Some Folks I’ve Met

I’m not sure why I decided to do this page. Basically, I’ve heard a number of talk radio shows do a “Brush with Greatness” theme; the idea being: “When, in the course of your daily life, have you come into contact with people who are actors, politicians, household names, etc?” I have met a lot of well-known or interesting people at different times in my life. I’ve met a lot of politicians (I do voiceovers for a lot of political commercials) and a lot of musicians that I’ve really enjoyed and respected. Many well-known people, however, either made no impression on me or it just didn’t seem worth mentioning. Others are more or less well-known, but I enjoyed meeting them or spending time with them, so I’ve decided to mention them here. This is just for fun. I hope you get a kick out of it as well. I’m sure I’ll add to it over time as others come to mind.

Michael J. Anderson – The “man from another place” in Twin Peaks, I met Michael J. Anderson several years ago when he was in Columbus to work on an indie film by Mark Burson. He and his wife stopped by the company I worked for at the time and we had a really nice chat. His other appearances include the X-Files, The Great Land of Small, Mulholland Drive and Port Charles. Here’s his Internet Movie Database page.

Pat Boone – This was a REALLY long time ago. Pat Boone and his whole family (wife and daughters Cherry, Lindy, Debby (yes, the “You Light Up My Life” Debby Boone) and Laury were performing at the Ohio State Fair. I was there to interview Pat for a radio station I worked for at the time. We had a great chat…including speculation about whether or not Archie Griffin could possibly win the Heisman Trophy for a second year (he did…in 1975 and 1976). I didn’t know a lot about Pat except that I’d heard some of his music and he was a big name. I found him extremely personable. Here’s a site: PatBoone.com

Richard Lewis – Richard is an Ohio State graduate and he was in town doing a promo spot of some sort for the University back in the mid-Nineties. Somehow I ended up holding the boom mike during the shoot. On his best take, I let the mike dip a little too low and it was visible on camera. He had a lot of fun blaming me for screwing him over. Nice guy…fun to work with. He was very popular at the time, having just come off the series “Anything But Love” with Jamie Lee Curtis. Check out his official site.

Jerry Lucas – I got to chauffeur Jerry around town in about 1980 when the radio station I worked for sponsored one of his memory seminars. You should have seen him trying to fold his 6’9″ frame into my ’78 Chevette!! I also was honored to escort his lovely ex-wife, Sharalee. She’s a gifted singer in her own right. Jerry is a household name to NBA fans. He’s been voted one of the Top 50 NBA Players of all time. He also was a huge star at OSU and in the Olympics. He was a champ at every level at which he played. After retiring from basketball, he ended up teaching people his memorization techniques. You can find his web site here.

Barry McGuire – I met Barry in 1976 when I was living in the Pittsburgh (PA) area. I was staying with the Hancherick family there and we were hosting a concert with Barry at Soldiers and Sailors Hall in downtown Pittsburgh. Barry hung out with us the night of the concert at the house where I was staying, and we had some great conversations about his experiences in the music industry, speculations about the nature of God’s existence and lots of other fun things. He’s an amazing storyteller. If Barry’s name doesn’t jump out at you, you’ll probably remember the big Sixties radio hit “Eve of Destruction”. He also sang with the New Christy Minstrels (“Green Green”). He continues to write and record until recently, although he officially retired at the beginning of 2003 at the age of about 66. He did some great albums for kids back in the Eighties as well. Here’s his official web site, which includes a lot of great info about his career.