Celebrity SightingsRachel
wants to know whom you've seen and the circumstances. My Hollywood sightings are pretty pathetic; about the only ones I can remember are Paula Prentiss & Richard Benjamin. Back in 1968, my parents, who were active in the anti-war movement, had a fundraising party for Gene McCarthy, and those were the two "draws". They had been in a critically acclaimed (and quickly cancelled) TV show called "He and She". Benjamin went on to appear in "Catch-22" and "Goodbye, Columbus".
I saw Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner filming "The Lady in Red" when I lived in San Francisco. Film shoots were an everyday occurence there, but that was the only time I can remember seeing real stars. In New York in 1980 I saw Sigourney Weaver working on some film; I think it
was "Eyewitness". She was tall and really, really thin.
I do better in the world of sports. I met Joe Namath at Super Bowl XXX. A friend of mine and I were hanging outside Sun Devil Stadium, just watching the passing parade. John said, "Hey, look, there's Joe Namath!" I turned around, fully expecting to say, "That's not Joe Namath," but it was him, coming down out of a nearby parking garage. Everybody was asking for an autograph, but he begged off saying he was late and needed to be on the field for the coin toss. So as he walked past, I said, "Joe, you gotta shake my hand!" and he did. Definitely one of my idols growing up, although my favorite Jets player of that era was Don Maynard.
In 1995, I was at a closing dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for an apartment complex we had financed. I had to go to the bathroom, which required walking to the end of a row of tables and then hanging a left. As I neared the final table, a huge guy was standing there, looking at me nervously. It was Charles Barkley, and the funniest thing was that I could see the fear in his eyes--"Damn, this guy's going to make a fuss and ask me for an autograph"--so I gave him a wink of recognition and walked right by.
Around 1988 I was at a Phoenix Suns game when they announced Dave Winfield was in the audience. Everybody's applauding and looking directly at me for some reason. Turned out he was in the row behind us. Nice guy, another really big man.
So I've met Hall of Famers in the big three sports. Another guy bound for the Hall of Fame that I came close to was Tim Brown, receiver for the Oakland Raiders. It was at the Players' Party at Super Bowl XXX. I was just hanging out watching the band (I think it was Meatloaf) when all of a sudden a whole bunch of bouncers were zooming past us shouting "Coming, through, coming through!" They were bodyguards surrounding Tim Brown, who was on his way into the private section of the party. He was surprisingly small, but every muscle on his body looked perfectly toned. I wouldn't say ripped because that gives an image of bulk; Brown just didn't have an ounce of fat on him. Chuck Cecil (Green Bay & Houston safety), whom I met at a party, looked the same way.
I also met Philadelphia defensive lineman Byron Evans on a golf course in Phoenix. A friend and I were playing a round and invited the twosome behind us to join in. One of them was Byron, who was one of the biggest men I have ever seen. But I outdrove him on all but one hole (I can give the ball a pretty fair knock when warmed up). He wore shorts and you could see his knees had been operated on many times.
