Sometime in the summer of '98 I was on an afternoon flight from Salt Lake City back to Butte, a regional 50 seat jet two seats on each side of the isle. I was near the front, maybe the very front, window. Next to me was a mid teen girl. She had a friend, a seat back on the other side. From the time we boarded she was half turned in her seat talking to her friend, in a fairly loud voice. She was in the window seat, so she was talking not only back but over the seats on the other side. Next to her was a middle age guy, maybe my age.
Thinking I didn't want to listen to this 'OMG' chatter for over an hour, I turned, suggested to the guy sitting next to her friend that he exchange places with the girl next to me. He quickly agreed, settled in and we introduced: "Hi, I'm Mike. Hi, Bill". We settled back, the plane took off, and after a few minutes we started talking, usual stuff: "Live in Butte? Travel often? What do you do?" etc.
He asked some questions about what I did, the project I was on (Pfizer, inhaled insulin), I asked what he did. "Actor". "Stage, what?" I asked. "Some stage, yeah. Mostly film." he said. "Oh, anything I might have seen?" asks I. He hesitated. "Um, Independence Day?" he said. I brighten, "Oh, I saw that with my daughter. Who did you play in that?" He hesitated again. "The President." he said. A pause on my side "Really?" I think I said. He nodded. We talked a bit about why he was going to Butte.
As it turns out, his brother is a endocrine doc in Butte, John, that I'd been working with for a few years. They have a ranch near Butte, his brother and he hire a manager, but visit it often.
He was recently in town, and stopped by a local school play. A very nice guy, quite unprepossessing.
Bill Pullman.
I called my daughters that night to ask if they'd heard of him, and related the story. Two long sighs...."jesus, dad...."
Great story, Mike. What a fun encounter!
ReplyDeleteIt was, and listening to my daughter's exasperation with me was fun too.
DeleteI liked him in The Zero Effect.
ReplyDeleteHe has been in what seems like every movie made since 1980, a prolific actor.
DeleteThe same thing would have happened to me. It happened to my sister once, at a folk festival in the national park. She was demonstrating weaving, I was waiting on customers. For a long time I heard her talking to someone. When the crush of customers let up I turned around and asked who had been so interested for so long. "I think he said his name was Pete Seeger." I would have given much to be in her shoes and she in mine. Irony.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding, Pete Seeger. Wouldn't that have been something....
DeleteI think there's a good chance that I wouldn't recognise a famous person if I met them randomly. People look different in real time, don't they?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's my experience.
DeleteMy biggest celebrity "get" was John Wayne and, even though he wasn't dressed Western-style, he looked, sounded and walked the same way he did in the movies.
ReplyDeleteGot me beat there, and I probably would have recognized him.
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ReplyDeleteGreat story! And an example of six degrees of separation.
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