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Sylvester Stallone, Bridgette Nielsen, & Zsa Zsa Gabor |
It was the Spring of 1986. My family (Mom, Dad, and youngest sister Yolanda) had gone to visit my sister, Debbie, and her family in Hollywood, which was just a short jaunt from our home in Vegas.
Celebrity Encounters #1
The evening after our arrival, Debbie invited us to go watch a polo match with her at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. She had been taking equestrian riding lessons and had gotten quite good at it. In the process, she had gained an interest in polo and acquired season ticket passes. She only had three tickets, so we did what any other normal family would do; we held an Indian leg wrestling match. Not really, but that would have been fun to watch. Actually only Yolanda and I showed any interest in going, so off we went.
The evening after our arrival, Debbie invited us to go watch a polo match with her at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. She had been taking equestrian riding lessons and had gotten quite good at it. In the process, she had gained an interest in polo and acquired season ticket passes. She only had three tickets, so we did what any other normal family would do; we held an Indian leg wrestling match. Not really, but that would have been fun to watch. Actually only Yolanda and I showed any interest in going, so off we went.
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Me, Justin, and Ogbar the Boxer on my sister's boat - circa 1981 |
I’d say they were doing alright. Nothing that I was accustomed to.
That night we took the Benz to the country club. We were
riding in style, and blended right in with the regulars. What didn’t blend in
was my attire. I wore my least worn best pair of 501 button-fly jeans
(an 80’s fashion staple) and an off-brand polo shirt that my Mom had picked up
from the thrift store that she worked at. For my footwear I chose a pair of K-Mart brand
Top-Siders (boat shoes – remember those?) that were made of some weird
fabric-plastic material instead of leather. My sisters, on the other hand,
looked marvelous. Yolanda, like me, didn't have a lot, but as a veteran beauty
pageant contestant and clothes model, she could make anything look good. And of
course Debbie had no trouble fitting in.
As we made our way to our seats, I couldn't believe my eyes.
I don’t know how Debbie did it, but somehow we had slightly better seats than
Rocky Balboa and Red Sonja. Yeah, that’s right. Sitting directly behind us, and
a few rows up, was Sylvester Stallone and his new wife (and soon to be ex-wife)
Brigitte Nielsen. For a kid growing up in the 70’s and 80’s watching (and
idolizing) Rocky, Rambo, and the Conan the Barbarian series (Red Sonja included
for illustration purposes only), this was a serious geek moment for me.
Mind. Blown.
Stallone was dressed sharply in black (shocking, I know) and
Brigitte was wearing an elegant short dress. She looked stunning. Given her
proximity, the shortness of her dress, and her elevation relative to my eye-level,
I couldn't take my eyes off of her baby maker. What? I was an adolescent
young man nearing his sexual prime. These were actions beyond my control;
natural forces genetically designed into my fragile teenage boy DNA. Also, she
looked hot.
At the first intermission break, Yolanda and I decided to
take a stroll around the grounds and see what else of interest we could find
while Debbie held our seats. We both loved horses, so we made our way to the
stables. There seemed to be some special event going on at the stables when we arrived. Apparently, for that evening at least, we
were considered “special” because we managed to get in somehow.
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The stables at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center (C) |
We politely acknowledged the post-Oscar-party-like
atmosphere, but quickly gravitated towards the horses in the stables. I spent a
good portion of my youth at the horse track (Hollywood Park, Santa Anita Park, Los
Alamitos) with my parents back when we lived in LA. My parents were natural
born gamblers. I suppose that is how we wound up in Vegas. I spent many
weekends picking up discarded wagering tickets for fun and helped my parents
chase down Lady Luck with wagers of my own. The terms Daily Double, Trifecta,
Quinella, Parlay, and Exata were all part of my everyday vocabulary by the age
of seven, so I was somewhat familiar with the thoroughbreds they were using for
the polo matches - knowledge that would prove to be keenly useful in short
order.
As we made our way
through the stables, visiting with all of the horses we came across, I spotted
something sparkly from the corner of my eye.
It was Zsa Zsa Gabor.
I knew immediately that it was Zsa Zsa and not her nearly
identical younger sister Eva, because Green Acres was (and still is - I know
all the words to the theme song by heart) one of my all-time favorite comedy TV
shows. While both were gorgeous women in their day, Eva had a slightly
thinner face, and dare I say, was slightly prettier than her older sister Zsa
Zsa.
Zsa Zsa was dressed in an elegant baby-blue evening gown,
the kind you might find on the red carpet of the Academy Awards, and layered in
fine jewels from head to toe, talking with a gentleman (whom I would later find
out was a famous horse breeder – his name escapes me at the moment) in
a black tuxedo. They were sipping champagne and, from what I could gather,
discussing the finer points of horse breeding.
I pointed Zsa Zsa out to Yolanda. Her full attention had
been admiring the beautiful horses and hadn’t noticed her. She didn’t believe
me at first, but as I drug her closer she gave me a wide-eyed smile.
“Oh my God, it is her!”
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Mom, Dad, and my 70's porn mustache - circa 1986 |
Just a couple days earlier I was back home, sharing a
one-bedroom apartment with my parents (and Yolanda – she was staying with us
for a spell) in a rundown complex (now since torn down) located in a seedy part
of downtown Vegas (back then ALL of downtown Vegas was seedy), and here I was
hob-knobbing with Hollywood royalty.
It was surreal.
I guess time had slipped away from us, because while we were
chatting it up with Zsa Zsa, I could see Debbie walking down the corridor toward
us, and she looked none-too-pleased. As she got closer to us, her facial
expression morphed and contorted between anger, relief, and finally surprise.
Taking the cue, we politely excused ourselves from the conversation and caught
up with her.
“I’ve been running around looking all over for you guys,
worried sick that something happened to you, and here I find you rubbing elbows
with celebrities. The polo match is over you know!” Her displeasure with us was
short-lived once she realized we were okay, and we revealed what a fun time we
had.
I don’t remember too much from the polo match, obviously. Who cares, right?!? I got a once in a lifetime opportunity to swap horse
stories with celebrity elite and to sit near Brigitte Nielsen’s baby maker
one of my childhood heroes.
Celebrity Encounters #1: Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers
What celebrities have you met? Any interesting stories to share?
Michael A. Walker
Defying Procrastination
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7 comments:
How very fortunate to have seen Stallone and Zsa Zsa (the woman, not the Panda) and what may have been the legs of Brigitte Neilsen. Did you really actually look up? In fact how do you even know it was Stallone? We know what you and the 70s porn stache were gawking at....
WG
I've never met any celebrities that I can remember. But then,I don't really live in an area where they like to hang out.
Although, they are beginning to make more movies up here to save money. Maybe one day I might bump into one. And who knows, they way actresses seem to show off their baby makers these days, I might just see that too.
Awesome story. I wish that I was able to cross paths with beautiful celebrities.
Stallone! How awesome!!! And Zsa Zsa in the same day at the same event. You rock.
I once shared an elevator with Harry Caray, but was too giggly to actually say anything (I was 17), and that same year (1986) I literally ran into Mike Singletary and nearly bitched him out for not watching where he was going, even though I was the one who wasn't watching. Then I realized who it was. I actually thought I ran into a brick wall.
Mind. Blown.
I'm only 31, but I grew up watching every Rocky movie every single day and still know every word, I swear. I was Stallone obsessed, so this chance encounter of yours is MOST impressive (and I'm normally not impressed with celebrity.)
I wish I had something similar to share, but I've got nothing quite this impressive. However, I'm a huge sports nut and have met various athletes through a couple of internships. While most people wouldn't care, those were truly my "Stallone" moments ;)
This is hilarious. I'm amazed that you tore yourself away from B. Nelson's you know what to take that walk. Lucky that you did. Very funny story and you told it well. You had me laughing. I lived in LA for a long time so I've seen a lot of celebs but never made friends with any.
What a great story. Can't wait to read more from this series
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