Quite often there is the perception that a huge ocean-size gap exists between the common man and the "stars." They have their glitzy glamorous lives and we have, well, our lives and ne'er the twain do meet.That's why it's refreshing and enlightening whenever we hear stories of the mega-stars genuinely embracing their fans.
A couple of years ago, while filming a movie in Georgia, Jack Nicholson, after a day of shooting, asked his driver to pull over so he could go to the liquor store. "But, um, in this neighborhood?" the driver stammered. They were passing through the hood. "Sure, why the hell not?" smilin' Jack replied.
So the limo driver pulled into a liquor store in a strip mall. A few of the locals recognizing Jack were surprised and thrilled he was in their neck of the woods. And guess what Jack did? He shared a drink with them, a pint, right there in the strip mall. Great story huh?Recently another superstar, Stevie Wonder, shared himself with his fans. However, most of these fans were so young that they never even heard of "Talking Book," "Hotter in July" or (gulp!) the great "Songs in the Key of Life." They were young actors of LA's Amazing Grace Conservatory, a theatrical training school founded by Wendy Raquel Robinson and the late Tracy Coley.
Stevie Wonder, at Wendy's invitation earlier that week, has graciously attended a matinee performance of AGC's "The Wiz." Then afterwards, he went backstage and hung out with the cast and crew for quite awhile, patiently taking picture after picture and shaking hand after hand, and at one point even offered his throat healing ointments to a young singer who had gone hoarse.
When stars make themselves available like this, whether they know it or not, it makes their star status shine even brighter because it makes them, well, more human--more like us.