re: Most Famous Celebrity You've Met

I met Tommy Lasorda at LAX airport in the evening of December 10th, 1982. I was in the military at the time and was going home on leave. Me and another guy who was also going on leave met him in a gift shop. He was wearing a cowboy hat and boots. I think he'd just come from Hawaii. He was a very nice gentlemen and told us how much he appreciated our service, and gave us each an autographed postcard with his picture on it and also a $20 bill. He had asked us if we'd already eaten dinner and we told him that we had, so that's why he just gave us the $20.00 each. I've always remembered this encounter and came away with a healthy respect for the man. We were just a couple of 18-year old kids at the time, and he took time to talk to us. He was really down to Earth, no ego at all.

I also briefly met Ernie Ladd at the Wal Mart in Bayou Vista back in 1988. I believe he lived in Franklin, LA at the time. He seemed like a good guy too.