I worked for 7 years in Major League baseball and the city I worked in saw many Hollywood stars as well as politicians and athletes coming through the gates. I was awestruck very early on but quickly got used to seeing these people walk by and honestly, after awhile I had come to realize these people were just people and found myself no longer putting them on the celebrity pedastal. I do have one story of "meeting" a Hollywood and Broadway star that I still laugh about.
I live in an area of Southern Wisconsin that draws HUGE amounts of Chicago area residents as a vacation/summer home destination. John Mahoney, who played Kelsey Grammer's dad on Frasier (as well as had roles on Broadway and in movies) has a small cottage on a lake up here that is tucked way back off a road that is rarely traveled. This happened to be a road I used to travel home each night and frequently I would be the only one on the road. Mr. Mahoney's home was right at a sharp bend in the road and one day I came around that bend, perhaps a bit too quickly and I almost ran the white haired actor down as he was taking out his garbage. The garbage cans were across the road from his house and when I realized I almost hit the man, I stopped and apologized. He laughed that laugh I had seen him do on Frasier many times and said it was OK and we both went on our way. I do see him around town occasionally and the locals leave him alone, even while he is grabbing a quick bite at the Panera not far from his home.
|