Land" tour. Told them they were awesome and was looking forward to seeing them during the concert (which was actually one of the best concerts i've been to).

4) Armin Van Buuren (Got to shake his hand during the concert he had in Lebanon in 2007)

5) Paul Van Dyk (also got to have a small chat and shake his hand as well).

[SunOverHStreet]

I don't even wanna start... :D:D:D
Do we count even if he/she/they were far away?:D

[prtzn]

I don't even wanna start... :D:D:D
Well, since we know that you were on Zeljko Obradovic' birthday party, this doesn't sound strange...

[Khalid80]

I don't even wanna start... :D:D:D
Do we count even if he/she/they were far away?:D

Sure why not :). But only include if you have actually met them in person(chatting online, sending messages, having them on your facebook account doesn't count (well at least imo) :D)

[mvblair]

I met BJ Armstrong, the former Chicago Bulls player. He was kind of short. He was scouting the 2002 World Championships and I saw him watching the Spain/Angola game. I took a picture with him. Later, after the US/China game, I saw him walking in the parking lot and I said "hey, what do you think of Yao?" He said something like "the dude is pretty good."

[SunOverHStreet]

Well, since we know that you were on Zeljko Obradovic' birthday party, this doesn't sound strange...
Hahaha, yeah... But, believe me, I'm not that important.:D


Sure why not :). But only include if you have actually met them in person(chatting online, sending messages, having them on your facebook account doesn't count (well at least imo) :D)
Ok, I understand... Never mind facebook, I only have my real friends there. No celebs.
Basically, my list only consists of music related people, and that list is very long and I even can't remember all the people that I had pleasure meeting or seeing in close.
I'll mention only the coolest... Moby, Juliette Lewis, The Prodigy fellas, Neil Tennant (I was a bit sceptical:D), James Shaffer (of Korn), Gentleman and his crew (very nice guys and very cool band), etc...

P.S.
I played football with Dragan Lukovski (he's not a big star, but our local, who I respect very much) couple of times, and if he's reading this, we want rematch! (Sinđelić is destroyed, so we can play somewhere else)

[b3lowzro]

Paeng Nepomuceno
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3493/spo10sa6.jpg

I shook this guy's hand once while he visited my school back then, he's the 6 time champ of the AMF World Cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Cup_of_Bowling)

[qiangdade]

Paeng Nepomuceno
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3493/spo10sa6.jpg

I shook this guy's hand once while he visited my school back then, he's the 6 time champ of the AMF World Cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Cup_of_Bowling)

are you serious?? who is that guy??

[b3lowzro]

are you serious?? who is that guy??

some bowler, well if you follow bowling, i bet you know him :cool:

[qiangdade]

I once went to Mcdonalds and saw this guy at a kids party.

http://learn.bowdoin.edu/sociology/soc101/wp-content/uploads/del_me.jpg

Great guy. Handed me his autograph very kindly and shook my hand. Very down to earth, given how famous he is.

[rikhardur]

I think famous here includes local celebrities as well, just backread.

[qiangdade]

I think famous here includes local celebrities as well, just backread.

yes i know, my second post was unrelated. the first i was just amazed at how a guy names pang pernambuco (or whatever), can be viewed as famous:D. I guess he is famous to people who bowl.

[rikhardur]

yes i know, my second post was unrelated. the first i was just amazed at how a guy names pang pernambuco (or whatever), can be viewed as famous:D. I guess he is famous to people who bowl.
Haven't you met any players as in out of the court of course? I just met a couple of Portuguese ones, but why bother to mention :D

[qiangdade]

Haven't you met any players as in out of the court of course? I just met a couple of Portuguese ones, but why bother to mention :D

I am guessing you mean basketball players. Yes i've seen some, but i'm not the type of saying hello to people i don't personaly know. Other than that I was in Berlin last year with journalist acreditation. I saw many off court, don't know if it counts.

[mvblair]

I shook hands with Keilor Navas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keylor_Navas), who is Costa Rica's goalkeeper and he plays for Albacete in Spain now (a lot of people in CR say he should be playing for a better team but that he took the first contract that came his way).

He used to play for the Costa Rican super team Saprissa, which was bought by a Mexican guy a few months before I saw Navas. At the time, there was a lot of graffiti in the streets saying "Saprisistas are Mexican sell-outs." After I shook hands with Navas, I said "Saprisistas are Mexican sell-outs," which I intended as a joke, but the guy next to me gave me the evil eye and I felt bad. :(

[tdjakes]

I met Ron Jeremy, James Carville, and Wee-Man all in the same New Orleans airport. Not impressive, just a surreal mix. If you don't know who these people are, don't worry you're not missing out.

[CKR13]

I've seen in person

NBA

Vince Carter
Tracy McGrady
Nate Robinson
Andre Iguodala
Channing Frye
Jerry Stackhouse
Malik Rose
Dwight Howard
Gilbert Arenas
Kobe Bryant
Dominique Wilkins
Kareem Abdul Jabbar


Non-NBA

Hilary Rodham Clinton
Bobby Fischer
Tony Blair
Christie Kenney
Manny Pacquiao
Batista

[Beva]

I know Zoran Planinić, since he comes here to his hometown every summer... I know him since we were kids... He's a 'down to Earth' guy, but likes to party a lot... If he continues that way, after his career he'll go bankrupt in a couple of years :)

[b3lowzro]

I am guessing you mean basketball players. Yes i've seen some, but i'm not the type of saying hello to people i don't personaly know. Other than that I was in Berlin last year with journalist acreditation. I saw many off court, don't know if it counts.

i don't know with you man, but some of the personalities posted here doesn't ring a bell on my side of the globe. :D

[qiangdade]

i don't know with you man, but some of the personalities posted here doesn't ring a bell on my side of the globe. :D

me neither;)

[JGX]

I knew several kids that went on to be gold medalists....in the International Mathematical Olympiad :)

A couple Nobel Prize winners, bunch of other scientists, minor Croatian politicians, sports editors of Belizean newspapers, founders of social networking sites, former Lehman Brothers employees, lots of legendary internet posters.

[mvblair]

I knew several kids that went on to be gold medalists....in the International Mathematical Olympiad :) :rolleyes:
A couple Nobel Prize winners, bunch of other scientists, minor Croatian politicians, sports editors of Belizean newspapers, founders of social networking sites, former Lehman Brothers employees, lots of legendary internet posters. Someday when we meet in person, you can add me to that list.

JGX, I know you're a fan of Belizean basketball. You mentioned that you know some of the sports editors there. How did you meet them and then get into Belizean basketball?

[JGX]

:rolleyes: Someday when we meet in person, you can add me to that list.

Okay, but you better not say anything bad about Alajuelense.


JGX, I know you're a fan of Belizean basketball. You mentioned that you know some of the sports editors there.

I don't actually "know" any of them, just exchanged some e-mails a few years ago...I alerted them to a Belizean-American women's basketball player that might have been helpful but I don't think they ever got around to fielding a women's team.

Otherwise I just thought it was cool that basketball was so popular in a relatively obscure country.

[mvblair]

Okay, but you better not say anything bad about Alajuelense. Hah, hah, hah!! :D :D
I don't actually "know" any of them, just exchanged some e-mails a few years ago...I alerted them to a Belizean-American women's basketball player that might have been helpful but I don't think they ever got around to fielding a women's team. That's too bad.
Otherwise I just thought it was cool that basketball was so popular in a relatively obscure country. Yes. I think that's interesting, too. They've put some great players into in the NCAA. Their coaches seem to know what they're doing. A few years ago, I played basketball in Costa Rica with a short fellow from Belize who was just a blur. He was super-skilled and left most of us "in the dust" on the court.

[JGX]

Had a senator sitting behind me on a plane today. I had exit row, she didn't. :p

[sinobball]

NBA players (outside of arenas)

Chris Paul
Josh Howard
Ray Felton
Sean May
Rashad McCants
Charlie Villanueva


I knew several kids that went on to be gold medalists....in the International Mathematical Olympiad
I know some personally, both Chinese and Americans. Names?

[Khalid80]

NBA players (outside of arenas)

Chris Paul
Josh Howard
Ray Felton
Sean May
Rashad McCants
Charlie Villanueva


Sino did you just spot them or were you able to have a few words with them as well?


I spotted alot of players from various NT's outside arenas during last years World Championships but it was mostly in Izmir.
In Istanbul the majority of the players I saw were on court (all 16 teams in the second round as well as the first day of the quarterfinals)

I said a few words to Robertas Javtokas (Lithuanian NT) in the lobby inside the stadium in Izmir.

I had a good chat with Kirk Penney and Thomas Abercrombie (New Zealand NT) at Izmir Airport as we were waiting for our flight to Istanbul (we were on the same flight)

Last December I was fortunate enough to have a small chat with Hakeem Olajuwon at the NBA Jam Fest here in Abu Dhabi.

[john221]

jamie foxx

[Rodeo Riot]

Last week I got to meet and talk with Jermichael Finley, TE for the Green Bay Packers, the American football team, due to winning a contest. I know basketball players are typically taller but was really surprised by his size and just general confidence as a person.

[Khalid80]

Latest update for me :cool::

Got the chance to watch the Duke Blue Devils play against the UAE NT a bit more than 2 weeks ago when they came to Dubai.

Was able to have small chats and take pictures with the following players and coaches:

Players:

Miles Plumlee, Austin Rivers, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Michael Gbinije, Nolan Smith (Duke Grad and drafted by the Blazers in the last NBA draft)

Coaches:

Doc Rivers and coach K

Some pics with the players and coaches