Over the past year Buntology has posted stories about politics, concerts, sporting events, movies, life and death. There has been humor and sadness, fact and fiction, movies, pictures and drawings.

Therefore, it came as quite a surprise when Jackie’s blurb about Jon and Kate’s impending break up received more hits than any other post on Buntology. And when I say surprise I mean shocking disappointment. More people are Googling about Jon and Kate than about the war and the economy [and Ivan’s animal drawings – Angela]! That is not a good sign.

Nevertheless Buntology readers, if celebrity gossip is what you really want then I am here to deliver, first hand, my brush with Hollywood…

For the past nine years Angela and I have been ushers at the Williamstown Theater Festival. We have met (stalked) many celebrities and have the pictures and autographs to prove it. During this time I also worked briefly at a store on Spring St. in Williamstown, Mass. and really got to chat with a few “famous” people.

I will list the star and give you my first impressions. I could be selling this information to “The Enquirer” so you are very lucky to get the scoop:

Scott Wolf: (Party of Five) Adorable, friendly, accessible. I remember meeting him on a few occasions at the height of the whole “Party of Five” popularity. He took pictures with about 50 young girls who were lingering near him, signed autographs, talked, and told his “person” he was fine when asked if he needed assistance in dealing with the crowd. He was charming and I will always have a spot in my heart for him for the kind way he treated my girls [He actually slipped me his number that night.] and all the other fans who adored him.

George Wendt: (Norm from Cheers) Bumped into him at a bar. I said hi and told him I was a big fan of the show. He was appreciative, friendly… just like I hoped he would be.

Amy Brenneman: (Judging Amy, Private Practice) Saw her in a play that was so great that Ange actually cried hysterically at the end [I was loudly blubbering like a fool]. Amazing actress. Met her at the store I worked in. She was so normal, so appreciative of the special attention paid to her (by stalker me), friendly, polite. She came in two different days and both times we chatted for a few minutes. Truly someone I would want to know in real life.

Emmy Rossum: (Phantom of the Opera the movie, The Day After Tomorrow) Also waited on her in the store. Very sweet, pleasant, not stuck up or anything. She is really cute but not like the glamour gorgeous they make her out to be in magazines. A young guy that worked with me was in love with her and she signed a picture for him and was really

nice.

Lauren Graham: (Gilmore Girls, Seeing Other People, Bad Santa) She stopped to talk with me and Angela after just finishing a two hour play. She was actually walking to get to wherever to chill, and fans were calling “Lauralei!” which was her TV character’s name. She chatted and smiled with them and then we just happened to see her and said hello. We asked for a picture and she was very kind and never gave the impression that she was in a hurry or tired. We did not keep her because we actually realized she must be exhausted. We aren’t complete idiots [Like the other fans]! Liked her. Very, very pretty. TV does not do her justice as far as her looks.

Eric Stoltz: (Mask, Pulp Fiction, a billion other movies and TV shows) I have “seen” him many times but I have only approached him once. He is kind of aloof so you feel kind of intrusive even saying hi to him. He did take a picture with my girls but it looks forced and it felt awkward. He wasn’t rude but he wasn’t friendly. Hey, maybe he wasn’t in the mood, but still, a smile would have changed my opinion of him easily. [My piano teacher at the time also told me some story about him freaking out because a restaurant served him popcorn that was “too buttery.” I didn’t know such a thing existed.]

Lewis Black: (Stand-up comic who performs all over, The Daily Show) Have seen him perform and he is FUNNY! Met him out on the lawn at Williamstown Theater Festival and also at a show while ushering when he came in to watch. I will let the picture speak for me. [Uh, I think you’re downplaying this mom. We are like BFFL with him. I was talking with his parents while you guys chatted away. We’re practically in the family! Also, despite his TV persona, ‘ol Lou was extremely extremely nice and had a somewhat soft demeanor.]

I have met many actors and actresses. Some names you would recognize and some you would know if you saw their face. I helped seat Tim Daly during a show, as well as the lady who played the mother in Twister. I see her in everything yet I don’t know her name. I waited on Sharon Lawrence and one of the actors who was killed off on 24. [Don’t forget the guy who played the captain in Titanic and the perverted law professor in Legally Blonde! We also got an autograph from Marissa Tomei but I don’t count it as meeting if she doesn’t even look at you while she signs it.]

But, my favorite incident has to be when I met Bradley Whitford from “The West Wing.”

Angela and I were ushering a play and it was intermission. In the lobby I looked past the crowd and there he was. You have to understand, I was a huge West Wing fan and had a major crush on his character. I made eye contact with him and he smiled. I found myself mouthing the words, “I love you.” Apparently, I had turned into a 12-year-old girl at the sight of him. He mouthed, “Thank you” back.

I found Angela and was out of my mind with excitement. After the show we went outside to meet/stalk the actors. Michelle Williams (pre-Heath Ledger) was in this play so we wanted to meet her [she was excellent in the play, not to mention super nice].

Outside, Brad Whitford was just a few feet from me [and his wife at the time, Jane Kazmerick, was also standing right there. Hello, Malcolm in the Middle!]. There was just a small group waiting so he was easy to see and he was just chatting with some person that I clearly had to kill. I had a frantic discussion with Angela about how I was a mature adult, a mother of three children, a wife… blah, blah, blah… then I realized I had to go over to him. When would I have this opportunity again? We both walked over, I introduced myself and Angela and then had a somewhat reasonable conversation with him for several minutes.

He was wonderful and I think he fell a little bit in love with me that day. OK, maybe not. [He totally did.]

Celebrities are fun, but really you want them to be who you think they are, and not necessarily who they really are.

So, American public, obsess over the collapse of Jon and Kate. Angela and I are going out to Williamstown again this summer to stalk, I mean meet, real celebs. I heard that Sam Waterston from my all time favorite show, “Law and Order”, is there this year. Grab the camera Ange!