Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker

Being in the antiques business for over 30 years has allowed me ample opportunities to meet many celebrities. Some of the encounters were rather amusing, so here are a couple of them, not in any particular order.

My wife and I were exhibiting at an antique show in the New York Coliseum, (it’s since been demolished and replaced by the Time Warner Center), when Jonathan Frakes came into our booth. For those of you who don’t know him, he was Commander William T. Riker on Star Trek when Patrick Stewart was the captain, Jean-Luc Picard. Picard always referred to him as “#1”. So when he came into the booth, I called my wife and said “Look who’s here.” She came over and said “Yes?” I replied “It’s #1.” And she replied “Yes?”, totally not recognizing him, even though we watched the show regularly. I finally had to explain to her that he was Commander Riker from Star Trek. My wife was a big Trekkie and was embarrassed because she didn’t recognize him. Suddenly a big crowd gathered around a woman near him. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. As it turned out, it was his wife, Genie Francis, the actress who portrayed Laura Spencer on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital. Apparently soap stars are bigger than sci-fi stars.

Another time I was exhibiting at the Miami Beach Antiques Show at the Convention Center. The booth was empty and I was sitting and reading. A couple walked into the booth. When I looked up, I thought I recognized the gentleman, so I asked “Are you the person who I think you are?” He replied “Who do you think I am?” I said “Bruce Springsteen”. He said no, he isn’t and then a few seconds later said yes, he is, and shook my hand. He and his wife, Patti Scialfa, admired some Handel lamps that I had in the booth, but unfortunately for me, did not make any purchase.

More celebrities in my next post.

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