{This would qualify as a particularly memorable brush with fame… Rent boy Alex (Dennis Flanagan) gets up close and personal with a handsome gentleman who turns out to be movie star hunk of the month Mitchell Green (Brik Berkes) in The Little Dog Laughed.}

What’s Your Brush with Fame?

We’ve all had them- moments when we were brought face to face with our idols, suddenly confronting the regular person behind the exciting persona. In rare cases, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know someone deeply, becoming uncomfortably intimate with the way our personal lives become public when our friend or partner is in the public eye.

The Little Dog Laughed mines the comic potential (and heartbreaking consequences) of one young man’s brush with fame (and the famous), so we’ve asked you, our patrons and staff, to share your own star-struck moments and star-burned memories. Here are some highlights:

Floyd Sklaver
Columnist, Just Out

When I was young and living in NY, I started a theater company with a friend. One of our board members was a producer of David Rabe’s “Hurlyburly.” As a result, during our first (and only) year, we had a fund raiser at which the entire cast (including William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Judith Ivey and Harvey Keitel) appeared.

Toward the end of the evening, a friend said he’d give $10,000 to the company if Sigourney Weaver would do him. High from the excitement of the evening (and a little drunk to boot) I went up and told her. Of course, she went storming out of the party, turning my joy into a moment of humiliation that I still blush at today.

Rhianna Peterson
Group Sales Manager

“I have had my share of celebrity “run ins” if you will. I literally have stepped on Steve Martin’s toe at the LA County Museum, backed my chair into Steven Tyler, basically body checked Robin William because ’some dude was in front of my morning latte’, and just recently added to the list, walked smack into Ed Begley Jr. I am sure this makes me more of an unobservant clutz than a celeb magnet. However my personal favorite, even though it makes me look more of a twit than normal, takes place at the Heathman Hotel Bar. A couple of work colleagues and I met up after work for a quick drink. There was an event that night at the Schnitz so the room started to fill up fast. We were seated towards the front, by the hotel entrance, perfect for people watching. After some time passed a woman using a cane entered the crowded room, I sprung to my feet because I knew there would be no way for this woman to maneuver through the crowded bar. Without even consulting my cohorts I offered the woman our table and told her we would make our way to the back. I look back and was appalled to see that my friends were looking at me with their mouths open gob smacked. I responded to them curtly making it clear that we were giving this woman our table…and was appalled by their behavior… then I slowly realized that everyone in the room was watching the scene. Still fairly confused I started picking up our drinks and belongings when the woman spoke and told me it was unnecessary for us to move since her friends had a seat saved, I was quick to tell her that we would trade tables…she smiled said thank you and held out her hand and introduced herself as Maya Angelou then asked me my name. Which at that moment forgot, coming to, we made small chit chat. She said she always liked coming to Portland because the people were so nice. In the end, people parted so that this magnificent woman could make it to her table to sit with her friends.”

Mead Hunter
Literary Director, PCS

“Back when Armistead Maupin was writing Tales of the City, we dated for awhile. Three different conversations we had wound up in the story almost verbatim, with each one put into the mouth of a different character.”

Trisha Pancio
PR Manager, PCS

“My friend Christina’s dad was a ‘plastic surgeon to the stars’ when she was growing up in New York City. She told me once that her dad’s Christmas parties were always full of Barbara Walters and John Cusack types, which her awkward thirteen-year-old self had no idea how to relate to. One Christmas she met Keanu Reeves, and in a mad dash for something to say that would sound cool and not be all gushy she asked, ‘So, do you garden?‘ It turns out that this was a great opening line for all the future celebrities she would end up meeting through her dad’s parties. Everybody, it seems, has a strong opinion about gardening (either pro- or anti-) and can tell great stories about plants they’ve either nurtured or killed. And best of all, its an easy way to circumvent the dreaded ‘I loved you in (insert famous movie)’ fan chatter.

So then it happened to me: A few years back Tobias Andersen (currently playing Henry in Sometimes a Great Notion) invited Armin Shimmerman and his wife to guest star in Love Letters for Mt Hood Repertory Theatre (and this is where my geek roots are going to show…) Armin Shimmerman was Quark on Deep Space Nine and later the fiendishly beaurocratic Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am a HUGE fan of his work. Toby was gracious enough to invite my then husband John and I to the opening night for Love Letters, where we had the opportunity to meet Armin after the show (after he got done signing autographs for about a dozen pimply faced adolescent Star Trek fans who’d bought tickets for the express purpose of meeting ‘Quark.’) Desperately trying not to say ‘Oh I’m such a huge fan of your work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ I blurted out, ‘So, do you garden?‘ He laughed, and very diplomatically answered that he probably would if he lived in such a beautifully green state as Oregon. The conversation turned into a great one, centered on the delicate task of maintaining healthy relationships in such an unstable industry as show business. He and his wife were totally lovely.”

Mary Beth Johnson
Full Time Mom

“Back in 1996, all the Louisvillians were talking about Kevin Costner sightings around town. Costner had a new movie, Tin Cup, premiering in Louisville. I was working as the hostess at Vincenzo’s, the super classy, even-the-bus-boys-wear-a-tuxedo Italian restaurant downtown that summer. At 4:15, Costner walked in and requested a table. Since the restaurant didn’t open until 4:30, I had to deny him. He asked, ‘Do you know who I am?’ I said yes. He looked confused, then asked, ‘Would you like my autograph?’ I said no. I had finished my prep work and there was a piano in the lobby, so I offered to play him a song while he waited. Costner accepted and smiled. At the time, I was a big fan of combining songs to make mini-medleys — for instance, Pachelbel’s Canon runs nicely into ‘Puff the Magic Dragon‘. When Costner heard ‘Puff’ he began to sing along.

It was an altogether pleasant exchange. I imagine had I just asked for the autograph it would have been a less rewarding memory.”

Dana Barron
Realtor

“A friend asked if he could borrow our home for a special birthday party. We hesitated because it was very near my due date with our first child. He convinced us when he said he’d hire a band, would have the party catered and take care of everything, so I could just sit back and enjoy. The day arrived and a huge moving van pulled up in front of the house. Men started carrying in equipment and speakers that were 6 feet tall. I thought he was hiring some local musicians, but the band turned out to be Santana. So, the night before my son was born, I was dancing to Black Magic Woman in my living room until 3 a.m.”

Kendra Matthews

“Growing up, I loved silly ‘crushes.’ In fifth grade: Pat Sajak. So smart, I’d say, so compact. In sixth, the A-Team with Mr. T premiered. Perfect! I knew everything about him and regularly shared it: ‘As Lawrence Tareaud–better known as Mr. T–says, ‘Be somebody or be somebody’s fool.’’ Good comedy. By my junior year, the ‘crush’ had long-since passed. Still, I was excited to see him at a Denver Nuggets game. Seeing him, my friend Jennifer immediately declared, ‘Kendra, only losers get autographs.’ Fine. I’ll just walk by and say, ‘Hey T.’ I tried about six times; I just couldn’t get close enough. Sorry, Jennifer, no choice. Terribly embarrassed for me, Jennifer nevertheless squeezed through the preteen boys to help me get to Mr. T. As I calmly got his autograph, Jennifer suddenly screamed, ‘TOUCH HIS GOLD!’ And we–every last person within reach–did.”

Have your own brush with fame to share?
Send it to brushes@pcs.organd if we select it for inclusion on the page you’ll win a pair of tickets to The Little Dog Laughed.

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