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Originally posted by Blackmore:
...Jackie Stewart at Watkins Glen in 1971...

Met him at Road America when he was driving a Lola in Can Am, so also 1971? He's the only guy I know who walks faster than I did at the time, so when he wasn't around, I called him "The Wee Scoot."

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Originally posted by Sigmanic:

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Originally posted by Scoutmaster:

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Originally posted by Sigmanic:

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I stood next to Redford as a spectator, watching a motocross race. I didn't ask for his autograph, he didn't ask for mine (and I am taller than Redford).

I've heard he is relatively short - what would you guess his height to be?

I looked it up on the internet, which says 5'10". But standing shoulder to shoulder at the motocross, he isn't more than 5'7".

5'7" is about what I heard. It's a bit surprising because he does seem taller. The magic of thick soles and camera angles, I imagine.

I think 5'7" ia a legit "Hollywood" 5'10".



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Originally posted by newtoSig765:

quote:

Originally posted by Blackmore:
...Jackie Stewart at Watkins Glen in 1971...

Met him at Road America when he was driving a Lola in Can Am, so also 1971? He's the only guy I know who walks faster than I did at the time, so when he wasn't around, I called him "The Wee Scoot."

The Glen had a CanAm one day and a 6 hour Enduro with the baby blue Gulf Porsche 917Ks the other. Great memory of the whole weekend.

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Originally posted by sj4550:
Fred Haise Jr Apollo 13 Astronaut

Was able to sit down to dinner with him and heard the story of the Apollo 13th incident

We live in the Baton Rouge area and go to Biloxi and Bay St. Louis a good bit. Every time we go we stop at the Stennis Space Center and I always hope we will run into him there. My cousin got to see him there and talked about how nice he was.

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Originally posted by bendable:
are all of these "met" as in formally introduced?
or
did you just see them and say Hi ?

Boxers I met were friends of my Dad so they would usually stop by for a visit.
Mike Tyson was a different story. I'd usually see him out somewhere and was introduced once.

Bobby Kennedy. He shook my hand at a political rally. I was a kid and thought it pretty cool at the time.

Remembered a couple more. I met Mike Rowe when he came to Boise on behalf of the Albertson's Foundation, to speak at the Egyptian theater. (I was attending for work, as my program at the university was grant funded by the foundation). Super cool guy and after, went for beers with me, my grant coordinator and a couple other Albertson foundation folks. He asked me TONS of questions, especially since I worked in higher ed, and our school has technical programs.

Comedian Bill Engvall in Jackpot, NV.

Cowboy Bill Watts !
Probably in 69,70 idk

I worked as an actor at the Houston Theater Center in the the 60s. That reminds me of Henry Deuchendorf ( I think I spelled that right).


I’m reading “Without Getting Killed or Caught”, a book about Guy Clark. It clarified a question I had about Henry.

Scott and Vivian Holtzman were musicians, writers and actors in Houston in the 60s.
Scott Holtzman was doing the lead either in Carnival or King and I in 63 or 64. I think we did about 180 performances of “King and I” . He and his friend Guy Clark had some kind of connection to the Jester Lounge, a folk music venue located out Richmond Blvd about 6 miles from Houston Theatre Center on South Main in Houston. Clark worked backstage at the Theatre Center. They always went to the Jester after our show.

One night either Holtzman or Clark told me that The Kingston Trio was going to show up at the Jester after midnight that night. The Trio was playing at a local society nightclub called the Cork Club until midnight. Holtzman said that they, the Trio, wanted to be among friends once they finished up at the “high class stuck up old people club” and be among people where they could drink, play music and have a good time. I was told he would get me in as long as I promised to be inconspicuous. No one under drinking age was supposed to be there and I was 15 or 16. Luckily, I could pass for older in in a dark club as I was tall and even had a few grey hairs. I also knew how to be inconspicuous.

I was elated. I had the Trio’s albums. The Kingston Trio were a big deal and had realized vast commercial success. After midnight was a good time as we usually didn’t get our makeup off and outta costume until 11:00 after our show. This gave me plenty of time to get to the Jester.

When I got there, I stayed toward the back away from the tables and stood against the back wall. The Jester club was an old house and every seat was good. No one was more than about 30 feet from the tiny stage. When I got there, a young fellow who looked to be about 21 or so was on stage singing. He had a strong and wonderful tenor voice and sang many traditional folk songs. The most amazing thing was that he was playing an 18 string guitar. It filled the room with sound and matched his strong tenor. It would be another hour or more before the Trio arrived. When the fellow finished his set, he excused himself to take a break and went to the “green room” to rest and re-tune. I was standing next to the green room entrance (there was no door) and I heard him re-tuning, so I was curious and I stuck my head in and watched. He saw me and motioned me inside and indicated I should sit down. I asked him about the guitar. Never heard of an 18 stringer (and haven’t seen one since.) He told me he had it custom built in California. He was very patient and kind to a snot nosed kid. He was very energetic and enthusiastic about folk music and had a positive energy about him. He even took the time to ask about my interest in music. I was a relatively new guitar player and folk singer. He was a kind, patient and very courteous young man.

His name was John Denver. I had never heard of him. He was unknown except to a few folk music fans. When he appeared on TV years later, I was pleased to see such a genuinely nice guy had become successful. His TV image of positivity was not an act as far as I am concerned. What I saw was a genuine, kind and patient performer who took the time to talk to a dumb ass kid. Years later I found out that his real name was Henry John Deuchendorf, but decided that name wouldn’t fit on a marque. According to the book, this was sometime after he left architecture school at Texas Tech and just after he left the Chad Mitchell Trio. I always thought that he had been one of the traveling folk singers that played at the Jester but according to the book he was there for 3 months solidifying his new solo act. After our conversation, he returned to the small stage and did another set until the Kingston Trio arrived.

They arrived and a raucous and drunken evening ensued. Great show. They played their familiar songs and some I had not heard.

A lot of talented people sang at the Jester such as Mance Liscomb, Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Judy Collins and Lightning Hopkins. I was always disapointed that I was too young to get in. Houston played a big part in promoting Texas Music by providing places like the Jester where many talented artists were able to get together and share.

One of the actresses that appeared in our plays, Kay Oslin, was also a folk singer. For a while, she sang in a trio with Guy Clark. She was in The King and I and was the lead in Stop the World I Want to Get Off. She was very talented and it was no surprise when she went to New York and became a Broadway performer. Years later, in the 80s she became a country performer named KT Oslin and eventually won a Grammy I think. The book says that when she was performing at the Jester the trio she was in with Guy Clark recorded an album that was never released. Boy, would I like to hear that! Too bad it was never released. I did get to hear her and Guy give informal mini concerts sometimes between shows at the theatre. According to wikipedia she’s still alive. Good for her. Most of that crowd like Clark and Kay and a few others were 7-15 years older than me and have passed on. They helped solidify my appreciation of music.

I met George McGovern at an airshow. He was 89 or 90 at the time.
I shook his hand, thanked him for his service and he signed my copy of Steven Ambrose's "The Wild Blue".
The book, which is worth reading, talked quite a bit about him when he flew B-24's in Europe during WW2.
A very gracious gentleman.
He died a few months later.

I met Chow Yun-fat back when I was 5 or 6 when he was in town.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000334/