Crazy semi-famous celeb customer!

[jnd4rusty]

I really haven't had any celebs at my place..we have one of the guys that is on the city council that comes in about three times a week. He is very nice and told me he was running for mayor, so of course I will vote for him. We did have John Thune (United States senator from South Dakota) come in one night. It was pretty cool to see him up close and in person (even though I didn't vote for him) he was the typical overly friendly political type. What was funny about it was the fact that my co-workers told me later that they thought it was Tom Daschle at first. (for those who don't keep up with the political bull crap, John Thune beat out Tom Daschle for senate) I was glad they no one said "hi Tom", that would have been embarrassing.

[Alfie]

So the most famous person I have served is a local shire's ex-mayor. He happens to be my boyfriend's uncle too. Yup, not too exciting.

I would have loved to meet The Rock though, oh and Stone Cold Steve Austin Oh and who is that guy who wore half a mask? Was he called Mankind?

I'll calm down now, sorry

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I had Kevin Smith come into my store once. He needed a cable for his laptop and I sold it to him. Nice chap.

[draggar]

I had Kevin Smith come into my store once. He needed a cable for his laptop and I sold it to him. Nice chap.

He used to go to the store I worked in while I lived in NJ (odd that I always missed him ) But I also frequented his store in Red Bank.

[Kara]

When I was at Kroger (this goes back to like 8 years ago), I came in one day to find that I had just missed Christopher Walken. If anyone is familiar with the Sarah, Plain and Tall series of movies, they shoot them near Council Grove, Kansas, which is a tiny town not far from where I lived and worked at the time. This was during the shoot of Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End Anyway, the celebs that were in our neck of the woods would come to our city from time to time, because it was the closest place with anything to do. It made me mad, too, because the cashier who checked him out (a friend of mine, don't get me wrong I love her), didn't even know who he was!

It went like this:

"J" = my friend who checked him out
"S" = my other friend who was there

S: Oh my god! Did you get his autograph?
J: Who? That guy who bought a salad?
S: THAT GUY? THAT GUY WAS CHRISTOPHER WALKEN!
J: *blink* Who's Christopher Walken?
S:

Another girl I worked with checked out Jack Palance (who also bought a salad), and did get his autograph.

Another time this guy came through my line who looked so much like Stephen King I really wanted to ask him, but I was afraid if it was him he'd yell at me for not recognizing him. He paid with cash, so I didn't find out. BUT, his next book that came out after that (Dreamcatcher) mentioned the little greasespot on the road I called home at the time, so it probably was him and I'll never be that close to my favorite author in the history of the universe again

[ReverendBSB]

I used to work at a restaurant called Robertos in Sunshine, LA. When the Dukes of Hazzard movie was being filmed nearby we had the Broken Lizard guys come in a few times to eat. They always came in late, right at closing time, and stayed for a long time. When the owner once said something about this to them they said "Well you know, we're from California."

[trunks2k]

The closest thing to a celebrity I ever met was the keyboard player for the Scissor Sisters (he also apparently plays keyboard for a few other famous bands). My sister is friends with him and when I was visiting her, he came over to watch England play in one of the World Cup matches.

But I have never listened to the Scissor Sisters and had never even heard of them until my sister mentioned them, so I really didn't care. Although I caught a minute or two of a Scissor Sisters performance on TV a few months later, and the guy was playing keyboard so I could say "Hey, I watched soccer with that guy"

[Andara Bledin]

While I was still working the ticketing booth at Medieval Times, we had a manager warn us that Steven Spielberg was going to be coming through. I didn't actually sell him his tickets, the other girl in the booth did. He was wearing a pastel pink baseball cap.

My mother and aunt sell beadwork and leatherwork crafts at fairs, faires, and powwows and at one Christmas powwow they sold a glass with beadwork christmas ornament to Patsy Cline. I was there, but wasn't at the booth when she came by.

And, back in '94, I attended a gaming convention in San Jose. I didn't have to pay for my badge because I was one of the volunteer workers for the computer gaming room, which was run by the same person who ran the computer room for the local, thrice-yearly gaming conventions, for which I am also a regular computer room staffer.

Anyway, one of the events at the convention was for a new role-playing game that was high on the intrigue. The event itself was a fancy ball and the setting was Victorian era western Europe. We had to attend an hour-long waltzing workshop to attend the event. I got into the event as a standby because the event was being run by the same person running the computer room. She happened to also work for a major game-industry company at the time.

I waltzed with precisely two people that night, and had them both sign my dance card. The first one was an unknown fellow gamer. The second, however, happened to be Larry Niven. Not too many people can brag that they waltzed with Niven.

My ex ran into two different celebrities at Kinko's while we were still together. He made Glenn Danzig show proof that he had the right to make copies of some Danzig images. The other was the magician Brian Gillis. We went to dinner at The Magic Castle as his guests twice. It's a very interesting place.

^-.-^

[Auto]

My mother and aunt sell beadwork and leatherwork crafts at fairs, faires, and powwows and at one Christmas powwow they sold a glass with beadwork christmas ornament to Patsy Cline. I was there, but wasn't at the booth when she came by.

You know, don't you, that Patsy Cline died in the early 1960s?

[Kara]

He made Glenn Danzig show proof that he had the right to make copies of some Danzig images.

So, he became your ex when Danzig stabbed him through the face with a dagger made from the bones of children and emptied his blood into a golden chalice, right?

Actually, I've heard he's like the nicest guy in the world in real-life.

[IlovemyGeek]

When I was in college I worked at the Margaritaville store during the grand opening. I was down in the tunnels on my first day getting dinner and I got really lost. I asked someone for directions back, he told me to follow that guy up there he's the owner. I ended up sharing the elevator with Jimmy Buffet. Super nice guy. I was 19 at the time and kinda shy and he was like how are you. I was like oh its my first day and I got lost in the tunnels, he said it happened to him all the time. He ended up playing an impromtu concert that night. It was pretty cool.

[Reyneth]

Not counting the celebs who came in for book signings (and Store1 gets some big ones - they just had Giada DeLaurentiis; they've had John Edward a few times, Sylvia Browne, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batalli, Chris Bohjalian (sp?), the list goes on...)

I take photos at a local bookstore for signings and met Giada - she's a sweetheart, isn't she?
I've met way more celebs doing the booksignings than I can even remember (Clay Aiken, Cal Ripken, Ron Jeremy, Chis Paolini, Candace Bushnell.....etc) - some are cool, some (EVOO and Yummo, anyone?) - notsomuchatall.
I once waited on Jim Thome (Clev Indians player, recently switched teams IIRC) at my camera store and didn't even know who he was. All of my male coworkers were green with envy. He was very nice, too!

[BookstoreEscapee]

BookstoreEscapee - what would it cost to get a signed copy of one of Sylvia Browne's books??? Adventures of a Psychic would be preferable, but any would really do.

Well, if the store happens to have any signed copies in stock it doesn't cost anything extra. She was there at least 4 years ago, now. She was doing a reading/signing, had several "requirements" (such as she had to have iced tea, not water, I believe) and her entire thing lasted about 20 minutes. I was at register and saw people starting to leave, and I asked the MOD, is she done reading already? and he said, "She's done, period." Shortest author event I've ever seen. Most authors will sign extra copies for the store so that they can display autographed copies.

If you go to bn.com, you can search for events, you might be able to find out if she'll be signing at any stores (though in my quick search just now she didn't come up). At the bottom of the homepage, look for "About B&N" and in there look for the Store Locator. There are options to search for stores and for events by store or author. You might try her own webpage. Maybe you can order autographed copies from there, or at least find out what events she's doing.

On a related note, I do have a picture with Emeril. He stayed until after 11, signed every single customer's book, and then took a picture with the staff after we closed. (That was my first big event, about a month after I started working there in 97, and it was PACKED.) The manager had copies made for all of us. He was very cool. Giada was just there last week (this week?), the second time she's been there. I stopped in the first time she was there. I didn't talk to her but watched her signing books for a few minutes, and she was just sooo nice, all smiles and chatting with the customers, and stayed for a few hours until everyone got their books signed. Rachel Ray was there a couple years ago and she decided she was tired and left with 500 people still waiting. One more reason why I don't like Rachel Ray. Glad I wasn't working there at the time.

My dad's ex-brother-in-law won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry back in 1996. He did a talk at Lucent where my dad worked, and people he worked with were so impressed my dad knew him. He put one of the flyers on his bulletin board with the family pics and stuff, and people would say, You know him?! and my dad would kinda wave it off and say, Oh, yeah, he was the best man at my wedding... (Sadly, he passed away last year. I never met him; he and my aunt had been divorced as long as I can remember and also lived in Texas.)

[Andara Bledin]

So, he became your ex when Danzig stabbed him through the face with a dagger made from the bones of children and emptied his blood into a golden chalice, right?

Actually, I've heard he's like the nicest guy in the world in real-life.

Yeah. My ex said he just pulled out is drivers license and asked if that was good enough, smiling the whole time. I think he was kind of happy that people actually check on that stuff.

You know, don't you, that Patsy Cline died in the early 1960s?

Um... ok, I guess it wasn't her. I know it was someone in the country scene, but I don't follow country at all, so I'm really, really bad with their names.

^-.-^

[Reyneth]

Rachel Ray was there a couple years ago and she decided she was tired and left with 500 people still waiting. One more reason why I don't like Rachel Ray. Glad I wasn't working there at the time.

She was at "my" store last fall. And is rumored to be coming back. I'm far from thrilled. She insisted upon a secure, private entrance and pathway to the balcony where we have large signings - not a big deal, no problem. What does she do? Walks in the *main* door. The crowds cause her to start a good 20 minutes late - which she does not stay after to make up.

Also, she kept saying "Photogirl, take a photo of these people...."
Ummm, I'm not working FOR you, I am taking photos for the bookstore. I have no obligation to the customers - if I wanted to, I could, but it's a huge hassle and not worth it. Her bossing me around like that resulted in me having to sort through 50+ emails after the event and finding everyone's photo to email them - all for nothing. I'm putting my foot down if she tries that one next time.

I'm not a fan either, can you tell?

I am very jealous you have had Emeril and Mario! I'm dying for Alton Brown to come (he came to another local location a few years ago, which has now closed) because I love his show. Word is he was fabulous - got there early, walked up behind the PR person setting up the display and "So who is this guy, some big shot or something?" She recognized him and played along - "Nah, a nobody but you know how things go...." LOL He got a big kick out of that.