My Brushes with Greatness

This page was given a "Mirsky's Worst of the Web" dishonor for April 28, 1995, with amusing commentary. What was odd, though, was the email I got from somebody as a result, suggesting that I stop bothering celebrities engaged in "normal things" and get a job with a talent agency.

As a result of the above dishonor, this page was also noted in an Orange County Register article (also published on July 2, 1995 in the Kansas City Star). Looks like I'm well on my way to being as big a celebrity as those on the list...

Mid-1970s: Family station wagon refueled at gas station at same time as Rolls Royce driven by Ann B. Davis.
August 1984: Rode elevator in Paris Hilton with Christopher Walken (in Paris for filming of "A View to A Kill").
March 15, 1989: Ate at nearly-empty Indian restaurant on Melrose Ave. late at night several tables away from Penn Jillette and date.
May 6, 1989: Met Spalding Gray backstage after his monologue at the University of Arizona; he autographed my copy of his book.
May 30, 1992: Bicycled past the guy who was the lead singer in the movie "The Commitments" as he jogged down Venice Beach.
May 31, 1992: Saw Herve Villechaize shopping on Melrose Ave.
September 6, 1992: Awakened early in the morning by a telephone call from Uri Geller asking me questions about his lawsuits against James Randi; resisted temptation to say "You're the psychic, you tell me."
March 14, 1994: Pulled up to a traffic light next to Trent Reznor on Scottsdale Blvd. on my way to a dental appointment. (This may have been mistaken identity, unless he was flying back and forth between Phoenix and Las Vegas, as Nine Inch Nails performed on March 14 & 15 in Vegas and March 17 & 18 in Phoenix.)
November 14, 1994: Channelled for the still-living Glenn Danzig during the Warner Bros. conference on America Online. (Typed for him as he answered silly questions from fans.)
March 26, 1995: Had breakfast with Frank Tipler, James Randi, Jerry Andrus, Michael Shermer, and Abe Heward at the Holiday Inn on Highland in Hollywood. I accidentally drank Tipler's orange juice.
March 27, 1995: Did the AOL CyberChat again, typing for Throwing Muses. Kristin Hersh claimed I should take up playing guitar based on my typing skill.
December 10, 1996: Saw Kurt Russell in New York City walking down 49th St. from Broadway while exiting the Consulate Hotel (worst hotel I've ever stayed at in my life).
April 3, 1999: Stood a few feet away from Alice Cooper and his wife and child while we were both waiting in line to buy popcorn at an AMC movie theater in Phoenix. I was there to see "The Matrix"; his family was there to see something else.
April 23, 1999: Alice Cooper followed us down the escalator as we were leaving the theater after seeing "Pushing Tin."
March 2000: Met Roger Schell at SRI (Atomic Tangerine, actually) "Cybersecurity Symposium"--briefly discussed Multics and its demise.
October 17, 2000: Saw Don Johnson at his restaurant (Cheech Marin is also a partner), Ana Mandara, in San Francisco. (Had one of the best meals I've ever eaten--dungeness crab appetizer and the lobster ravioli appetizer, lobster tower and garlic shrimp entrees, sides of jasmine rice and Japanese eggplant, vanilla bean custard dessert. The lobster ravioli, the eggplant, and the dessert were exceptional. The "Ana Mandara" cocktail is also pretty yummy.)

October 17, 2000