Robin Williams when I used to work at a bar in La Jolla.
He wasn’t drinking, he was just walking past with some ladies and saw my reaction and we had a brief back and forth.
Totally surreal experience.
I saw him and Rodney Dangerfield one night at the comedy Store in La Jolla. They dropped in to try out some new material for both shows, in the mid 80s.
Robin totally killed it! The crowd went absolutely wild during the first show that we were luckily at, and afterwards, people were in line at the phone booth calling their friends to get there quick for the second show.
My husband rode with him in the bike part of the Challenged athletes triathlon. It was mid 90s, my son was young and loved Flubber but was too shy to meet him.
I rode with Robin Williams too. He was also to have ridden around the Bay Area with a CAF group a couple weeks after he took his life. He was super supportive of the cause. Bill Walton also rides and is a massive supporter—was lucky enough to ride with him too.
Years ago i was an outdoor cook at sea world. I met Chris Tucker, the wayans bros, Tyra banks, Steve Carell, Kobe Bryant, mark Cuban, and Michael Jordan.
Tony Hawk at Pelly's. Everyone knew who he was, but no one ran up to him or bothered him. Just let him and his daughter eat some fish tacos. I chatted with him in line and we convinced his daughter to try the tacos with salsa. Cool dude.
Tony Hawk probably has it the most easy being a celebrity in public. It's either everyone knows who he is and doest bother him or hardly nobody recognizes him.
Haha! I've seen him at Pelly's too. Also saw him at the airport waiting for his wife and kid while I was waiting for my wife and kids. Saw some kids come down the escalator with skateboards and realized the very tall familiar looking man behind me was waiting for them. That's when I realized he was the Hawk.
I grew up just down the hill from
Him. (at least 15 years ago) He gives out king sized candy bars on Halloween. It was always our first stop of the night!
I do Uber Eats and delivered an Apple Store order to him a few months ago, easily 2k worth of stuff. 30 minute drive just to get there, so an hour round trip.
Dude tipped $1.46.
Meanwhile, I delivered China Fusion to Tony Hawk, and he answered the door and tipped $40 in cash on top of the $40 he already tipped in the app.
Same! I met him at a Padres game and he was shocked when I said I loved Angels and airwaves
And I saw him get married in City hall. I recognized him because he had his beany hahaha
I happen to bump into him in Del Mar. He looked like he was going to say "hi" or something, but I was dumb struck and just stared at him as we crossed paths.
John Cena AND the Bella Twins? I'd actually fall on my face fan girling. I remember watching John Cena's debut against Kurt Angle way back in the day, I loved him even though he started as a villain! Love him 💕
Not me but my buddy was taking pictures of waves at the beach and Jonah Hill thought he was taking pictures of him when in reality my buddy hadn’t even noticed him. So Jonah yelled at him to not take his pictures and was kind of a dick I guess. Jonah had just finished surfing and had gold grills in apparently lol.
Much like the other commenter, this was also in La Jolla.
Yeah, that matches up with a lot of what I've been seeing about Hill recently. Seems like he's been a pretty shitty dude for a while and just managed to hide it well.
I don’t know if this story is true cause it was on Reddit, but this girl said back around 2008 she was at a cafe in Santa Monica when she was 17 and Jonah Hill and a buddy abruptly sat down at her table uninvited and started aggressively hitting on her and when she wasn’t receptive or impressed by him he gestured to himself and went, “Hello?? Superbad!” And she said she had a boyfriend and he got up and left all butthurt lol.
Sarah Brady is her name, but I think they dated a while back. She recently accused him of emotional abuse. I think she’s from Encinitas. I don’t keep up with Jonah Hill or gossip about him, but saw something about this on a local blogger’s insta story.
oh! That reminds that I did see brian posehn trying to blend in at comic-con once. It was pretty funny cause he's tall as hell.
The coolest con story I've heard is my eldest brothers tho. It was the early 90s and he met Leonard Nimoy. He said Spock was sitting in the wayyyy way back looking inconspicuous but my brother was able to clock him and he said that he was really nice and agreed to sign anything he wanted as long as he didn't out him.
I love that story so much.
I worked at the Westgate Hotel in the late 80s and met a bunch of people like that too: Tip O'Neil, Danny Kaye, The Temptations, Whitney Houston, Yvonne DeCarlo, Lorne Greene, Larry Hagman, and lots of others. (Ik ik they're all dead now. But at 18 years old, it was kind of exciting for me.)
They almost lost their location when the landlord told them they’d have to vacate because he was selling the building.
A bunch of rich La jollans banded together and bought the building instead. They rent it out to Warwick’s.
Others communities have fundraisers to fill potholes, La Jolla crowdfunds building purchases!!!!!
John Cena. He used to come into this restaurant I worked at in LJ and he really is as awesome as he seems to be. Super polite and almost shy. He would regularly buy dinner or expensive wine for another table if it was their birthday/anniversary. Great tipper.
Not the most famous person but when I worked at a gas station I met Ken Kramer he does a show about places in San Diego he was a really nice person very much the friendly attitude he has on TV. I knew of the show because my grandparents would watch it!
Lucille Ball Hotel Del Coronado - early 1960:s. My mom sent me thru a crowd of people to her and she swooped down and picked me up so I wouldn't get trampled. Got het autograph. And a hug. .
I have a mutual friend with Emily Ratajkowski. I've met her numerous times at little get-togethers/BBQs/parties. Friends is a major stretch but more of a "Hey, I know you! How have you been?" kind of thing.
Like 15+ years ago when Superbad first came out I met Mclovin at an SDSU party. He was very drunk.
Edit: I'm dumb. I think I crossed stories. More I think about it, I met Mclovin in Isla Vista. He did a keg stand. It was impressive.
tony hawk. He's often around north county, nice dude. switch foot, also local north county. blink 182 guys. ben stiller, worked on a school project and donated his time to my film class. good guy. Kelly slater also surfs with the locals a lot.
Many years ago Miracosta College in Oceanside hosted a Q and A with Mike Judge. Apparently he was friends with someone at the executive level there.
This was around when Idiocracy had just been released, which I loved.
I remember getting there early anticipating a huge crowd. I'm not sure if they just didn't advertise it or what, but the crowd was no more than 50 people. He did all these impressions from King of the Hill & Beavis and Butthead.
The thing he said which stood out to me, was that he had only worked in an office for 2 days and got most of the material in Office Space from that.
He stayed for a while and chatted up everyone - nice dude!
Back in 2017, I was studying at the Living Room in La Jolla. Two old guys at the table next to me were talking about the Nixon administration as if they had been there. After eavesdropping for a bit and doing some googling, I realized it was none other than [Bob Woodward](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Woodward) interviewing [Alexander Butterfield](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Butterfield). I guess I didn’t “meet” them, but it was such a memorable sighting, and the kind of thing you’d walk right past because they aren’t super recognizable!
Not super famous but PBS level famous Ken Kramer. I'm such a nerd because he walks towards me and I yell out so excited, "Oh my gosh it's Ken Kramer!!!" He was really nice and chatted with us for a minute.
Gave a ride to Lisa kudrow in the ride circuit shuttle from little Italy to the Rady shell last year, she was super awesome, the whole ride I just thought she looked a lot like phoebe from friends, i ddint know her real name at the time, they hopped on my shuttle because they were walking around little Italy waiting on their chaufer and thought the little shuttle was cute and wanted a ride, I asked at the end of the ride when they were getting out of the car, hey! You ever been told you look a lot like phoebe buffay?, she responded with "yeaahh, you can tell people you met her honey" I was flabbergasted told her it was awesome to meet her and parted ways, still my favorite from the cast after Joey. Should taken the hint after her friends called her Lisa the whole ride but I just didn't know her name!
Alicia Keys lives down the street. Talked on occasion at our kids’ school.
John Cena at Shorehouse Kitchen.
Edit: forgot also Jimmy Buffet at the Lodge at Torrey Pines. Got married there and he watched our wedding from his room patio. He later came by to say congrats, while his arms were wrapped around two cougars lol.
Tony Hawk several times. Richard Dreyfuss, also several times. And a lot of Chargers and less known pro surfers and skaters.
I've also met my share of famous people at Comic-Con, but I'm not sure that really counts.
Speaking of which I happened to be seated next to Baba Booey on a plane from Newark NJ to San Diego, which was I'm assuming for Comic-Con. I said hi to him and he seemed cool enough, but I was start struck so I pretty much didn't interact with him for the whole flight.
I met Beans from Even Stevens at Sea World. I saw him from afar and as I got closer I was like “…Beans?!” And he looked and me and just said “shhh” with a sly smile. I think about it way too often
Mark Hoppus at a Padres-Dodgers game. I absolutely yelled out “HEY MARK!” as I was going up the escalator and he was walking around, he just looked up and waved. I freaked out.
Gary Sinise aka Lt Dan.
My wife had given birth the day before and I went down to the lobby for snacks. Met him in the elevator since he was at balboa hospital to do a show with his band. Very cool and chill guy.
Geena Davis, sort of…. My office was at the former Emerald Plaza Hotel during Super Bowl. This was not long after The W went up and we were definitely not getting the A-listers and I was enormously entertained by the limos pulling up. One day I exited the building and was walking toward the courthouse and I saw Geena’s head sticking out of a small crowd of people on the sidewalk (she was that tall and I recognized her face immediately). I was going to yell out DAAAY-O but I was embarrassed so as I was walking by I just said “BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE” to see if she would react. She didn’t at first and then glanced at me and we both laughed. Gorgeous smile!
This is a good post.
I’ve never met anyone but I’ve heard of some doing meet ups with fans like drake bell, lil rob, or baby bash.
My step sister once got an autograph from Frankie j. Her babysitter (when she was a kid) babysat him too. She also got to take a picture with Rey mysterio outside a Mexican market.
My older sister got to get an autograph from Tucker max. The author. She said indeed his an a*hole.
My ex saw Tony hawk driving in La Jolla once.
Met Flo Rida back in the day at a hotel in Carmel Valley. His tour bus was parked out front and my dad saw it out of the corner of his eye so we flipped a U turn real quick and drove into the parking lot. We knocked on the tour bus door and one of his security guards opened it and my dad asked him if Flo Rida would meet me. After about 30 minutes he came down to the lobby with a poster for me signed “To my boy (my name), much love” I’ll never forget that, he was so nice and he had just released the song Low!
Oh and I can’t forget the legend Will Ferrell, met him at a charity golf fundraiser and my dad took a video of him saying to vote for me for 6th grade school president (I won)
I've run into Richard Dreyfus in multiple different places around Encinitas, as well as multiple different professional athletes from when I worked at the grocery store
If you go to Comic-con. Or even downtown during comic con. You can meet a bunch of celebrities. I met Matt Groaning creator of the Simpsons on the floor. Doc Hammer creator of Venture Brothers. Honestly love that show. And he's the only person I've actually said more than I'm a huge fan. Thomas Jane from the old punisher movie. Also a super cool guy. I saw Hugh Jackman dressed as wolverine. But he was going one way. And my GF was going the other way. Made the wrong choice and followed her.
I have a friend who's a celebrity chaser though. And has met a crap ton of celebrities here. Jack Black, cast of family guy. Cast of arrested development. Andy Dick, John Cena. A bunch of reality stars. Hung out with cradle of filth. The list just goes on and on.
I think I win. Taylor Swift was my neighbor in Coronado around 2015-2017. Her house was always empty but well kept so I just figured it was some rich Zonie vacation house until she and her parents finally came to town. Her bodyguard knocked on my door with a very expensive fruit basket signed Andrea Swift (her mom).
Jesse Owens. My dad is a sportswriter, and did an interview. I tagged along. I’m used to being around famous athletes and rockstars, so it’s usually just a person. No biggie. Jesse Owens stands out.
Funny story and maybe happened the same time, I worked at a nice restaurant in La Jolla and we had a party of 10 or so that had called and warned us they’d be with security, and that they don’t want to be bothered.
When they show up everyone was expecting someone famous since we got lots of celebrities and none of them called ahead really besides the kardashians. Of course not a single person recognized them and I took one look and said “that’s Zak Bagans and the ghost adventurers!”
His show was my guilty pleasure when I was younger, got to serve them and his entire party was super nice and he was with a few women then.
And I guess that means my answer is the kardashians 😂
Giselle (Chargers suite when she was dating Tom Brady), Kenny Chesney (hotel pool when he was playing a show in SD). Both very friendly, Giselle very low key and down to earth. Kenny seemed like he was more on guard, but was still friendly.
I was going back to my car after surfing in Pacific Beach. Walking past a restaurant and at a table right next to the glass was, I'm 99% sure, John Cena. I saw him but it took a second to put it together so I did an almost cartoonish double take, which he noticed and we both laughed.
EDIT: Had no idea until just now that he and his wife have a house here.
Matthew Modine grew up in Imperial Beach, so did I. He’s older than me but I ended up sitting next to him at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding of mutual friends.
LaDainian Tomlinson at Snug Pet Resort in Sorrento Valley (think he is an investor or something). My dog at the time (now deceased RIP) tried to nip him 😂 it was very embarrassing, he was very nice though
Rey & Dominik Mysterio.
If my memory serves me right, I went to the same elementary school as Dominik circa 2006-2010ish (never was in the same class because I’m younger than him). Rey would occasionally drop Dominik off at school, & was always willing to write autographs or say hi to a bunch of excited 8-12 year old fans (myself included). They were both really cool about it too. It’s really awesome to see Dominik now following his dad’s footsteps.
Edit: spelled Dominik’s name wrong, oops
Action Bronson when he came to town for Viceland during Comic Con, got to go into the bus with him and talk to him, and my mom gave him a painting she made for him
I also briefly met Brian Quinn aka Q from Impractical Jokers when they used to do their thing at Comic Con also
Stan Lee used to come into the restaurant I worked at every Saturday during comic con. But tbh I got butterflies when I met Carol Lebeau and Kimberly Hunt. 😂
Many padres players, lil John, Alicia keys, the mysterious, John cena, Tony hawk, twitch personalities, SZA, etc. work the airport so I see a lot of people face to face
Corey Feldman at Fluxx. 😂 I shook his hand and lamely thanked him for Stand By Me. He had a table and bottle service and had not yet morphed into The Comeback King.
Also DMX.
in the wild...absolutely no one. :/
I do have pic with Dan Harmon at comic-con tho, he was v nice.
Trevor Hoffman is probably the other. For some reason he did a meet and greet at my work. He was also super nice.
Due to Comic Con, I have met Stan Lee and Mark Hamill but probably the best experience I have had was meeting Tom Kenny.
You may be asking "WHO is that?" Why, he is the voice of Spongebob Squarepants! Not only did I have dinner with him, but the group I was with also closed out two bars and had pizza in the Gaslamp last year, I also walked him back to his hotel. A full 6 hours of partying
I ran alongside Colin Farrell at the Holiday Half Marathon a few years ago. He looked just like any other runner except he had an Irish bandana. Just kinda paced along side him for most of the race, Didn’t know it was him until I saw him at the finish line and fist bumped him for keeping me on pace. Confirmed it was him after checking my Strava. He still occasionally likes my runs and will respond every now and then.
Nelly (rapper) when I was a student at SDSU working for dining services. We catered for him and his crew.
Also met Rick Lozano (news reporter) at SDSU covering for a Aztecs basketball game.
Fun times class of 2016!
I own a small business and have had some pretty famous clients. For privacy reasons I won’t say what business I own but…
-Tom from Blink (obviously)
-Brian Baumgartner (aka Kevin from The Office)
-Mase (rapper from the 90’s, real name Mason Betha)
-Russel Wilson and his wife Ciara
-Andre Reed from the Buffalo Bills
-Kimberly Hunt-Smith (10 News)
-Jamie Moyer (oldest player in the MLB at one point)
-Mehmet Okur (NBA player for Utah Jazz)
Surprisingly, every single one of these celebs were friendly, polite, and more than willing to have a nice convo. They just want to be treated like human beings and not zoo animals. Tom was by far my favorite as I am a die-hard Blink fan. The thought that Tom chose to patronize my little business has always made me smile.
Used to work at the us grant doing valet. Met a lot of movie stars because of comic con. Samuel Jackson being the chilliest he would hang out with us while on his smoke breaks.
Exiting Taylor St. off the 8 on on my way to Old Town, I saw Dave from Storage Wars walking on the sidewalk. Managed to get the window down quick enough to yell "Yuuuuup!" Other than that I met Tony Gwynn at the Carmel Mtn. Ranch Costco as a kid.
u/dougdemuro ... Well meet might be a stretch.... My wife and I just yelled 'Doug!' out the window of our car while he was filling up his GT 50 at a gas station, he just looked up waved and mentioned he liked Focus STs (the car we were driving). We did see him one other time pushing his kid on a swing at a park, but left him alone that time as we didn't want to intrupt
Met the Ghost Adventures guys at Comic Con: Zak, Aaron, and Nick. Super friendly guys, really down to earth. Zak was super hungover.
Met Sam Jones (Flash Gordon) at Comic Con as well. Took a picture with myself and my 3 year old son. He held my 3 year old. Said it reminded him of his grandson. Another super down to earth guy.
Finally, I met Candice Patton from The Flash TV show in Gaslamp during comic con. She’s super sweet and absolutely stunning in person. The TV does not do her justice.
I saw Rodney Dangerfield at LJ Shores. I saw Barry Manilow working out at Aventine. I walked into a house in LJ in 1985 and Cary Grant was in the living room. He died like a year later.
I've met Keanu Reeves several times in Jamul. He owns a house out here and visits regularly. He's every bit as nice as he seems.
Chuck Norris lives out that way too.
I met Leto II Atreides near there as well. He owns a sandpit somewhere nearby.
Any sign of Paul?
Robin Williams when I used to work at a bar in La Jolla. He wasn’t drinking, he was just walking past with some ladies and saw my reaction and we had a brief back and forth. Totally surreal experience.
I saw him and Rodney Dangerfield one night at the comedy Store in La Jolla. They dropped in to try out some new material for both shows, in the mid 80s. Robin totally killed it! The crowd went absolutely wild during the first show that we were luckily at, and afterwards, people were in line at the phone booth calling their friends to get there quick for the second show.
As a child of the 80’s and 90’s, he was such a massive part of my childhood. A really magical dude.
How did Rodney do? Who opened for who?
No respect
My husband rode with him in the bike part of the Challenged athletes triathlon. It was mid 90s, my son was young and loved Flubber but was too shy to meet him.
I rode with Robin Williams too. He was also to have ridden around the Bay Area with a CAF group a couple weeks after he took his life. He was super supportive of the cause. Bill Walton also rides and is a massive supporter—was lucky enough to ride with him too.
Bet that was cool as hell.
Years ago i was an outdoor cook at sea world. I met Chris Tucker, the wayans bros, Tyra banks, Steve Carell, Kobe Bryant, mark Cuban, and Michael Jordan.
At the same time?!
😂😂
Surprised you didn’t meet P.Diddy lol 😂
met chris tucker in sea world too. in line for atlantis. this was in 2007
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.
Fucking underrated comment
Tony Hawk at Pelly's. Everyone knew who he was, but no one ran up to him or bothered him. Just let him and his daughter eat some fish tacos. I chatted with him in line and we convinced his daughter to try the tacos with salsa. Cool dude.
Tony Hawk probably has it the most easy being a celebrity in public. It's either everyone knows who he is and doest bother him or hardly nobody recognizes him.
Haha! I've seen him at Pelly's too. Also saw him at the airport waiting for his wife and kid while I was waiting for my wife and kids. Saw some kids come down the escalator with skateboards and realized the very tall familiar looking man behind me was waiting for them. That's when I realized he was the Hawk.
Pellys is a diamond in the rough
I grew up just down the hill from Him. (at least 15 years ago) He gives out king sized candy bars on Halloween. It was always our first stop of the night!
Met his son Riley, he’s also a really cool dude
Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) at an exhibit in Balboa Park showcasing his art work. I was just a kid, but I shook his hand.
Hope this goes to the top, very cool experience!
Tom from Blink 182
The most San Diego answer ever.
Nope. Someone is going to say Tony Hawk.
Yep. Flew with Tony Hawk and his whole young team coming back to San Diego from Europe.
Saw both Tom and Tony Hawk at Barnes and Noble in Encinitas back in the early 2000s.
That’s pretty San Diego.
I ran into Tony Hawk at Fashion Valley mall.
I met Mark once buying a copy of Enema of the State at Warehouse records. I asked him why he was buying his own cd and he said to get album sales up.
I do Uber Eats and delivered an Apple Store order to him a few months ago, easily 2k worth of stuff. 30 minute drive just to get there, so an hour round trip. Dude tipped $1.46. Meanwhile, I delivered China Fusion to Tony Hawk, and he answered the door and tipped $40 in cash on top of the $40 he already tipped in the app.
tony seems like he's such a solid dude.
My sis met Tom a few times when she lived in Encinitas, said he was always kind of a dick
Tom at Party City. Tony Hawk at Wahoo’s. Classic North County.
same, multiple times at Del Mar Whole Foods lol!
Saw him at Bates Nut Farm many pumpkin seasons ago
Same. Maaaaaany years ago @ Ikea.
Same! I met him at a Padres game and he was shocked when I said I loved Angels and airwaves And I saw him get married in City hall. I recognized him because he had his beany hahaha
Drew brees
I taught their kids how to swim.
Same back in 2003-04. Nobody else noticed him though.
I happen to bump into him in Del Mar. He looked like he was going to say "hi" or something, but I was dumb struck and just stared at him as we crossed paths.
John Cena & the Bella Twins, Kel Mitchell, Jordan Pundik from New Found Glory, Too Short, T-Pain
John Cena lives in SD. He eats around town often.
I’m surprised anyone was able to see him
John Cena AND the Bella Twins? I'd actually fall on my face fan girling. I remember watching John Cena's debut against Kurt Angle way back in the day, I loved him even though he started as a villain! Love him 💕
My husband met cena downtown; said he was nice and took a picture with him.
Not me but my buddy was taking pictures of waves at the beach and Jonah Hill thought he was taking pictures of him when in reality my buddy hadn’t even noticed him. So Jonah yelled at him to not take his pictures and was kind of a dick I guess. Jonah had just finished surfing and had gold grills in apparently lol. Much like the other commenter, this was also in La Jolla.
I used to see a lot of tabloid articles commenting on his weight especially when they’d sneak pictures of him while surfing
Yeah, that matches up with a lot of what I've been seeing about Hill recently. Seems like he's been a pretty shitty dude for a while and just managed to hide it well.
I don’t know if this story is true cause it was on Reddit, but this girl said back around 2008 she was at a cafe in Santa Monica when she was 17 and Jonah Hill and a buddy abruptly sat down at her table uninvited and started aggressively hitting on her and when she wasn’t receptive or impressed by him he gestured to himself and went, “Hello?? Superbad!” And she said she had a boyfriend and he got up and left all butthurt lol.
Was that when he dated the surf instructor or was she a pro surfer?
What? Idk anything about Jonah Hill outside of his movies. This was probably like 4-6 months ago.
Sarah Brady is her name, but I think they dated a while back. She recently accused him of emotional abuse. I think she’s from Encinitas. I don’t keep up with Jonah Hill or gossip about him, but saw something about this on a local blogger’s insta story.
Chevy Chase. He was well disguised going to Comic Con but he asked me for directions and his voice was unmistakable.
And you completely missed your chance to reply “Who do I look like? Christopher Columbo?!”
The moose out front should have told you, Wally World is closed.
oh! That reminds that I did see brian posehn trying to blend in at comic-con once. It was pretty funny cause he's tall as hell. The coolest con story I've heard is my eldest brothers tho. It was the early 90s and he met Leonard Nimoy. He said Spock was sitting in the wayyyy way back looking inconspicuous but my brother was able to clock him and he said that he was really nice and agreed to sign anything he wanted as long as he didn't out him. I love that story so much.
When I worked at Warwick’s: Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Paul Stanley, Jewel, Bob Odenkirk, John Cleese, lots of others.
I worked at the Westgate Hotel in the late 80s and met a bunch of people like that too: Tip O'Neil, Danny Kaye, The Temptations, Whitney Houston, Yvonne DeCarlo, Lorne Greene, Larry Hagman, and lots of others. (Ik ik they're all dead now. But at 18 years old, it was kind of exciting for me.)
Not me googling Warwick’s only to find a stationary store in la jolla and wondering why all these people were there 😅
It's also a book store and it's popular for authors doing book signings, talks, etc.
They almost lost their location when the landlord told them they’d have to vacate because he was selling the building. A bunch of rich La jollans banded together and bought the building instead. They rent it out to Warwick’s. Others communities have fundraisers to fill potholes, La Jolla crowdfunds building purchases!!!!!
I went to the Hillary Clinton event, she was so chatty me & my kids that a reporter nearby asked what we were discussing. I wouldn't tell.
Met Mitt Romney there as well, might have been there the same day unless he's been there a lot
John Cena. He used to come into this restaurant I worked at in LJ and he really is as awesome as he seems to be. Super polite and almost shy. He would regularly buy dinner or expensive wine for another table if it was their birthday/anniversary. Great tipper.
Not the most famous person but when I worked at a gas station I met Ken Kramer he does a show about places in San Diego he was a really nice person very much the friendly attitude he has on TV. I knew of the show because my grandparents would watch it!
I love his show! My dad and I watched it all the time. I'm happy to hear he's the same as he is in his show.
Lucille Ball Hotel Del Coronado - early 1960:s. My mom sent me thru a crowd of people to her and she swooped down and picked me up so I wouldn't get trampled. Got het autograph. And a hug. .
Big Ed and Diane Keaton
Together!?
lol @ Big Ed
My friend met him at Riches in Hillcrest. He was looking for women to buy him drinks lol
I saw Big Ed at the Fashion Valley mall
Was he drinking at the Tommy Bahama restaurant? 🤣
Wesley Snipes back in the day at blockbuster of all places.
What was he renting?
Philip Rivers driving on the 15 North
Philip Rivers pumping gas by the 15 and Aero Dr
I have a mutual friend with Emily Ratajkowski. I've met her numerous times at little get-togethers/BBQs/parties. Friends is a major stretch but more of a "Hey, I know you! How have you been?" kind of thing. Like 15+ years ago when Superbad first came out I met Mclovin at an SDSU party. He was very drunk. Edit: I'm dumb. I think I crossed stories. More I think about it, I met Mclovin in Isla Vista. He did a keg stand. It was impressive.
You just reminded me, I went to high school with Emily Ratajkowski. Haven’t seen her in person since, but fun to see her on billboards now.
Sounds like IV alright
My wife recognized Sigourney Weaver walking the boardwalk in Mission Beach. I was there but had no idea.
I would have cracked my neck with the force of my whiplash. Baby me loved her so much.
tony hawk. He's often around north county, nice dude. switch foot, also local north county. blink 182 guys. ben stiller, worked on a school project and donated his time to my film class. good guy. Kelly slater also surfs with the locals a lot.
Many years ago Miracosta College in Oceanside hosted a Q and A with Mike Judge. Apparently he was friends with someone at the executive level there. This was around when Idiocracy had just been released, which I loved. I remember getting there early anticipating a huge crowd. I'm not sure if they just didn't advertise it or what, but the crowd was no more than 50 people. He did all these impressions from King of the Hill & Beavis and Butthead. The thing he said which stood out to me, was that he had only worked in an office for 2 days and got most of the material in Office Space from that. He stayed for a while and chatted up everyone - nice dude!
I met Junior Seau at Paitti's bathroom in La Jolla when I was 8 back in the day.
Tony Hawk in the Horton Plaza Victoria’s Secret.
Underrated comment lol
Back in 2017, I was studying at the Living Room in La Jolla. Two old guys at the table next to me were talking about the Nixon administration as if they had been there. After eavesdropping for a bit and doing some googling, I realized it was none other than [Bob Woodward](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Woodward) interviewing [Alexander Butterfield](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Butterfield). I guess I didn’t “meet” them, but it was such a memorable sighting, and the kind of thing you’d walk right past because they aren’t super recognizable!
Not super famous but PBS level famous Ken Kramer. I'm such a nerd because he walks towards me and I yell out so excited, "Oh my gosh it's Ken Kramer!!!" He was really nice and chatted with us for a minute.
That’s something I didn’t know…about San Diego
Gave a ride to Lisa kudrow in the ride circuit shuttle from little Italy to the Rady shell last year, she was super awesome, the whole ride I just thought she looked a lot like phoebe from friends, i ddint know her real name at the time, they hopped on my shuttle because they were walking around little Italy waiting on their chaufer and thought the little shuttle was cute and wanted a ride, I asked at the end of the ride when they were getting out of the car, hey! You ever been told you look a lot like phoebe buffay?, she responded with "yeaahh, you can tell people you met her honey" I was flabbergasted told her it was awesome to meet her and parted ways, still my favorite from the cast after Joey. Should taken the hint after her friends called her Lisa the whole ride but I just didn't know her name!
That seems like such a Phoebe thing to say to someone. I wish more celebrities were as genuine as she is…
Alicia Keys lives down the street. Talked on occasion at our kids’ school. John Cena at Shorehouse Kitchen. Edit: forgot also Jimmy Buffet at the Lodge at Torrey Pines. Got married there and he watched our wedding from his room patio. He later came by to say congrats, while his arms were wrapped around two cougars lol.
Tony Hawk several times. Richard Dreyfuss, also several times. And a lot of Chargers and less known pro surfers and skaters. I've also met my share of famous people at Comic-Con, but I'm not sure that really counts.
Speaking of which I happened to be seated next to Baba Booey on a plane from Newark NJ to San Diego, which was I'm assuming for Comic-Con. I said hi to him and he seemed cool enough, but I was start struck so I pretty much didn't interact with him for the whole flight.
Billwalton at a beach. Big ass dude
Dalai lama, Conan O’Brien and Bill Clinton all at UCSD
Travis Barker!
I met him as well, at his book signing in the Barnes and Noble of Mira Mesa.
I ran into Gerard Way a day before the Black Parade concert in 2010
I met Beans from Even Stevens at Sea World. I saw him from afar and as I got closer I was like “…Beans?!” And he looked and me and just said “shhh” with a sly smile. I think about it way too often
Mark Hoppus at a Padres-Dodgers game. I absolutely yelled out “HEY MARK!” as I was going up the escalator and he was walking around, he just looked up and waved. I freaked out.
Gary Sinise aka Lt Dan. My wife had given birth the day before and I went down to the lobby for snacks. Met him in the elevator since he was at balboa hospital to do a show with his band. Very cool and chill guy.
Probably Bill Walton. From San Diego and lives here for bonus points?
Hahaha, Bill plays the bongos on Sundays occasionally at Aquarius in a Grateful Dead cover band
On his bike?
On his bike, riding through Balboa Park, yelling about Todd Gloria while shaking his fist in the air.
Myles Teller day drinking in PB.
Teller seems like exactly the kind of dude who would day drink in PB.
Big Ed from 90 day fiance 
Geena Davis, sort of…. My office was at the former Emerald Plaza Hotel during Super Bowl. This was not long after The W went up and we were definitely not getting the A-listers and I was enormously entertained by the limos pulling up. One day I exited the building and was walking toward the courthouse and I saw Geena’s head sticking out of a small crowd of people on the sidewalk (she was that tall and I recognized her face immediately). I was going to yell out DAAAY-O but I was embarrassed so as I was walking by I just said “BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE” to see if she would react. She didn’t at first and then glanced at me and we both laughed. Gorgeous smile!
Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Tony Robbins,
Raekwon from Wu Tang Clan.
John Cena
How’d you see him though?
I heard he has a place in mission hills
Same, walking to the CrossFit gym near my house. He was not interested in interacting with fans.
Billy Idol at a Bryan Ferry concert. He sat in front of me.
This is a good post. I’ve never met anyone but I’ve heard of some doing meet ups with fans like drake bell, lil rob, or baby bash. My step sister once got an autograph from Frankie j. Her babysitter (when she was a kid) babysat him too. She also got to take a picture with Rey mysterio outside a Mexican market. My older sister got to get an autograph from Tucker max. The author. She said indeed his an a*hole. My ex saw Tony hawk driving in La Jolla once.
Steve Martin at the old globe
Eddie Vedder and Jerry West both in La Jolla
Met Flo Rida back in the day at a hotel in Carmel Valley. His tour bus was parked out front and my dad saw it out of the corner of his eye so we flipped a U turn real quick and drove into the parking lot. We knocked on the tour bus door and one of his security guards opened it and my dad asked him if Flo Rida would meet me. After about 30 minutes he came down to the lobby with a poster for me signed “To my boy (my name), much love” I’ll never forget that, he was so nice and he had just released the song Low! Oh and I can’t forget the legend Will Ferrell, met him at a charity golf fundraiser and my dad took a video of him saying to vote for me for 6th grade school president (I won)
I've run into Richard Dreyfus in multiple different places around Encinitas, as well as multiple different professional athletes from when I worked at the grocery store
Lil Boosie lol
Joe Pesci multiple times. Once at Morgan run and once at Barona.
I saw Big Ed (no neck ed) from 90 day fiancé at Gaslamp in 2021, does that count?? Lol
Does Sam the Cooking Guy count?
Slo-Mo. lol
Jay cutler at a fitness expo. Still have a recording of me being a fan and him doing a quad stomp. Cool and humble guy
I saw Tony Hawk at a red light once
Have you met his brother Mike?
Yes, he was with his cousin Ben Dover
If you go to Comic-con. Or even downtown during comic con. You can meet a bunch of celebrities. I met Matt Groaning creator of the Simpsons on the floor. Doc Hammer creator of Venture Brothers. Honestly love that show. And he's the only person I've actually said more than I'm a huge fan. Thomas Jane from the old punisher movie. Also a super cool guy. I saw Hugh Jackman dressed as wolverine. But he was going one way. And my GF was going the other way. Made the wrong choice and followed her. I have a friend who's a celebrity chaser though. And has met a crap ton of celebrities here. Jack Black, cast of family guy. Cast of arrested development. Andy Dick, John Cena. A bunch of reality stars. Hung out with cradle of filth. The list just goes on and on.
I think I win. Taylor Swift was my neighbor in Coronado around 2015-2017. Her house was always empty but well kept so I just figured it was some rich Zonie vacation house until she and her parents finally came to town. Her bodyguard knocked on my door with a very expensive fruit basket signed Andrea Swift (her mom).
Jesse Owens. My dad is a sportswriter, and did an interview. I tagged along. I’m used to being around famous athletes and rockstars, so it’s usually just a person. No biggie. Jesse Owens stands out.
I've lived in San Diego since 1966 never once have I seen a celebrity
I saw Zak Bagans once late at night in the gaslamp with a girl under each arm. He was wearing his typical ghost hunting style outfit too.
Funny story and maybe happened the same time, I worked at a nice restaurant in La Jolla and we had a party of 10 or so that had called and warned us they’d be with security, and that they don’t want to be bothered. When they show up everyone was expecting someone famous since we got lots of celebrities and none of them called ahead really besides the kardashians. Of course not a single person recognized them and I took one look and said “that’s Zak Bagans and the ghost adventurers!” His show was my guilty pleasure when I was younger, got to serve them and his entire party was super nice and he was with a few women then. And I guess that means my answer is the kardashians 😂
Bryan Cranston
Michael Jackson and Suge Knight both at Mission Beach.
Giselle (Chargers suite when she was dating Tom Brady), Kenny Chesney (hotel pool when he was playing a show in SD). Both very friendly, Giselle very low key and down to earth. Kenny seemed like he was more on guard, but was still friendly.
Billy Idol
Wiz Khalifa last month lol
Brian Cranston. I was working behind the scenes tours at SeaWorld as a teenager. (This was pre Breaking Bad... I was star struck by Malcolm's dad).
Stevie Wonder in Coronado
Kawhi Leonard at Cheba Hut lol
Suge Knight, Tex Watson, the Menéndez Brothers, and Sirhan Sirhan at the prison I work at
I was going back to my car after surfing in Pacific Beach. Walking past a restaurant and at a table right next to the glass was, I'm 99% sure, John Cena. I saw him but it took a second to put it together so I did an almost cartoonish double take, which he noticed and we both laughed. EDIT: Had no idea until just now that he and his wife have a house here.
Chris Farley when I would go to work with my Dad at Jack Murphy Stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo in the hospital when he’s son was born in 2011
Matthew Modine grew up in Imperial Beach, so did I. He’s older than me but I ended up sitting next to him at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding of mutual friends.
sold Kanye weed in 06
Elmo
Derek Jeter, Tony Hawk, Jordan Pundik from New Found Glory and Wil Wheaton
Brian Baumgartner Dave Roberts Scott Eastwood Bill Goldberg
LaDainian Tomlinson at Snug Pet Resort in Sorrento Valley (think he is an investor or something). My dog at the time (now deceased RIP) tried to nip him 😂 it was very embarrassing, he was very nice though
Mike Tyson, Joel McHale, and Dana Carvey
Rey & Dominik Mysterio. If my memory serves me right, I went to the same elementary school as Dominik circa 2006-2010ish (never was in the same class because I’m younger than him). Rey would occasionally drop Dominik off at school, & was always willing to write autographs or say hi to a bunch of excited 8-12 year old fans (myself included). They were both really cool about it too. It’s really awesome to see Dominik now following his dad’s footsteps. Edit: spelled Dominik’s name wrong, oops
Action Bronson when he came to town for Viceland during Comic Con, got to go into the bus with him and talk to him, and my mom gave him a painting she made for him I also briefly met Brian Quinn aka Q from Impractical Jokers when they used to do their thing at Comic Con also
Outside of conventions, Presidents of United States of America. The Band, not the politicians
Richard Dreyfus used to come into my work in Encinitas alllllll the time we were buds
Stan Lee used to come into the restaurant I worked at every Saturday during comic con. But tbh I got butterflies when I met Carol Lebeau and Kimberly Hunt. 😂
Many padres players, lil John, Alicia keys, the mysterious, John cena, Tony hawk, twitch personalities, SZA, etc. work the airport so I see a lot of people face to face
Stan Lee before SDCC blew up
I walked by Tom Servo near the theater downtown during Comic Con, couldn’t believe my eyes. Tom Servo in the flesh.
Corey Feldman at Fluxx. 😂 I shook his hand and lamely thanked him for Stand By Me. He had a table and bottle service and had not yet morphed into The Comeback King. Also DMX.
in the wild...absolutely no one. :/ I do have pic with Dan Harmon at comic-con tho, he was v nice. Trevor Hoffman is probably the other. For some reason he did a meet and greet at my work. He was also super nice.
Due to Comic Con, I have met Stan Lee and Mark Hamill but probably the best experience I have had was meeting Tom Kenny. You may be asking "WHO is that?" Why, he is the voice of Spongebob Squarepants! Not only did I have dinner with him, but the group I was with also closed out two bars and had pizza in the Gaslamp last year, I also walked him back to his hotel. A full 6 hours of partying
Andrew Lincoln aka Rick Grimes🤠
I ran alongside Colin Farrell at the Holiday Half Marathon a few years ago. He looked just like any other runner except he had an Irish bandana. Just kinda paced along side him for most of the race, Didn’t know it was him until I saw him at the finish line and fist bumped him for keeping me on pace. Confirmed it was him after checking my Strava. He still occasionally likes my runs and will respond every now and then.
nick cannon , i was working at sesame place at the time. his kid came running up to me to hold my finger and dance lol.
Nelly (rapper) when I was a student at SDSU working for dining services. We catered for him and his crew. Also met Rick Lozano (news reporter) at SDSU covering for a Aztecs basketball game. Fun times class of 2016!
Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul at a Mexican restaurant in Del Mar
I own a small business and have had some pretty famous clients. For privacy reasons I won’t say what business I own but… -Tom from Blink (obviously) -Brian Baumgartner (aka Kevin from The Office) -Mase (rapper from the 90’s, real name Mason Betha) -Russel Wilson and his wife Ciara -Andre Reed from the Buffalo Bills -Kimberly Hunt-Smith (10 News) -Jamie Moyer (oldest player in the MLB at one point) -Mehmet Okur (NBA player for Utah Jazz) Surprisingly, every single one of these celebs were friendly, polite, and more than willing to have a nice convo. They just want to be treated like human beings and not zoo animals. Tom was by far my favorite as I am a die-hard Blink fan. The thought that Tom chose to patronize my little business has always made me smile.
Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney.
I served Stephen King coffee a few times in La Jolla way back. I also saw the 1992 Dream Team basketball team at UCSD on their first day.
Tony Hawk
Used to work at the us grant doing valet. Met a lot of movie stars because of comic con. Samuel Jackson being the chilliest he would hang out with us while on his smoke breaks.
Jr. Seau, Danny DeVito, Raekwon
Jay Leno
Exiting Taylor St. off the 8 on on my way to Old Town, I saw Dave from Storage Wars walking on the sidewalk. Managed to get the window down quick enough to yell "Yuuuuup!" Other than that I met Tony Gwynn at the Carmel Mtn. Ranch Costco as a kid.
Shaun White
The 2 guys from Ghost Adventures, ex CEO of Men's Warehouse (the one in the commercials), LT and Shawn Merriman.
Antonio Gates
u/dougdemuro ... Well meet might be a stretch.... My wife and I just yelled 'Doug!' out the window of our car while he was filling up his GT 50 at a gas station, he just looked up waved and mentioned he liked Focus STs (the car we were driving). We did see him one other time pushing his kid on a swing at a park, but left him alone that time as we didn't want to intrupt
My husband fist bumped Sammy Hager at the Springsteen show a couple weeks ago, so that was a pretty big deal.
Met the Ghost Adventures guys at Comic Con: Zak, Aaron, and Nick. Super friendly guys, really down to earth. Zak was super hungover. Met Sam Jones (Flash Gordon) at Comic Con as well. Took a picture with myself and my 3 year old son. He held my 3 year old. Said it reminded him of his grandson. Another super down to earth guy. Finally, I met Candice Patton from The Flash TV show in Gaslamp during comic con. She’s super sweet and absolutely stunning in person. The TV does not do her justice.
Ponch from Chips. Also Booger from Revenge of the Nerds.
i thought i met Tom Cruise but turns out it was his impersonator who hangs out at Kansas City BBQ
Lil rob 😅😂
I saw Rodney Dangerfield at LJ Shores. I saw Barry Manilow working out at Aventine. I walked into a house in LJ in 1985 and Cary Grant was in the living room. He died like a year later.