Famous People That Turned you off?

[MIB41]

You know I have met and worked conventions with so many celebs and artists in the field of movies and television through the years, I have learned not to get too excited and to be completely casual when meeting them (most celebs would rather you ask them about their trip into town than the same old questions they get at every convention). But for all of that time and experience, I was oddly caught off guard when I met Adam West in Knoxville, TN one year. We were going to Gatlinburg when I discovered a convention a little south of our destination. I convinced my WONDERFUL wife and kids to tolerate a small detour to check out the multitude of guests at this convention for a fairly cheap entry fee. Anyway we got there and the convention was okay but essentially a small flea market of collectibles with guests in the middle.

I had never met Adam and was in the middle of a Batman '66 revival so my interest was high. His appearance ultimately was my reason for making the detour, so I was forsaking my wisdom about realistic expectations and was looking forward to meeting " a nice guy". I can tell you from every perspective and every benefit of a doubt you could give him, the man was a complete fool. In a poorly lit convention he wore very dark glasses and was asking his assistant and agent to shoo away anyone who was trying to take pictures or video tape him. He had very little say to anyone, even the little kids, and also over-charged the rate for photos that he had agreed with the promoters to charge. How do I know? He was asking $40.00 for black and whites when other tables were not asking that for color copies. Working conventions myself, I new something was wrong since he was outpacing the others in price substantially(so I inquired). As it turns out the promoters were pretty annoyed with him when they found out, since they were working from what I suspect was a guarantee on autographs in place of his normal appearance fee (a common arrangement for many celebs at conventions).

So here we had a man, best known for playing a crime fighter, ripping off both show and fans for a quick buck. Sure it's naive to think he should be "Batman" but then again I had never seen anyone try so blatantly to take advantage of their fans in such a crude manner. I felt embarrassed and insulted to have wasted my time meeting someone who had professionally done very little since his brief appearance on a TV show 40 years ago. You don't know how badly I wanted to tell this guy to drop the ego. I could buy his '66 Batman movie down the street in the discount bin for $5.00 at Walmart. Suffice to say my Batman interest was cooled immediately following that.

[Mikey]

I heard GWB is actually a nice guy in person.

They say if you talk to him in person, he's just a regular guy.

[SUP-Ronin]

George Bush. I know I know, no politics, but he is famous and turns me off. Completely. His whole staff too. A total turn off. Never met any of them.

[garagesale]

Shatner seemed a bit high and mighty... he went out the back with bodyguards faster than a speeding bullet, like we smelled or something, lol.

Hector,

Get a life.

JamesD

[palitoy]

I had a crummy experience with Ferrigno, I realized later that he's deaf so he couldn't hear my (pointless) small talk but I found him very curt and put out by the whole affair.

If you don't want to be in Syracuse at 10am on a Sunday, then don't do it. I gave the autograph to my friend's diner.

[phil]

Barry Williams was at a toy show I attended and he obviously didn't want to be there.

At different times at the same show I've met Butch Patrick
and Richard Kiel. Both couldn't have been nicer and were
actually interested in talking to their fans.

[Adam West]

wow, i cant believe lou did that. i met him back in 2005 at san diego comic con and he was a totally nice guy. i guess it just depends on which side of the bed they wake up on

At the end of the day, we're all human and have our good and bad days. Who knows what was going through his mind that day.

He's also deaf so I'm sure it is difficult for him to have conversations without struggling to some extent.

[starsky]

For me it was Lou Ferrigno, I always saw him at Wizard World Chicago sitting there all alone and I was always like "Holy man it is the HULK! One of these days I will go talk to him." Last year I decide I am totally gonna talk to Lou I bring my hulk DVD set to get singed and I go up there before the show even opened and he was sitting there looking board as hell so I go up and say hi and he kind of rolls his eye at me and I attempt striking up a short normal conversation with him and he just looks at me and goes "*SIGH* did you want something signed?" and i show him the DVD and he goes, "Fifty bucks." My jaw nearly hit the floor and I said I didn't have that kind of cash on me, and he sighs and looks away from me and ignors me the rest of the time I am standing there. So I walk away saddened and have not had the urge to watch my Hulk DVD ever since.

wow, i cant believe lou did that. i met him back in 2005 at san diego comic con and he was a totally nice guy. i guess it just depends on which side of the bed they wake up on

[Mikey]

and said not only is he a cheap b*stard, but he is also a total prick to meet as he thinks that he is way better than everyone else.

Unfortunately, the same has been said about me on numerous occasions

[livnxxxl]

My girlfriend who is an entertainer told me that she and other girls that she works with seen John Goodman at the local club a couple of times and said not only is he a cheap b*stard, but he is also a total prick to meet as he thinks that he is way better than everyone else.

[livnxxxl]

Man, that's too bad. You've got to kind of wonder why these guys go through with this if they personally detest it so much. They are sitting there gathering cobwebs, yet they shun the few fans who actually go out of their way to talk to them. Sad.

Chris

I agree. It is no doubt the money they are getting paid. If most of them had to really do it for just the fans like some of them claim the chances are great that you would not see them sitting there.

[Earth 2 Chris]

For me it was Lou Ferrigno, I always saw him at Wizard World Chicago sitting there all alone and I was always like "Holy man it is the HULK! One of these days I will go talk to him." Last year I decide I am totally gonna talk to Lou I bring my hulk DVD set to get singed and I go up there before the show even opened and he was sitting there looking board as hell so I go up and say hi and he kind of rolls his eye at me and I attempt striking up a short normal conversation with him and he just looks at me and goes "*SIGH* did you want something signed?" and i show him the DVD and he goes, "Fifty bucks." My jaw nearly hit the floor and I said I didn't have that kind of cash on me, and he sighs and looks away from me and ignors me the rest of the time I am standing there. So I walk away saddened and have not had the urge to watch my Hulk DVD ever since.

Man, that's too bad. You've got to kind of wonder why these guys go through with this if they personally detest it so much. They are sitting there gathering cobwebs, yet they shun the few fans who actually go out of their way to talk to them. Sad.

Chris

[GreenLantern9999]

For me it was Lou Ferrigno, I always saw him at Wizard World Chicago sitting there all alone and I was always like "Holy man it is the HULK! One of these days I will go talk to him." Last year I decide I am totally gonna talk to Lou I bring my hulk DVD set to get singed and I go up there before the show even opened and he was sitting there looking board as hell so I go up and say hi and he kind of rolls his eye at me and I attempt striking up a short normal conversation with him and he just looks at me and goes "*SIGH* did you want something signed?" and i show him the DVD and he goes, "Fifty bucks." My jaw nearly hit the floor and I said I didn't have that kind of cash on me, and he sighs and looks away from me and ignors me the rest of the time I am standing there. So I walk away saddened and have not had the urge to watch my Hulk DVD ever since.

[csstuba]

Magic Johnson-Sat next to him at a seafood house on Virginia Beach in July of 84. Seemed like a good dude, but tried his best not to be Magic Johnson.

Ken Foree-This guy rocks. Nice as could be, and is WGZK.

Best "celebrity" ever has to be former Cubs manager and 1979 AL MVP Don Baylor. I ran into him at a downtown STL mall during the opening week of the 2000 season. We stood and shot the sh&t for about 20 minutes. He would have stood there longer, but I was going to be late for work and I told him as much. Really nice laid back guy.

I saw Mark "Beastmaster" Singer at the 2004 San Diego Con, sitting all by his lonesome. Nobody around, looked really sad. Maybe even sleepy. So I didn't bother him.

Biggest D-Bag ever-Bob Gibson. I sat a row behind him on a flight a few years back, and the lady sitting the next seat over (he purchased 2 seats so that nobody would be right next to him) innocently asked him what he did for a living. Big mistake. If looks could kill......

[Adam West]

Adolf Hitler....
I never met the guy, but I bet he was a real jerkbag when asked to sign an autograph.

Actually, I think he was so full of himself that he enjoyed signing autographs.

Remember when Indiana Jones unknowingly received his autograph in the last Indy flick? I think I remember reading somewhere that he enjoyed giving away autographs.

One of my most recent bad experiences occurred during Major League Soccer last year.

Attendance is not huge at games (with the exception of David Beckham last year), and there is definitely a fan/player interaction that exists that I think makes the MLS really enjoyable. I took my kids to a bunch of D.C. United Games last year and players would hang out after the game and sign autographs and chat with you for a few minutes.

Same thing with the opposing team. There really aren't a lot of fans trying to obtain autographs from the opposing teams players but there is a section to stand before the game starts and the players almost always come over and sign autographs.

My kids were trying to get Jozy Altidore's autograph before a Red Bull's game. He was standing 10 ft. from me and when I asked for an autograph for the kids (who were standing right by me), he wouldn't even look up at me and just walked back in the locker room. By contrast, Juan Paoblo Angel who is their star player walked right over without being beckoned and graciously signed autographs for anyone who wanted one.