Thursday 13: Celebrity Encounters
1) Ronnie Milsap. I met Ronnie in 1984 while I worked at a bank. His tour bus pulled up late in the afternoon, just before closing time. His road manager came in asking to cash a check. A check for a rather large sum. We all asked if Ronnie could come in and say hi. To get the check cashed, his manager eagerly agreed and Ronnie came in. I remember wanting to ask for an autograph, but didn’t because Ronnie is blind. Silly. Great guy though, very friendly.
2 & 3) Steve Smith and Ross Valory. Steve was Journey’s drummer in the heyday, and Ross is an original member still with the band. I met them in 1996 at a Vital Information show. Vital Information is Steve Smith’s jazz band. It was shortly before the release of the band’s 1996 reunion album Trial By Fire. They were very nice and even hung out and talked to us. They posed for pictures with us and everything. Great guys!
4) Continuing with Journey, let’s talk Steve Perry. Ken and I met him in December of ’94 during his solo tour. He was very gracious and friendly. He autographed a bunch of stuff for us and spent a lot of time just hanging and talking to us. I knew not to ask anything about Journey based on my earlier conversation with #5.
5) Let’s talk Neal Schon, Journey’s guitarist and founding member. Met him at a bar one night during a solo tour he was doing. We talked about the first time I met him back in the early 70s when I was a kid and he was with Santana. He remembered me because of my cousin, who he thought was hot. We talked about Journey, and his obvious disgust and dislike of Steve Perry. He dished the dirt, and I remember leaving thinking of what a prick Perry is.
6) Speaking of Neal in Santana, I met Carlos Santana the same time I first met Neal. I was punky little kid who had until that day never heard of Santana. I just happened to look at an album by them and when Neal asked my favorite Santana song, I quickly recalled a song title. Mind you, I’d never even heard a song by the band. Neal was excited, and had me repeat the song to Carlos. Neal said he’d been trying to convince Carlos to play it. Carlos said they’d add it to the set list. Ha!
7) David Lee Roth. What can you say about this guy. His public persona is him. No difference between what you see and what you get. He’s hilarious, quick-witted, and very friendly. He was the life of the party. Great guy!
8) KISS. We met these guys on their tour in 1979. We just didn’t know it. Remember, back then no one knew what they looked like. We went to a restaurant the day of the show and spoke to these four guys who saw our KISS t-shirts and asked if we were going to the show. We said yes. They said KISS sucked. We argued a little back and forth, with us defending KISS. We weren’t aware at the time that Frehley was an alcoholic, and later found out. He was definitely drunk. Today, I’m surprised the four were together as it seems they couldn’t stand each other. When they unmasked in ’83, right away I realized it was them that we spoke to and argued with. Funny!
9) Keith Richards. Now, why would a founding member of the Rolling Stones be in a grocery store buying beer and cigarettes instead of having someone do it for him? I don’t know, but I do know I was the only one who realized it was him. The Stones were playing in town the following night. He was very kind and thanked me for being a fan. I wish I’d had a camera.
10) Chi Chi Rodriguez. I met Chi Chi and many other golfers when I worked for Marriott and they stayed at our hotel. He was super friendly and gave me VIP passes for the Texas Open. The VIP pass gave me unrestricted access to everything. I was treated like a king. He was a great guy, very friendly.
11) Billy Joe Dupree. Billy Joe is a legendary player for the 1970s Dallas Cowboys. He was the tight end and won at least one and maybe two Super Bowls with the Cowboys. I was at a party with some friends of mine who worked at a radio station. I’m going to guess this was 1982. I recognized him and talked to him. He asked me to not mention that he was there. Well, after a number of alcoholic beverages, including a few too many shots of Tequila, I thought I’d get an autograph. I asked the bartender for a napkin and pen. He said, “Oh, lucky guy! Getting a woman’s number?” I said, “No. I’m getting Billy Joe Dupree’s autograph” before yelling over to Billy Joe, “Hey, Billy Joe, I’m getting a pen and paper. Will you give me your autograph? Hey everyone, you see Billy Joe Dupree?” Immediately, everyone in the club was all over him. He gave me that look…you know the one…like “thanks a lot, dude”! He was nice, signing autographs…even the one for me. I apologized…for what it was worth.
12) President Jimmy Carter. It was 1978, Carter was president. He landed at the military installation near where we lived. I was excited to have the chance to see him. I get there with a number of my friends and am right at the barrier separating the crowd from the president and the secret service agents who protect him. When he got to me, he shook my hand. I said, “Hi Jimmy, my name is Jimmy too.” He began speaking to me, smiling. I have no idea what he said as I was totally mesmerized that the president was shaking my hand and not letting go. After what seemed like 5 minutes but was probably 5 seconds, I was hit forcefully in the chest. This sent me tumbling backwards into a lot of people, knocking the wind out of me. The crowd responded by yelling at the secret service agents. Such is life.
13) This one is my favorite, so I saved it for last. Telly Savales, the actor who portrayed Kojak on the 1970s cop drama. We were boarding a plane from Germany to the U.S. I was about 10 or so at the time. I saw him and was giddy as hell. My father told me to leave him alone. About an hour into the flight, I couldn’t contain myself any longer and told my parents I had to go to the bathroom. I walked up to where he was and said, “Hi Kojak. You’re great!” or something to that effect. He looked at me and asked me what my name was. I said, “Jimmy!” He then opened his suit jacket, pulled out a lollipop and said, “Who loves ya, Jimmy?” I said, “Kojak loves me!” He replied, “You bet I do!” I was so freaking excited! I couldn’t contain myself and told my brother and parents. My brother ran up to Telly despite my father’s objections and got a lollipop as well. Telly told my parents after the flight that we were good kids and he appreciated the “Thank you, sir” polite responses we gave. Awesome guy!