Some of my cousins in L.A. are obsessed with celebrity sightings. Some of the people they have pointed out to me were so low on the celebrity list, I didn't know who they were even after they told me what movie/TV show/commercial they were in.
That celebrity culture exists, albeit to a lesser extent, in New York City. And I admit that I was pretty excited when I saw that Abe Vigoda shopped in my Food Emporium.
I thought all of my celebrity sighting days were over with my move to Boston. So imagine my surprise tonight when I saw who was sitting next to me on the bus on the way home from work.
What? You don't recognize him? Maybe this would help...
A lot of famous people live, or at least spend time, in New York City. I've had friends tell me they've run into everyone from Uma Thurman (hanging out in the Village) to Bill Clinton (coming out of Serendipity, not McDonald's).
I've also seen a couple of celebrities, but there's one I keep running into - on the street, in the grocery store - Abe Vigoda. That's right, Abe Vigoda. You know, Detective Phil Fish from Barney Miller, Sal Tessio from The Godfather ("Tom, can you get me off the hook? For old times' sake?" "Can't do it Sally.").
Abe Vigoda
The first time I saw Abe, we were both doing our grocery shopping in Food Emporium. As soon as I left the store I called my father:
Dude, Abe Vigoda shops in my Food Emporium!
Aron, Abe Vigoda is dead.
My father was wrong then, and he's wrong as of 4:10pm EST today.
