My late father and my brother, Oliver, met more celebrities between them than most other people I know. My father auditioned Barbra Streisand, went to college with Coretta Scott King, worked with James Earl Jones, and directed Susan Sarandon in a movie. Oliver has interviewed Tony Curtis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dwayne Johnson, Ernest Borgnine, and hundreds of other people whose names you would recognize.
For all that, Oliver remains thoroughly unimpressed with celebrity. His insouciance may be one reason stars so enjoy talking to him: he gives them room to be ordinary people.
I’ve had my own brushes with fame, mostly with literary celebrities such as Gary Snyder, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Seamus Heaney, and Elie Wiesel. I’ve also met members of Congress and a few A-list celebrities, including Evander Holyfield, Oprah Winfrey, and Stevie Wonder.
This week, though, the brush with fame that impresses me most belongs to my son Truman. It happened on his 21st birthday.
Can you guess whom he met? Consider these clues: He is a five-time Oscar nominee, with two nominations for writing and three for acting in three different decades, the most recent this year. He is also a published novelist. And for his role as a troubled minister, he won 25 awards, including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and the critics’ “trifecta” from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the National Society of Film Critics, and the New York Film Critics Circle. The film earned an Oscar nomination for its screenplay. Somehow, he was not nominated for his performance.
Here is how Truman reported the encounter in a text to his family:
I was reading in the Odyssey Bookstore. I heard a voice in the next room say he couldn’t find Lonesome Dove. It sounded like Ethan Hawke. He had walked in with his wife and young daughter.
After a moment, I ask:
“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Truman.”
“Hi, Truman. I’m Ethan Hawke.”
…
“Wow, I just want to say you’re my favorite actor of all time. It used to be De Niro, and now it’s you.”
His wife says: “Well, De Niro is still alive. There’s time.”
We all laugh.
I say: “I’m a film student, and after I watched your film Before Sunrise, it completely changed the way I see movies.”
“Thank you. Richard Linklater is pretty incredible. You should see the movie he made last year Nouvelle Vague.”
“I saw that, and of course Blue Moon. I thought you should’ve won the Oscar for that.”
“Thank you.”
“I know you get this all the time, but is it okay if I take a picture? It’s totally okay if not.”
“Sure.”
After we took the picture, his wife asked: “How many years is that program?”
“Four years.”
Ethan says: “All right, all right. Well, go off and do good things, make some good stuff.”
“Thank you!”
I was reading in the room where Ethan Hawke was, but I visited a different room in the bookstore so he wouldn’t feel like I was watching him.
As Ethan Hawke leaves, he says: “Okay, take care, Truman.”
I like how Truman moved to another part of the bookstore, giving the famous man room, the way his uncle Oliver does. And on his way out, Hawke stopped to say goodbye.
Every famous person I’ve met was kind to me in passing. None of them checked back in to say goodbye by name.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.” The warning about meeting your heroes comes from the same place: up close, the public figure becomes a private person, one who sometimes disappoints. Truman met Ethan Hawke at his most private, a father looking for a copy of Lonesome Dove with his wife and daughter, owing nothing to a stranger. Character shows in moments like that. Hawke’s goodbye took two seconds and cost him nothing, and it will likely be the part of the 21st birthday story that Truman will be telling for the rest of his life.
As Glenn Frey would say, the heat is (back) on. Doesn’t October start tomorrow? Where’s the fall weather? Someone on the greenbelt asked me about my weather reports, so here it is. It’s hot today. Plan accordingly, and plan to join us at the pub quiz on the beautiful outdoor patio where we have room for almost everyone. The rest of you can sit inside where players will still be having fun in the AC. As Coretta Scott King said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” I encourage you to come early to snag a table. Also, take heed that the performance of the quiz may move along quickly — the entire quiz is under 800 words long!
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on actors, actresses, anniversaries, appetites, axles, birds, birthdays, boots, bracelets, cathedrals, chickens, cocktails, commuters, couriers, cowboys, degrees, diplomas, disappearances, disguises, expressways, flowers, frequencies, galaxies, gowns, heartbreaks, hosts, husbands, initials, islands, lyricists, martial artists, memoirs, monarchs, muscles, neighbors, nicknames, openings, Oscars, outbreaks, pawns, paychecks, periods, permutations, pitchers, poets, possessives, preservatives, presidents, processors, promotions, pronouns, rappers, receptors, remarriages, rentals, robots, rubies, schoolboys, shamrocks, sins, skateboard wheels, snacks, socks, spheres, stadiums, stop signs, supplements, tigers, tins, toes, transformations, uncles, vacations, video games, vows, wallets, wildcats, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare.
Thanks to all the patrons who have been enjoying fresh Pub Quiz content. Thanks especially to new subscribers Janet, Jasmine, Joey, Carly, and The Nevergiveruppers! Every week I check the Patreon to see if there is someone new to thank. I also thank The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, the conversationally entertaining dinner companions The Mavens who keep attending, despite their ambitious travel schedules and the cost of avocado. Thanks to everyone who supports the Pub Quiz on Patreon. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of pub quiz boosters. I appreciate your backing this pub quiz project of mine!
Best,
Dr. Andy
Trivia from last week:
- Superheroes. In the Marvel comic books, when Luke Cage and Jessica Jones seek a nanny for their daughter Danielle Cage, they hire a young superheroine who can communicate with squirrels. What is her superhero name?
- Bodies of Water. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are all bordered by what body of water?
- Pop Culture – Music. Both chemistry and romance come up in the name of what band that dominated the emo/alternative scene of the 2000s with theatrical rock?
P.S. Join us for Poetry Night tomorrow. Brad Buchanan will be there!