Ok, my life may be eccentric but not all that riveting - but here goes...
Back in my elementary school days I made it onto a [censored] TV show and actually had several lines and interaction with the host. Nearly all of which was cut and discarded for time reasons. I spent most of a school day at the studio and ended up, on TV, looking like I was just hanging around the back of the set by accident. My chums back at school thought I was a star, at lest for a week!
Does anyone remember the Vantastics?
Back in 1983 I almost spilled ice cream on Adam West (i.e. Batman) - recovered and was able to shake hands and exchange a few words. Very cool fellow even at the nadir of his career.
I really pissed off Fred Rogers (as in Mr. Rogers)when I was about 9 and caught a glimpse of the turmoil lurking just under the surface. Nobody could have been THAT nice ALL the time. It still freaks me out when I think back. It was just the two of us, on a pier in Florida.
Look for me in the background crowd during the last few minuets of "Revenge of the Nerds II". I think I am in there for about a half second. The "pool" scene was an extremely long location shot. After being "on-set" forever I had simply had to go home.
On several occasions, I have had total strangers tell me I look just like John Kennedy Jr. I have had people take my picture because of it. In a very morbid way, his death has stopped that. It must be the hair or something, because I do not see it.
In the graduation scene in the movie "With Honors" take a look in the background sidewalk, again for about a second, I am a blue and white blur. Not worth mentioning. Although I was there when the crane mounted camera safety lock broke and the unoccupied camera chair and camera smashed to the ground from about 25 feet. Ouch!
Time for one last on-topic story for the BEA-
Does anyone remember Ann Jillian? I sure do. She was the guest of honor in my home town's 4thof July parade in 1983. The parade route was pretty long and we had set up to watch very near the end of the run. By the time the bands and clowns had made it down to us they were all exhausted and glum. For my 14th birthday I had just received a telephoto lense for my camera and was taking all sorts of photos.
Then along come Ann sitting on the back trunk of a bright red convertible. As the car slowly approached I was in adolescent nirvana. She was in a backless fluffy white dress, just think "The 7 Year Itch" and I was amazed how luminescent she was. Even after a good hour in the baking sun and blustery wind she was still smiling clutching a clump of quickly wilting flowers and waving. I nearly forgot to use the camera. Looking through the viewfinder was like being next to her!
The car came to pause only feet away, as parades are apt to do. Ann simply continued to wave and smile. This was too perfect! I simply was frozen looking through the camera at her beauty magnified to an uncomfortably intimate degree. Then it happened.
As she turned to wave at other gawking teenagers across the street a strong gust of wind swirled around the car and caught the open back of her dress. For a split second the top of her outfit rippled away from her chest and there caught in my viewfinder were two perfect examples of what made her, at least in my mind, a living fantasy. I was too shocked to actually take a picture. I just sat there slack-jawed as Ann quickly clutched the flowers to her for more cover.
The car moving away snapped me from my **104** and in some desperate, and futile, attempt to document the whole thing I did take a picture. It was an off-center image of a red car and the back of some lady messing with her dress.
Years later her battle with breast cancer and her subsequent rehabilitation put a different flavor on my recollections. If only I had been a little more together there would be a candid record of such an amazing sight before any surgery. I send out a long overdue "looking-good!" to Ann, wherever she is.