Have you ever worked with anybody before they were famous?

[Crazy Dave]

Me and this guy used to flip cheeseburgers together in the mid 80's

Shepard Smith
That's his real name too.

[elehhhhna]

1. Chris Elliot asked me to join an Improv group...

I said no. duh.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

2. A Senator's wife...

Yep, that's Karen Garver Santorum. My parents and her parents were friendly. She was actually pretty nice but that's before she married the idiot.

[bertha katzenengel]

3. Sean Hayes - the Stepin Fetchit of American homosexuals.

He is a nice guy - at least was when I was acqainted with him. He was the accompanist for the South Coast Chorale www.southcoastchorale.org for a year in the late 90s. I believe he had just moved to the Southland to start his career in entertaining. Another thing he did before "Will & Grace" was to be a straight man picking out a wedding ring w/ his girlfriend -- in an old west setting, in a Wells Fargo Bank commercial.

Like I said - nice guy, and extremely talented.

[eyesroll]

4. I work with someone post-fame.

(One of my freelance writers is a Senator's ex-wife.)

[philosophie_en_rose]

5. Sort of. I met Ross the Intern from Jay Leno.

At a debate tournament. He was really funny and very flamboyant.

[kwassa]

6. I went to school with people before they became famous

3 out of 4 Talking Heads.

Gus Van Sant.

Mary Boone, famous art dealer in New York.

the late lamented Charlie Rocket, who was more talented than people knew.

Martin Mull, alumni who came back and performed with his Fabulous Furniture.

I worked with a former Bride of Funkenstien, backup singer to P-Funk.

I saw lotz o famous people in Hollywierd.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

7. Did you go to RISD?

[kwassa]

8. Uh, yeah, how did you guess that?

[Crazy Guggenheim]

10. I know that most of the Talking Heads did go there.

:popcorn:

[kwassa]

12. This school band called The Artistics

Large band.

David Byrne, the lead singer, was doing an excellent Neil Young imitation. Most of the time I knew him, he wasn't actually enrolled in the school.

Chris, the most sane, was on the drums. Tina played nothing, and was his girlfriend.

Another semi-famous I knew: Mary Lambert, painting graduate, who directed most of Madonna's early videos, SNL opening logos, "Pet Cemetary", Mary is the sister of a US Senator from Arkansas, Blanche Lambert Lincoln.

Gus Van Sant was my cameraman on my senior film thesis.

[Crazy Dave]

16. Ah...Martin Mull

One of the most under-appreciated comedians/actors/entertainers in my opinion.

[EstimatedProphet]

9. Is he famous?

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. Not exactly 'worked with'

But I've photographed a few minor-league ballplayers who made it to the majors — foremost among them Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel. I also shot Jeff Nelson's (now back with Seattle) wedding; he got married on the field in 1987.

[greatauntoftriplets]

13. I worked with Bruce Vilanch back in the 1960s.

Nice guy.

[u4ic]

14. I knew this guy when he was in high school

(not my high school) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0819494/
He's an Emmy winning actor. I had friends who were friends with him, and he used to DJ our dances.

A friend of the family is another Emmy award winner...this chap is a journalist. http://www.wjla.com/news/onyourside.html He was my sister's roommate for years when he was in university; I only met him a few times.

[Maat]

15. Were there any indications at that point that he would turn out ..

to be a rightwing jerk?

[Crazy Dave]

19. No, not really

Honestly, if he's the same person now as back then, it's just a job to him. Back then he was real driven to be successful, was a very hard worker and was going to college at the same time. The only character flaw I noticed was a short temper and it got the best of him one time.
See:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/dsmithmug1.html

[Maat]

21. Uh-oh. Those tempers!

It must be just a job to him, because Faux hosts relatively anti-GLBT-rights people, and I hear that HE is gay (Shep). That would explain quite a bit.

[Crazy Dave]

24. I can't remember his tendencies but....

...I did hear from an old mutual friend we used to have a while back that he does take very good care of his mom, as I do myself so he can't be all that bad.
You did get me thinking though. I dated most of the ladies that we worked with but I don't remember him going out with any of them.
It's no big deal. My wife and I are very strong supporters of gay rights.

[Maat]

27. So am I. I'm vice president of the local PFLAG.

The hypocrisy just disturbs me. Someone working for a network that lets anti-GLBT pundits on, and hardright "Christians," who, instead, could be out advocating for equal protection of the law for GLBT individuals.

Guess the money and fame means more to him.

[brook]

17. Dunno if you'd call it "worked with"

but Burt Reynolds used to babysit my kids. BG: before Gunsmoke. :)

[Crazy Dave]

28. Burt Reynolds

Another under appreciated entertainer in my opinion. That's cool though as it's probably even before Burt could get a real job with a paycheck. I was poking a little fun at my secretary, a great lady btw, about her Dale Jr. cell phone. She told me I'd "better watch it", that "he's a good boy". They lived next door to the Earnhardt family and her kids used to be friends with their kids. They'd visit back and forth and stay the nights.

[Left Is Write]

18. Only if you consider Eric Webster famous.

St. Paul Saints fans will recognize the name.

[SoCalDem]

20. I played flag football with John Riggins

what an asshole..

[1gobluedem]

22. Well, my roommate made out with Bob Woodruff

When he was in law school. I don't think that counts though since it wasn't me. I just was at the same party with him.

Our neighbor's mother used to drive Stevie Wonder to school when he was a kid and went to the Michigan School of the Blind.

[Patiod]

23. One of my girlfriends made out w/Jimmy Gandolfini

before he was a big fat Soprano, at a Speech/Debate/Dramatic Interp thing held at Rutgers. I forget if it was high school or college, but they were both about 17. She said he was kind of hot back then.

Another friend of mine was Reggie Jackson's elementary school principal "that young man thought very highly of himself."

I'm also worked with and was pretty close friends with the guy that plays Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg (tm). Not famous, but recognizable from all the Williamsberg commercials.

[July]

25. Before Mission of Burma existed,

I went out with one of them when we were in college together.

[trackfan]

26. No, but my friend was in a crummy cover-band with Tori Amos

[sbj405]

29. Greg Forbes from The Weather Channel

He was a prof when I was in grad school. On camera makeover has done him well. He has a bad toupee and goofy glasses then.

[khashka]

30. I went to school with Kathleen Turner

Does that count? Yeah she always had that voice :)

Don't even get me started on her movies. She was great. Still is. I still think Crimes of Passion was amazing. Especially with the (usually) missing scenes.


Khash.

[MindPilot]

31. Bobby Lee -- he's on Mad TV,

He and I both started out doing standup about the same time; he got a better agent. :)

[Richardo]

32. He cracks me up - something about an Asian doing slapstick...