7.
“Mel Brooks! This was ages ago — maybe 20 years. I was at a business/fun dinner in a restaurant in Manhattan with a bunch of female colleagues. At a table near ours was Mel Brooks with his wife, Anne Bancroft. Famous people are everywhere in New York, but this was MEL! So, I said to the group, ‘What will you bet me to go over to that table and sing ‘High Anxiety’ right to Mel?’ One of the women at my table said she’d give me her corporate Amex (Black) card for 24 hours if I did this wild thing. Clearly, she figured I’d NEVER have the nerve. High Anxiety is one of Mel Brooks’ lesser-known movies, but as a lifelong fan, it’s one I know. And, this was a great song that Mel himself sang in the movie. Anyway, it took me a WHILE to work up the nerve to do this ridiculous and possibly humiliating thing, but when I finally announced I was ready, I looked over at the table, and Mel and Anne were GONE! I was so caught up in nerves, I hadn’t even noticed them leave.”
“So, our group got up shortly afterward and went to the bar of the restaurant for a last drink. Who should walk by a moment later, but Mel Brooks?! Everyone was a bit tipsy at that point, so we all shouted ‘MEL!’ He immediately came over to say hello. He talked to us for a few minutes and was so WARM and charming. I worked up my final ounce of nerve and said, ‘Mel, I bet my friends here that I’d sing ‘High Anxiety’ to you at your table, but you left before I could!’ He laughed SO hard, and then he took my face in his hands and kissed me on the cheek. It was truly the sweetest thing ever. He was just so fun and genuinely friendly with all of us, but I will always remember that sweet, fatherly kiss on my cheek…and the fact that I made Mel Brooks laugh. I’ve met a lot of celebrities through work, and they’re usually so terribly disappointing. Mel Brooks was BETTER in person than I could’ve possibly imagined.”
—chrisallen1
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahdobro/best-and-worst-celeb-encounters
