Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

March 24, 2014

The Time I Met James Coburn

Now that I have all my photos on the external hard drive, I am able to browse through them a lot faster than waiting for the albums to load on Facebook or dragging out an extremely heavy photo album.  So I was thumbing through photos from my Northern California trip to see my aunt & uncle in San Mateo, spring of 1987.  They took me all over the Bay Area, up to wine country, down Hwy 1 as far as Santa Cruz, through San Francisco and over to Jack London Square in Oakland.  It was a really fun trip.  

There was one day when I ventured into San Francisco by myself.  My uncle dropped me off at the Caltrans train station in Burlingame, and I rode up to The City in the morning, taking the MUNI bus downtown from the SF train station. SF is a very small city and the public transportation is very easy to maneuver.  I walked all over the wharf, and basically everywhere I'd been the year before on my first trip with Charlene, after I graduated from college.  It was a cool, cloudy day.

I took the cable car back up the hill from the Wharf, changed to the California Street cable car, and rode that halfway down the hill, disembarking at Chinatown.  I rounded the corner onto Grant Avenue (Chinatown's main thoroughfare), I saw a crowd of people and what was obviously some kind of film or TV shoot.  I could not believe my eyes when I spotted actor James Coburn!  

I stood there staring at him and snapped this picture.  All of a sudden, this P.A. guy says to me, 'This is a shoot for a cigarette commercial that will air overseas.  Can you please be one of the people that walks back and forth in front of Mr. Coburn, when the director calls Action?'  Uh, YEAH I CAN!!  So I joined a handful of extras as we walked back and forth in front of him.  Since he was standing on a step stool, it was clear to me that all that would be shown of the passersby would be the tops of their heads but I didn't care.  I mean this was a pretty huge deal for a bumpkin from Cape Cod.  I was already building up San Francisco in my head as Nirvana, Never Never Land, Heaven on Earth, Shangri La, Disney World, Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, home of the Grateful Dead, etc., all rolled into one, and then this happens when I'm on vacation??  

After the shoot was done, Mr. Coburn graciously signed some autographs for the bystanders and us.

And that is how I met James Coburn.

14 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great memory to have.

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    1. Yes....I was very lucky to meet him. San Francisco turned out to be all that I'd dreamed it would be, and more. I am very blessed to have had the chance to live in The City for 4 years and the Bay Area itself for a total of 10.

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  2. Lucky you to be in the right place at the right time! Too cool! ♥

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    1. Tell me about it!!!! I remember calling my parents that night from my Aunt Louise's house and gushing about it. They really didn't believe me till I got home and showed them the autograph and then the pictures after they got developed.

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  3. How AWESOME JoJo, Loved James Coburn!!! What a great memory, you every try finding the commercial on YouTube or something? I sure would if I was you!!!
    He came from the era of classy celebrities, not the gaggle of idiots we have today!

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    1. I did hunt for that commercial not too long ago. I found a bunch of James Coburn cigaret commercials that aired in Asia/Japan during that era, but none that were shot in SF's Chinatown unfortunately.

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  4. Lucky you. I've always liked James Coburn. In California and other places, it's nice to meet an actor that responds well to his fans.

    We met Gene Hackman at a Formula I race in Long Beach CA, years ago. He was there with his son, and he and hubs discussed the driver and his car we were watching get prepared for the race. Then a crowd of women discovered him. We didn't bother him for an autograph, since he was trying to be incognito.

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    1. I saw Paul Kantner from Jefferson Airplane at the Safeway in San Francisco, that was pretty funny. But I knew he lived in the area. I didn't bug him for an autograph but I do like seeing and meeting celebs in person.

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  5. HA! How awesome was that? I have to laugh at him standing on that suitcase... head and shoulders above the rest, eh?

    What a great memory!

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    1. I remember at the time thinking that it looked more like a still photography-type ad than a commercial...you know like for a magazine. But yeah, what a great memory!!!

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  6. We will now call you your Royal Highness!! lol How fantastic
    and good timing was that!! I bet your eyes nearly popped out of
    your head. Oh gosh....that makes you a movie star now. Love the
    autograph.
    Cheers, Anita.

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    1. Oh believe me I am way more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, but I wasn't gonna pass up this opportunity. lol

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  7. That is so cool!! That must have been an amazing day. Lucky you!
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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    1. Yes it was. I'm already more than a little star struck when it comes to meeting celebrities.

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