In no particular order, who are the five most famous people you've met?

Started by planxtymcgillicuddy, September 21, 2019, 01:16:52 PM

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1995hoo

Quote from: hbelkins on September 22, 2019, 04:25:44 PM
I have pictures of me with Tubby Smith and Gov. Fletcher. (Also have pictures of me with current Gov. Matt Bevin and former Govs. Brereton Jones and Wallace Wilkinson). I also have a picture of me with John L. Smith when he was Louisville's football coach, but I didn't include him in my Top 5.

....

This comment reminded me I have some pictures of myself with Dick Vitale taken prior to a UVA basketball game sometime in the early 1990s.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.


hbelkins

Quote from: clong on September 23, 2019, 02:21:41 PM
Steve Shaw - SEC Supervisor of Football Officials

Honorable mention to Will Muschamp, South Carolina Head Coach

Didn't you get those two reversed? I'd never heard of the supervisor of officials, but have heard of Muschamp.

And was Shaw as stupid as the acts of some of those he supervises seem to indicate that he is?  :bigass:


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

inkyatari

1) Weird Al
2) The lead singer of Whitecross
3) Near miss meeting William H Macy.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

Mark68

George Carlin (RIP)
John Williams (He of the world-famous cinematic scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, etc)
Bill Clinton
Gray Davis (former Governor of CA)
Michael Hancock (Mayor of Denver)

There are several whom I've seen up close (in a former job capacity), but never really "met" per se.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."~Yogi Berra

KEVIN_224

Quote from: Henry on September 23, 2019, 01:09:36 PM
These five people have a Chicago theme among them:

Ryne Sandberg
Mike Ditka
Phil Jackson
Michael Jordan
Scottie Pippen

I met the last three during the Bulls' first championship parade in 1991. Ditka was a speaker at my school from way back, and Sandberg was from my many Cubs games that I went to as a kid.

A former friend of mine got Ryne's autograph back in 2011 or so. He was the manager of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs at the time. I could be wrong for the team, but it was definitely at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA.

kphoger

Hmm, I've met people who are famous only in certain circles.  I don't know if any of their names would be recognized here.

Probably the best-known would be Charles Colson, former Special Counsel to Nixon who was imprisoned for conspiring to cover up Watergate.

Other that that...
Kenneth Taylor, author of the Living Bible (I worked for the company he owned)
Several members of Caedmon's Call, a top Christian music group 15 or 20 years ago (chatted after a concert)
Gracia Burham, who was held captive by ISIL in the Phillippines back in 2001 (at a book signing)
The Herschend family, owners of Silver Dollar City in Branson (family friends of my wife)
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

SP Cook


roadman

Cardinal Richard Cushing, Archbishop of Boston.  He said the Mass I received my first holy communion at in 1968.
Anthony Athanas.  Met him in 1971 when he came up and introduced himself to me and my parents while we were eating at Anthony's Hawthorne in Lynn (MA).
Governor Michael Dukakis.  Met him in 1985 at an event denoting the completion of the Southeast Expressway reconstruction.
Governor Deval Patrick.  Met him in 2011 when he toured the field office/command center for the I-93 "Fast 14" project.
Tom Rush.  Met him in September of 2013 after a concert at The Narrows in Fall River.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

SectorZ

I can't believe how few famous people I've met.

I met all 5 members of the band Anthrax in 2003, so I guess we could just rank from Scott Ian downward as my five. Also met Ian's now-wife Pearl Aday, the daughter of Meatloaf, at that same time.

jakeroot

Greg Nicotero (director of Walking Dead, make-up artist) (multiple occasions...family friend)
Matthew Lillard (actor) (Hard Rock Casino, Las Vegas)
Chris Hardwick (presenter) (filming for "Talking Dead")
Kevin Hart (while he was in Tacoma filming a bit for Hart of the City)

I've been very close to meeting Tom Savini (actor, make-up artist) and Simon Pegg (actor), but wasn't able to make it work.

inkyatari

Quote from: inkyatari on September 24, 2019, 12:46:03 PM
1) Weird Al
2) The lead singer of Whitecross
3) Near miss meeting William H Macy.

I am appending my list..

1) Weird Al
2) Daniel Pessina (Johnny Cage, Mortal Kombat 1 (arcade))
3) Dr. Philip Ahn (Shang Tsung, MK Arcade)
4) Eugene Jarvis (Creator of Defender, Stargate, Robotron, Blaster - all arcade
5) Jeff Lee - Creator of Qbert
6) Brian Colin - Creator of Rampage.

BONUS!  Billy Mitchell

I know it was 6 and a bonus, but to be fair, these are the most famous people I've ever met.  I'm a sad, lonely man.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

inkyatari

Quote from: Rothman on September 24, 2019, 09:42:39 PM
Billy Mitchell is a bonus?  He was caught cheating. :D

To be fair, he's a better player than any of us ever will be.  That having been said, I didn't list him in my top 5+1 because of that.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

Rothman

Quote from: inkyatari on September 24, 2019, 09:43:32 PM
Quote from: Rothman on September 24, 2019, 09:42:39 PM
Billy Mitchell is a bonus?  He was caught cheating. :D

To be fair, he's a better player than any of us ever will be.  That having been said, I didn't list him in my top 5+1 because of that.
I loved it when he threw a fit because of King of Kong.  The director said that they had even more footage of Billy's less-than-niceties that they didn't include in the movie and that shut him up. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

US71

Hubert Humphrey, Walter Brennan, James R. Thompson,  Felix Silla , artist/humorist Mark Wallace (aka William Blackfox), Burt Ward (in passing)
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

NWI_Irish96

Nobody that I would consider to be super-famous, but the five most recognizable names:

Lou Holtz
Jerome Bettis
Dick Vitale
Richard Lugar
Otis Bowen
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

hbelkins

Quote from: cabiness42 on September 25, 2019, 12:48:59 PM
Nobody that I would consider to be super-famous, but the five most recognizable names:

Lou Holtz
Jerome Bettis
Dick Vitale
Richard Lugar
Otis Bowen

I would definitely consider the four whose names I recognized as being famous. Don't know who Otis Bowen is.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

webny99

Quote from: kphoger on September 24, 2019, 02:38:57 PM
Hmm, I've met people who are famous only in certain circles.  I don't know if any of their names would be recognized here.

Same here. I can't think of one person I've met that would have universal name recognition with the US population at large.

Conversely, I recognize very few of the names others have posted. I think corco's list is the only one where I even recognize two of the names (the first two). Unless I missed something, I believe I recognized no more than one name from anyone else's list. Generally speaking, if you have to tell us who they are, they aren't that famous. But I guess you just can't expect to meet many truly famous people when there's only so many to go around.

Beltway

Quote from: webny99 on September 25, 2019, 03:51:43 PM
Same here. I can't think of one person I've met that would have universal name recognition with the US population at large.
Conversely, I recognize very few of the names others have posted. I think corco's list is the only one where I even recognize two of the names (the first two). Unless I missed something, I believe I recognized no more than one name from anyone else's list. Generally speaking, if you have to tell us who they are, they aren't that famous. But I guess you just can't expect to meet many truly famous people when there's only so many to go around.
Depends on how "famous" is defined.

Universal name recognition with the U.S. population at large?  How many other than U.S. presidents would meet that criteria? 

The most famous sports figures are unknown to most people that don't follow sports.

Historical figures like Babe Ruth or Albert Einstein lived long before nearly everybody alive today.

I named two people that are widely known in their fields (WW II military history and Christian pastorates) but outside of those areas many would not have heard of them.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

formulanone

Quote from: Beltway on September 25, 2019, 04:03:11 PM
Quote from: webny99 on September 25, 2019, 03:51:43 PM
Same here. I can't think of one person I've met that would have universal name recognition with the US population at large.
Conversely, I recognize very few of the names others have posted. I think corco's list is the only one where I even recognize two of the names (the first two). Unless I missed something, I believe I recognized no more than one name from anyone else's list. Generally speaking, if you have to tell us who they are, they aren't that famous. But I guess you just can't expect to meet many truly famous people when there's only so many to go around.
Depends on how "famous" is defined.

Universal name recognition with the U.S. population at large?  How many other than U.S. presidents would meet that criteria? 

The most famous sports figures are unknown to most people that don't follow sports.

Historical figures like Babe Ruth or Albert Einstein lived long before nearly everybody alive today.

I named two people that are widely known in their fields (WW II military history and Christian pastorates) but outside of those areas many would not have heard of them.

I went with "having a Wikipedia entry", since they have a pretty set of good criteria for notability, and that's also changed over the years; a decade ago, an internet personality was not a sufficient claim to notability. Of course, there's always a few that aren't quite going to make it based on their lofty qualifications, so I'll let each of you decide for yourselves. Meeting someone who made some famous 1980s video games would be sufficient, at least to me!

I forgot I met Dick Vitale at a book-signing in Gainesville in 2000. I wandered over to say-hi-and-handshake, and that was it. And then he's pointing, smiling, and greeting people in about 40 directions at once! So far, that makes him the one who's met the most AARoads members?

Also, we could fill out a damn good IROC field with all the racing drivers we've collectively met.

hotdogPi

Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Big John


Beltway

Quote from: 1 on September 25, 2019, 06:10:26 PM
I've only met one: Elizabeth Warren in 2012.
I wonder if she had anything to do with the reported hauntings around Route 895?

Ramping down the road's long bridge, the truck driver's eyes widened at the sight of three flickering points of light on a high bluff to his left.
"The truck driver came through and said he seen [three] Indians in the middle of the highway lined up by the woods, each of them holding a torch, " said a report filed by the parkway toll taker to whom the driver related the incident.

https://www.richmond.com/news/local/dozens-of-callers-cite-native-american-spirits-on-pocahontas-parkway/article_8bc26b64-c428-11e4-99ab-738c81e2c9e1.html
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

cl94

Some big names here and some smaller ones, but even the smallest name is pretty damn prominent in the scientific fields.

- Khalil Mack (several times 2012-14). Linebacker for the Chicago Bears. This was when we were both at the University at Buffalo. Ran into him more times than I can ever count and had a few quick chats. Nice guy in person.
- Shirley Ann Jackson (several times 2016-19), former NRC chair and former President's Intelligence Advisory Committee chair. First African-American woman to get a doctorate from MIT. This is also how I am no more than 2 degrees of separation from at least one president.
- Kenan Thompson, former SNL cast member. Was on a school trip and only got a picture with him because the group I was with on a school trip didn't do the normal New Yorker "ignore" like I generally do for these things.
- Chuck Schumer (multiple times over the years)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (multiple times over the years)
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Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.



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