Waving at Clooney in the Taco Bell Drive-Thru

Photo courtesy of "PopSugar.com":http://popsugar.com/2504945

George Clooney is in Albuquerque--otherwise know as Tamalewood--to film _Men Who Stare at Goats_ (the working title for film due out in late 2009 or 2010). This brush with fame happened in early November 2008.

Scene One: George is sitting at the downstairs bar of my favorite restaurant, Zinc, deep in conversation with a movie colleague or agent when I walk in. The … Read more »

Celebrity Surprise

In the year 1996, while attending a Broadway show in New York City titled _Will Rogers Follies,_ I had the extreme good fortune to be seated in the row behind and one seat to the right of Gregory Peck. He had a pre-recorded part in the musical, that of Will Rogers's voice, which emanated from the balcony at timely moments throughout the show. I have a permanent vision of the … Read more »

Model Behavior

I remember exactly what she was wearing: tall, flat, brown Frye boots (long before they were in style), dark skinny Seven jeans, a black-and-white flannel-print linen shirt with the cuffs rolled up. A long, thin silver chain with a small pendant and gold aviator sunglasses. Her hair was straight and brown with highlights. Very slender, she looked beautiful.

As I was at the baggage claim in the Fort Lauderdale … Read more »

Learning to Ska-do

Have you ever wanted to learn how to "Blue ska-do?" Well, Steve Burns, Blue's accomplice on Nickelodeon's _Blue's Clues_ television show, once taught me how in a "Chelsea Piers":http://www.chelseapiers.com/ bowling alley.

It just so happens that I have a family member who was famous. That is, if you think a talking clock could be famous. When I was 10 years old, my sister Katie (8), brother Chris (13), and … Read more »

It's Not Every Day You Meet a Movie Megastar

Now, I'm not what you would call a celebrity stargazer, but I have to say I experienced one of those moments yesterday, in which against all common sense, the magnitude of fame leaves you positively giddy...

...I mean let's face it: it's not every day you meet a movie megastar like Tom Cruise.

I work for a prominent Canadian television company; Cruise was scheduled to make an appearance … Read more »

Later, Slater

Christian Slater was arrested for sexual harassment in the summer of '05. He had allegedly been drunk and grabbed some random New York woman's ass on one of NYC's sidewalks, and the woman was not pleased. I couldn't help but think that if Brad Pitt had grabbed my ass in the middle of the street, I would not tattle to CNN. Rather, I'd enjoy the fact that Brad Pitt's hand … Read more »

'We Don't Give Out That Information'

During that transitional summer between high school and college, I worked at Dallas's only independent movie theater. The theater was an old one, converted from one grand space into three smaller screens, with a painted mural on the ceiling and a smoky bar sharing the lobby space.

My coworkers were mostly local community-college students, whom I looked up to and who respected me for having decent taste in movies. … Read more »

I'm Glad I Had to Go

I really didn't think he would sit next to him. Of all the places at the movie theater, Napoleon Dynamite thought that my chair was the best.

In the end, I'm glad I had to go to the bathroom...after the show. Maybe Mark still remembers him. I'll have to ask the little bro.

Woman to Woman

A husky laugh, a come-hither head toss--tumbly curls glossed her shoulders.

Kathleen Turner.

Fifty-something, drop-dead gorgeous, and whip-smart. At the Planned Parenthood luncheon, I briefly spun in her orbit, close enough to smell the wine on her breath...and, yes, to feel her body heat. She was aware of precisely that moment when I'd start holding my own breath as she wound up a story, and could hear me … Read more »

All Ears

It happened in New York during my senior year of high school, while my older and much cooler cousin was visiting me from L.A. I'm from Jersey, and there isn't much to do there other than shop at one of our many malls. As my cousin is from L.A. (and used to much more exciting things than people-watching while eating Sbarro's pizza), I suggested we spend the day in the … Read more »

Socialist in Public Transport Shocker

I think I saw "Ken Loach":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Loach on the No. 2 to "Roundhay":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhay this morning. He asked for a £1.60 fare and a child's fare and went upstairs.

I was very impressed by the idea of his using buses, unlike "David O'Leary":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_O%27Leary, who during his tenure at United in their _Spend, Spend, Spend!_ Era used to advertise, "I use a Day Rider" on First services. Maybe if he had used … Read more »

Pool with Ed Norton

While living and working at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I played pool with a stranger whom I correctly guessed to be Art Carney. We had a beer and a burrito.

When I asked him for confirmation of his identity, he told me I had a big mouth. I was 18, and knew him only from _The Apple Dumpling Gang._

_Sigh._ I did have a big … Read more »

Smashed

The members of my music group had had enough of one another.

We were on the brink of success, having just recorded two songs for Mercury Records on their Smash label. It was starting to get airplay, and then the bomb dropped: Billy, our lead guitarist and singer/songwriter, was put in jail for raping a minor.

The full album, _Children at the Crossroads,_ was almost finished, and we … Read more »

River's Edge

I was back in L.A. for the second time in the same month. One of the hazards of being a freelance PR flack for Paramount. It was Friday night, and I was taking in a bit of dinner at a not-too-trendy West Hollywood nightspot, when River Phoenix walked in with a small entourage.

He and his friends chose a table not far from mine and, as he was waiting … Read more »

Bazar Encounter

I'd had to go to the doctor to get a note saying I could fly.

I had glandular fever (picked up from an unwashed cup in a backpacker's hostel, not from all the Swedish blokes I'd been snogging) but was just well enough to fly halfway round the world, from Sydney to London.

So they put me in the "problem" row by the bulkhead, between two tiny babies … Read more »

Goodbye, Paul

During spring break 2002, I traveled to New York City for the express purpose of seeing a limited-engagement revival of Arthur Miller's _The Crucible_ at the Virginia Theater. The production featured Liam Neeson and Laura Linney as John and Elizabeth Proctor. _The Crucible_ is part of a clutch of what I consider the finest American plays (including Tennessee Williams's peerless _A Streetcar Named Desire_ and _The Glass Menagerie_).

It … Read more »

Paul Newman and His Very Own

There are so many ways to remember Paul Newman.

What _I_ remember is the night I saw him with his wife, Joanne Woodward, at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. At the time, they'd probably been married 30 years. They were holding hands and talking to each other. Whatever he was saying was making her toss her head back and laugh.

I remember she once said that to marry … Read more »

Indie Guitar Guy

He played guitar for the opening act at the first concert I ever went to. Three years later he was drunk and hitting on me in a restaurant in Wrigleyville.

I Miss My Friend

It's weird--I didn't know who Chris Crocker was until I saw his face on the news.

I dropped my drink when I saw his face.

He was my friend, one I hadn't seen in years. Didn't expect to see him yelling, "Leave Britney alone!" on the news. Hadn't seen him since mallrat boredom was given up for college and a new type of boredom.

It's weird to … Read more »

I Laughed Like a Loser

Let me start by saying that I love "the Spill Canvas":http://www.thespillcanvas.com/. So when I was interning at a concert venue/club in Atlanta, I was excited when I found out they would be there. And as I am also a member of the Spill Canvas Street Team, I signed up for a contest to go bowling with them before the show--which I would be getting into for free, thanks to connections.
Read more »