Met any celebrities RVing?

[SeeTheUSA]

Originally Posted by Air Baron

Well, I guess since this thread seems to have deviated . . . snip . . . .

I guess we are a bunch of deviates!

[Air Baron]

Originally Posted by SeeTheUSA

I guess we are a bunch of deviates!

If you say so, confessions not required. I was using the word as an intransitive verb...to stray from a topic.

[LeeRevell]

Not RV related, but in the late 80's & early 90's I worked airport gate security. Back in those simpler times we prided ourselves on being able to provide proper airport security without embarrassing our paying customers and treating them as latent terrorists. We wore blaser jackets, not combat uniforms.
Anyhoo, being the Capitol City of sunny Florida, we had celebrities passing through from time to time.
I met Downtown Julie Brown of the early MTV, and Sting. They had been at a promotional thing with a guy winning a party with 50 friends at a house locally. They were tired, and were catching the Red Eye back home. I put Sting's studded leather jacket and his silver-tipped cane (shortly after a bad motorcycle injury) through the X-ray and babied them as they came out.
Later met and talked to the model/actress Lauren Hutton, as she was travelling incognito - but that voice is unmistakable and sexy!
Met Telly Savalas. A lady ahead of him was having trouble getting through the metal detector with so much ridiculous metal bits on her. She kept 'beeping'. Telly leans over to me and quips, "If she takes off any more we'll really get a show!"
I got to check the wheelchair (airport admin liked to 'test' us with dummy grenades under these things) when the golden age actress Patricia Neal came through. Her neural problems were taking a toll on her at this time. We treated her with all the decorum and respect due a true STAR.
The local TV wrestlers and their announcer, Gordon Soley, would come through regularly. One was the tall guy from a South American nation, using the name "El Gigante" - he was HUGE! I stand 6'4", and I definitely looked UP to him! He had to stoop under doors and the metal detector.
Once saw Andre The Giant shortly before his death. Big but not in El Gigante's class.
One thing I liked best was seeing the troops returning home from the Sandbox - one was a friend of mine, who owned the local hobby shop. His unit was Marine Reserve MPs. Lots of tears and happiness from their families.

And here's a 'bonafide No s****er'....
I hold the distinction (or the infamy) of being the guy who kicked the then-Governor of Florida out of his own airport! I saw this older gent in jeans and plaid shirt, walking his hunting dog through the concourse. Pets were NOT allowed, if not travelling or were service dogs. This one was obviously neither.
So I politely asked the gentleman to leave the airport with his dog, informing him of the rule. He was amiable, and took his pooch outside.
Turning around, I saw my co-workers wide eyed. One says, "Do you know who that WAS!?"
Sez I, "No, just an old guy with a dog."
She stammers.... "That was Governor Lawton Chiles!"
Hehehee.......
I liked old Lawton, even if he was of the 'other party'. He was a nice guy.
I met Governor Jeb Bush later, at a local restaurant he favors. We stand even. He's a tall guy, and personally nice. But his policies as Governor were not friendly to us State Workers.

[mojoracing]

Originally Posted by Rodneykrantz

Also met these guys at their RV The band Foreigner

I met those guys too......several times. Along with Styx, reo speedwagon, journey and a few more. I get to go on all the buses as my brother is the guitar technician for Styx. As a matter of fact my brothers bus was the one in the recent news story that burned to the ground. Luckily they were staying in a hotel at the time and all their belongings were not on the bus. I'm going to have to look next time to see if they all have Tennessee plates. I know most of the buses are leased.

[mojoracing]

WE WERE SOLDIERS!!!! My favorite movie of all time! Anyone that fought that battle deserves a hearty handshake. I would have loved to be on the set of that movie.

[jeryan59]

Originally Posted by SKP Kirk

It depends upon how you define the term celebrity. I have not met any movie stars or such but we made friends with a couple across from us when volunteers at a COE lake in north Texas and then discovered that the gentleman was Goldie Sellers and a member of the 74, Kansas City Chiefs, Superbowl champion football team. I even tried on his ring, but it was way too big! We found that we had a lot in common, including having been born just days apart!

The Chiefs were 5-9 in 1974, the Chiefs last won the Super Bowl during the 1969 season, game was actually played in 1970. Goldie Sellers only played 4 years in the NFL but he was a Defensive Back who played for legendary coach's Eddie Robinson at Grambling and Hank Stram for the Chiefs, I'll bet he has some great stories to share!

[Orangepeel]

In the early 80s my folks took us to a celebrity tennis tournament at the tennis club they belonged to. I met Christopher Atkins when he hit a bad shot and the tennis ball hit me in the head. He was very apologetic.

At the same tennis tournament we wanted to get Bernie Kopel's autograph. He was too busy drinking and told someone "get these [moderator edit] kids away" from him. Nice.

In the late 90s I worked for Disney in Imagineering and got to meet astronaut Storey Musgrave on a few occasions. He was probably one of the nicest and most polite gentlemen I have ever encountered. He came into our offices a few times, always remembered everyone's names and always took a minute or two to chat.

At the same time period and in the same job I met Mandy Patakin. He was not a nice gentleman and probably the biggest jerk I have ever encounter. My boss asked me to do him a favor and arrange a backstage tour for Patakin and his son. Patakin was rude, demanding and dismissive. Id make arrangements, he hated them (and I was told in no uncertain terms he hated them) and I would run around to change them. It took close to a full work week to arrange this thing and we pulled in quite a few favors to arrange this special backstage tour for him and his kid. Come the morning of the event and Patakin never showed up, he didn't even bother to call anyone to cancel. My boss was livid and for good reason IMHO.

[Dutch Star Don]

About 6 years ago on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, while camping at Yosemite, we passed Harrison Ford walking on toward the Mist Trail while we were walking back. Almost everyone walked by him, not recognizing him. He had a boony hat on and was very thin looking. I stopped and said hello, but missed my chance to invite him to dinner that night. We had about fifteen people and we were serving prime rib. I'm guessing he left Calista at the Ahwannee.

[dog lover]

All of these stories are fascinating to read! When I was a child, my family was eating at a restaurant. The comedian Jan Murray was seated at the table next to us. He started telling jokes. My parents were unsuccessful in stopping me from blurting out the punchline on his jokes! I don't remember doing that, but it was a favorite family story.

[cjwhite]

Met a Russian astronaut once in Oklahoma, they were on their way to Old Mexico for the winter, had just hit a deer and need some duck tape to fix his headlight

[Cspringsrv]

Not really a celebrity outside of the RV world, but camped next door to Matt Miller and families, president of Newmar, in West Yellowstone last year.

Did not know him and was just admiring his RV and he invited me and my wife in to check out his and father in laws RVs.

Entire families were super nice and just down to earth. Talked about how bad the economy had been and how they had not been out much previous years and mostly just working hard. He even mentioned some issues he had on the trip, I think air brakes and alternator??, and how he had to get them taken care of. Definitely nice meeting him and will seriously consider Newmar for our retirement RV in a few years.

[happybooker1]

We took a family vacation to Mexico on their Amtrak train. My Dad kept staring at a red-headed man & trying to place where he'd seen him. Finally he blurted out "That's Rusty Schweickart the astronaut!" And it sure enough was! We got to meet him & his family in the Club Car, he talked about the Space Program, & gave my brother an autographed 8x10 picture of the Apollo 9 mission team.

[LeeRevell]

What I really hate are the self-important local 'celebrities'. During my airport security days, I met a couple local 'news babes', and both were prima donnas. One in particular cut to the front of the line insisting her 'status' gave her privileges. I made her go back to the end. None of that crap on MY watch!
Our Governor later (replacing good ol' Lawton) was Martinez. He was another prissy prima donna. We had to give him 'special treatment' when he travelled. His body guard got to bypass the checkpoint once cleared by our on-duty cop. Martinez treated us 'common folks' like dirt. Glad when he got sent to DC as the Drug Czar. Got him out of our hair. Then we only saw him on rare occasions.

[mgjessop]

As a child I ran into this Guy at the Beaver RV plant in Bend Oregon in 1989. Over the years I had the pleasure of running into Mr. Borgnine about half a dozen times. He was truly a wonderful person, and at our stay at Outdoor Resorts in Palm Springs in the early 1990's we ran into him again. We talked and when he found out that my birthday was the next day, he invited me and my parents to come over for dinner. He and his wife made us wonderful pasta dinner, and he also had a couple of friends over, which happen to be Pat Boone and Gavin Macleod. I then had Pat Boone sing me Happy Birthday complete with a cake and candles. He went out of his way to make a evening special for a young kid that he barely even knew. He was as real and genuine as they come and he loved RVing like no other person I know.