Celebrity Sightings

As a kid I grew up in Los Angeles, and in the late 50’s and early 60’s I worshipped the Los Angeles Dodgers. I loved the listen to the exploits of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Duke Snider, and Frank Howard. At night my ear was glued to my transistor radio to share in their next glorious victory or grieve their untimely defeat. I cheered Maury Wills in 1962 as he broke Ty Cobb’s record for the most stolen bases in one season – 104. I marveled at Sandy Koufax as he struck out batter after batter in his legendary perfect game in 1965. I hated Juan Marichal for clubbing Johnny Roseboro with his bat in a 1965 game. But I would say that my life seemed complete and I was ready for God to call me home in 1963 when the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series in four straight games, with Koufax trouncing the Yankees in Games 1 & 4.

At the height of my devotion to the Dodgers, I learned that Frank Howard was to make a personal appearance in my home town, for autograph signings at Gemco, a giant grocery/department store. I circled the calendar and sold my soul to my mother in exchange for driving me to that event. I stood in the crowded parking lot with hundreds of other kids and their parents waiting for this Dodger legend to arrive, and waited, and waited, and waited. After two hours we heard the heart-piercing announcement that Frank Howard had to cancel. The drive back home was dark and bleak.

This was not the only time I was disappointed by a celebrity no-show. In high school I thrilled to the news that actor/comedian Bill Cosby was coming to our school with his celebrity basketball team to play our high school all-stars in an exhibition game before the entire student body. I loved watching him in the I-Spy TV series and could not wait to see him close up in person. On the day of the event the auditorium was packed, and we shot hoops as we waited for the arrival of our special guest. Then came the news – Cosby had to cancel. Another heart-breaker.

Those celebrities are an elusive bunch. When they are not making an appearance on Jay Leno to promote their next movie, it seems actors dodge the public or mingle in disguise to avoid recognition. I don’t know about you, but I have rarely seen a celebrity in public. One of my rare celebrity sightings was in 1992 in Las Vegas. My dad and I walked into the Las Vegas Hilton for a night at the craps table when we ran into none other than Robert Redford himself in the midst of filming “Indecent Proposal”. He paused between takes and looked right at me. I waved. He is a lot shorter than he appears on film. I also managed to get backstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion where Charlton Heston was appearing in the Shakespeare play “Macbeth”. I got him to autograph his autobiography that I brought with me. That was quite a moment for me. It almost made up for the Frank Howard no-show years before.

One thing I love so much about Disneyland is that their celebrities are never camera-shy. I know that on any day at the Magic Kingdom I may see Winnie the Pooh or Sleeping Beauty walking down Main Street waving at the fans and posing for pictures. In the years when my kids were growing up, we have photographed them hugging Mickey and Minnie, Roger Rabbit, Goofy, the Chipmonks, the Three Little Pigs, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella. In fact,Disney hosts daily parades down Main Street to allow guests to see the whole stable of characters marching down the street. The closest Hollywood comes to that is the Red Carpet pre-show to the Academy Awards. But at the Red Carpet, guards are posted to make sure you don't get too close.

I know that for a period the poor Disney characters who wandered the park and added luster to the day got some abuse from overly aggressive kids who took advantage of the good natured costumed characters. For a time, the Disney characters were hard to find, as Disney employees objected to the hazards of walking the streets of the park unprotected. I used to know an old high school alum who worked the Disney costume gig for awhile, and he told some awful tales of kids actually hitting costumed characters because they knew the character had to remain in “character” and not retaliate. Thanks, kids - way to spoil a good thing! Demand for these celebrity sightings continued, and Disney began arming its characters with “bodyguards” to protect them from belligerent kids. That system continues today, which seems to work.

I have likened Disneyland celebrity sightings to the pastime of bird-watching, a hobby that gives certain bragging rights to those who spot the most elusive of winged creatures. My list of celebrity sightings at Disneyland is long and impressive. I have spotted Woody from Toy Story, the Mad Hatter, and even Cruella De Vil. Top that one if you can. On my last trip to Adventureland I encountered Aladdin and Jasmine strolling past the Jungle Cruise hand-in-hand. I may never shake hands with my idol Sandy Koufax, but I can rub shoulders with my favorite characters at Disneyland any day of the week.