rudest people at stage door — Page 4

i'm not really an autograph seeker. (i never really understood the concept of getting an autograph, then going home with someone's signature. for what purpose? to each his own, however.) i have met some actors who were just hanging out before or after, or ran into them at other places. if i dig someone's work and they are hanging, i generally like to say, if they do not seem busy, "i enjoyed/enjoy your work." (I hate inconveniencing someone in their off-time if they really look like they wish to go un-noticed.)

over the years, some sweet folks i have met include: anne meara (who had a 10 min. chat with me and my mom. we are both HUGE meara fans), robert sean leonard, scott foley, mario cantone, harvey fierstein (who actually called me on the phone AND wrote me a lovely letter when i was 'coming out' and directing one of his plays back in college in 1989), parker posey (quite a pieer), sarah jessica parker (who was a LOVE. i met her at GMHC in Chelsea where I used to work. then ran into her again a few mos. at the FIRST WIVES CLUB screening. she walked over and said hello and actually recalled my name! she's quite small in stature. LOL), sigourney weaver who was incredibly down-to-earth. lesee, who else was nice? oh, sally field was fun. kim crosby was a sweetheart. justin kirk was very pleasant after LOVE VALOUR COMPASSION. he was just standing next to me in front of the theater after the play. he got out there fast and seemed to be looking for someone. I complimented his work and he looked surprised, looked around like i was speaking to someone behind him. he then laughed and said 'oh, u mean me? wow - THANKS.' then he chortled. i thought 'you're the only cast member out here. who ELSE would i be talking to?' lol he seemed quite humble. charles busch also seemed VERY humble about his writing and his performing when i met him. he looked thrilled to be recognized, actually. the same goes for the actor, paul joynt, who was the original 'alan' in TORCH SONG TRILOGY when i ran into him. oh, i met nathan lane YEARS ago in the lobby of an off-b'way. musical he did called IN A PIG'S VALISE. this must have been 1988, WAY before he found his big fame. i recalled him from his OLD tv show. he was quite sweet and witty, a little flirty.

rude encounters, not many.

some sidewalk sightings of people i never spoke with: anne hampton calloway, bill irwin, hunter foster (man - he's short!),jason patric, kyle chandler, matt borderick, bette midler. ya know, sometimes seeing the show's enough. if i truly dig someone, sometimes it's fun to hang about and casually steal a brief glance or 2 of them then move on. but, ya know, they're average people, just like us. when a friend took me years ago to the screening of the FIRST WIVES CLUB and the doors closed and the media were gone, they all interacted like average joes. i had rosie o'donnell sitting a few rows behind me, goldie hawn and kurt russell were a few feet away to my right. bette was right near to me at one point. but, ya know...they're just people =-)

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I used to work for Kathleen. She is very aware of people who are autograph sellers. A plain piece of paper is a red flag. Sad that that's how it has to be, but it is.

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It's easy to transfer anything from a plain sheet of paper...especially these days. And I wouldn't say she was going "out of her way to be nasty" when she was signing for everyone else.

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Kathleen Turner has a well-earned reputation. Ask those who've had to work with her.

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"it's easy to transfer"
who comes up with this stuff? no autograph person in their right mind would transfer anything, they just forge it.

Blank photo sheets is different, you can put any photo on top of the autograph once it's signed (so if someone doesn't like the sign a particular photo) voila.

But the transfer stuff and "lifting" of autographs...not happening, especially in the case of someone like Ms Turner

That's not the first time I've heard of Nathan doing exactly that.

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What do you want from them? Broadway performers and celebritites don't owe you anything. They're just ordinary people who have extraordinary jobs. When the show is over they are exhausted and then they have to go outside and face 50 to hundred people that they don't know and that know nothing about their personal lives when really all they want is probably to just go home. Sometimes it's just hard to fake pleasantries with strangers and some of the fans at the stage doors are crazed. Just remember, the stage door was not included in the ticket price. You take your chances there and truthfully you have no right to have any expectations.

I've been fortunate to meet very nice people, it's just the people at the stage door that can be rude.

One would be at the Boy From Oz stage door. Me and my mom just got back from seeing Avenue Q to try to get Hugh to sign a birthday present for my aunt. So anyway we're just standing there and it starting raining. So these women who were right in front of me and my mom and opened there umbrella and it was blocking the view of the everyone behind them and the point of the umbrella was very close to my mom's eyes, and someone did ask them to please put that away, but they kept it up until the rain stop.

LOL, I like that picture though...no of course I'm talking about the huge stars - Tonya was on a special contract - all the other leads in other shows get paid quite a bit more than that, but from what I hear, she was always very friendly anyway. My point is, part of the $100 we pay for our tickets goes toward their ample salaries - so they can at least be pleasant.

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But what if your fans are Puerto Rican drag queens?

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Rathnait, I've seen Ms Turner in action, I know whereof I speak. This is NOT a highly regarded human being.

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I worked on a show with Kathleen years ago and she was always nice, I never saw her being rude. Both her and her husband are really nice people.

when you have met and smiled at as many people as these actors have you will understand that it does become trying when there are many people who are rude to you and who obviously don't care how cold it is outside or how tired you are.

The whole concept of being asked to sign an autograph sounds enticing until you've done it 2500 times. Most people try to be reasonable but it's the access that NY fans are used to having and that access that many people abuse that makes it tough to keep smiling.

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