I was a photojournalist for more than 15 years and had the opportunity to photograph and meet many, many famous actors, musicians, politicians, businesspeople and athletes. I also worked for 5 years at WNYC Radio, the largest public radio station in the US and celebrities came through the studios every day. I never considered myself to be star-struck, but did have one experience that stands out among all the others.
One morning he called and asked me to help with a session with Elizabeth Taylor. We went to her suite in the Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and spent about an hour setting up. Finally Liz and an assistant came in. We sat her down and shot for about 20 minutes. She was gracious, warm and relaxed the entire time. I even adjusted her hair!
At the end of the shoot, she got up and just before she left the room, she stopped, turned, took my hand, looked straight at me with those world-famous blue eyes and said "it was a pleasure to meet you."
My heart practically stopped! She didn’t have to stop and acknowledge me like that, I was just the lowly assistant, there to carry the equipment, but she did and it was a moment I’ll never forget.
The photo we made that day, which was published in USA Today in 1987 and again when she died in 2011, appears below.
He was one of the most easy going and laid back people I have ever met. His brother was a co-worker and great friend of mine, and when Bill was in Baltimore filming Homicide, he hopped a MARC train to meet Fred and me at DC’s Union Station for a few cocktails. That meeting went on longer than planned because we all hit it off, so well. Aside from his then growing reputation as an actor, there was just nothing about him to suggest a celebrity status. He and Felicity have been married since late 1997. When they entertain, they often play charades at their home with other stars and just plain folks. It is a welcome relief to their famed friends, who simply get to act like normal people. If he looks like a Boy Scout, that’s because he is - Eagle, in fact. A completely unassuming and pleasant human being, a real gentleman. And a damned good actor, capable of performing in very different roles. Perhaps most well known for Air Force One, he also eagerly took the role of a gay sheriff in the independent cult classic, Happy Texas, a portion of which may be seen, here:
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