Ten true conversations with famous people

Post ten true meetings where you’ve had meaningful face-to-face conversations with famous people, but one memory needs to be a lie.

1. I once took photos of Kenny Rogers at his request with his local friends—he was very kind to me and asked about my photography, poetry teaching, and then he comped me in for the show for my trouble. I was also actually paid for my work. I was surprised that I enjoyed the show so much.



2. I once sat with Robin Williams in the alcove of his mother’s house after a show, it was a cast afterparty. He was so shy, as was I. It was an awkward standoff. Though I was absolutely mad about him, I couldn’t wait to escape.

3. I spent an afternoon backstage with jazz legends, including Eartha Kitt and Dave Brubeck, who wrote me a letter complimenting my photos of him, and the other musicians in the local paper.

4. Van Morrison once gave me a ride home from high school—at the insistence of his mother. He was not happy and refused to talk to me during the long drive home in his white van. Jesse Colin Young was way nicer and gave me a ride all the way home.

5. Janis Joplin, who lived at Barbano’s old summer camp with Big Brother and the Holding Company once gave me a ride in her Porsche. Ok, the last part was a lie. She never gave me a ride home. The Porsche was a two-seater. But I did meet her, got stoned with my mom in her bedroom at Argentina House. I won’t mention that Drunken Monkee, Peter Tork. Or an irritated Grace Slick in her powder blue negligee trimmed with feathers.

6. Brian Cox once helped me off the floor during a tediously long 4 AM shoot of Etruscan Smile. Shook my hand, said, Ach, your poor wee feet in those heels. I called him Uncle Argyle.

7. Faye Dunaway once gave me the evil eye in a make-up trailer during Hand of God because she could see me in the mirror. I had to move to another seat out of vision range. She was not very nice. I had no idea who she was. At least Ron Perlman was kind—even if his character wasn’t.

8. Hitching home from high school, Ken Keysey’s bus, Further, stopped and I climbed aboard. I don’t remember getting off the bus. Later, when I was working for a small press, we corresponded and he sent me signed copies of Spit in the Ocean, when he heard I was a poet. He said Further was rotting in the lower pasture in Springfield, Oregon.

8. I was once stuck in an elevator with Seamus Heaney with a contingency of African poets, when Seamus proclaimed his flask had sprung a leak so we helped him out knocking back thimblefuls of Irish whiskey—toasting to a genius of poets. By the time we got out of the elevator, we no longer cared that it was stuck so long. Don’t even get me started on the poets. Irving Layton especially.

9. I worked for Mimi Fariña and volunteered for many shows. Robin Williams came off stage, spotted me, and gave me a sweaty bear hug, saying, I know you! I know you! and invited me over to meet Eric Idle, whose eyes were slightly crossed like a Siamese cat. Michael Pritchard was there too, I laughed until I nearly peed my pants. I don’t remember a single joke. We said we’d keep in touch. We didn’t.

10. Lloyd Bridges once dandled me on his knee by the pool, during rehearsals, and gave me a crystal star. (My mother made the costumes.) I wanted to know why Lloyd named his older son Boy, when he was clearly older than Jeff. Mr. Sea Hunt threw back his head and laughed. I had to grow up in order to get my own joke.

11. Bonus points. I also shook astronaut Chris Hadfield’s hand, and we had a bit of a chitchat in Irish. He signed my astronaut frozen ice cream, and we had a photo op. I also had a photo op and chat with former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson. Why is it every time I’m with someone famous, the photo comes out blurred? I didn’t get to shake hands with President Mary McAleece, nor did I get a photo with her. I also know Irish Senator Frances Black, and have met other Irish dignitaries. I was once soundly and roundly cheek-kissed in an elevator by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.

12. Even more Bonus points.  Met Donovan too, and Bob Dylan. Mere chitchat and hand shaking vs. meaningful conversations. Hitched rides and chatted with Carlos Santana, most of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Van Morrison, Jesse Colon Young, Sons of Chaplin, Big Brother and the Holding Company., etc. Spent an evening with Herbie Handcock during the Putscht, he took my name tag, put it over his heart when I told him I was taking poetry to the USSR.

How many people can claim to have turn down Charles Bukowski for a poetry reading at Sonoma State University, because all he really wanted to do was to get into my pants. I was so outraged I turned him down. To be fair, he was drunk, sleeping off a jug of Red Mountain on someone’s couch in Cotati. Was the first time I had heard of John Martin, and Black Sparrow Books, publisher of Bukowski’s work. Bukowski was on the up and up. Barfly had just come out, and I later saw Bukowski celebrating at the bar at the Inn of the Beginning. Gave him a wide berth.

Rita Moreno and I had many conversations, and even a few hugs, after getting off to a rough start when I was working at Trader Joe’s. After she had hip surgery, she came up to me and pirouetted saying look, I can dance again. I once gave Jerry Brown a shoutout for giving me California Arts Council grants—and he got a standing ovation at TJs, the secret service nearly lost it when everyone joined in. Met Robert Reich a few times at Toby’s Feedstore, getting coffee. Thanked him for his service.

I found Wavy Gravy’s clown nose in the middle of the fireroad at the Kate Wolf Festival and tried to return it to him. He said, You keep it.It looks like you could use it more than me.

 My mom once dragged Bobby Darin home to meet my granny. I had the audacity to play If I were a carpenter to him on my toy Palomino Pony guitar. He corrected my chord scheme. Yeah, Jerry Garcia used to roll down the hill from the Rehab, Forest Farms, renamed Serenity Knolls to get Hagen Daaz. He personally kept the Forest Knolls store afloat with his sweet tooth.

I met Charles Schultz who was cheating on his wife. A real DOM was Willie Brown. OMG! The worst DOM I ever met, or was chased by was the legendary BB King. I was doing an interview in his trailer. A good thing he had Lucille strapped on, as I had to duck under her neck in order to escape. Add the Governor of the Bahamas, to the Willie Brown list. A state senator tried to pick me up once. Can’t remember his name. I found some old photos of us....

Zana Darrow once rescued Peter Tork of the Monkees, who was drunk in the middle of the road. It’s kind of appalling, how we as highschoolers, were taking care of our music idols. People we helped to make famous, and yet we were the care providers. We were the adults. They were the teenagers.