Story Time: Famous People You Found Yourself With

The entire family met Burt Young, aka PAULIE, at the Garden City hotel brunch.. Lots of bacon !!! He walked over to our table

Sorry about the Rocky adds below... 🥊🥊

***and they magically disappear...***
rocky-paulie-burt-young-meat-house


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Capt MJ said:
Yes yes yes! When I traveled to USMMA for business, I’d always try to work in a visit there. I did not expense that meal, but oh it was worth it.
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If you want to impress the waiters there, say you don't need a menu and then order the following:

Tomato & Onion and the Bacon as appetizer
Steak for the number of people in your party (Steak for four), Medium Rare with potatoes & creamed spinach
Apple Strudel "mitt schlaag" for dessert
 
8th Wing Refugee said:
If you want to impress the waiters there, say you don't need a menu and then order the following:

Tomato & Onion and the Bacon as appetizer
Steak for the number of people in your party (Steak for four), Medium Rare with potatoes & creamed spinach
Apple Strudel "mitt schlaag" for dessert
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That place is high in the pantheon of NYC “classic East Coast steak house.”

In Annapolis, Lewnes’ (“LOOnisses”) is that place.
 
Devil Doc said:
OK, since we are talking about military celebrities. Or are we? Anyway, I was stationed at BUMED when Adm Jay Johnson was CNO. SO WHAT? one might ask. The residence of the Vice CNO when he became CNO was on the grounds of BUMED and next to my building. Garland his wife didn’t want to move to the CNO residence at the Navy Yard so they stayed put and the Navy decided it was a great time to do a 6 million dollar renovation on the house.

The admiral had knee surgery and went to our gym to ride the stationary bike as part of his rehab. He is/was a very thin man and a runner. He wasn't snobbish but kind of stand-offish. I was the only one in the morning who would greet him. Everybody else kind of looked at him out the side of their heads.

Side note: The BUMED gym was in the basement of my building, the old observatory which the Navy called building 2, in what used to be an operating room or autopsy room or both and was at the bottom of a round observation area. It was kind of spooky and cool at the same time.
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I worked for Jay Johnson when I was part of 2nd Flt Staff and he was the flag. Absolutely was thin and a runner. His legacy of the emphasis on the PRT especially the run remained long after he retired. By the way, he was a VERY high flier and was wearing four stars as CNO when he had just 28 yrs of commissioned service. Class of 68 was a pretty high achieving class and his classmate, Mike Mullen was CNO almost 10 years after Johnson which also shows how fast Johnson moved upward.
 
Capt MJ said:
That place is high in the pantheon of NYC “classic East Coast steak house.”

In Annapolis, Lewnes’ (“LOOnisses”) is that place.
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The guy who owned Luger's lived to 96. His NY Times obituary said that he had a Luger's steak for lunch and dinner every day. That was some run.
 
Until Covid hit last March, I was on a plane almost every week so have had some interesting seat mates . The ones who I found the most interesting were old , long retired Athletes. For those who are fans and remember the Ken Burns documentary on Baseball- on a fight into Kansas City, I got to sit and talk with Buck O'Neil, one of the greats from the ***** League (he was on his way to the ***** Leagues Baseball Museum). That was a really cool talk and he was a very nice man who talked to anyone who approached him. I also had the old Green Bay Packers pulling guard and Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer. I was kind of amazed at what a relatively small guy he was- it highlighted how much the size of Pro Football players has changed in the last 50 years- he was maybe 6'2" max, so smaller than almost every QB now in the league. a few years ago I sat next to Chris Berman the former lead sportscaster for ESPN on a flight from New York to Dallas, and got the chance to really talk a lot- very interesting guy. Lot's of frustrations with flying all the time, but every now and then you get some real winners (not mentioning some of the real screw balls you also run into when you fly that much! :rolleyes: ) .
 
OldRetSWO said:
I worked for Jay Johnson when I was part of 2nd Flt Staff and he was the flag. Absolutely was thin and a runner. His legacy of the emphasis on the PRT especially the run remained long after he retired. By the way, he was a VERY high flier and was wearing four stars as CNO when he had just 28 yrs of commissioned service. Class of 68 was a pretty high achieving class and his classmate, Mike Mullen was CNO almost 10 years after Johnson which also shows how fast Johnson moved upward.
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Also in the class of 68. James Webb and NASA administrator Charles Bolden. Bolden was speaker at one of our graduations.

Also USNA 68 Dennis Blair who was Obama’s first DNI and my CO on the Cochrane. Among other things, he's famous for attempting to water ski
from the stern of the Cochrane. He rode in the motor whale boat behind the ship and took the rope and tried to stay upright as the MWB pulled away. I can't remember the ship's speed at the time but he wasn't very successful.
blair.jpg
 
Devil Doc said:
Also in the class of 68. James Webb and NASA administrator Charles Bolden. Bolden was speaker at one of our graduations.

Also USNA 68 Dennis Blair who was Obama’s first DNI and my CO on the Cochrane. Among other things, he's famous for attempting to water ski
from the stern of the Cochrane. He rode in the motor whale boat behind the ship and took the rope and tried to stay upright as the MWB pulled away. I can't remember the ship's speed at the time but he wasn't very successful.
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Here's one more - Oliver North
 
OldRetSWO said:
I feel the same way about senior military folks. I served on two flag staffs (total 7 yrs) and then spent 5 years at the War College so was exposed to lots and lots of the major players of the time plus my USNA class produced well over 30 flags including four 4 stars. It has gotten to the point that I just don't find it that odd any more.
My road roommate on one of the staffs for three years was a major player in his state legislature and widely expected to be their next Senator. In addition to lots of travel in the US, we also traveled together in Europe and the Middle East and I saw him recognized and constantly cornered by folks and he was far from a national name. We attended a 3 week Navy course at Dam Neck and golfed at Oceana after class each day and even on the course where you'd think we were pretty anonymous, we did not get through even one round without him getting stopped. After spending a few years with him, I no longer envied the lot of the famous.
That said, I just got a traffic alert that we have a movie being filmed very close to me and if I want to, I can go out and meet "McDreamy" but I'm going to pass on it.
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Shipmate. I would have covered the “McDreamy” duty for you.
 
Capt MJ said:
Shipmate. I would have covered the “McDreamy” duty for you.
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It's snowing here plus I just finished teaching back to back classes so needless to say, I haven't pursued a sighting.
 
I once sat next to former major league third baseman Bill Tuttle on a flight from DC back to MN. We were eating dinner (look young people, you'll have to trust me on this -- they served dinner on domestic flights once upon a time) and he offered me the frozen Snickers we'd received for dessert. It was dark so I hadn't noticed his face, but when he said "I can't eat this" I took another look. I didn't realize who he was until we'd been talking a while, but I recognized the old Twins and Tigers name. He'd developed mouth cancer after decades of chewing tobacco and then became a crusader against it for the rest of his life. He'd been down at spring training and then up to Washington to "give my horror show talk." Great guy.
 
OldRetSWO said:
It's snowing here plus I just finished teaching back to back classes so needless to say, I haven't pursued a sighting.
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I’ve been in video sessions with a client this AM and have another in 1 minute. McDreamy will have to wait.
 
Speaking of “McDreamy” episodes, two words - John Stamos.

I was at another DC USO event, featuring John Stamos sitting in with The Beach Boys (he does this regularly), and John Lloyd Young, who played Frankie Valli in the original “Jersey Boys” cast. We had front-row seats and a backstage pass for after-party. Great fun listening to Beach Boys, who did all their big hits and had everyone singing along. I never thought much one way or another of John Stamos until he smiled at someone from about two feet away. Then I got it. John Lloyd Young signed up for this USO event because his dad is career Air Force, and he called him and his mom out from the stage, citing his AF “brathood” which gave him the skills, strength and work ethic to travel and work as a singer and actor. That guy has a voice, and his falsetto is amazing, nothing like his normal speaking-singing tone. I got to talk to him, and he would do anything for the military.

Stuff keeps falling out of the attic!


 
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Devil Doc said:
Oh yeah, I was going to add him. My wife stood in line to get his autographed book for my son and me. LtCol North was the guest at my son's TBS dining in. They both say he seems like a nice man. I've never met him.
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Not the same thing ... in college I was a cab driver in Philly. I picked up the lookalikes for him and Faith Hill. Doing some promo at a local tv station. They looked exactly like them. She was stunning.
 
Wow- some great stories and memories shared! My recollections are nowhere near as exciting! But I am sure later the details will float into the center of my brain!
As a young teen, I recall getting kissed by Joe Namath (football player) after his performance in Damn Yankees (musical, not a baseball game for those not into theatre) Not into the whole heartthrob scene at the time, I waited for his autograph, but all the 'old' ladies shoved ahead of me and just as he was whisked away, and I stood there with pen and paper in hand, we were told there was no more time for the autographs, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I was unfazed, but my sister was mad, she thought he was cute.
Kim Bassinger, sat at the adjacent table when I ate lunch one day; ran into Uma Thurman walking on the sidewalk;
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke at my graduation and I got to shake her hand; I stood next to Maggie Gyllenhall at a gala; as a student in France one summer, saw Princess Stephanie as she drove out of her residence in Monaco; in Dublin, Peter O'Toole sat in the next row in a theater production.
I also had the excitement as a college student leader to be at an event and shake hands with former President Gerald Ford (after getting checked out first by Secret Services, which I thought I was cooler than my friends who weren't as lucky).
Bucky Dent (Yankees baseball player) gave me his autograph on his picture, and there were a few more celebrity people I met or came in contact with when their family members *may* have been in legal trouble.

But I love the story my mom told when she was stuck in a tunnel hallway at an arena after using the restroom. It was an event for JFK, and I am not sure if he was elected yet or this was beforehand. All of a sudden as she walked from the restroom she was stopped by security and was told to wait- then, JFK started making his way through the tunnel, and my mom froze in place! He smiled at her and shook her hand then continued onward. It was "the bees' knees" as she said.
 
"As an adult, I was solo at a VVIP private reception for the annual big USO Gala fund-raiser in DC, representing one of the big sponsors. I was in line at the crowded bar, and the man in front of me turned around and asked what he could get for me. It was Chris Isaak. He later sang “Wicked Game” during the show. "

I've been enjoying reading these but in a response to Capt MJ's original post:
My wife and I saw Chris Isaak perform a couple of years ago at Belly Up in Aspen, reserved seating it holds about 260 people max. One heck of a performer and entertainer. His band is awesome. I figured in a place that small the sound would be over whelming but it was perfect.

Anyways, we had meet and greet back stage passes to meet him. I have a picture of my wife looking at him like I never even existed in her life. I have to admit that at 60+ he looked pretty damn good. Very funny guy, does a spot on Jay Leno impression. He told us of a time on a USO tour that he and Dwight Yoakam played back up for each other. He said they absolutely sucked. I doubt it though.

I have also met a few former pro baseball players, many live in our area and are active in youth organizations.

As a teen ager we were in Kansas City watching a college basketball tournament and the Oakland raiders were in town to play the Chiefs, rode in an elevator with their QB Ken Stabler.
 
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