Celebrity Encounters | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Celebrity Encounters

Mclean Stevenson, on a dock in Florida.
Charlie Pride.
Willy Stargell and other Pitts Pirates back when I had a tryout contract.
Worked one summer with Terry Sawchuck and his dad (i was 12).
Mike Sexton to my left at a WSOP tournament. Jay Heimowitz to my right. Greg Raymer (fossilman) and other pro poker players at WSOP tournaments.
Bought some used Princess Auto shelves from Red Green.
 
Too many to list. Most memorable:

George Carlin - We were both staying on the same floor in a Vegas hotel. Somehow a ride up the elevator ended up in an all-night bender.
Faith Hill - she was assigned to our table when performing at a Networld Tradeshow dinner event early 80s.
Mark Andes - Bassist for Heart. 5 hour binge on an Air Canada cargo/combi flight between Toronto and LA. He arranged for me to rent part of his beach house for a year when he was on tour.
Shaq. He wanted the craps table we were playing, he offered each of us $200, a signed pic, and a handshake to leave him the table.
Ben Johnson, steroid pioneer. He worked for my dad.
Robert Wussler, President of CBS (created Monday Night Football for NFL), co-founder CNN. We co-led an Internet startup in 2000 - smartest person I ever met.
John Turner - tipped a few scotches together while waiting out a snow delay in an Air Canada Lounge.
Gord Downey - Mostly at family dinners (he married into the family).

I met a lot of famous folks through my involvement in hockey. The list of pro players would fill this page.

I used to fill in as a player in Bud Light's celeb hockey games. The 1/2 day events included an afternoon practice, dinner, evening game and sometimes an after party. I remember meeting and playing with/against: Charles Schultz (Peanuts), Gerry Brukheimer, Paris Hilton (yes, she can play!), Cuba Gooding (he can't play), Dennis Leary, Luke Perry, Steve Carell. There are a bunch I can't remember.
 
Rompin' Ronny Hawkins at City TV. It was towards the end of his life so he was in tough shape.
Mendelson Joe, well known Toronto musician (Mainline), artist and avid motorcyclist. he used to frequent the shop I worked in.
Both were really nice people.
There were lots of others, for a time I worked for Strand-Century Electric providing stage lighting (the early 70s) but never much more than a nod.
 
Was a bartender in the old days so spent after-hours time with most of the big TO bar bands of that time. Teenage Head, Max Webster, Goddo, FM etc,

Special mention to Alannah Myles.....sigh

Oh, and Johnny Bower
 
I met Norman Reedus last summer. I'm a fan and I was a bit starstruck at first but he was down to earth and friendly. We chatted about his work and bikes for a while, really cool dude.
 
I've met Rick lagena in the sobey's parking lot back home in NS, All so see J-roc "Jonathan Torrens" a few times in Truro
 
I'm guessing about 1966, my older sister and her musician boyfriend took me with them to a Toronto waterfront warehouse where the boyfriend was renting an organ and a bunch of other stuff to a group of musicians. I sat on a box in front of the stage while they jammed. Ronnie Hawkins and The Band.
 
I’ve met a few Nobel Prize winners. One was a dick….the others were cool. The really cool one co-discovered buckminsterfullerene. He ended up drinking at our table “as we sounded more fun”.

Not super fussed by actors or sport stars.

When I was working a summer job I met a few 80’s bands. Haircut 100, UB40, Kajagoogoo.
 
Wingboy said:
I'm guessing about 1966, my older sister and her musician boyfriend took me with them to a Toronto waterfront warehouse where the boyfriend was renting an organ and a bunch of other stuff to a group of musicians. I sat on a box in front of the stage while they jammed. Ronnie Hawkins and The Band.
Click to expand...
Awesome. I recently read Robbie Robertson’s autobiography “Testimony”. He had a lot of good things to say about Ronnie Hawkins and the time he spent playing in his band. Robbie and I went to the same high school in Scarborough
( RH King Collegiate). I went there in the late 70’s and nobody knew that he had attended school there. Apparently he kept a low profile and left in the tenth grade to pursue a career in music. I think that was in 1959.
 
Met a few "celebrities" being in the Mac biz for 37 years. Rented an iMac to Harrison Ford and chatted on the phone very briefly.
Fair number of musicians in the client mix some of which were well known but I was pretty oblivious...they were clients :rolleyes:

Most memorable was meeting Muhammad Ali in Chicago in the 70s...we were in the same hotel on the S side and being intrepid Canucks we simply knocked on his door.
His hand was enormous when we shook and his voice pretty slurry at that point as Parkinsons was setting in.
Sad decline for the guy that set the sports world on fire in his 20s :(
 
In the 80s My sisters roomate was dating one of David Wilcox's bandmates and she got us free passes. During intermission and after he finished we partied with him back stage. He was glad to share the doob I had.
Also in the 80s a company I worked for had Bobby Orr as a spokesperson. He came to the plant one day. Everyone but me fawned over him. I'll try to dig up the pic of me being rude to Bobby - one hand shaking Bobbie's with the other holding the phone. I think he was miffed that I didn't bother to hang up when our photo op time came due.
 
Another one I forgot was John Candy. He lived close by, a very nice guy who talked to everyone -- would bump into him frequently at Vince's Market and the pizza joint on Mt Albert Sd Rd in Holland Landing.
 
Wifee always approaches celebrities for selfies and even interviews them - usually for inspirational messages for her students. Chris Hadfield, Darcy Tucker, Jean Yoon, Wendel Clark, Kristen Kruek, Sarah Polly, Bif Naked, Lanny Mcdonald (a few weeks ago) to name a few.
All wonderful people.
 
shinrai said:
Wifee always approaches celebrities for selfies and even interviews them - usually for inspirational messages for her students. Chris Hadfield, Darcy Tucker, Jean Yoon, Wendel Clark, Kristen Kruek, Sarah Polly, Bif Naked, Lanny Mcdonald (a few weeks ago) to name a few.
All wonderful people.
Click to expand...

Apparently lives in the Mimico area.
 
I had a buddy that was a cable installer in the early 80’s. He had to install a cable at Eugene Levy’s house once and said he was a real mean A-hole.
 
I spent 13 years in the professional recording business at a studio on Yorkville Ave. That was 1972-1985.
Huge list of people I worked with... at the top Elton John, Gord Lightfoot, Kermit & Miss Piggy, and strangely Isaac Hayes.
At the bottom Cat Stevens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom