Celebrity jerks?

[drftfan]

I have met quite a few celebrities. Most everyone has been pretty nice. Shannon Doherty was leaving the Anaheim comic con and I just said I wanted to say hi, she shook my hand and asked how I was doing. Very polite.
Someone mentioned Trent Reznor. I never met him but am a huge fan. On his last concert tour he did he was trying to raise money for a heart transplant patient. For 300 you could hang out back stage and watch sound check etc. for 1000 he said they would pretty much let you do whatever you wanted. That was for two people for either one. I thought that was a pretty classy thing to do.
Nicholas Cage, Wayne Brady, Anne Heche, Eddie Griffin, Harvey Levin and David Prowse were all pretty cool.
My only real bad experience was with Mickey Dolenz from the Monkees. Right after my mother suddenly died (who was a big fan of the Monkees) I saw Mickey at the same comic con I saw Shannon at. My fiancé encouraged me to go say hi to him. He literally had no one at his booth, stunk of booze and pretty much blew off anything I said to him. I am very cordial and respectful around celebrities and I do not "fanboy" out on them. I also will not even attempt to waste their time on boring stories etc. I told him how my mom was a big fan and she took us to our first concert in 86 to see their reunion tour. "uh huh" was basically the response and when I followed up and said I still had the picture from that concert he said well if you like pictures I have these ones here and then he also proceeded to show me some other stuff I could buy. At least his wife was polite. I was at his booth maybe two to three minutes tops.
Really took away what could have been a good experience. I don't believe my mother ever met any of them so it was a way to still have a small connection.

 

[Chevyh0tr0d]

Jason David Frank - the white/green power ranger

I have heard nothing but high praise about Jason. Even though hes now trying to break out into the MMA, the guy still does a ton of make a wish charity events etc. I also have heard nothing but high praises of anyone who has run into him at a con on the street etc. A very nice guy who is appreciative of pretty much any fan who approaches him. He is on my list of celebs to meet one day, just because of how much of nice guy he is!

 

[Sundowner]

I'm liking how this is slowly turning into a "Celebrity Nice Guys" thread. :thumbsup

I agree the title of the thread should be "Celebrity Encounters"

 

[KrangPrime]

Scotty - very friendly - total class act!

apologies for all these replies, but i'm slowly reading through all thirty pages...

My Scotty story was a sad one. It was at a Slanted Fedora conventoin. As some of you may know, they shut down due to some seedy practices. anyway, one time one of their guests was Mr.Doohan. This had to of been a few months before he died. The poor guy was in a wheel chair, could barely move, and hardly speak. but he seemed to do his best to be energetic and answer everything as best he could. Sadly, it took him almost five minutes to answer even a simple question as he could hardly talk for long, and my thought at the time was he shouldn't even be at this conventoin. It was labled as his 'farewell tour'. or as i would call it 'how his family can eak out as much money as they can before he passes'...

Even if he truly wanted to be there, the poor guy should have been home resting...

 

[KrangPrime]

I think I was about 15 at the time I met George Takei at a convention. I was polite but enthusiastic in wanting to know how it was working on Mission Impossible and with John Wayne in The Green Berets and other stuff. The look of shock on his face was priceless. :lol


, he's passed away now, and after that the photo went into a box of stuff I stored at my dad's warehouse on a move from college and the ass hats out there threw it out. Between moments of being pissed as hell, I actually cried.

I've got one better. I was 15 as well meeting Mr.Takei for the first time. We where told not to engage him in conversation, because apparently once he starts talking, he never stops . I had to ask him a question anyway...and I think I shocked him into utter silence by the utter rareness of it before he confirmed it was him. In 1991, he voiced a character in the original Ninja Turtles Show that had three lines. I can guarantee no one else has asked him before or since

While my story isn't as pissy as those warehouse ass hats... I was at a William patterson Sesame Street event. I was aware of an apparent invitation only event going on after the show, but when i asked if the stars where available for autographs after the performance, they pointed me right to the supposed VIP only event. I was so nervous I was crashing a $400 per person ticket event, that I only stayed very breifly. I talked to Frank Oz for only 20 seconds. Very nice...I REALLY wanted a picture with him, but again I was nervous about weather i should even be there or not, so I made it very short. must have thought i was nuts .. I also got into a group picture with Bob, and Carrol Spinney (Oscar, Big Bird)...I filled out my card, but was never sent the picture!

Thankfully, I rectified half of that at Chiller con. still need to get another picture with Bob though .

as far as other nice guys..... Remember Brian Tochi? He was in Police Academy, Leonardo's Costume wearer for all three turtle movies. VERY nice guy. answered every question, took a free photo...and thanked us for coming out to see him ..

 

[Apollo]

:lol So true I have known George since 1976 and know better to get him started! :lol

meeting Mr.Takei for the first time. We where told not to engage him in conversation,

 

[GrimmOmen]

I was fortunate enough to meet Tim Hutton and Aldis Hodge who plays Hardison on Leverage at a bar here in Portland - Christian Kane was actually the musical entertainment.

Both Tim and Aldis were immediately surrounded by women, and I was thinking that there was no way that they'd make time to talk with me much less my 79 year old mother in law who was a huge fan of leverage (we had taken her there to see Christian who she thought was a hottie). Amazingly, Tim was fantastic and took time to talk with her for a few minutes, and Aldis was really cool as well.

One a similar note, I got to meet Johnny Mosely and another Olympian when I used to work for 3DO. It was early in the morning and they just hung out in my office and talked. That was pretty cool too.


<edit> I had forgotten that my wife and I were on a plane from DC to Portland with a plane full of WWE wrestlers, everyone seemed really nice except for Jeff Hardy, he kept putting his hands back over his seat and into my wife's face to which we both took turns pushing them back. Not sure I can be too hard on him though, I don't think the chap took to flying very well. He was looped to the gills and had to be escorted off the plane by TSA. Not being rowdy, but basically completely unable to move up the aisle on his own accord.

-Grimm
(Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD)

 

[Wolfie138]

lol at Jeff. yeah, he and his brothers have had...issues. clean for a while now, to all accounts. seems to be the shining example of how drugs can adversely affect a nice guy.

 

[DMentdEnt]

Worst I ever met... Corbin Bernsen...hands down. If you didn't buy anything at his table and his handler saw you take a picture...he would chase you down and take your camera. Happened to a guy I was at a convention with. He was just rude and overall acted like it was a hassle that his fans wanted to meet him.

Best would be Betsy Rue from My Bloody Valentine and Kristy Swanson. Both top notch and you left thinking they were your best friends!

 

[Bigdaddy]

Worst I ever met... Corbin Bernsen...hands down. If you didn't buy anything at his table and his handler saw you take a picture...he would chase you down and take your camera. Happened to a guy I was at a convention with.

Wow! is that allowed at cons, handlers "stealing" expensive photography equipment? I'd think twice about bringing a "real" camera to an event.

 

[Bill Clar]

Personally I think that if you see them on the street, or just generally out and about, 'celebrities' are under no obligation to even talk to you.

...

However, I think if they are attending an event as a guest or promoting something and being paid, they should probably try to meet a minimum standard for 'pleasantness'.

Well said.

I bought Tom Savini's autograph at a horror con and he wasn't rude, but he wasn't pleasant either. No eye contact, no personalization. If I'm paying for someone's autograph I'd at least like them to pretend to be interested.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I find there are a couple keys to having a good experience with a celebrity.

First and foremost don't be a fanboy. Tell them what they've done that you like sure but don't gush. Second try to mention something that they don't get ALL the time. When I met Christopher Lloyd I was getting him to sign a BTTF item but I mentioned how he scared the crap out of me as Judge Doom. He opened right up after that.

Most celebs want to be treated like normal people. Also unless they're at an autograph booth or something of the sort they're "off the clock". By all means ask for a photo/autograph but if they brush you off don't take it personally, they've probably been asked a dozen times already and can you imagine just wanting to get some groceries and being accosted every 5 mins?

Not applicable to everyone but that's my approach.

 

[dbalschi]

Joh Rhys-Davies stayed at the hotel I work at for the past 2 weeks. Great guy and quite a character! Bought me pizza a few times and thanked me for running off this guy who kept showing up with stacks of posters to sign. I only talked to him about movies once and that was when he checked out but overall he was a great guy to deal with!

 

[Wes R]

Joh Rhys-Davies stayed at the hotel I work at for the past 2 weeks. Great guy and quite a character! Bought me pizza a few times and thanked me for running off this guy who kept showing up with stacks of posters to sign. I only talked to him about movies once and that was when he checked out but overall he was a great guy to deal with!

He always seemed to be a genuine guy. I just read a history of Chevy Chase being a jerk, 40+ years of it has left a blemish on his reputation.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Joh Rhys-Davies stayed at the hotel I work at for the past 2 weeks. Great guy and quite a character! Bought me pizza a few times and thanked me for running off this guy who kept showing up with stacks of posters to sign. I only talked to him about movies once and that was when he checked out but overall he was a great guy to deal with!

He is one of the best for sure! Love JRD. :thumbsup

 

[Solo4114]

I find there are a couple keys to having a good experience with a celebrity.

First and foremost don't be a fanboy. Tell them what they've done that you like sure but don't gush. Second try to mention something that they don't get ALL the time. When I met Christopher Lloyd I was getting him to sign a BTTF item but I mentioned how he scared the crap out of me as Judge Doom. He opened right up after that.

Most celebs want to be treated like normal people. Also unless they're at an autograph booth or something of the sort they're "off the clock". By all means ask for a photo/autograph but if they brush you off don't take it personally, they've probably been asked a dozen times already and can you imagine just wanting to get some groceries and being accosted every 5 mins?

Not applicable to everyone but that's my approach.

To some degree, I think the "level" of celebrity sort of matters, too. Like, are they a "celebrity" or are they an actor who's been in stuff you know?

Earlier in the thread, I mentioned meeting Sonja Sohn. Aside from her role as Kima on the Wire, she's not that widely known, I'd imagine. Certainly she seemed surprised to be recognized. For someone like that, I'd expect that it's a nice thing, as long as it doesn't derail their day.

For someone who's an "A-lister" or who's been on the con circuit, I'd expect it'd go a little differently and you'd have to tread a bit more carefully.

And for someone who's a "reality TV" star, it probably depends on the show. People like the Mythbusters guys or the Dirty Jobs guy, they'd probably be pretty down to earth. Kate Gosselin, though, you should probably just cross to the other side of the street and avoid.


And the "Don't go all fanboy" thing also seems important. It's one thing to compliment someone on their work. It's another thign to pepper them with obscure questions, or not respect their craft by treating them as if they're the character(s) they play or whathaveyou.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Agreed. Then you get the whole other genre of folks who really aren't stars but desperately want to be noticed. Even if you're a fan stay away...

 

[carterfan]

Went to Calgary Expo this year and the entire cast of Star trek the Next Generation were there. I was super excited of course and paid the $400 to have an autograph session with the cast. Patrick Stewart was so rude and threw a little hissy fit because I asked him to personalize his auto. It was a group photo so he didn't want to. i was like uh...ok. Then I politely asked to shake his hand and didn't even extend my hand. He pushed his chair back and ranted about "Never touchthe actors!". I thought he was joking but nope as I hadn't even made a gesture. Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden were chatting with each other and didn't even look at me when I said thank you. Wil Wheaton was the only one during that session who smiled and chatted.

Now I wanted to cut Patrick Stewart a little slack and though maybe he was just tired, but during the $500 group photo session which I didn't purchase thank god, he gets up and says I'm done see you tomorrow. Leaving the rest of the cast just sitting there. There were only 10 people left in line so he really could have stayed the extra 10 minutes. one poor woman was in tears because her husband had take the day off work to drive her to the convention for the photo op.

 

[Wes R]

That sucks, he always seems like such a nice guy in interviews unless it was just a crappy con for him. Still for what people are paying for an autograph just smile and deal with it. Sadly i can't justify paying for an autograph after paying for a ticket just to get in.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Went to Calgary Expo this year and the entire cast of Star trek the Next Generation were there. I was super excited of course and paid the $400 to have an autograph session with the cast. Patrick Stewart was so rude and threw a little hissy fit because I asked him to personalize his auto. It was a group photo so he didn't want to. i was like uh...ok. Then I politely asked to shake his hand and didn't even extend my hand. He pushed his chair back and ranted about "Never touchthe actors!". I thought he was joking but nope as I hadn't even made a gesture. Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden were chatting with each other and didn't even look at me when I said thank you. Wil Wheaton was the only one during that session who smiled and chatted.

Now I wanted to cut Patrick Stewart a little slack and though maybe he was just tired, but during the $500 group photo session which I didn't purchase thank god, he gets up and says I'm done see you tomorrow. Leaving the rest of the cast just sitting there. There were only 10 people left in line so he really could have stayed the extra 10 minutes. one poor woman was in tears because her husband had take the day off work to drive her to the convention for the photo op.

That's terrible.

On the flip side this last summer I met LeVar Burton and he was quite nice.