This list is only about those folks who have been in the headlines or have stood out in other fields for a short or long period of time. I also know plenty of other outstanding people who don't get the press but I'll save them for another time.
Jim Irwin - Lunar module pilot of Apollo 15 and eighth man to walk on the moon. I met him at a banquet when I was 17 and being the space nut I was as a kid I was absolutely gassed to meet him and shake the hand of a man who walked on the moon. I had made a banner for the head table at the banquet and he complimented me on the design. I could barely get the words out to say thank you.
Alec Baldwin - actor. I can't stand his politics but the man can act! A few years ago I was in the American Airlines terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport. I was walking, killing time for a flight, when I stopped next to this man bent over picking up Christmas packages that had fallen off his luggage cart. I didn't really look at him but I overheard two ladies saying something about seeing someone's movies and pointing at this guy next to me. The man stood up...he's 6' 2"....and I recognized him as Alec! The two ladies came over to talk to him and he was very polite to them. I moved out of the way and watched. I was impressed that he was carrying his own bags and packages and was not looking for any help due to his celebrity status.
Mercedes McCambridge - actress. When I was in college I used to help out on the spring play which always invited an established thespian to play a role. This particular spring we were doing "Cabaret" and Ms. McCambridge was the featured player, doing one of the minor roles. At that time she was an honored actress but we knew her as the voice of the devil possessing Linda Blair's character in the film "The Exorcist". I was sitting in one of the theater seats watching a dress rehearsal when she came over and sat down next to me. She was already 61 years old at the time and had a deep throaty voice but was a delight to talk to. "I don't like sitting by myself, so I hope you don't mind me being here?" she said. What? What was I going to say? Mercedes, you've won an Oscar....you can sit wherever you want! We talked for about 15 minutes before she had to go do a scene but I truly enjoyed talking to her. The one story I remember is her telling me that she, being Catholic, went to her priest to find out if she was committing a sin in doing the voice of the devil for The Exorcist because of all the foul language she would have to say. Her priest told her not to worry because the words were not from her heart but from a movie script. She admitted she was quite relieved to hear that and the rest is history. I really felt a connection to her when she told me that story and right then she became one of my favorite people. She died in 1991 at age 87.
Rita Moreno - actress, singer, dancer...one of only nine people to win an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy AND a Tony award. Watch West Side Story...her dancing kicks ass. Same situation for me as with Ms. McCambridge but the following year. And we sat together in virtually the same seats! She had a wonderful laugh and was interested in what I did...which was boring to me but intensely interesting for her! I loved her after we talked and my ears always perk up when I heard her name anywhere. A few years ago she came to Shreveport for a fund raiser and I made it a point to go. I knew she wouldn't remember me for beans but that was okay. She looked fabulous and was a great master of ceremonies for the event, even sang a song for the audience. Thing was, she was suffering from a throat infection and still did the show! She left early because of her throat but she left an audience who was begging for more.
Suzanne Somers - actress. Very short story...I was at the Lorimar Studios in Los Angeles in 1987 and was getting a personal tour of the studios by a former resident of Shreveport who worked there. Suzanne was starring in a new comedy TV show called "She's The Sheriff" and we dropped in to watch part of the rehearsal. During a break, we went down to the stage and I can say I got to shake hands with her. Definitely a total babe in person!
Nicole Johnson - Miss America 1999. Met her in '99 as part of a promotional event for diabetes research which I had done some graphic artwork for. She wore a pump that would inject insulin at scheduled times and it was largely an experimental device she promoted to show how technology was helping diabetics. She was pretty! And nice, too!
Well, that's all I can think of for now. It was a slow day when I wrote this up. I might do some more later.
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