Meeting the Most Elusive Celebrities in a Tent

"Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities . . . .”

-- John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, Lord Acton
Letter to Mary Gladstone (April 24, 1881)

My Commencement day hosting at Harvard was also how I first met many world figures. Every year, Harvard grants honorary degrees to a number of people who have led distinguished lives. While the others sit in full academic regalia, we top-hatted penguins are located next to the honorees on the stage which is set under a large awning in the Yard. Part of my duties on one occasion called for me to help Prince Charles and be sure he was comfortable. For security reasons having to do with IRA threats, he was left off the stage until the last possible moment. During the time we waited together, he proved to be a most friendly and amusing guest. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that he knew a lot of funny stories about his experiences. No, Princess Di didn’t accompany him that year. Too bad!

It was on another such occasion that Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel prize winner for literature, was the Commencement speaker. He made a moving address in Russian, with simultaneous translation into English, calling for those of us in the West to live up to our moral values and to oppose Godless Communism. Several of us were moved to shake hands with him after the address and to discuss his fine ideas. It turns out that he spoke English quite well, but didn’t want to muddle any words in his address for the larger audience. I felt like I had just met a part of Mount Rushmore, so great is my esteem for his moral role and his writing about the evils of Communist oppression. It was one of the high points of my life.

I could go on about hosting large events and meeting celebrities, but suffice it to say that I find myself constantly being asked to host large events on a volunteer basis. Naturally, I’m glad to oblige and enjoy all of these gracious occasions and usually meet some delightful celebrities in the process.

The world is full of organizations that attract celebrities to help with their fund raising. Every such organization needs volunteers to invite the celebrities to the events and to work with the celebrities. For-profit companies will also involve unpaid interns to assist with such duties for their marketing programs.

A good friend of ours speaks several languages well and helps new delegates to the United Nations get used to New York. In the process, she has met many of the world’s top diplomats and leaders. She regularly dines at embassies and consulates all over New York.

Universities also invite speakers to bring their messages to students and faculty at times other than commencement exercises. There are often special lunches and dinners to honor such visitors. Most universities would be delighted to have you help organize the event and entertain the guest, even ifyou didn’t happen to attend that university.

One of my daughters and her cousin like soap operas. They found a unique way to meet some of their favorite stars. My brother-in-law bought them inexpensive tickets to the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in New York. During the ceremony, they waited in the lobby to greet those who were arriving late or leaving early. In the process, they noticed that there was a "celebrity bathroom." Naturally, the young women headed there and found many of the female stars inside. These stars graciously spoke with the two young women, and took them outside to meet some of their favorite male stars as well. Many of the stars kindly posed for photographs and provided autographs.

Having had that success, my daughter started sharing her thoughts on the message boards for her favorite stars. Some of the younger stars log on and answer fans. Through such a correspondence, my daughter ended up having lunch and spending the afternoon on the set of Days of Our Lives in NBC's California studios. My daughter wrote about that experience on the message boards and became a well-known fan. At a recent fan event in New York for soap stars from the ABC shows, my daughter introduced herself to another star who had been on Days of Our Lives and found that the star knew about my daughter's experience from reading the boards. On Friday, May 20, the young ladies made their second outing to the Daytime Emmies and were greeted like old friends with hugs by the stars they met in the last year.

Book signings are a similar opportunity. The celebrity will usually sign autographs if you buy their book and will at least chat briefly with you while they sign. I have had authors spend as much as ten minutes speaking with me on such occasions. If you arrive before the signing, I have sometimes found the celebrities wandering around the store looking at books or for the rest rooms. Naturally, I stop and help them and an extended conversation can follow.

Sports teams often offer similar access for free during the training camps. Track the teams’ web sites to watch out for these opportunities.

Fan clubs usually offer other special opportunities in the cost range of $25-$75 per person where you can spend more time with a celebrity . . . such as by having a meal together with 7-11 other fans.

I've put some links to help you find these opportunities on my Web site (http://ma.local.yahoo.biz/livebetterthanabillionaireonfivedollarsextraaday/).

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell