I saw this random picture on Facebook the other day – Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Ann Miller, and Lauren Bacall, and I realized I saw two of these ladies in person – in real life situations.
Carol Channing was in front of me in Gristedes once, in NYC and Ann Miller was leaving her Broadway musical called “Sugar Babies.” With Ann Miller, I was walking down the street and a door opened and two white poodles ran out the door, across the sidewalk and into a waiting limo, and right behind them was Ann Miller. I hadn’t seen the play, I was just walking by.
With Carol Channing, I didn’t realize who she was until she opened her mouth and I recognized the voice. I didn’t say anything to her, she just did her thing and left.
I was watching Beat Bobby Flay the other day and Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Carla Hall were guests. Here they are with Bobby. And oddly enough, I’ve seen all three of them in person. Not together, but I’ve seen them.
I saw Bobby coming out of store a few years back, I saw Jesse in a one man show on Broadway and I saw Carla at the Union Square Green Market a few years ago. All three in NYC!
Another supermarket person I saw was Mary Wickes who was in front of me in line at a Grand Union in Miami some years back. She spoke to me, mentioned something about what I was buying, just small talk. The thing about her was that we usually picture her with jet black hair, but it was snow white that day.
I was thinking of all the people I’ve seen in person, you know, people from tv and movies, but what about everyday people? How many thousands of people do we see in our lifetime (millions?) and we just pass by them? But when we recognize them it’s a whole different experience. But so many people we pass are probably so important, but they aren’t celebs, so we don’t notice them.
We might have passed and brushed elbows with guy who is on the verge of curing cancer, or an astronaut who may go to the moon soon or someone who invented something that we use every day. It reminds me of those old American Express commercials – “Do you know me?” Where you know the name, but not the face.
I’ll tell you about the time I had a mini traffic altercation with Madonna or the experiences I would have almost daily with the Burn Notice guys, who filmed the show in my town. And some others . . .
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