I don't pay much attention to pop culture, so by nature I'm not particularly impressed by so called celebrities. However, I am a sociable person and like genuine good people.
John Denver: I met him when he was broke and hungry and performing for peanuts at a campus bar. We became friends.
Bob Segar: He was preforming with The Silver Bullet Band at an off campus bar when a friend of mine tried hitting on his girlfriend. Segar and his drummer came off stage and were going to gang up on my friend, so I got involved to even out the odds. The bar manager, who knew both me and Segar, came to our rescue and set us all down together and bought us drinks. We ended up laughing and enjoying ourselves.
Martha Raye: A great actress and performer, also a great American patriot, had a fondness for young men. She was in town performing with the John Kenley Players and staying at a hotel that also had a fantastic patio bar with swimming pool.
We drank and danced until my girlfriend arrived. Despite the 20 years difference in our ages I really liked Martha as a person.
Nick Nolte: Waiting for downtown traffic to clear, I took my regular seat at the Marriott's cocktail lounge. The guy seated next to me spoke after the bartender greeted me by name and brought my drink without asking. We ended up in a wide ranging discussion covering everything. Deep into our conversation Nick mentioned that he was in town making a movie. I asked questions about movies and movie making and why my town had been selected. I was shocked when he introduced himself. (The movie, I think was called Principals, was filmed in a vacant high school.)
My favorite celebrity is by the ladies choice anonymous. She was once an exotic dancer in a local club that I frequented.
We became close friends, platonic friends sadly. At age 26 she left her husband, moved to LA and became a porn star. We still correspond.
I used to travel constantly. On one occasion, years ago, I arrived home at 2:00 AM because of late flights and missed connections to find a message on my answering machine that I had to cover for a sick co-worker and catch an early flight to Chicago. First class tickets were waiting at the airport and I snuggled into my window seat and was soon sound asleep. Then, a beautiful young lady (who I recognized from a popular television show) shook me awake to ask if I wanted breakfast. I no longer remember her name, but I still smile at the thought of her waking me up for breakfast.
I prefer genuine good people, so I won't say much at all about politicians. Generally after meeting with and shaking hands with them I have a strong urge to use hand sanitizer.
