The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Media Access...Tell Us Who You've Met

unclefester · March 15, 2016 10:46 pm

Being in media can sometimes afford one the opportunity of being in the right place at the right time and meeting people that otherwise wouldn't be possible.

I think it's pretty obvious we've got a lot of "old timers" here and for this topic that gonna' be a good thing !!

I'd like to know in your media/broadcast career some of the bigger names you've met ??

I've got two rules ......you actually met the person...perhaps shook their hand and/or had at least a short conversation and the person must be considered world famous...a Google search of their name for example would yield pages and pages of results. How's that sound ??

If it's o.k. with you guys I'll start...I can tell you that I've spent time with William Shatner, Peter Ustinov, Elvis Presley's manager Col. Tom Parker and Macho Man Randy Savage...pretty eclectic eh ??

I'm betting we should be able to compile one hell of a list...please feel free to contribute...

March 15, 2016 11:19 pm

Met...worked with...interviewed...hung out with...
Do radio and TV people count?
Prime Ministers and political 'names'...Justin Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Bob Rae. Loads of MPs, MPPs, Mayors.
Sports? From Condredge Holloway to Ernie Whitt...From Paul Henderson to Gordie Howe. Mark Messier to Phil Esposito. From George Chuvalo to Lennox Lewis. and LOADS more...The list is extra long.

Fats Domino, Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee. Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson...Mike Love and Bruce Johnston...all of the Beach Boys. Mary Hopkin, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck. Davey Jones, Micky Dolenz. Joe Cocker, Gerry Marsden, Chubby Checker, Percy Sledge, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Jr. Walker, Gary U S Bonds, all of the guys in Lighthouse during their glory days, all of the guys in Crowbar during their glory days, The Trooper guys...then and now, David Clayton Thomas, Ronnie Hawkins, Larry Gowan. Carlos Santana, B J Thomas, Pet Clark, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan...aka Flo and Eddie...from the Turtles. Danny Hutton of 3 Dog Night, Rob Grill from the Grass Roots. Peter [Herman] Noone, John Kay, Johnny Winter, Eddie Van Halen, Nick Rhodes and Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Joel, Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman separately, Jann Arden, Anne Murray, Rita MacNeil, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Ste. Marie, Ian Thomas, John Phillips, Denny Doherty and

both Gordon Pinsent...and Donald Sutherland...just to name a few.
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Seriously...1 regret? I didn't want to bug any of these people so I never asked them for an autograph. I wish I had. Lots of cool stories go with many of these names. There are no mere handshake/how do you do names here.
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Almost forgot for you donut/coffee/hockey fans...I used to fish with Tim Horton when I was a kid. And Bob Pulford's fiance lived one block over from us...so I got his autograph when he was 'visiting'. [the ONLY one/I was 8]

Last edited by Old Codger (March 15, 2016 11:41 pm)

unclefester · March 15, 2016 11:27 pm

Holy crap Old Codger all I can says is....

We're not worthy.....we're not worthy.....lol...

I like you met Jr. Walker too...

And hey grilled.cheese...do you mean Spaceman Bill Lee or Chris Hadfield....Lee I've met...Hadfiled no....

Keep 'em going folks...this has the potential to be a very interesting thread

p.s. wait 'til Mark Elliott shows up with his list...

Last edited by unclefester (March 15, 2016 11:33 pm)

Fitz · March 16, 2016 12:05 am

Old Codger wrote:
. Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson...Mike Love and Bruce Johnston...all of the Beach Boys.

all of the Beach Boys, you mean they managed to drag Brian out of the sandbox and tent back in the day ?

The closest I came to meeting the Beach Boys was when they played two shows at Massey Hall in 1973 and I saw Dennis Wilson and Blondie Chaplin sharing a doobie outside in the back of the hall between shows. Brave and brazen, my sister got their autograph.

Flo and Eddie must have been a hoot.

March 16, 2016 3:21 am

Carl, Dennis, Mike and Al...all [members] of the Beach Boys...I've only BRIEFLY said hello to Brian in Montreal in 2005 after the Smile show. It doesn't count.

Had lunch including an hour and a half private get-together with Carl after their Beggars Banquet show at the Borough of York Stadium back in either '71 or '72. Carl was a truly nice guy/a gentle soul. Memory is a little fuzzy on the year...pretty sure it was July '71 Took a limo with him back to the Beverly Hills Motor Inn...ate...shot the breeze then he put me back in the limo and sent me back to the stadium for the rest of the event. Enjoyed 3 great, fun-filled days with Mark and Howard in the mid 80s in Toronto. VERY entertaining fellas. Good guys for sure. LOADS of stories.
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Want a real eye-opener? Get John Donabie to drop his list.

Last edited by Old Codger (March 16, 2016 3:25 am)

March 16, 2016 5:47 am

grilled.cheese wrote:
I met the Spaceman

I had a grilled cheese sandwich at Donabie's Deli in Flesherton. It closed shortly after. Perhaps I should have left a bigger tip

the original hank · March 16, 2016 8:07 am

i've met (and mc'd for) a few notables in my career but geo will get a kick out of this... i've mc'd and spent time with charlie pride and bobby bare.... and hank snow visited my uncle's montreal home... lol.

Just a Radio Fan · March 16, 2016 8:08 am

What a great thread. Thanks.Might not seem like much to many here, but while a teen and a wanna be radio star, Scott Carpenter when he came to our high school. Red Knight and Larry Silver while on a tour of CFTR prior to heading off to College.Later in life many from the world of sports, but the top 3.-Pele-Gretzky-A round of golf in a tournament with Gordie Howe.

Just a Radio Fan · March 16, 2016 8:14 am

Sorry, another story just came to mind. Of all of the dozens and dozens of athletes I met, I only ever asked for an autograph once.I actually BOUGHT Ernie Whitt's book, and asked him to sign it for my mother. She was a huge Blue Jays fan and just loved Whitt. It was under the tree for her at Christmas an I thought she was going to explode.

unclefester · March 16, 2016 10:33 am

Old Codger wrote:

The list is extra long.

Fats Domino, Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee. Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson...Mike Love and Bruce Johnston...all of the Beach Boys. Mary Hopkin, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck. Davey Jones, Micky Dolenz. Joe Cocker, Gerry Marsden, Chubby Checker, Percy Sledge, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Jr. Walker, Gary U S Bonds, all of the guys in Lighthouse during their glory days, all of the guys in Crowbar during their glory days, The Trooper guys...then and now, David Clayton Thomas, Ronnie Hawkins, Larry Gowan. Carlos Santana, B J Thomas, Pet Clark, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan...aka Flo and Eddie...from the Turtles. Danny Hutton of 3 Dog Night, Rob Grill from the Grass Roots. Peter [Herman] Noone, John Kay, Johnny Winter, Eddie Van Halen, Nick Rhodes and Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Joel, Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman separately, Jann Arden, Anne Murray, Rita MacNeil, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Ste. Marie, Ian Thomas, John Phillips, Denny Doherty

]

Jeeze Codger from your list I thought you were opening and closing the curtain at Fallsview...

March 16, 2016 10:46 am

Approx. five years ago I was in an Oakville sports bar on a Sunday afternoon and both Don Andrews and Brian Peroff were there. Even though I didn't actually meet them, as they were surrounded by their groupies, just being in the same place was a thrill I'll never forget

Jody Thornton · March 16, 2016 11:02 am

The only semi-famous non-radio people I have met are Steve Smith (of Smith and Smith fame) and the wife of George Fox (both I met while working as a tech repair person at JMG Compushoppe). I'm trying hard to remember who else I may have met, but I'm coming up empty ...lol

Mark Elliot · March 16, 2016 11:41 am

I explained to my son that he never would have been conceived without two gay men.
Me & Freddy Mercury of Queen.
He looked puzzled, but the truth is that had his mothers best friend not won the "Meet Freddie Mercury & Queen Contest" with Mark Elliot on CFRA Ottawa, I doubt I would have met her.

March 16, 2016 2:16 pm

Too many to mention in the sports world but it was my beat for decades.
Entertainment -- a few, including Don Rickles (in Las Vegas) and Eddie Money (in the stands at Fenway Park, of all places).
But the best was Mickey Rooney here in the newsroom of The Canadian Press. I was working at the sports desk, with an extract printer to my left (which was programmed to print out the first few lines of every story that moved on the wire). He sniffed up to my desk, looked at me, looked at the printer, and rasped out, "Ya get the race results on here?" I said, "No." He replied, "Hmmph," and wandered away. No "hi, hello, how are ya?" And it was great. He was just as I imagined Mickey Rooney to be. A marvelous scamp.

ig · March 16, 2016 2:22 pm

So many, I've been very lucky I guess.

One that jumps to mind though, doing the morning show @ 'RB and had to use the facilities. Ran across the hall figuring I had a minute or so. Came barreling out of the bathroom and crashed into a woman. Grabbed her so that I didn't send her flying, and that's how I met Janet Jackson . Her security weren't thrilled, but I didn't really have time to explain, just said Hi and kept going back into AM MCR.

Another one involving the gents porcelain palace at 2 st. clair. Standing at the urinal talking to Pierre Berton wondering how many famous people had used that bathroom .

Standing outside AM640 master control as a very pissed off Tommy Lee comes firing out of Q107 MCR and barrels passed, pushing me to the side with a fuck off. I had no idea who he was. Apparently he didn't want to talk to Howie Cogan about his rap music .

There have been Tons .

Fitz · March 16, 2016 4:55 pm

The Poster

Old Codger wrote:
Carl, Dennis, Mike and Al...all [members] of the Beach Boys...I've only BRIEFLY said hello to Brian in Montreal in 2005 after the Smile show. It doesn't count.

Had lunch including an hour and a half private get-together with Carl after their Beggars Banquet show at the Borough of York Stadium back in either '71 or '72. Carl was a truly nice guy/a gentle soul. Memory is a little fuzzy on the year...pretty sure it was July '71 Took a limo with him back to the Beverly Hills Motor Inn...ate...shot the breeze then he put me back in the limo and sent me back to the stadium for the rest of the event. Enjoyed 3 great, fun-filled days with Mark and Howard in the mid 80s in Toronto. VERY entertaining fellas. Good guys for sure. LOADS of stories.
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Want a real eye-opener? Get John Donabie to drop his list.

I attended that Beggars Banquet show as well and it was in 1971. Alice Cooper was the headliner ( during the Love it to Death tour, guillotine and all).

I just found a copy of the poster for the concert online. I had saved it for many years but it's gone now and I can't seem to copy the online image but google and you will find it.

OC an impressive list and it sounds like you may have worked at multiple formats and stations ?

Last edited by Fitz (March 16, 2016 5:13 pm)

March 16, 2016 5:51 pm

YA...I think I missed Alice. I remember Bread earlier in the day...and later...maybe Steppenwolf too after I got back. I had done some work with a smaller promotions company for shows around Toronto. Cymba...I think it was...promoted this one. [They'd grow to become CPI] I knew David Bluestein...aka Blue...and that's how I got a backstage pass. Just walked up to Carl after they exited down the stairs from the stage.

I asked him how Brian was doing. Then I asked whatever happened to your neighbour David Marks? Carl said our limos are leaving...want to come back to the hotel...we can talk and have a bite to eat. Well YA!!!!

Different stations. Different markets. 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s. I worked at and stayed with at least 2 stations which went through significant format changes in mid stream. We didn't all used to get our asses fired out the door when THAT happened. Hopefully there's more years to come. In terms of being PAID a regular salary...and that's the barometer I use...I have 6 1/2 years to go to hit 50 years 'in' broadcasting. I'm hoping to at least make it to the 45th anniversary. Health ain't great.

We'll see. For me it remains only and ALL about the audience. If it's worth THEIR while then it's worth mine. With music radio that started to become an issue for me back in the mid 90s when big broadcast companies began to ignore the folks with their hands on the volume. And I've disliked yack radio since the likes of Larry Solway started blabbin' away back in the 60s. It's only gotten worse.

Last edited by Old Codger (March 16, 2016 5:55 pm)

Fitz · March 16, 2016 6:29 pm

There's the poster, yes CYMBA productions and in 1973 it was CPI that brought the boys and I have an air check on my site where John Donabie refrences that show,. I think there was a follow up to this festival type show at the Borrough of York Stadium called Cheap Thrills.

Last edited by Fitz (March 16, 2016 6:33 pm)