Selecting from the names already mentioned, I'll list my "relationships" with these:
Terry Pratchett - ran into his occasional writing partner
Neil Gaiman twice in one month! I used to sleep with
Death, too! (The model for the "
Sandman Comics" character was my dearly missed
Cinnamon Hadley...)
Larry David - his TV dad on "
Curb" (
Shelley Berman) is an old buddy of mine, which in turn put me on the good side of
Jorge Garcia* (Hurley on "
LOST").
John Lennon - literally ran into (ouch!) his son
Sean at a nightclub opening.
Janis Joplin - not sure, but everyone in Austin has crossed her path (posthumously) at some time. Her good pal
Eddie Wilson is a friend of mine as well.
Jack Kirby - closest I can claim is meeting the fragile but amazing
Gil Kane. Of course, my best buddy
Daniel Johnston** often THINKS that HE is Jack Kirby!
Howard Stern - conducted a debacle of a phone interview with him that was supposed to go on his E! TV series as well, but it stank too bad...
George Carlin - co-produced the
"Arizona Bay" CS by his protegé
Bill Hicks.
Ron Jeremy - is one of the most delightful people I ever got to chat on the phone with*** - better than
Joe Rogan, Stan Freberg, Michael Nesmith, Mark "DEVO" Mothersbaugh, et cetera.
Joey Ramone - he attended a Lodge Party, though that was before I became a Lodge member (the organization was then co-chaired by
Rob [
Veronica Mars; Cupid]
Thomas]. My Lodge party guests later included members of
Fishbone, Replacements, Guns 'n' Roses, Special Beat Service, Joe King Carrasco, BH Surfers, and many more.
Missing Persons/Frank Zappa drummer
Terry Bozzio once took me to the finest restaurant in town! I never had lunch with
William Shatner, but only because I had to turn HIM down! (We had a wuick glass of tea and a chat, with Mrs. Shatner and
Harry Hamlin.
Oh... and
Courtney Love hates me.
- mnw
* (Jorge's first TV acting role was a pot dealer selling "medical marihuana" to elderly Shelley on Curb".)
**(
)
***(If ya wanna get "The Hedgehog" in a chatting mood, just mention his XXX-rated "stone-age parody" movie "The Flintbones"!)
____________________________________________________________________________
BTW: Stooge-wise****, I clearly recall wanting to write to them and each new obit in the paper, for Larry, then Moe, then Joe... was a blow to my heart and a severe lesson about procrastination. I'm proud to say that circumstantial evidence suggests that a holiday card I sent to Emil Sitka appeared to have reached his eyes before he had his final stroke!
****(Is "Stooge-wise" an oxymoron? Or am
I one for asking?
)