Andy Chase

As detached as I try to remain from the show biz currents that run so strongly through greater L.A., I’m still something of a tourist when it comes to celebrities.I stopped at Robbie Mac’s in Sherman Oaks to pick up a pizza on my way home from work tonight (well, last night, since it’s after midnight now). On my way in I had noticed a beautiful, big old car parked by the new stand at the corner of Ventura and Van Nuys boulevards. I parked behind the building, but walked back around to the news stand to get a closer look, and when I saw Jay Leno (known automobile collector/enthusiast) I cleverly deduced that the car belonged to him.

As I walked by him I said something to the effect of,

“I was wondering who that car belonged to! It’s gorgeous!”

to which Jay replied “Thanks, thanks.”

As detached as I try to remain from the show biz currents that run so strongly through greater L.A., I’m still something of a tourist when it comes to celebrities. I find that it’s a lot easier to talk to one if the context is something other than them being famous and you recognizing them; I didn’t want to bug Jay Leno, but I did genuinely want to compliment him on his car, so it was no big deal.

Similarly, I had a nice conversation with David Caruso a few years ago when he came through the Ennis House for a tour… I was a docent there at the time, and my job that day was to follow along behind the tour groups, making sure nobody wandered off into the house. David Caruso stuck to the rear of the group, and asked me some questions about the house - contrary to public perception and/or reputation, he was a really nice guy. Claire Forlani was also in the group, but I didn’t talk to her.

I’ve seen Gary Collins and R.D. Call at our nearby Ralph’s supermarket multiple times, and once we saw Brian Setzer messing with a hotrod at a gas station in Santa Monica. I’m sure there have been others, but those are the ones that pop into mind at the moment.

Probably my dorkiest celebrity moment was when I approached Joey Ramone at the House of Guitars in Rochester, but he was nice despite my fumbling compliments and thanks for his music. In the four years I spent in Rochester, I only went to H.O.G. once, and that just happened to be the day the Ramones had a show in town - and apparently everybody who’s anybody in the music biz stops by H.O.G. when they’re in town. I’m glad to have met him; it was a shame when he died so relatively young last spring.