As I enter my 23rd year of researching the many fascinating aspects of my family lineage, I continue to discover amazing people with whom I share common ancestors. My first famous relatives that I discovered (quite by accident), were Frank and Charles Woolworth, founders of F.W. Woolworth. This one discovery alone would have been more than what I had ever expected to find, but it was only the beginning of discovering that, hiding inside my extended family tree, were countless other famous people, both living and dead.

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I have always had a passion for history and as I discovered more and more about my ancestral family, I was thrilled to discover just how much my direct and extended family has been involved in shaping this world, for both better and worse in a lot of cases.

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Like most people born and raised in North America, I also have always been interested in certain famous people - celebrities by definition - who lived and who are living their lives in the public eye. This isn't just limited to film, stage, TV and music celebrities, but also politicians, Royalty, inventors, business people and so on. This has always been more of a passing interest depending on how these people have shaped history or how their work has personally impacted my life. However, I have never been what you would call a fan (short for "fanatic"), although in some cases I was very thankful for their contributions to making this world a better place for everyone.

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I begin my 59th journey around the sun later this month, and I've come to realize that I have been very fortunate in the fact that, although I am only good friends with one celebrity, I have managed to cross paths with more than my fair share of well known public figures. This has always happened without any planning or forethought on my part, and most of my interactions have been random and spontaneous.

 

The only exception to that rule was when I wrote a letter to the late Queen Elizabeth II in hopes of receiving Her permission to receive some information regarding my cousin, Lady Augusta Bruce, who had been a good friend to Queen Victoria during her life. I gave the matter carefully and lengthy thought before actually writing to the Queen (and I wrote and re-wrote that letter about 2 dozen times before sending it!), and to be completely honest, I did not expect to receive a response; but I did. It wasn't a letter written directly by Queen Elizabeth, of course, but it was sent to me from one of her personal secretaries who confirmed that she had shown my letter to the Queen, and her personal response was listed in the letter. Although I was very politely denied my request, it was done with an explanation as to why my request was not possible at that time, and in such a manner that I was made to understand that my request had been given more than a dismissive consideration. 

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The other celebrities that I have come across have, as I mentioned earlier, very random and chance encounters. I have met celebrities at hotels in London, at restaurants in London (London seems to be "my spot" for bumping into celebrities!), on the street in Toronto, on shared flights and even through social media when a few have personally contacted me about a post that I had made, although my skepticism of these few personal contacts must have annoyed the celebrities who reached out to me...at least at first! There are a LOT of people running around on the internet pretending to be celebrities; in my case each of the 3 celebrities who contacted me were doing so either due to a contribution that I had made to a charity that they support, or in one case it was due to a charitable auction that I had won (this also resulted in a handwritten note which I cherish).

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The one celebrity that I personally know and with whom I am a close friend happened not due to a chance encounter, but rather by moving in next to them. This wasn't known at the time that I purchased my house, and when I discovered who was living next door to me I was surprised, but I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. In the end this has turned out quite well and we have developed a very close bond and friendship, and luckily for both of us, we share a lot in common with one another. In the end, this friend, although famous, is just a really nice person and their celebrity status has zero impact on our friendship, as it should be.

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This brings me to the point of my post: Always remember that celebrities, no matter how famous they are, are REAL people with real feelings. Although they have chosen a career that has brought them into the public eye, this does not give you or anyone else the right to barge into their lives with expectations and demands to suit your fantasies. You wouldn't want some random stranger accosting you while you were dining in a restaurant with your friends or family, and they don't either. Imagine that you are walking to your car, or taking your family on a trip and you had one, or dozens of people rushing up to you demanding your photo or autograph. You wouldn't like it, and I have to believe that they don't either, unless they are at an event specifically to hand out autographs or to take photos with their fans.

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The last time I was in London, I was staying at a hotel that, unknown to me at the time, was hosting a number of Hollywood A-List celebrities. My friends and I had the pleasure of seeing some of these celebrities, and one even took the time to walk through the lounge with his family where we were having pre-dinner drinks and spoke to everyone there. This was unexpected and a nice gesture, but most people in that lounge didn't grab their phones and start taking photos. A few other celebrities also walked through, spoke to everyone and were soon on their way. It was a nice surprise for everyone...except when we discovered that the Italian restaurant that we wanted to go to had been shut down for a private dinner (for these celebrities). Oh well, the other restaurant was equally good, so we made do with what we had.

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Between dinner and dessert, one of my friends and I decided to step outside and have a quick smoke (yes, I know it's bad, but that's me!). The restaurant was at the back of the hotel, and a Mercedes pulled up to the curb before we had finished smoking. As the driver got out of the car (in chauffeur garb), I heard a noise from the door behind us. I turned to see a very well known Hollywood celebrity start walking down the stairs, only to look back at me and immediately stop. Although this person is known for his tough guy roles in movies, I could see a bit of alarm in his eyes. I quickly stepped aside, smiled and said "Hello", which he responded to, smiled and walked over to his waiting car.

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That brief interaction made me realize that being a well known celebrity meant that you were never sure who was waiting for you or what their intentions were. At the front of the hotel there was a constant long line of crazed fans and photographers being held back behind a security line, all waiting to see the celebrities that were staying at the hotel. The next morning, as I was returning from a quick walk, I noticed a number of expensive cars lined up along the road at the hotel. As I walked past the cars, a side door of the hotel opened, and the crowd being held back behind the security at the front door of the hotel started running in my direction. I hadn't noticed it at the time, but as I walked past that nondescript door, several of the celebs were being escorted out to their waiting limos.

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My timing couldn't have been worse - to my right was a line of limos and to my left was a 3 foot high wall butting up against the hotel, and in front of me was at least 200 crazed fans and photographers rushing in my direction. Luckily I have a good sense of self-preservation and I managed to jump up onto the wall as the crowd stampeded past just as the celebrities were being safely let into their waiting cars.

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I saw some of the celebrities, but in that moment I was more interested in not being crushed by the people chasing them. When the cars drove quickly away, I got down from the wall and calmly walked back to the front doors of the hotel where the doormen quickly asked if I was okay and apologized to me for what had happened. I wasn't mad at the time, but I was shocked...and I don't shock easily.

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As I recounted my story to my friends later on, I started to get more than a little annoyed at what had gone on. I couldn't understand how people could act so crazy, but I had a much better understanding of how someone on the receiving end of that "attention" felt. It wasn't a good feeling.

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When I met my current neighbour, I mentioned this incident. I rarely ever ask my celebrity friend anything about their work or past life, but rather I simply listen when some of their celebrity life is brought up in our conversations. One thing that always amazes and disgusts me is how intrusive "fans" and the press can be when it comes to their personal lives.

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As someone who holds his private life and anonymity sacred, hearing these things always 

bothers me. When I do my research in order to provide what I would call a very brief biography for any celebrities listed on my website, I try to focus on their career achievements, very general life and family, etc. I tend to avoid any tabloid-type dissertations and put my own comments in about what they have done and, if applicable, my own thoughts on how they have impacted my life. I don't think that being a public facing person gives any of us the right to be intrusive and it's really none of our business what they do in their private life if they don't want us to know. Everyone has their own secrets that they don't want blasted across headlines, and if they aren't hurting anyone, I really think such things are none of our business.

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So, as you read through each of the pages that I have posted, please keep the above thoughts in mind. If you are looking for secrets and scandals about the celebrities that I list on my website, you are in the wrong place. What I am trying to achieve here is a relatively upbeat website that focuses on achievements rather than shortcomings...unless you are reading about Lizzie Borden or my relatives of her ilk!