Life In Malibu – Celebrity Encounters
Malibu Colony #63 from the deck... this was my favorite spot to sit, and where I was when Rob Reiner tried to talk to me. I'm so lame. Sorry Rob. Love your movies!
Several years ago I transferred to Malibu to work as Marc Andreessen’s Estate Manager, overseeing care of the property in the Malibu Colony and managing the staff. It was a great job, for the most part.
Malibu was pretty, and pretty boring for a single gal. Not much to do so I stirred up some trouble. (You can read a bit about Malibu and one of my more interesting exploits here.) I’ll write about some of the crazier stuff later, like when my parents get tired of reading their kid’s new blog (or just give up on my ever achieving greatness, or providing grandchildren. Ya, like a starving dog with a fat bone…).
So instead, I’m going to gossip about celebrities I saw when I was lived in ‘Bu (“Bu” as the locals call it – ’cause they’re special). It’s a random list of my encounters so don’t get too excited. (The stuff I could sell to tabloids for cubic dollars I’m saving for later.)
Breakfast with Spielberg. My first week in town, I’m about to have breakfast at my favorite restaurant, Marmalade. And who do I get a table next to? Steven Spielberg! – reading a movie outline, no less! I think I scared him a bit because I kept looking over at him, but the picture was SO SURREAL!
Arnold Schwartzenegger’s 1996 Hummer from “T2” (Terminator 2). My boss at the time bought the car at a charity auction, but he refused to drive it. I drove it fairly regularly, and it was kind of fun for me. Inside, Arnold had a brass plaque mounted with his signature, stating it was the 1996 Hummer from T2.
A behemoth of a machine, and long before the H2 was out, this thing got more looks than the phone book. It was primer black, with a Chevy small-block, and slow as molasses going up hill. If you can imagine what driving a tank would be like, that’s what driving the Hummer was like. Sitting in the drivers seat, leaning over as far as possible with my arm stretched out straight, I could not touch the passenger door. I took it to a party in La Conchita once and the much younger (than me) guys thought I was the shit. It is probably the only time I will ever feel like a celebrity.
David Hasselhoff is TALL! So, I was walking around the corner, leaving the kitchen (not belonging to either of us), as he was coming in from the other room and I ran smack into him. Well, I should say I ran smack into his chest. The dude is built! And tall. At 5’5″ I’m not short, but his chest came to the height of my face. It was kinda nice. 🙂
She's the super hot one.
Stacey Hayes is my super hot friend, an actress and model. We met years ago while working on the set of a small local tv station – long before either of us ended up in Malibu. We went hiking when I was in ‘Bu a few years ago. Nothing really to add, I just wanted to give her a shameless plug. (No, not that kind! OMG people!)
Martin Sheen – the man is a true hero. This is one of those that’s worthy of it’s own post and will get one someday. It involves him saving me from some bad people hired by some of Marc’s bad people.
Our Neighbors:
Pam Anderson moved a few doors down one of the many times she broke up with Tommy Lee. And all of a sudden Kelly Slater is hanging around the colony. And then the day after that relationship ended, Marcus Shakenberger was jogging down the beach in front of the deck while I was eating lunch with my crew. One time while walking on the private, empty beach my friend and I passed her walking with some guy. We were the only four people on the beach and she COVERED HER FACE! WTF? This was just not done in The Colony: It’s private for cryin’ out loud. Nobody’s that interested Pam.
Sting lived a couple doors down on the other (north/west) side. A super nice guy by all accounts. He would wave to us as we passed by his place (unlike Pam). He has one of the most beautiful houses in the colony… I got to go inside to see work his stone mason had done. The place has a very open and airy feel to it with Moroccan touches and a piano.
Diana Ross rented a place for a bit. She was about as friendly as Pam Anderson. Never waved or said “hi”, unless you were ‘a person of color’. Before you send hate mail, those are HER words. There happened to be some African Americans (see, I’m being PC) staying at the house one time. Diana saw them on the beach, came running down and (as I heard the story third hand) exclaimed, ‘It’s so nice to see people of color in Malibu! please come to my house and have dessert.’ Well, Andreessen’s house guests were thrilled to have the opportunity to dine with Diana Ross and took her up on the offer. I heard they had a great time.
Tom Hanks seems to be a super nice guy. He didn’t know us from Adam, but he would wave and give a big smile as he drove past us in The Colony.
John MacEnro – not at all like Tom. He would actually scowl at us as he went by! His face looked just like when he’s pissed off and playing tennis. It was comical!
Rob Reiner lived right next door. Dude, I LOVE “The Princess Bride“! I’m not often star-struck, but one afternoon I was sitting on the beach (back porch, pictured above) steps when he walked up the beach to his house next door. He changed his path slightly as if to come over and introduce himself to the new neighbor.
I went “tharn” (a Watership Down reference, and most accurate). I froze, pretended I didn’t see him less than ten feet from me. He realized I was some kind of nerd and instead veered towards his place next door.
I’m still bummed I didn’t muster the nerve to say ‘hi’, or at least grunt at the man.
*hangs head in shame*
*sees toenails* ….oooh, new toenail polish looks pretty
I lived in Palm Springs many years ago — many celebrity sightings. The basic unspoken norm was to pretend you didn’t see them if you didn’t know them personally or if they didn’t acknowledge you first. It was all about protecting celebs’ privacy — but that was long ago!
It was the same in Malibu – pretend you didn’t see them. In all the time I lived there and all the celebs I encountered, I never once saw one being asked for an autographed, being photographed or chased by paparazzi. It was all very civilized and low key.
Maybe Pam Anderson covered her face because she wasn’t wearing makeup when she saw you on the beach. She might have been worried that you would whip out a camera, take her pic, and she would wind up on the front page of a tabloid with the caption: “Shocking Photos of Celebs Without Makeup!”
That could be… I saw her a few times, and without makeup. She does look very different without it.