
I’ve always said that meeting your favourite stars is something I’ve never really been bothered about. I think you set yourself up for disappointment if you think any different.
Mostly, I like stories of people meeting famous people in ordinary circumstances, like “Jim Bowen nicked my parking space at Asda”, or “Penelope Keith asked me where I’d bought my cardigan”, or “Angela Rippon complained about the noise we were making in our cabin on a cross channel ferry”.
Still, in my life, it appears that I have met quite a few famous people. I thought I’d list some of them for you for a laugh. They are all true.
Christopher Lee gave me a kiss on the cheek. I was four years old and he was playing in a celebrity golf tournament in St Andrews and my mum took me up to meet him. Lee was most famous for his Dracula movies at the time. I remember nothing of the meeting. Apparently he remembers every second.
Ben Kingsley smiled at me at a dinner function. I walked past Ben and checked him out. He said, “Hello” in a, and I’ll be honest with you here, quite flirty way. Effectively, I could have had him. But didn’t. That would be wrong. He’s Ghandi for fuck’s sake!
Fine Young Cannibal, Roland Gift held a door open for me in a hotel. And this was when the Fine Young Cannibals were going strong, so it was quite a big deal at the time. He was, as they say in the streets, “well fit” actually. He was wearing all black and had a good bum. What's he doing now, I wonder?
I was in a lift with Nastassja Kinski. I was working at a film awards thing and I took the hotel lift downstairs. In the same lift was Nastassja, who was panicking about heaps of press being outside. Tempted to remind her that “Tess of the d'Urbervilles was a long time ago, love”, I restrained myself and thought only how much of a little girl she seemed, even though she must’ve been about 30 at the time. She was wearing fabby biker boots with a pouffie light pink JP Gaultier dress. I don’t remember what I was wearing.
Simon Callow said hello to my dog on
Jo Brand asked me where the best curry house was in
Harry Hill asked me and my work colleagues for advice on a joke before he went on stage at a theatre I worked in. He wanted to parody the Bacardi advert that was showing in cinemas at the time. You know the one; where guys are gadding about in the
There were two versions; a Cockney one and a Scottish one. The tagline was “if you’re drinking Bacardi”. We filled in the blanks for the Scottish one for him. Seconds later he ran on stage and incorporated what we'd said into his act. We were glowing with pride.
Robbie Coltrane told me to “Beat it, eh?” as I snuck a wee look at him rehearsing a Dario Fo play at a theatre I was working in. Grumpy fat bastard.
My mum was chatted up by the late British comedy great, Dick Emery on Great Yarmouth pier. I was getting his autograph; he was trying to cop off with my mum. Ahhhh, they don’t make ‘em like that anymore!
I sat next to Will Young in a pub in January. Well, at the table next to him, actually. His mates got told off for playing music on their laptops by the barman. That made me snigger a bit. The urge to howl the phrase “Light My Fire!” urgently and repeatedly millimeters away from his face was strong in me, but then I remembered that I’m not fourteen just in time. Although, in retrospect, I think Jim Morrison would have been proud of me.
I was behind Wet Wet Wet’s Marty Pellow in a queue for a cashpoint machine in
Your most mundane celebrity encounter please…
Don't ever miss a Misssive, subscribe!
58 comments:
I stood next to Jack Nicholson in Brown and next to Ralph Fiennes in the bar Covent Garden Hotel. Many moons ago I sat and had drinks with Michael Hutchence when he was playing pubs. Actually there are loads but I am far too modest to mention...
And I slept with the brother of Mick Harvey who played with Nick Cave in The Birthday Party...god that is desperate isn't it?
I said hi to Frank McCourt in the airport in Los Angeles. I was really hung over and I thought I knew him.
Did David Bowie really sell you a raffle ticket? That is the coolest.
Whoopi Goldberg smiled and said hi to me when I passed her in one of the employees-only areas at Disneyland. She probably saw me trying not to stare at her, but it wasn't because I was gawking at a celebrity, it was because I was trying to figure out which part of the Disney company would let an employee wear dreadlocks. I didn't realize who she was until I was well past her. I apparently need to get out more.
Mrs Wife and I shared a flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui with Gail Porter (in her non-bald days), husband Dan Hipgrave (in his Toploader days) and their kid (in its "My parents are still together" days).
Then-Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon and his girlfriend were on the same flight we took to go on honeymoon in Mexico. He was so tall he had to get the seat at the front of the aisle. 12 months later he became the most expensive Scottish footballer ever.
I recently made Jeremy Irons a cup of tea :-)
David Gedge once smoked my cigarette at a gig, and I have photos of me with Trev and Simon, formerly off Going Live. Really.
Oh, and - I have had dinner with Irvine Welsh, acted as a runner for The Proclaimers, and interviewed Atomic Kitten in the days when Kerry Katona was in the band.
Paula Yates made me an omelette. When she was an earth-mother-type with 3 kids, married to St Bob.
I saw Mick Jagger sneaking out of the hotel room of a young lady whose name I shall not mention. I asked him who he was.
I made Menzies Campbell a cup of tea (and prayed he wouldn't take a biscuit - I found them at the last minute and they were soft). Does he even count as a celeb? Oh, and I was at a friend's wedding held in a Harrogate hotel at the same time as Frank Bough's daughter's wedding. Guests kept ending up in the wrong wedding. My husband went to the Gents and came back shaken: "I've just peed next to Frank Bough". To be fair, it was right in the middle of all those revelations about Frank's exciting and inventive private life, so it must have been a bit distracting standing next to him with the mental pictures it conjured up.....
jason donovan bought me a pint of milk!
Cat, I'll see your Irvine Welsh and raise you. I was in the Horseshoe bar in Glasgow with a mate when Irvine Welsh and Boaby the barman from Still Game came in for a pint. We ignored Irvine Welsh and had a good old banter with Boaby.
And I shook Stuart Adamson's (The late great Big Country singer)hand after their last gig at Glasgow Barras and I said "Good Job" to him, that wasn't long before he topped himself.
I sauntered into the men's restroom at Tavern on the Green in NYC, in 1993, and used the urinal. There was a man at the urinal next to me. We finished at about the same time and made our way to the sinks. As we were washing hands, we made eye contact in the mirror. It was then that I realized I pissed next to Kevin Bacon. He nodded and said, "Hey." I said, "Hey" back and then we left the room and went our separate ways.
Oh, and about a year later, I was working as a temp for Conde Nast publications in NYC and they publish Cosmo and other fashion mags. I took the elevator (or, as you so eloquently put it "the lift") up to the Cosmo floor and there was a petite woman in the elevator with me. She was kinda plain and mousy and we didn't speak at all. It wasn't until we got off the elevator and I saw the very large photo of Kate Moss staring at us on the wall that I realized who she was.
I met Brian Cant (from Playschool) when I was about 4. I got his autograph. It was in a car showroom and I was too shy to speak to him.
I walked past Nicholas Lindhurst on the beach. He was hanging with his mates at the surf board hire and I had just bought an icecream from the icecream shop. (It was one of those where you buy the cone separate from the wrapped icecream and then you have to try and marry the 2 together without dropping them or getting sand in them.) I was about 10 and had managed to put the icecream together by myself (my, how grown up). Nicholas didn't notice me and my icecreamly masterpiece(or else he made great efforts not to stare). He just sunned himself and chatted to his mates. We saw him every year we went on hoiday there.
I saw Nick from breakfast TV by the canal. His son fell off the climbing frame.
i have a few too! tommy, the drummer from wet wet wet, held the door open for me in burger king on glasgow's byres road! and going back a bit further, i met the singing kettle in stratford upon avon. they were in a car park. and even further than that, my sister and i met glen michael, from glen michael's cartoon cavalcade (i think i'm showing my age here) in glasgow!
Oh, my mum has just reminded me, Jimmy Saville jogged past my family outside London Zoo as we stood in the spot where we had left our car before it got stolen.
Big Ron from Eastenders walks past my mum's house on his way to the shops.
Hah! That's nothing! Gerard Kelly, what played Bunny in Extras, walked right past me just off Princes Street in Embra!!! Pale as a fecking ghost, he was.
Ms R: I cried when Michael Hutchence died. If he was a nob in real life, I don’t want to know about it. Oh and I hurriedly misread your second comment and thought you’d slept with Nick Cave, which would have propelled you into goddess status in my eyes. One of students texted me a couple of months ago to tell me she’d just seen Nick Cave riding a bike past her in Brighton. I texted her back with the instructions to shout, “Misssy M loves you!” I don’t know if she carried out my instructions but I live in hope he will one day be mine. Specially now he’s got that porn tasche.
Sarah; I would so love to tell you that Bowie did indeed sell me a raffle ticket, but sadly it just seemed like a good title for the post. I’m sorry if I come across as a liar…wish it were true. The rest are, though.
Cobwebs: You see, that is the best kind of Celeb encounter. One in which you don’t notice the celeb identity until much later. There’s no way Disney would allow dreads; you were right to question.
Jock: The only celeb I want you to spot is that robot guy whilst you are China- I want photos.
I know a bloke who went out with Gail before she was famous. There; I’ve exhausted all GP connections.
Lattes: The winner so far! I love Irons! And you made him a cup of tea which is wonderfully mundane.
Cat: The you were the last known person to see Katona do some actual work!
Duck: Again, a great example and you actually trump the Iron’s team making from Lattes as your celeb is now dead.
Gorilla: I hope you gave him a piece of your mind! The dirty old man…
Loth: "I peed next to" stories are ace. My brother peed next to Bob Mortimer, but Uncle Frank! Stupendous! I like to think (bizarre choice of phrase in the light of what I’m going to say next) that Uncle Frank had a cock ring. Report back once you’ve asked your husband.
Peach: Again lovely and mundane and quite a turnaround for the now reformed Donovan who previously had asked my sister where to score coke in Aberdeen about 5 years ago.
Jaggy: Meeester’s old band supported Big Country. He said Stuart seemed a good bloke. Very sad loss, I say.
Child: A Kevin Bacon encounter. No blog post of this type would be complete without this. Thanks for supplying!
TJam: Hello and welcome. What quality mundane encounters you bring with you. Lyndhurst- a legend and in swimming trunks (shiver).
Gillian: Glen Michael- my brother got a birthday mention on the Cavalcade! It was the highlight of our Seventies!
Tjam: I thought they buried Big Ron! Is he still at large?
Farty: Poor Gerard. Had you just let one go?
I had hot steamy sex with David Beckham once in.....oh wait, you wanted REAL encounters and not dreams.
I got nothin'.
Is it wrong that I think Ben Kingsley is hot and that I'd lick chocolate syrup off of his bald head? If it is just pretend you didn't just read that!
Deedee: You are straight into Comment of the Week with that. You made me laugh out loud and quote you to Meeester. And it's been a bloody strong field this week, so due props.
omg Big Ron is DEAD?!!? say it can't be so. Perhaps I should edit my comment to read, the ghost of Big Ron from Eastenders walks past my mum's house on his way to the shops.
My cat, Carlsberg, sent me to your blog. She says no need to be shy. Expect the entire menagerie to post from now on!
tjam: Yes, Carlsberg was over earlier. He's right, there is nothing to fear. Loving your wee smiley face,btw.
I'm in awe at the Billy Bragg one!
XBox: Worst thing about it was, I had to go and interview him afterwards and he took the piss out of me. I as nineteen; that sort of thing embarassed me, then.
I almost shagged the midget (alright, short guy with large forehead) on Alias, Kevin Weissman, was his name, though I later had to look it up. I was horribly drunk in Las Vegas and my best friend threw upon his wingman's shoes (who was apparently the star of a mundane film, "The Computer who Wore Tennis Shoes"), prompting me to realize that the two of us had to quickly escape the hotel room before we were escorted out by their D-list security. I would have stayed had it been Irons though-- love him in a creepy Humbert Humbert kind of way.
Watched George Bush Sr. film a commercial. Forgive me; I was a child.
Shook Al Gore's hand at some politico function in DC.
Stared into the big white toothed smile of the revered Jimmy Carter when he came out of a conference hall at my Uni. There were 3 or 4 students in the hall. He looked each of us in the eye and gave us all a sincere hellohowareyou.
Political celebrities are by nature mundane.
Ashley: You had me at " I shagged a midget..."
Clarrisa: Jimmy Carter is the first President I remember being aware of. Bill Clinton visits Aberdeen next month- I would like to see his talk but...at £100 pounds a head, I would rather hear Monica talk. Let's face it..that all we really want to hear about.
yeah but Monica tends to talk with her mouth full...
I walked past Mark McManus at the Glasgow garden festival 1988
Stood behind Julian Clary at a Glasgow airport cash point, he was wearing a poncho and actually quite handsome.
Saw Kirsty Hume at same place.
Flying in and out of Burbank, CA and LAX I've met a few actors in my day. I agree with you about not making a big deal out of it. They take care of their business the same way we do in the morning. The exception is perhaps they have better toilet tissue!
Heres a small list of the people I've met:
Ray Charles: Very nice man, it was a few years before he passed away.
Martin Sheen: It was Xmas Eve day in LAX, I ran off the airplane to get some coffee at Starbucks, when I looked up as the queue mad a bend, there he stood smiling at me. I said hello, and he returned in kind. He then said, "You must be very busy today." I smiled and said "Yes, we are." He then turned to order his coffee, when he left he wished me and the Baristas a merry Xmas.
And finally three years ago I had whom I hope will be our next POTUS, Barrak Obama on my flight. He was flying from Chicago to St. Louis. It was relatively short flight, but did get the chance to tell him that I admired his speech he gave at the Democratic Convention on 2004. He was very gracious and thanked me for my "kind words."
I've a lot more people, but I'd be taking over your blog if I did!
BTK: Oh yes, Julian Clary is gorgeous. It's that old adage...all the best looking men are gay. (Except Elton John- he's flying the ug flag for the gays)
T and A: Impre-e-e-essed! But I knew you'd have some good ones working where you do. The Ray Charles spotting is incredible. But Obama-wow- hopefully this time next year he'll be on Airforce One and not your standard airline to get from A to B. Do you think he'll do it?
I had a threesome with Peter Andre and Jordan...it was like being stuck between a rock and a hot air balloon. Not a particularly good experience.
Seriously, you need to enter the tenuous connections comp over at darling moobs' place:
www.moobz.com
I cleared Martina Navratilova's table at a ski resort in Colorado.
Hmm. I think the bizarre relationship with Unnamed TV Personality was not particularly mundane, so I'm going to go with chatting to Sophie Rhys-Jones all the way through an opera, or having the misfortune to pass Alasdair Darling the fruit cake at a charity garden party.
What a fantastic post! Reading the comments has reminded me of a few encounters, not all of them involving me, but what the hell – a mundane celeb encounter is a mundane celeb encounter…
Tony Slattery once scowled at me in Fulham Broadway. I actually felt really hurt. There was no need for it. I later found out that he was prone to depression and a nasty little part of me said good. Sorry, Tony. Hope you’re feeling better.
Last winter I saw Stephen Fry wandering past one of the electrical shops on Tottenham Court Road. He had a plastic carrier bag in his left hand and looked sweet and somehow vulnerable. I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed hold of him, flung my arms around his waist and clung on for all I was worth. Well, not really. But that was my urge.
I know someone who used to be a runner in the theatre – do I mean runner? She basically had to run around and make sure the cast had everything they desired. One time she was working on a play with Alan Rickman, who gestured her over, then, pointing at his face, slowly mouthed the word ‘coffee’. He was saving his voice. Class.
A friend of mine in IT did a job for the Labour Party (or something), and had to stand in a line of his colleagues and wait for Anne Widdecombe to shuffle along and shake his hand. He doesn’t know it because he is a brash, single-layered creature, but something in him died that day, and will never return.
Also, my dead uncle claimed to have got drunk with Hank Marvin, the Shadows and Ringo Starr in a pub in Liverpool when he was helping to build the new cathedral in the Sixties. (When he was still alive.) He also claimed to have given Ringo Starr the idea for Thomas the Tank Engine, so, make of that what you will.
Yeah I thought it was cool meeting Jeremy Irons, he was having a lesson with my singing teacher in London. He's a nice bloke, seemed very cheery and friendly. I narrowly missed out on meeting Jude Law, he had his lesson in the morning and I didnt' get down to London until 12.30pm. That's a good tenuous link: I didn't actually meet Jude Law but he gets lessons from my singing teacher :-) I'm sure I would have probably made him a brew aswell if he was around :-)
Emma: You had me frightened there with your casual tossing in of Andre.
Colin: Martina is a legend. She has massive hands. Did she leave a decent tip?
Hannah: Oh to see the hairy caterpillar eyebrows of Alistair Darling up close!
Bete; Top quality spottings. I'd love to know what it was that your uncle said to Ringo. Given that a reverend somebody else wrote the blessed (overrated) possessed train nonsense. Still Ringo has been hanging onto various coat-tails in his life, has he not?
Funky Latte: Irons is far nicer than Jude. I hope Jude didn't try and get off with the singing teacher. He's well known for shagging the hired hands.
Wow, I don't have even ONE celebrity encounter. But I currently live in Nottingham - dullsville! Maybe when I get to Florida in a couple of months and start life there i'll have something to report...
I held Bill Cosby's coat and helped him put it on after a show. He was an ass.
Kelly: Well Kelly I actually have a Florida spotting for you. I saw Ron Howard in Orlando (or as I like to call him, Richey Cunningham from Happy Days)...I think you are improving your chances dramatically with the move. Report back.
Jenn: Mundane encounters where the celebrity was a beast get you extra points. A good one. Never a big fan of Cosby.
I saw Carla from Coranation Street at the races last weekend.
About 5 years ago when I was in Scotland I shared a lift with Heather Small but I didnt realise who she was until we got out and someone told me.
Both were about a foot shorter than I imagined they would be!
Bottle: I am so upset at that Carla/Liam/Maria storyline in Corrie (life long Corrie fan...think people in it are real) that I would have to restrain myself from cuffing that woman. Testament to her acting ability I suppose. I actually know the guy who plays Tony, (Gray O'Brien- actually called Gerry) her boyfriend in the show. He was best friend of my flatmate. Have seen him in his pants.
Mundane it is then...
I once stood behind Kate O'Mara waiting for the "green man" to come on at traffic lights in Glasgow.
This was not long after Kate had "starred" in the only soap opera to be set on a North Sea ferry, the truly abysmal "Triangle".
Kate was very small and every bit as strange looking as she was on the telly.
Tomahawk: Kate O'Mara is surely half woman/half cat. Just like Sophie Ellis Bextor and Eartha Kitt.
I met the unfeasibly small and scarily clever Tomorrow's World presenter, Lindsey Fallow, on her blog.
Reader, I married her.
Do I win a prize, Misssy M?
Ms M: Surely the darling Stray IS the prize!
Ah, Misssy M - absolutely the right answer!
Queuing for breakfast at Bills in Australia next to Natalie Portman
That's the best yet, Natalie Portman is yummy.
Ms M: Thought so!
Archive: A-list alert!
XBox: I know- I'm a married woman but even I fancy her.
Now she's even yummier!
I know this is an old entry of your (oo er missus) but it caught my eye and I don't even know if you have email notification when people leave messages on your blogs but...
I gave Rufus Sewell tea and biscuits and he kissed my hand. The next time he was due to come to our office I hid behind a curtain because I felt so embarassed that the rest of the agency staff knew I fancied him
FF: This is the post that just runs and runs!
I'd say Rufus Sewell is right up there with the best of them...and you are absolutely right to fancy him. How actorly to kiss hands. my son has just joined a drama group- I will let him know to start that carry on in order to look the part.
Nice blog~
www.885852.com
I was at a wedding enjoying a pleasant chat with a nice little man and his wife, when I realised I hadn't caught their names , I asked , he replied Nick it suddenly dawned on me he was Nik Kershaw (incidentally his gig was the first I ever went to way back in P7 ) He and his wife were very lovely and he is tiny x
Post a Comment