Which famous people have you met?

Man, this thread puts my meager collection to shame.

I've met and spoken briefly with a number of authors that I've met at various literary events--Harlan Ellison (I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream), Lois Lowry (The Giver), Paul Zindel (The Pigman), and Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes). I also met John Astin (who played Gomez on the Addams Family) after his travelling one-man show about Edgar Allen Poe.

I saw Nobuo Uematsu at the Dear Friends concert in Chicago, but couldn't afford the meet n' greet afterwards (not that I'd have gotten much out of it, since he doesn't speak the lingo).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by nadienne

What was Ellison like? Did you get to talk to him at all?

I did get to speak with him a bit, though I'd never heard of him before I went to his lecture. My mother had met him earlier in the day and asked if his speech would be appropriate for her children, so he approached us before the presentation to say that there would be harsh language, but nothing that we kids hadn't heard before. When it came up that we were Methodists, he mentioned that "Methodists haven't burned anyone at the stake," which I think was a compliment.

The speech itself though--Ellison is infamous for being an irascible, profane curmudgeon, and he more than showed this in the presentation. It was funny as hell, but there was a real sense that you didn't want to get on the man's bad side, or he'd chew you up like a Marine drill sargeant. Or run you over with his car, as he claimed to have done to a teacher that doubted his writing ability.

Ellison also claimed that he hated being a fan idol, calling his diehard enthusiasts "zombies," but was more than happy to sell and sign merchandise afterwards.

There's nowhere I can't reach.