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Early 80s I rode a lift at the Sheraton Universal standing behind Telly Savalas. He wore a bright floral shirt and was surprisingly short, so I was looking down at the top of his head

At Motor City ComicCon, Gil Gerard and Erin Grey sat at the table next to me, and we all had prime rib while I just listened to their convo. Don’t remember a single word they actually said.

I was at San Diego ComicCon and ran into a guy doing the best Tony Stark cosplay ever. I complimented him on the costume and 10 minutes later they introduced Robert Downey Jr. to the stage.

Same, but with Richard Jaeckel.

Oh No, you mostly always take advantage of the situation, when coming across the famous! Never know when they might remember the great qualities you have to offer!

I use what I call "Nashville rules". If the celeb is "not on the clock" Don't bother them. Alice Cooper in a garden section? don't pester. Taylor Swift at a Farmers market in 12 South? don't pester. John Scalzi at a book signing? On the clock. Brief insightful conversation.

My cousin once fell in his lap getting to her seat at a premiere. She bawled, "I don't even like you."

Gerard Butler thanked me and two others for our service in the hall in the Pentagon. He had just left a press event for one of his movies. We were pretty much speechless.

I watched Newt Gingrich glad hand people while walking to his table in a restaurant with his mistress. #LivingInDC

I missed a talk by Avery Brooks at my school when he was playing Paul Robeson (I really liked Spenser: For Hire).

I sat across from RBG on a flight and said nothing. I DID get to walk off behind her and it felt like I was in her entourage which was amazing

I guess not interacting with you in Seattle counts?

J Geils Band were the support act. I was several beers in, waiting for the one song I knew. My friend said: "Wanna come back stage and meet Mick and the Stones?" I declined; too comfy in the stadium sunshine. They went; had a great chat, autographs, merch. Centerfold? Not worth the wait. Sigh.

In the 1990s, in a hotel in Manhattan, I went to the basement gym to use the weight machines there. Hulk Hogan happened to be there, talking to the people who ran the gym. Neither of us paid any attention to the other. bsky.app/profile/paul...

Direct quote from me 12 years ago: “So what’s Rob Schneider doing in a Holiday Inn Express elevator in Dayton, Ohio?”

Which is to say, ignoring him was probably the kindest interaction you could have had!

I love this and am reminded of how kind Mr Wright is for keeping his extensive seashell collection where all can see and enjoy. Scattered on the beaches of earth…

Used to wait tables at Perry’s in San Francisco in the early 80’s. Lots of famous folks came in. Boz Scaggs was a regular and I never chatted with him other than to take his order. Also: George Lucas - unapproachable prick. Bob Weir - down to earth human being.

I was walking down a hotel corridor with my brother and we passed a group of people going the other way. After they passed, my brother turned to me and said, "That was John Favreau!" I didn't even notice it was him.

Same. 2024. True story.

I went home and played video games instead. His speech was about how Sunnyvale was a model for tech innovation

This year at WorldCon, I was entering the Seattle Convention Center on badge-pickup day just as you were stepping out. OK technically I noticed Krissy first, but only because you weren't holding a burrito or guitar.

Late 90s I saw Steve Jobs in a bike shop in Palo Alto. Studiously ignored him. bsky.app/profile/paul...

I have a dollar that says Arnold Schwarzenegger remembers me from a time 50 years ago when I didn't say a word to him. I was about 12, sitting on the floor in a bookstore reading his book Pumping Iron when this massive guy behind me looked down and said "Good book".

During Bush 2, I was in a room that was recently occupied by Dick Cheney. The odor of sulphur was tangible. I got the hell outta there.

I suppose a future prime minister isn't really a celebrity. There was another plane trip years later on which two of the stars of a popular Canadian tv sitcom boarded. They flew steerage with the rest of us.

1. A flight I was supposed to be on was cancelled due to weather and everyone on it shoveled into the first class section of a plane going to a different city. A politician named Brian Mulroney and his wife Mila were the only other passengers. He later became prime minister.

REGULATORS!...

I was in Chicago when Robert Redford was filming an Ordinary People on the river front. I was in Paris, walking around at night and saw filming of The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre. I also met NFL star Bob Griese in the AA lounge in Charlotte. He introduced himself - we drank and chatted - nice guy.

I was in a clothes shop in London when the Pope in his popemobile drove slowly by. I continued to shop.

I went to a hotel in Banff just after New Years. No one told us it was celebrity weekend. Shared a hot tub with Alec Baldwin, my wife shared a sauna with Meg Ryan. In the same space as half the cast of 90210. Ignored them all. Louis Gossett Jr, though? Had to talk about Iron Eagle.

I live in Nashville and have at least 20 such instances. I guess most notably was the time I sat at a table next to Nicole Kidman. Kieth Urban was with her and who knows who the others were.

Same, but 2004 and Alfred Molina.

Ooh fun. I both: (1) once walked by Natalie Portman walking her dog in between Harvard and Central Square in Cambridge and we exchanged nothing more than a polite half-smile and (2) stood right behind Elizabeth Banks in a customs line at an airport without either of us even going that!

I’ve met only the occasional (UK) celebrity. In almost all interactions they were extremely brief and no words were exchanged. Zoe Wanamaker held the door open for my wife and I at The Ivy in London. I thanked her and she smiled. My wife didn’t realise who she was.

I exited an elevator and nearly smacked into Robin Williams. No words were exchanged.

They were filming The Alamo movie near Austin in the early 2000s. Ran into Dennis Quaid in full mutton shops at a club on 4th. Thought ‘cool.’ Got my drink and rejoined my friends.

Same but with Denis Leary, in Worcester obviously

I used to live in LA. Ignoring famous people was a regular thing. Nice people - Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, and Matthew McConaughey. Assholes - every Kardashian or Kardashian adjacent.

In the late 90s a few of us waited for an elevator in a Santa Monica hotel. When the door opened, a man cut in front of us and once inside, he watched us step toward the car with our bags but he let the door close before we had a chance to get in. Alan Dershowitz rode the elevator alone.

I passed Jackie Mason on Broadway once, did a double take, we made eye contact, he looked ready for me to recognize him and say something, I kept walking

I did backgrounding in a little indie film called Golden Exits and I walked past Ad Rock six or seven times til they got the take they wanted.

At the age of 5 I was on Art Linkletter’s House Party. Sammy Davis, Jr. came over to the kids group and said “hi”.

Similarly, I literally ran in to Magic Johnson as I was leaving a hotel elevator, because I had looked back at my friend who was gawking in awe.

Why do tense, Otto?

I watched Liev Schibner pick up after his dog. Rode an elevator with Mary Steenburgen. Elvis Costello bumped into me in a hotel lobby.

As a NYer, I've had this exact non-interaction in office building elevators with Ron Perlman, Rhea Perlman, Danny Devito (separate incidents, same elevator), and 50 Cent.