Who are some of the celebrities you've met in broadcasting that were really nice or unfriendly? Some of the nice ones I met were Ralph Nader, John Dean, John Waters and Adam Savage. I don't remember anyone being mean or unfriendly.
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Favorite & least favorite celebrities you've met in broadcasting
- Thread starter radiofan2023
- Start date
I guess I'll start at the beginning:
When I was 16 years old, one year into my career, I was working at KIBS in Bishop, California. Our newsman got sick on the day that then-Governor Ronald Reagan was going to land in town after an aerial survey of the Sierra. There was a proposal to connect the Central Valley with the Eastern Sierra by putting a four-lane highway from Kings Canyon National Park to Independence.
I was told I had to grab a tape recorder, go to the Bishop Airport, meet the plane and interview the Governor. There were guys from the L.A. network TV affiliates, the L.A. Times and the Herald-Examiner, and both UPI and AP there.
When I asked my question, Reagan treated me with the same respect as those pros, and didn't call attention to my age (I looked 12).
Other people on the "nice guy" list:
The ones that went badly---boy, did they:
This is a still from a promo shoot for the 1980 Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. That's Jerry Lewis on the right and the ghost with hair in a suit is 24-year-old me.
Jerry had 210 affiliates for the telethon in those days, and we met six weeks in advance in Las Vegas for information sessions and promo tapings. Jerry did 105 promos a day.
If you were in the first ten of either day, you got "fun Jerry". After that, you got less fun Jerry.
I was #23. Blew one take, Jerry asks how many times I flunked English. The next guy got it worse. Blew his take and Jerry says "Do you wake up stupid?"
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I interviewed Debbie Reynolds back in the early 80s. The week before, her daughter, Carrie Fisher, had married Paul Simon, so I opened by congratulating Debbie on her daughter's marriage. Had no idea she hated Paul. The rest of the interview went as though I had gift-wrapped dog crap.
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Robert Goulet called me a "f***ing vulture" for attending the funeral of one of his friends with a cameraman. Bob overlooked the fact that said friend was a member of the Channel 13 news crew and of course we were covering his funeral.
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And three times, I have been in the company of people who pissed off Barbra Streisand while I was there. I'd like to think she'd love me if she got to know me.
When I was 16 years old, one year into my career, I was working at KIBS in Bishop, California. Our newsman got sick on the day that then-Governor Ronald Reagan was going to land in town after an aerial survey of the Sierra. There was a proposal to connect the Central Valley with the Eastern Sierra by putting a four-lane highway from Kings Canyon National Park to Independence.
I was told I had to grab a tape recorder, go to the Bishop Airport, meet the plane and interview the Governor. There were guys from the L.A. network TV affiliates, the L.A. Times and the Herald-Examiner, and both UPI and AP there.
When I asked my question, Reagan treated me with the same respect as those pros, and didn't call attention to my age (I looked 12).
Other people on the "nice guy" list:
- Herb Alpert
- Harry Nilsson
- Jennifer Warnes
- Tony Orlando
- Helen Reddy
- Willie Nelson
- Sammy Davis, Jr.
- Charo
- Don Rickles
- Alice Cooper
- Dan Quayle
- Jess Marlow (the late KNBC anchor)
- Jerry Dunphy (the late KNXT, KABC and KCAL anchor)
- Paul Moyer (retired KNBC and KABC anchor)
- Gary Owens
- Dr. Don Rose
- Dave Sholin
- Tippi Hedren
The ones that went badly---boy, did they:
This is a still from a promo shoot for the 1980 Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. That's Jerry Lewis on the right and the ghost with hair in a suit is 24-year-old me.
Jerry had 210 affiliates for the telethon in those days, and we met six weeks in advance in Las Vegas for information sessions and promo tapings. Jerry did 105 promos a day.
If you were in the first ten of either day, you got "fun Jerry". After that, you got less fun Jerry.
I was #23. Blew one take, Jerry asks how many times I flunked English. The next guy got it worse. Blew his take and Jerry says "Do you wake up stupid?"
==========
I interviewed Debbie Reynolds back in the early 80s. The week before, her daughter, Carrie Fisher, had married Paul Simon, so I opened by congratulating Debbie on her daughter's marriage. Had no idea she hated Paul. The rest of the interview went as though I had gift-wrapped dog crap.
==========
Robert Goulet called me a "f***ing vulture" for attending the funeral of one of his friends with a cameraman. Bob overlooked the fact that said friend was a member of the Channel 13 news crew and of course we were covering his funeral.
==========
And three times, I have been in the company of people who pissed off Barbra Streisand while I was there. I'd like to think she'd love me if she got to know me.
That's so cool. My grandparents met Ronald Reagan too, both when he was governor and later in the White House, they said he was a super nice guy. What did the people you were with do to piss off Barbra?
Bill Cosby wasn't mean, he was just odd - he did a phone interview and kept saying the N-word so much that the delay was maxed out and if he'd said it one more time the break would have had to be early so the delay could reset. Fortunately, the host (not me) managed to get him on to a different topic.
Bill Cosby wasn't mean, he was just odd - he did a phone interview and kept saying the N-word so much that the delay was maxed out and if he'd said it one more time the break would have had to be early so the delay could reset. Fortunately, the host (not me) managed to get him on to a different topic.
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And sure enough, I forgot one of the nicest—-Leslie Neilsen.
Some of the nicest I've met:
Susan Tedeschi - Was sick as a dog but still performed several live songs for us and answered questions.
Lyle Lovett
Melissa Etheridge
Vicki Lawrence
Gilbert Gottfried and Beth Orton were nice but weird. Gottfried had a normal voice and didn't break into character until the mic was on.
There was only one I really didn't like. I'm not going to say who it was, but he showed up an hour late and did nothing but complain. Even pulled the, "Do you know who I am?", line.
Susan Tedeschi - Was sick as a dog but still performed several live songs for us and answered questions.
Lyle Lovett
Melissa Etheridge
Vicki Lawrence
Gilbert Gottfried and Beth Orton were nice but weird. Gottfried had a normal voice and didn't break into character until the mic was on.
There was only one I really didn't like. I'm not going to say who it was, but he showed up an hour late and did nothing but complain. Even pulled the, "Do you know who I am?", line.
First time was 1975. Kid I’d known since 6th grade and I are both going to college in San Diego. We’re bored, so we go up to L.A. for the day in his VW bug.
We go to Tower Records on Sunset, pull into that narrow parking lot, and a Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible starts backing out.
George slams on the brakes, leans on the horn, sticks his head out the window and yells:
“Watch where you’re going, you stupid b***h!”
And Barbara Streisand looks at us, gives us the finger and drives away.
Me: “You know who that was, don’t you?”
George: “Yes. And I still think she’s fabulous.”
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Second time. 1992. My photographer, a recent transplant from Texas and I are in L.A. It’s only his second time there. I take him for an expense account lunch at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. They seat us on the patio. It’s early and there’s one other person at a table about 15 feet from us, a woman eating alone.
They give us the menus, and Mark (new to the ways of the Beverly Hills Hotel) yells:
“SIXTEEN DOLLARS for a f***ing CHEESEBURGER?”
And Barbara Streisand gives us a dirty look.
=====
Third time. General election night, 2000. 5:00 pm Arizona time. David Leibowitz and I are co-hosting election coverage on KTAR in Phoenix. We are both talk show hosts.
The producer gets in our ear and tells us that Barbra Streisand is on the line. She was calling major talk stations around the country to urge people to vote for Al Gore before the polls closed.
David says: “Getting word that Barbra Streisand is on the line. Hi, Barbra.”
“Hi, David and Michael. I just wanted to say how important it is for Arizonans to get to the polls in the next couple of hours and vote for Al Gore. You know, so much is at stake in this elec….
“Hey Barbra?”
“Yes, David?”
“Who cares?”
“I’m sorry—-what?”
“Who cares what a celebrity in Malibu thinks?”
And then David dumps the call.
I didn’t even get to say hi.
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And another nice guy I zoned—-Danny DeVito.
BTW - A few I've met outside of radio:
Mary Kay Place grew up four doors down from my mom's house and was in my parents' graduating class in college. She and her parents were always really nice, though I only encountered her a few times as she didn't go home very often. Her dad was friendly, and everyone on the block liked him. His car had a bumper sticker that said, "Not as lean, not as mean, but still a Marine!"
Rue McClanahan was in the same sorority at the same school my sister attended. Met her when I was visiting family, and she was visiting my sister's sorority as she did at least annually. She was completely down-to-earth and genuine. I have Betty White in my contact list thanks to Rue. I had to promise her I wouldn't call when she gave me her information, and I never did. Never sent her any fan mail either. I did, however, debate calling on her 100th birthday, though, as we know, she didn't quite make it that long. I probably would've kept my promise to Rue, though.
Supermodel Amber Valetta was a high school classmate. She was a year older than I was and graduated two years ahead of me. When I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, we used to wait for our rides home in the same spot and would share an umbrella in rainy weather. She was pleasant and polite, but we otherwise didn't interact much other than, "Hello," and, "See you tomorrow." The umbrella was mine, and, if my ride arrived first, I'd let her keep it, and she'd give it back to me the next day. She was already a celebrity by that time but didn't act like it. She received no special treatment and was always treated like everyone else. She seemed to like that about our high school.
I met Weird Al Yankovic at a water park in Oklahoma the day before he announced he was filming the movie UHF in Tulsa. He was in line in front of me, dropped his turnstile token, and I picked it up and handed it back to him. Didn't realize it was him until I saw him on the noon news the next day, and he mentioned how polite I was in handing him his token after he had dropped it when asked about what he liked about Tulsa.
I almost literally bumped into Justice Antonin Scalia when he was visiting my college campus for a speaking engagement. He was not amused. Neither were the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him, though nobody jumped me or arrested me.
Mary Kay Place grew up four doors down from my mom's house and was in my parents' graduating class in college. She and her parents were always really nice, though I only encountered her a few times as she didn't go home very often. Her dad was friendly, and everyone on the block liked him. His car had a bumper sticker that said, "Not as lean, not as mean, but still a Marine!"
Rue McClanahan was in the same sorority at the same school my sister attended. Met her when I was visiting family, and she was visiting my sister's sorority as she did at least annually. She was completely down-to-earth and genuine. I have Betty White in my contact list thanks to Rue. I had to promise her I wouldn't call when she gave me her information, and I never did. Never sent her any fan mail either. I did, however, debate calling on her 100th birthday, though, as we know, she didn't quite make it that long. I probably would've kept my promise to Rue, though.
Supermodel Amber Valetta was a high school classmate. She was a year older than I was and graduated two years ahead of me. When I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, we used to wait for our rides home in the same spot and would share an umbrella in rainy weather. She was pleasant and polite, but we otherwise didn't interact much other than, "Hello," and, "See you tomorrow." The umbrella was mine, and, if my ride arrived first, I'd let her keep it, and she'd give it back to me the next day. She was already a celebrity by that time but didn't act like it. She received no special treatment and was always treated like everyone else. She seemed to like that about our high school.
I met Weird Al Yankovic at a water park in Oklahoma the day before he announced he was filming the movie UHF in Tulsa. He was in line in front of me, dropped his turnstile token, and I picked it up and handed it back to him. Didn't realize it was him until I saw him on the noon news the next day, and he mentioned how polite I was in handing him his token after he had dropped it when asked about what he liked about Tulsa.
I almost literally bumped into Justice Antonin Scalia when he was visiting my college campus for a speaking engagement. He was not amused. Neither were the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him, though nobody jumped me or arrested me.
Got to interview Lenny LaBlanc (LaBlanc +Carr) and Bruce Blackman (Starbuck "Moonlight fells right".) Both were really nice. Pat Sajak (channel 4 days in Nashville) Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Mitch McConnell all were polite. The nicest radio person I ever met was John Young at WMAK and Z93 Atlanta.
I did manage to make Dwight Yockam's Mother made at me with joke about Dwight being a spokesman for Sinex. You never know who is listening.
I did manage to make Dwight Yockam's Mother made at me with joke about Dwight being a spokesman for Sinex. You never know who is listening.
Brain cells keep waking up---another nice guy: Dom DeLuise. And Bill Dana ("Jose' Jimenez").
Jerry did have a core group of artists who would ALWAYS show up for MDA.
In fact, I met Tony Orlando while hosting the Reno cut-ins on the telethon six weeks after that promo shoot.
I was live on the air when I heard "Excuse me---may I join you?". Looked over and it's Tony in a tux.
He was appearing at Harrah's Reno that week and when his cocktail show (11:00 p.m.) was over, walked the two blocks to the Sahara Reno (now condos) to pitch in---something he usually did at the main telethon in Vegas, but he had this conflict.
He chose not to promise to appear in case something went sideways, and when it didn't he just came over.
In fact, I give Tony credit for the next 30 years of my career. We did our first seven or so minutes together (he stayed for two hours), and after we pitched back to Jerry in Vegas, he asked what I did for a living.
"Disc jockey."
"Some advice? You're wasting your talent. The camera loves you. Find your way into TV just as soon as you can."
I had already gotten my feet wet in news the week before with the Harvey's Lake Tahoe bombing (Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing - Wikipedia), so when KTVN-TV hired our reporter, I applied for his radio news gig and got it.
A year and a week after Tony's advice to me, I started at KTVN, thanks to my former radio co-worker recommending me for an opening there.
And it was about a year after that, doing a hybrid news/entertainment show at KTVN called "Live at 5", that I went to Tahoe to interview Don Rickles and met Charo, who was opening for him. Both lovely people.
Outside of radio, I’ve met:
Tony Bennett, super nice guy
Former Kansas governor Sam Brownback and Newt Gingrich on an airplane
Former Iowa governor Chet Culver at the Des Moines airport
I was in a 4th of July parade with Tom Harkin, another super nice guy
Adam West
Burt Ward
William Shatner
Dennis Rodman (he wore sunglasses and didn’t say much. He may have been tired from the night before, because my friend saw him playing poker at Planet Hollywood casino the night before.)
Steve Wozniak
David Newell (the mailman on Mr. Rogers)
Carroll Spinney
Emilio Delgado
Bob McGrath
Valerie Plame
David Plouffe
David Frum
Dr. Drew
John Mayberry, and I went to school with his son John Junior, who ended up also playing in the majors. His son was always joking around and a real fun guy.
Joe Montana
Theotis Brown, he was a super fun guy
Tom Brokaw (I was so young I don’t remember meeting him, but my mom told me he was a nice guy)
Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffrey
Tony Bennett, super nice guy
Former Kansas governor Sam Brownback and Newt Gingrich on an airplane
Former Iowa governor Chet Culver at the Des Moines airport
I was in a 4th of July parade with Tom Harkin, another super nice guy
Adam West
Burt Ward
William Shatner
Dennis Rodman (he wore sunglasses and didn’t say much. He may have been tired from the night before, because my friend saw him playing poker at Planet Hollywood casino the night before.)
Steve Wozniak
David Newell (the mailman on Mr. Rogers)
Carroll Spinney
Emilio Delgado
Bob McGrath
Valerie Plame
David Plouffe
David Frum
Dr. Drew
John Mayberry, and I went to school with his son John Junior, who ended up also playing in the majors. His son was always joking around and a real fun guy.
Joe Montana
Theotis Brown, he was a super fun guy
Tom Brokaw (I was so young I don’t remember meeting him, but my mom told me he was a nice guy)
Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffrey
I've written before about my correspondence with Walter Cronkite when I was 6. He was the gold standard.
I wandered into Charles Osgood's studio one Sunday morning and he was very kind and interesting to talk with.
Most of the "celebrity" encounters I have as a medium-market public radio host have stemmed from the summer book week shows I do annually, and in general, most authors are very, very happy to have a full 51 minutes for an uninterrupted conversation, especially with a host who's read the book.
I didn't get to meet him in person, but David McCullough was just as engaging on the other end of the ISDN line as he was in his books. Cheryl Strayed ("Wild") was another especially good conversationalist.
I wandered into Charles Osgood's studio one Sunday morning and he was very kind and interesting to talk with.
Most of the "celebrity" encounters I have as a medium-market public radio host have stemmed from the summer book week shows I do annually, and in general, most authors are very, very happy to have a full 51 minutes for an uninterrupted conversation, especially with a host who's read the book.
I didn't get to meet him in person, but David McCullough was just as engaging on the other end of the ISDN line as he was in his books. Cheryl Strayed ("Wild") was another especially good conversationalist.
I've written before about my correspondence with Walter Cronkite when I was 6. He was the gold standard.
I wandered into Charles Osgood's studio one Sunday morning and he was very kind and interesting to talk with.
Most of the "celebrity" encounters I have as a medium-market public radio host have stemmed from the summer book week shows I do annually, and in general, most authors are very, very happy to have a full 51 minutes for an uninterrupted conversation, especially with a host who's read the book.
I didn't get to meet him in person, but David McCullough was just as engaging on the other end of the ISDN line as he was in his books. Cheryl Strayed ("Wild") was another especially good conversationalist.
I wandered into Charles Osgood's studio one Sunday morning and he was very kind and interesting to talk with.
Most of the "celebrity" encounters I have as a medium-market public radio host have stemmed from the summer book week shows I do annually, and in general, most authors are very, very happy to have a full 51 minutes for an uninterrupted conversation, especially with a host who's read the book.
I didn't get to meet him in person, but David McCullough was just as engaging on the other end of the ISDN line as he was in his books. Cheryl Strayed ("Wild") was another especially good conversationalist.
Going back in the memory banks to 38-45 years ago....
Best one: David Brinkley. There was a Nightline episode live from Mizzou and he was there. I wangled an introduction. I said to him, "I especially admire you as a writer." His response, delivered in classical Brinkley fashion, "That's all...I ever...claimed to be".
I met then-Vice President George H.W. Bush when he was the commencement speaker at West Point in 1984. I was working in nearby Beacon, NY at the time. He was very gracious.
I met Henry Kissinger at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston. He came across as quite professorial.
I never met him personally, but I had several conversations with Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby - at the time, it was said that the lieutenant governor of Texas was more powerful than the actual governor. Hobby knew all the ins and outs of state government and where the bodies were buried.
I encountered the actual governor of Texas, Mark White, after I had left KTRH. It turned out that his home precinct was the same one as mine in Houston.
This is far from a complete list, but these are very old memories at this point and the ones above are the ones that stand out.
Edit: And now I remember the one that was almost as good as Brinkley...maybe better in some ways. Eric Engberg of CBS News stopped by KFRU to visit old friends, and poked his head into the newsroom. Engberg had been news director of KFRU; three news directors later, I was the news director. He wanted to chat with his successor three times removed, and treated me as if I was one of his working colleagues, demonstrating a great deal of interest of what my team and I were doing. It was a fun conversation.
Also at KFRU: the day I had to go into the news studio to read headlines while sitting next to folk singer Holly Near and interrupting her interview with our morning talk-show host. She actually seemed to enjoy the experience!
A couple more, from the days in Missouri:
* Linus Pauling - twice - promoting his theories on Vitamin C. Interesting character.
* Jacobo Timmerman - several times - he had been kicked out of Argentina by the dictatorship and had a visiting fellowship with the foreign press program at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. I always walked away from an interview with him with far more than I could ever put on the air.
Strangely, in Houston, most of my coverage was of government - not much celebrity stuff other than politicians.
Best one: David Brinkley. There was a Nightline episode live from Mizzou and he was there. I wangled an introduction. I said to him, "I especially admire you as a writer." His response, delivered in classical Brinkley fashion, "That's all...I ever...claimed to be".
I met then-Vice President George H.W. Bush when he was the commencement speaker at West Point in 1984. I was working in nearby Beacon, NY at the time. He was very gracious.
I met Henry Kissinger at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston. He came across as quite professorial.
I never met him personally, but I had several conversations with Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby - at the time, it was said that the lieutenant governor of Texas was more powerful than the actual governor. Hobby knew all the ins and outs of state government and where the bodies were buried.
I encountered the actual governor of Texas, Mark White, after I had left KTRH. It turned out that his home precinct was the same one as mine in Houston.
This is far from a complete list, but these are very old memories at this point and the ones above are the ones that stand out.
Edit: And now I remember the one that was almost as good as Brinkley...maybe better in some ways. Eric Engberg of CBS News stopped by KFRU to visit old friends, and poked his head into the newsroom. Engberg had been news director of KFRU; three news directors later, I was the news director. He wanted to chat with his successor three times removed, and treated me as if I was one of his working colleagues, demonstrating a great deal of interest of what my team and I were doing. It was a fun conversation.
Also at KFRU: the day I had to go into the news studio to read headlines while sitting next to folk singer Holly Near and interrupting her interview with our morning talk-show host. She actually seemed to enjoy the experience!
A couple more, from the days in Missouri:
* Linus Pauling - twice - promoting his theories on Vitamin C. Interesting character.
* Jacobo Timmerman - several times - he had been kicked out of Argentina by the dictatorship and had a visiting fellowship with the foreign press program at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. I always walked away from an interview with him with far more than I could ever put on the air.
Strangely, in Houston, most of my coverage was of government - not much celebrity stuff other than politicians.
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Favorite: Slash - The most personable rock star ever. He would not leave until he had greeted everyone who showed up outside hoping to see him.
Least: Joan Rivers - Diva to a comical extreme
Least: Joan Rivers - Diva to a comical extreme
what a great story!
I don't have a lot of celebrity encounters, especially for a guy in radio. Janie Fricke was very nice. I interviewed Dan Peek as he was launching one of his Contemporary Christian albums. One of the Vogues (mid-90s version) was kind of a jerk.
My wife had a chance meeting with Tony Randall and he was very nice.
My wife had a chance meeting with Tony Randall and he was very nice.