Thread: Do you have a local celebrity?

Originally Posted by Walterbowens

Not from my home town, but only 20 miles away. Red Skelton!!

Is he buried there?

Bruno Sammartino lives in my township. There are more famous people around here, but I like Bruno.

Used to live in a little town here in Iowa named Oxford. Ashton Kutcher is from there and would periodically show up. He was with Brittany Murphy at the town gas station and said something stupid once while we were pumping gas at opposite sides of the same machine. I called him a "F-in' D-bag". Brittany Murphy laughed. I instantly became a Brittany Murphy fan. Seemed like a sweet girl. Way too good for that clown.

Here in Iowa City, among others, we have a bunch of ex NFL players and Dan Gable, ex-college wrestler and U of Iowa coach extraordinaire. In the past, Kurt Vonnegut and Flannery O'Connor attended the U of I Writer's Workshop, who's Alumni have collected many Pulitzer Prizes. James Van Allen (Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1960), for whom the discovery of Van Allen Belts was named taught at the U of I until his death.

Let's see...

Arlo Guthrie...lives just down the road. Not uncommon at all to see him out doing something in the front yard. Always friendly and likes to talk about what's going on.

Sandy Koufax..very low key. Nice guy though.

Mike Score...front man from "Flock of Seagulls". Had a somewhat "eclectic" (Chinese, Italian, Mexican) restaurant a few miles up the road a while back; it went out of business

Lee Michaels..see him around at the local spots on occasion. Fine circa 60's-70's musician

John Walsh...used to live around here for quite a while. Not sure if he still does.

Jake Owen...(Country Music phenomenon) is from here and shows up from time to time. Saw him play here at a party before he got famous. Boy has talent.

Mardy Fish... World Class Tennis Champion calls this neighborhood home.

Wow..I guess we have more than our share of noteworthy people around here!!!

Lizard Lick, NC? Hmmmmm. Oh gee... Let me think.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

That was a great read,but I thought he died awhile back.

Looks like he passed yesterday. I look forward to watching the film about him when it comes out...

We had Andy Griffith, but he died a year or two ago. Is buried in a private plot on his land. Used to see him in the grocery store regularly.

Went to school with Jeff Bezos. He was a jackass then and continues to prove he still is. Rich don't make you famous.

Jerry Lee Lewis lives just across the state line from me. Joe Walsh has a place in Memphis. Do I count?

Within a radius of 250 meters of my childhood home there lived 2 Olympic champions. One a speedskater that ruled supreme in the 60's and a skijumper that won all there was to win in 93/94. Knut Johannessen and Espen Bredesen.
In addition we had a few big names from music, showbiz and politics that lived at Oppsal, a suburb in Oslo. Population about 25.000.
I suppose my brother in law would fit that moniker too. A state secretary of the Ministry of finance and later, the Ministry of foreign affairs.

While that may sound like I move in the finer circles up here, I really don't.
A nation of about 5 million people will be like that.

The whole celebrity worshipping hasn't really hit us that hard up here.
Luckily.

I've run into our previous and present king, the crown prince and his family, the various prime ministers and other big names up here regularly, as have most of the people living in Oslo.
No big thing really, they are just people after all.

Here's a pretty famous picture of our King Olav V in '73 during the oil crisis.
He went on a tram to go skiing instead of in one of his limo's.
He is the chubby geezer in the middle of the picture being asked to present a valid ticket for the ride.
No bodyguards present

I met him myself a few times, while out sailing.
He loved that, having won an Olympic medal in it as well.
Always a smile, a friendly tip of the hat while he puffed away on his Teddy cigarettes