So we’re going to go a different direction and turn it into a “brushes with greatness” (or semi-greatness) thread. Here’s Paul:
I, Paul DerHagopian, like a number of MSTies, have obtained autographs from the show’s cast and writers, but I’ve also gotten autographs from people involved in the movies featured on the show.
I got my MST3k Amazing Colossal Episode Guide book signed back at Gateway Con 2000 in St. Louis, by Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Mary Jo Pehl, and Bill Corbett (Corbett wrote “subbing for Trace” as he joined the show after the book was written). I’ve also got an MST3k Sci-Fi Channel poster signed by Nelson, Murphy, Corbett, Pehl, and Patrick Brantseg sold by the MST3k Info Club after the series ended. Back in 2010, I purchased the Volume XVI DVD with Tom Servo figurine signed by Kevin Murphy and the XIX DVD with Gypsy figurine signed by Jim Mallon. I’ve also got The Crawling Eye episode mini poster signed by Joel Hodgson that was included when I pre-ordered the XVII DVD from Newbury Comics.
I’ve also paid to have Tia Carrere and Adam West from Zombie Nightmare to sign my MST3k Volume XV DVD containing that episode, as well as the min poster. You can see my video encounters with them on YouTube. I got Tia Carrere to lampoon her “This is a big garage” dialog line by writing “This is a big DVD set!” on my copy, while Adam West just personalized it to me. Carrere also gave me a free complementary music CD of hers, too.
Tia Carrere, Adam West.
I’ve also met Alan Oppenheimer, who played Dr. Hale in “Riding With Death.” I brought the official, commercial release of the uncut version of that work on VHS for him to sign. I brought and 8×10 screen capture of him from the episode when I approached his table, surprising him, as he claims he’s never heard of MST3k and was unaware he was on the show, having completely forgotten about his appearance on the Gemini Man TV series from which Riding With Death was compiled from.
Here’s my footage with Alan Oppenheimer. Two words…patent papers.
I also paid Fred “The Hammer” Williamson for a photo op and to have him sign my Warrior of the Lost World episode mini postern from the XVI DVD set. I got him to lampoon his dialog from that film that he delivers to Robert Ginty “You’ve been chosen…like King Arthur”.
I got him to write: “You have been chosen to receive this.” — Fred “The Hammer” Williamson
I’ve also met Herschell Gordon Lewis, the producer of Monster a Go-Go. I first met him back in 2010, where he signed my MST3k Volume 8 DVD, writing: “The most monstrous aspect is the plot. You won’t find my name on this. Once you see the movie, you’ll know why”–Herschell Gordon Lewis
This year at Florida SuperCon, I brought the 2010 special edition DVD of the uncut version of Monster a Go-Go for him to sign, as well as another copy of the MST3k Volume 8 DVD for him to sign for my friend. On that copy he wrote: “No monster, but the whole thing is monstrous!”–Herschell Gordon Lewis.
The footage of my 2nd encounter with Herschell Gordon Lewis, on being asked if people know him for producing Monster a Go-Go, widely considered one of the worst movies ever made: “No, not really, and I certainly hope they don’t put that on my tombstone when I die.”
You can see my photos here.
I also have an autographed copy of Bert I. Gordon’s book, that I purchased from his website on his 90th birthday, as well as a DVD copy of The Giant Spider Invasion signed by its director, Bill Rebane, purchased from his website. I’ve also got a signed photo from the cast of Cinematic Titanic purchased from their website. In addition, I’ve got a reproduction of a newspaper article that I wrote as a child writer at the age of 15 back in 1999 for The Miami Herald’s arts section when the show began its final season that Barb Tebben got signed for me by the cast and writers.
I even have a DVD copy of Kevin Murphy and Jim Mallon’s precursor work to MST3k, Blood Hook, signed by the president of that film’s distributor, Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment.
Wow, that is quite a collection.
I’ve have lots of celebrity encounters over the years, (I’ve talked on the phone with Weird Al, Tom Lehrer and George Lowe, the guy who did the voice of Space Ghost, among others). But here are two of my favorites.
I met Jack Gilford once–this was the late ’70s. He was starring in a summer stock version of “Damn Yankees.” He was in his dressing room during intermission. He was hot and sweaty. The friend who’d brought me back stage introduced me and I followed up by saying (I was part of a comedy group at the time) that I was a struggling comedian. For the first time, he seemed to suddenly became aware of me. Gilford looked at me, gave me that patented eye twinkle and said “Yeah, kid, so am I.” Of course the three or four hangers on in the room laughed robotically. “Very funny, Mr. Gilford…”
I also met James Doohan, toward the end of his life. He was at a scifi convention in St. Louis. He was thin and haggard but really enjoyed talking to fans. Some jackass pulled a fire alarm that night, and the poor guy had to walk down several flights of stairs and stand in his robe in the hot parking lot waiting with the rest of us to be let back in. People quickly rushed to find him something to sit on. I always wondered how many days that took off his life.
What’s your story?
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Well, as far as MST3K is concerned, I got a cast photo signed during the autograph session at ConventioCon I, then I got my copy of the ACEG signed at ConventioCon II. (The latter was accidentally destroyed maliciously by Hurricane Irene.) Also at II, I got Russell Johnson and Rex Reason’s autograph; Kim Catrall had already left by the time it was my turn.
And here’s something pretty rare: I’d ordered a mug from TimmyBigHands, but they’d run out of them. So, I got a refund check from TimmyBigHands, signed by Paul Chaplin, using his real name. I never cashed the check and still have it.
Outside of MST3K, in 1999, after Star Wars Celebration I, I saw that Anthony Daniels was behind me in the security line at Denver Airport. I politely told him he’d done a really fine job as MC, and he said we’d all been a really fine audience. (And, given the conditions at the Celebration, it’s high praise on both sides.)
And John Levene said hello to me at the Gateway Convention in St. Louis in 2000.
Addendum to the ConventioCon I autograph session: I was wearing my C-3PO belt buckle. Trace noticed it and said, “Hey, C-3PO.” I told him how I’d gotten it back in 1977, while my brother had gotten an R2-D2 buckle. My brother, who’s not a big “Star Wars” fan, eventually gave me the other buckle, so now I have them both. Trace’s reply: “You luck!”
I’ve met a few famous folks(I got to tell Lance Henriksen that I thought Pumpkinhead was way underrated, for example), but I have yet to meet any of the MST alumni, or anyone featured in the movies that I know of.
I did get to speak to John Waters during the Q&A session after a spoken word performance I went to see, and he was referenced a few times on the show, so…..?
Sorry, best I can do.
I also met James Doohan at that convention in St Louis. Trace and Frank were at the same event. Yes, James looked very frail and his voice was weak, but he didn’t disappoint the fans. I had no idea he was missing a finger on his right hand until I met him. Lost it on D-Day when he served in the Canadian army.
In 2006, in Pittsburgh, there was “Arch Hall Jr. Weekend” with a showing of “The Sadist” at the Warhol Museum and a club show at the 31st Pub. Needless to say, we were geeked! A whole lot of the garage music scene turned up and the show was far better than expected. Afterward, we got him (and Alan O’Day–who was in the band at the pool party scene in “Eegah”) to sign our copy of “Wild Guitar.” He was a very nice guy!
A couple years later, we saw Ray Dennis Steckler at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers at a showing of his documentary about Reading, Pa. Never to let an opportunity to capture footage escape, he interviewed attendees leaving the theater on video asking for comments about the film. It’s heartening to know that my wife and I are somewhere in his archives. He added his name to “Wild Guitar” and we met his lovely wife. He was a real nice guy and we miss him.
As far as MST3K stuff I’ve got nothing. However I have drank with Ted v. Mikels (dir, of Girl With Gold Boots) it was pretty great, he had 2 of his 9 “wives” with him (hes a polygamist) and he gave me a Corpse Grinders shirt subtracted the price of the drink I bought him, gave me his adress and told me I owed him the remander of the price of the shirt and to send a check within the next 2 weeks, pretty classy stuff, huh?
Ive also met Herschel Gordon Lewis (dir.of Monster a go go) at a horror convention (Cinema Wasteland) Hes a great guy. He totaly admits alot of his movies are crap and is completely baffeled as to why he has so many fans.
The only thing I have autographed is my Rhino dvd release of
Manos by Joel, Trace, Frank, Mary Jo and J. Elvis…but it may
be the greatest thing I own.
Chatted with Gregory Hines in line at the Las Vegas airport. Also Marty Allen (hello dere) in the line at the bank. Evidently I’m a nice person to stand in line with.
We also meet James Doohan at Gateway. If fact, we won an eBay auction to have dinner with him! It was kind of awkward and quiet because we were all so star-struck. (BTW, I also wish I could wring the neck of the a-hole who pulled the fire alarm that night!)
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I’ve gotten most of the cast to sign my Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, including some who weren’t involved with the book. That’s about it.
I met most of the gang who was working on the show at the time at the first convention, as well as Kim Catrall.
As far as other celebrities, not to sound like an ass, but I live in New York so have had a few encounters (too late, I sound like an ass). At various points, I’ve seen a few different celebrities, but the best encounter was with Bill Murray. I saw him walking down the street after seeing a friends play, and he just started talking to me. He chatted with me for a good 5 minutes about working in plays himself and how he likes to just walk the city instead of using a driver. As I got to my subway station he shook my hand and introduced himself as “Bill”. I wanted to laugh because I dressed as a god damn Ghostbuster for Halloween when I was 7, but I kept it together. A couple days later I read in the newspaper how Bill Murray had too much wine at a Lost in Translation premiere and was acting up so I guess that’s why he was so friendly that night, but it made my lifetime for sure.
I have no brushes with greatness to share. I just love MST3K, everyone associated with the making of it, and its loyal fans.
I don’t know how famous she is, but she’s a celebrity to me – I met Nancy Beiman at the Rochester Institute of Technology in October 2004. She was an animator at Warner Bros. in the late ’80s and early ’90s, working under Greg Ford and Terry Lennon on the Looney Tunes projects of the time (you can see her work in the movie Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters and cartoons like “Blooper Bunny” and “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers”).
She was hosting a special Halloween-themed animation festival, and I spoke with her for a bit – I did get a little gushy, telling her how I thought her animation looked the best out of all the Ford/Lennon animators – and she shared with me a few inside secrets on Looney Tunes history that she picked up from her time at the studio. You know that “yoggedy-yoggedy” head-shaking sound effect? Nancy told me that was called the “trombone gobble”, and it was made by blowing a long, low stuttery note on a trombone, then speeding it up four times faster.
Probably the most interesting thing she told me that night, though, was how Warner Bros. originally refused to release “Blooper Bunny”. It was made in 1991 as a parody of the overblown hoopla surrounding Bugs Bunny’s 50th birthday celebration in 1990 – it’s the one that’s done like a behind-the-scenes documentary where you see Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd, and Yosemite Sam arguing with each other between takes. WB thought it would tarnish the public’s perception of the characters (oh, those nutty Hollywood executives) and sat on it for six years, finally dumping it unceremoniously onto Cartoon Network in 1997.
Ed Nelson (of Riding With Death and Night of the Bloodbeast) is a distant relative of one of my closest friends. At a crawfish boil (it is a Louisiana thing) many years ago I approached him and I told him about the show. We discussed his career, working with Corman and his turn as the Governor in Police Academy 3. It was brief encounter, as he left to attend a Tulane baseball game, but I enjoyed meeting a MST legend and he seemed to enjoy meeting someone with interest and knowledge regarding his career.
As far as autographs, I received an autographed copy of the ACEG and a Joel cast photo through the fan club years ago. It was later stolen by a “friend” with a drug problem. I haven’t seen them in years but I’m prepared to exact my revenge when I get the chance.
From MST3K, I got to meet Joel, Trace, Josh, Mary Jo, and Frank at a CT showing in Seattle. Mary Jo and Trace were the only two I actually spoke with though.
Not sure if it counts or not, but I sent an email to Fred Frees, the son of Paul Frees, and asked him about if he saw MST3K’s “The Beatniks”, and he told me he was “totally amused by it”. You can listen to him answering my email here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfuYyXBUijo
The guy who did the music for “Santa Claus Conquers the martians” was on the radio once and I sent an email asking if he’d seen Mystery Science Theater 3000’s take on the movie. He said he’d never heard of the show.
Non-mST3K related, I’ve met Rupert Bonham from “Survivor”, Comic artist Jhonen Vasquez, actress Lea Thompson, voice actor Maurice LaMarche (only shook hands with him though, didn’t really get to speak to him), actress Summer Glau, and I came VERY close to shaking hands with singer Petula Clark at a concert, but a bunch of people cut in front of me. :(
I also once spoke to voice actress Janet Waldo over the phone. She was amazing.
NON-MST3K Brush with (True) Greatness:
When I was fifteen years old, my friend and I spent an evening depressed that we couldn’t score tickets for the Ramones gig (this was in Davis, California, back in 1979). We were drinking our sorrows away (yes, that’s what I did when I was fifteen living in California in the 1970s; I did other things I shouldn’t have as well) and decided to wander down the street to the 7-11 at around midnight. We were buying our junk food when who should pile out of a cheap van and wander in but THE RAMONES THEMSELVES!! I kid you not. My friend and I MUST HAVE looked thoroughly stupid in our drunken state of disbelief. Johnny Ramone walked by and said hi to me. I’ll never forget that. I didn’t talk to them, or ask them for autographs, or anything like that. I’ve never been good at that kind of thing. But Johnny Ramone said hi to me, and I’ll never forget that.
I’ve met two individuals who have MST connections in person, and talked to one on the phone. In my early days managing a Record store in Michigan, Michael Moore was a regular, borrowing Albums to review for his newspaper- “The Flint Voice”- Moore is mentioned in episode 113, 524, and 821.
GF and I met Richard Cheese at fan meet and greet at Chicago HOB in July 2009. Richard and Mike, of course,riffed a masterpiece for “Ocean’s 11”
Talked on the phone to Mickey Lolich- former Pitcher and Security Guard in episode 704. He laughed when asked about his “performance”, admitting it was a bad movie.
I sat next to Kevin Murphy during a movie once. He used to introduce independent movies in the Minneapolis area, and sat down next to me and the friend I was with.
I’ve told the story several times, but it bares repeating again. My cousin’s husband does audio/video recording for events involving celebs, and he met Clint Eastwood once, whom as we know made his acting debut in “Revenge of the Creature”. He mentioned to Clint about that movie ending up on MST3K, and told him about the joke the character Crow made “This guy’s bad, this is his first and last movie”. Clint is somewhat familiar with MST3K, as some of his family likes it, and Clint commented that in regards to that joke, he thinks it’s a reference to something he said in an interview many years ago, and that was pretty much what the people at Universal thought of him at the time, that he wasn’t good, and this would be his first and last movie.
Oh, this is a great topic!!!! For MST3K cast members, I had the honor of meeting Joel, Trace, Mary Jo, Frank, and Josh at their Cinimatic Titanic show in Ann Arbor this July. I live only an hour or so from there, so it was the perfect opportunity! But it gets better… that month my girlfriend (and best friend in the whole world :) ) was visiting for the summer from Florida. As a devoted MSTie who’s birthday just happened to be a few days before the CT show, there was no way I wasn’t gonna take her as a present! In addition, I had spent the previous few months finding the pieces for and ultimately assembling a scale replica of the Mike era Cambot, which I also gave to her as a present! I managed to keep the show a secret and, after getting turned around on the way to the theater, we finally arrived and enjoyed the tail end of Rattlers and all of The Doll Squad. During the intermission we got in line for autographs with three items I had brought for signing: her new Cambot and Rhino’s Volume 11, and my Amazing Colossal Episode Guide. We shook hands with all five illumni and thanked them for being so awesome! Trace gave me a hard time about the show being after my girlfriend’s birthday, Mary Jo complimented me on my choice of presents, and Frank seemed especially impressed with Cambot. We then went back into the theater to laugh our butts off together. Best day ever. :)
On a somewhat related note, I’ve also met a few people connected to some of the Japanese films riffed on the show! I’ve attended G-FEST, an annual kaiju (monster) convention in Chicago, every year since 2010, during which I’ve met some people a few MSTies might recognize. At G-FEST XVII, I had the pleasure of meeting the legendary Akira Takarada, star of a number if scifi films in Japan, including Godzilla vs The Sea Monster (he played the bank robber who steals the yacht)! He returned this year as well, and was kind enough to sign a load of memorabilia for me! Also in attendance this year was actor/suit performer Bin Furuya, most famous for playing the original Ultraman in 1966. The show “Ultraman” was produced by Tsuburaya Productions, who also produced the TV series “Mighty Jack” and “Army of the Apes” (a.k.a. “Time of the Apes”). If only they’d known Sandy Frank would get his grubby paws on… well, ahem… moving on! In 2011, the guest of honor was special effects genius Shinji Higuchi, who along with director Shusuke Kaneko, reinvented and reinvigorated the Gamera franchise in the 1990’s with a trilogy of serious, mature films that couldn’t be more unlike the goofy kiddy movies seen on MST3K. The films, produced between 1995 and 1999, received critical acclaim around the world, and helped restore Gamera’s image. We MSTies know it definitely needed some restoration. :) Check ’em out if you haven’t seen ’em!
I’m so glad you posted this discussion. David Letterman had a similar theme during the NBC years of late night where audience members told stories of having met the likes of Ann B. Davis and Joe Garagiola, plus their stories had the “Writer’s Embellishment,” where the person who met Ms. Davis @ a church event where pets were being blessed, said she was curing the sick in attendance with faith healing.
I don’t ever recall meeting anybody from “MST3K,” or any of their movies. I did meet William Christopher, a-k-a Fr. Mulcahy from the TV version of “M*A*S*H*,” about 30 years ago in the Pittsburgh-area for an autograph signing at the old Hill’s Department Store chain, which I believe was to coincide with the series’ final episode @ the time. He seemed to be very nice and that it didn’t appear to be put upon.
In other opportunities, I kind of kick myself for not getting to meet Mike Douglas who was signing copies of his book “I’ll Be Right Back,” especially as Dr. F and TV’s Frank were doing his talk show during the Invention Exchange of “Cave Dwellers.”
Okay, it’s not really MST3K/Rifftrax/Cinematic Titanic related, but I would like to promote a radio show I engineered [control volume, switch sources, etc.] with the star of some really bad movies – Ghost Dad and Leonard Part 6 – Bill Cosby.
(IMHO, the movies are eminently riffable and should be done by RT or CT).
The show deals with Jazz, and Cosby has been involved in music as well as comedy and acting, so he was a top ‘catch’ for an interview on a local show such as this.
If you’d like to hear the show (1:37:05 in length) you can find it at the Internet Archive, or through jakefeinbergshow.com/recordings.
Cosby was quite interested in the show, because of his interest in music – not a well-known fact.
Now, back to the show….
Second-hand greatness…
My wife used to work at PBS in Fresno. She has several stories about MST-interest celebs who came through, got the tour, gave short interviews, but the best (in my mind) was Richard Kiel. He had, and may still have, a place in the Sierra foothills, and liked to come through and do promos for PBS fund-raisers; “Support PBS or…(holding up a fist)” As you’d expect, a genuinely nice guy, with a great deal of trouble navigating doorways in a cramped studio.
Another Central Valley local boy who came by the station was Ken (Killer Shrews) Curtis. On everybody’s bucket list: the Ken Curtis Memorial Statue, in Clovis (Fresno suburb); in a place of honor in front of the teachers’ credit union, for some reason.
I went on the second to last Best Brains tour and caught glimpses of Mike, Kevin, Jim Mallon, and Bill. Brad Keeley gave us a rundown on the editing room.
Outside of that, my celebrity encounters are slim. I met Danny Kaye on a plane when I was 2, says my mother. Also, I went to a book signing by Stephenie Meyer and upon getting up to the table for my copy of The Host to be signed, I told her who I was and she jumped up and gave me a hug. Her handler was shocked, and Stephenie said to her, “We were aware of each other’s existence before Twilight was published.” We were members of a very small message board community. So say what you will about the Twilight books, movies, phenomenon etc, but Stephenie herself is a very nice person.
Last time CT showed up in MA, got my Essentials cover signed by the essential cast–Even got over my old grudges and told Mary Jo she was actually funny on her own, outside of Pearl Forrester context. (That took a lot of doing for me, lemme tell ya.) Even Joel was really friendly with the fans, although he clearly tables any questions about…THAT issue, right off the bat.
That’s about as Great as my brushes ever brushed, for MST3K-related films. If Henry Winkler or Big Bird had ever made one, I’d have a story here, but they didn’t.
I met Akira Takarada (the bank robber in GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER) in 2010. I also met Noriaki Yuasa (director of all the MSTied Gamera movies) in 2004. Both of those were at G-Fest in Chicago (the official Godzilla convention).
I also got to meet Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero from THE ROOM during a screening of the movie. Wiseau threw a football to a friend of mine (neither wearing tuxedos, unfortunately).
About the only one I have is the pic I got with Jackey Neyman-Jones, the one that was on my Manos report earlier this year.
I got to meet Mike Nelson after he gave a talk at Southern Arkansas University back in 2006. I said, “Since we’re in Arkansas, I have to ask if you’ve seen the little creature?” Mike laughed and said, “No, but I’ve heard a lot about it.” I’m still proud that I got a laugh out of Mike.
Well,never met any of the MST3K crew at all, though I did see a Cinematic Titanic show.
My one little celeb thing: On a date about 20-odd years ago, I saw Lyle Lovett in a Mexican restaurant and nervously got his autograph. I said I liked his “Big Band” album. Whoops–it’s supposed to be LARGE Band, but he didn’t correct me and was soft spoken and polite. The one way he’s sorta-kinda related to an MST3K episode was a very unflattering comparison Joel made to a guy in one of the hygiene shorts.
I’m afraid I too am bereft of MST3K encounters. But many moons ago I was in small town radio and my station was a local sponsor of a big regional music festival. Consequently I met and chatted with a few rock notables. I did a phone interview with Mike Reno of Loverboy prior to the shows, he was very cool. At the fest itself I interviewed or just chatted with the likes of a couple of the side men from Kansas, very nice guys who seemed shocked when I asked them some fairly intelligent questions about prog rock (Kansas did some spacey stuff on occasion). Pat Hayes of The Lamont Cranston Band (a great midwest regional act based in the Twin Cities) who was surprised when I asked him how he came to name his band after the secret identity of The Shadow. I actually got yelled at by the program director because my interview consisted mainly of Pat and I chatting about the Golden Age of radio, virtually unusable on a classic rock station. Pat Benatar was there and she was taken aback when I asked if she was going to favor us with some of her bluesy stuff. Her response was wonderfully candid, “Well, I’d love to but do you think that’s they want?” We both laughed. She was very sweet. Needless to say she went out and hit them with her best shot and the crowd went mental. My main takeaway with her was that she is tiny! Barely five feet tall and maybe a buck soakin’ wet and as beautiful in person as you oldsters saw in her videos. Last but certainly not least Eric Burdon who was there with his then latest incarnation of War. He was also very cool…introduced himself and shook my hand. No rock god BS whatsoever. That was just a photo op but it was kind of amazing to shake the hand of someone as important in popular music history as he.
Finally, soft-rock staples The Little River Band…I mention them last because the maniac (?) guitarist hit on my then girlfriend now wife relentlessly. She gives me grief about it to this day. “Rock stars dig me,” etc.
MSTies touch all!
MST-wise, I met John Agar at the West Hollywood Halloween parade some years ago; he and a couple of other elderly actors had a stand set up on Santa Monica Blvd. for some reason, so I stopped by and got his autograph on an 8×10 still from Revenge of the Creature but decided to be polite and not say anything about knowing the movie (or the rest of his work) primarily from MST. He passed away shortly after that, so that was fifteen bucks well spent.
I’ve exchanged emails with Rick Sloane of Hobgoblins notoriety. Nice guy; good sense of humor about things.
I too have exchanged emails with Rick Sloane! He’s a sweetheart, and I bought my copy of the Hobgoblins soundtrack (signed!) from him on ebay. Last time we wrote, he recommended I watch “I Know Who Killed Me” for it’s wonderful trash value.
The Amazing Kreskin kind of hit on me in a sweet old man way and used me twice in his show this past February. I had interviewed him for the newspaper I work at, and he is an absolute doll.
Almost fainted in front of Matthew Modine at a lecture on Full Metal Jacket–had a crush on him since I watched Cutthroat Island at the precious age of 13 (say what you will about it being terrible–and I did in the podcast I did with Canned Laser–but he is mega cute). He kissed me on the cheek.
My best friend is a professional extra on Law and Order (SVU and CI), 30 Rock and had a bit part in season 1 of Fringe. He has lots of stories–Tina Fey, Jack McBrayer, Jeff Goldblum and Ice-T are all very cool. He had a beer with Jason Sudakis once. Mariska Hargitay was nice, and is now a horrible bitch. Chris Meloni, Richard Belzer, Chris Noth and Alec Baldwin are all jerks.
He stood in for Kenny Johnson the day before he watched the season 5 finale of The Shield. Kenny had a cold that day. Those of you who watch The Shield can kind of imagine how that went.
Last time the Titans were at the Royal Oak Music Theater, they all signed my ACEG! That was quite a night!! Chatted with Gruber for a bit during intermission.
Haven’t met any MST3K related people (yet), but I did meet Weird Al (which would be the closest since he did do a Rifftrax) after a concert here in town in 2007. I have met some classic video game industry people like Howard Scott Warsaw, David Crane, and Ralph Baer and got autographs from them all, and told them how much I have enjoyed their work.
For a while in the late 90’s, Frank hosted a small, semi-regular, open mic standup show in the back of a grubby little burger joint on a not-so-fashionable stretch of Hollywood Boulevard. I’m talking small, usually ten folks or less, but with a few recognizable faces. I attended a lot of these and got to talk to Frank. I performed a five-minute set once. My goal was to get one big TV’s Frank laugh out of him, but I didn’t.
I mention this only because MST and Frank Zappa were fans of each other-I’ve seen Zappa Plays Zappa twice(and have tix for next month too), the official Frank tribute band fronted by his son Dweezil, and it’s the closest you’re going to get to the real thing, they’re a helluva band and play an always-rotating set of the classics.
Dweezil’s a great guy, too-he just hung out on stage after both shows and shook hands and signed whatever people handed him. I just had him sign my ticket stub last time, but recently scored a copy of Dweezil’s first album from the 80’s to have him sign next time.
I’ve never just happened to meet anyone famous, but conventions are great for it. I briefly met Mike and Kevin when they were at Dragon*Con one year and received signed post-it notes. I thanked them for “taking one for the team” by watching all those movies unfiltered and then being the filter. At a later Dragon*Con, I bought a signed copy of “Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks” from Trace, Mary Jo, and Frank after their CT panel. That same year, I learned that Bill Corbett and Terry Gilliam would be signing autographs in the same room, so I brought a copy of MST Vol. 8 and Monty Python and the Holy Grail to get signed. But by the time I’d got Gilliam to sign the Holy Grail, Bill had packed up and left.
Actually, the one time I happened to run into someone who was known for something was adjacent to Dragon*Con. This year, I was having dinner in the nearby mall food court, and the tables being extremely crowded as usual, I sat down across from a guy who had already started eating. After some other people sat down as well, I figured out it was Mark Meer, a voice actor whom I’d seen at a panel that morning.
I’ve got the Jim Mallon-autographed DVD set case from a year or two ago, as well as the Kevin Murphy one. In 2010, my parents and I attended a Cinematic Titanic show in Cleveland (my childhood was spent watching MST3K with my parents so this was especially nice). At the meet’n’greet afterwards, Dave “Gruber” Allen let my mother reach into the big paper bag he was carrying around. It had t-shirts and fruit in it, and my mother drew out an apple which we enjoyed on the ride home. I also got got one VHS and one DVD set autographed by the whole CT cast, and I brought Frank my “Invader ZIM” Volume 1 DVD, and he seemed kind of amazed that anyone knew he’d worked on it; I figure I can’t possibly be the only ZIM fanboy out there that asked him to autograph such a thing, though. I got into a friendly disagreement with Trace in line over whether or not Toho owned Godzilla AND Gamera (in retrospect, maybe he was trolling me, but it was all in good fun regardless). Mary Jo and I also were able to talk for a minute; I told her that the “banality of evil” riff in “The Dynamite Bros.” was my favorite line, even though I was the only guy in the whole place that laughed at it. Josh assured us both that it’d stay on the DVD (which turned out to be a live recording anyway).
About a year or two before Rifftrax started, Mike played a standup show in Columbus, OH that I desperately wanted to attend but wasn’t able to; he and Bill are the only two main cast members I haven’t got autographs from yet, so that haunts me a little.
I’ve never met any people involved in any movies from MST3K, sadly.
As for non-MST3K “brushes with greatness…” Well, as a kid, my family attended Andy Griffith Show conventions, and at one such con in Nashville we got into an elevator with Hal Smith, who played Otis the town drunk as well as Winnie the Pooh in one of the early Disney animations, and later Owl. He did the Pooh and Owl voices for me, which for a 4 or 5 year old was mind-blowing. Unlike the rest of the cast who were under heavy guard, he just wandered around with his daughter talking to people throughout the hotel. A nicer guy you couldn’t find anywhere, I think.
In the late 90s or early 2000s we attended a performance by more Andy Griffith Show actors, Don Knotts and Jim Neighbors. We got autographs from both (Knotts autographed my VHS of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken”) and I have a picture of Don Knotts at his autograph table around here somewhere. Years later we saw a Don Knotts/Tim Conway show. No autographs, but it is sort of a special thing for me, as it wasn’t long after that Don Knotts passed away. It was great to see them together again.
Another interesting one was that some years ago, I got feedback on some Youtube videos I posted by Larry Hankin, the character actor and filmmaker (he was Mr. Heckles on “Friends”).
Oh, and a few years ago my parents and I were at a Bob Dylan concert. I was with friends near the stage, my parents sat in the stands, and during the opening act, apparently Bob himself sat right by them for a while watching the opener. A few days after the show the stadium manager mentioned in an interview that Bob had gone around in plainclothes during the opener but nobody noticed him or said anything.
As far as actual brushes with MSTed greatness, back in 1993 or so, I had the good fortune to meet Ernest Borgnine in Milwaukee. He was good friends with the guy that ran the Great Circus Parade, an annual event in Milwaukee, and through the grapevine I heard that he was going to make an appearance. I actually got up the nerve to meet him as he was leaving his car and was gracious enough for a few photos. Very nice guy! I think I was the youngest fan he had met up until that point. Also he was surprised in the first photo, which looks like I goosed him, but I did not.
I met the CT cast at two different shows and received their autographed pictures and books. I’ve got most of the Mike solo autographed discs that were available from Legend films at the time those DVDs were released. I emailed Kevin a few times way back when his book came out and we talked about the Alloy Orchestra, which if you have the chance to see, please do. Also managed to buy a replacement ACEG at Half Price Books…that turned out to be autographed by Mike, Trace, Frank, Jim, Paul, Mary Jo, Kevin, and Bridget. THAT was 6 bucks well spent.
As far as memorabila from MSTed stars, I have autographed pictures of Christopher Lee, George Lazenby, Adam West, Mamie Van Doren, and the late great Beverly Garland in a shot from It Conquered The World.
With nonMSTed brushes, I had the good fortune to meet Eric Idle during his first Python album tour during his meet and greet. Also met Chris Squire, Steve Howe, and Alan White after a Yes show in Minneapolis. Met Roy Harper at the intermission of a show of his and he was fairly loaded.
My favorite brush or sorts was during the Kids In The Hall’s first reunion tour I was in Minneapolis with my brother. We were walking down the street opposite the theater they were going to be at, when we had a walk around a small crowd. The crowd had cornered Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald! Dave managed to get in a few photos with fans and then ducked into a store of some sort. Kevin popped in his headphones and started walking down the street. My brother and I followed him for three blocks and realizing that Kevin was just out for a walk, we broke off before saying hi, because we thought it would be more fun to say that we followed Kevin McDonald instead of actually meeting him.
I’ve met all the Titans at their shows. Had lengthy chats with a couple of them backstage and outside, not because I’m that interesting, but they’re so approachable and friendly. Josh, Frank and Gruber did a benefit here just a couple of months ago, and it was a fun evening.
I’ve met some other famous people and their relatives through politics. They’re actually just like the rest of us, although I’ve seen people get really starstruck. I was in awe the first time CT came here to the Northwest, but with time and a little bit of chatting, that goes away.
Closest I’ve come was talking with Kevin in the chat during last year’s Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny stream and also having Mike Nelson block me on twitter.
Why did Mike block you?
I have signed VHS copies of Red Zone Cuba and the Beast of Yucca Flats, and a letter of appreciation from Anthony Cardoza. I emailed him about the book Tor of the Desert, mentioned on his Wikipedia page. Unfortunately, he told me that the book does not exist but he did include a short interview he did on the subject.
I doubt if any of the celebraties have any thing to do with MST but here is the people I seen/met at conventions:
William Shatner
Nichelle Nicholes – Talked about meeting Martin Luther King Jr. and I got her autograph.
Leonard Nimoy – First time I met him, I got his autograph and also had him sign a mini poster for the movie “Them” that he had a tiny part in for sister, and he was impressed that we knew he was in it. I IMPRESSED HIM!!
Brent Spiner – He and I even joked around a little when I got his autograph!
Stan Lee – Just seeing him was enough. The line for his autograph was turning into a fire hazard the convention workers said.
Will Wheaton
Jonathan Frakes – He so nice and just like my dad.
Kevin Conroy – I nearly died waiting in line for his autograph, it took nearly all day, but I was litually the last one to get it!!
Lou Ferrigno – Only saw him from afar, the crowds made it impossible to get closer.
Nana Visitor
Gates McFadden
I had an opptunity to see James Doohan a couple of years before his death, but I decided not to. AARRGGHH!! I was a convention newbie then.
Never had the pleasure of meeting anybody from MST3k, I’ve only met and gotten autographs from two people. One was Bruce Campbell, back in 2001 or 02, when he was on his ‘If Chins Could Kill’ book tour. It was at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, I had Bruce sign my book, we briefly spoke, and that was that. The other one was just last Tuesday. I met Fred Willard at the Olympia Film Festival in Washington, he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award and there was a screening of Best in Show. Afterwards, at a meet and greet, I spoke to him a few moments about Salems’ Lot and got his auto on a movie trivia book that he just released. Very nice guy, gracious, and so so funny.
It actually happened to my sister (does that count?)
My dad was managing a gas station at the time (1970) and my sister (then 15 or 16) was helping dad at the station.
A man drove up and my Dad got very excited. He told my sister to “do her thing.” So, she gassed up the car and washed his windshield, while my dad checked his oil. (Those were the days)
The man in the car beamed a smile at my sister, and said, “Aw, you’re real cute, and put a hand on her cheek and thanked her.”
Then he paid for his gas and drove off.
My sister, quite puzzled by the entire experience and even more puzzled why my Dad had been so excited by this. He was not the type of person to be impressed by anyone.
So, she asked my Dad, who that was.”
“Didn’t you know?” My Dad exclaimed. “That was Johnny Carson!”
Close as I get (so far).
It appears many are just posting their starf*ck- so here I go. From my days as a Record store manager, and I will list any MST connection:
Rip Taylor (Joel, I recall, dressed up as him)
Magic Johnson
Bob Marley (many riffs)
Huey Lewis
The Judds (Frank-WYNONNA)
Iron Maiden (The entire band)I know I have heard them say, at least once- “whoa- it’s the Iron Maiden dude”
Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad)- there were riffs, right?
Red Skelton (Good night and God Bless- TRACE/CROW)
Les McCann (“Got to make it real compared to what”- I know I heard that riff)
Bela Fleck
And, of course- Michael Moore, Richard Cheese and Mickey Lolich- mentioned in previous post.
I also had the pleasure of meeting the Titans at Royal Oak in 2010, on Joel’s 50th Birthday. They were all so approachable. Got autographs and had a great time.
Trickymutha, you are someone I have always just instinctively dug, and I still do. But “starf*ck” sounds a little mean. It’s a topic that seems to promote gloating, but it can still be gloating of a friendly kind.
You have met a lot of cool people/bands.
Professor- didn’t mean to offend. Just a bit blunt today.
I too, share in the thrill of meeting entertainers and popular figures, I spent more than half my life in music and media. I have a bit of a cynical side too, but really, I strive to be kind, and, will be cognizant of my content.
Not MST3K related either (although I’m sure Kevin Murphy would strain to find some connection), but my Tolkien-fangirl sister tells of the time she had to teach young Liv Tyler in her 6th-grade math class years earlier–
And it didn’t affect her later perception of Arwen in the movies that 12-yo. Liv was “a pain” of “an attention-struck brat”.
As far as actually meeting one of The Brains, I unfortunately haven’t had the pleasure. I did write Trace back in the late-90’s, and he sent back an autographed pic and a nice letter.
Also back in the late-90’s/early-2000’s, I had a long, long back-and-forth conversation with Ted V. Mikels via email, during the making of Corpse Grinders 2. Very nice guy, and he even offered me a part in the movie, provided I contribute a little $$$ to the film. Considering I live in Ohio and filming was somewhere in California, I had no money nor real source of income (it wasn’t that much money, nowadays it would be no problem, but back then, nah), and I was in Jr. High, it just wasn’t going to happen. Still, helluva nice guy.
I met Ben Chapman once. He was the Gill Man in Creature From The Black Lagoon, but only the land scenes. He wasn’t in Revenge Of The Creature, though. Close, but no cigar. He died a few years ago, sadly.
The only real brush with MST greatness was last March: My brother and I went to Cinema Wasteland, and Richard Kiel was there. I had seen but not met him previously at one of the Frightvision conventions, the 1999 one I think. So, we get there, and he’s at his table, and two dudes have a camera set up in front of him, and they’re acting out some bizarre skit with Kiel in the background. Pretty sure that irritated him. Anyway, they finish up, and my brother and I go up to meet him. His wife (I think) explained the costs of autographs and pics and whatnot, and I really wouldn’t have had a problem paying, except that he wouldn’t even look up at us. He even kept his head down when he shook my brother’s hand! I understand it was probably so no one could snap a free photo, I know they gotta make their money from that sort of thing (I’ve heard many stars show up at the conventions for free, and any money they make is from sales of their merch), but still, it just kinda knocked the wind out of our sails. Snubbed by Eegah!
Aside from that, the closest brush with MST greatness comes from living in Northeast Ohio: I’ve met The Ghoul, Son Of Ghoul and Big Chuck & Lil’ John multiple times; They, of course, are also movie hosts, and many flicks seen on MST3K have (or had) also shown up on their respective shows. They’re also all ridiculously nice guys. In fact, it was Son Of Ghoul that gave me the two tickets to Cinema Wasteland, after a nice email I had written him.