Stan Humphries Celebrity Golf Tournament- 2004-05
Recaps and pix coming soon with: Tim Brown, Joe Morgan, Deacon Jones, John O'Hurley, Jerry Tarkanian, D.L. Hughley, Alfonso Ribiero, Nate Keading, Marcus Allen, Judd Nelson, Spud Webb, Drew Brees, John Ashton, Alan Thicke, Jim McMahon.
Weird "Al" Yankovic
This one took place in 1985 at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, CA. Paul Ufkes and I went to see his performance at the NOS (an annual fair with rides and performance acts). While walking around the concourse, Al just appeared out of nowhere. He wasn't hard not to notice with his trademark floral-print shirts - but we were prepared by wearing ours! I even remember that he was wearing checkered Vans like we did as kids. We chatted a bit with him and I got his autograph which hangs on my wall inside a framed autographed picture of Vanna White (circa 1985). It was one of those days that you will never forget. The show was campy, but fun.
 Jimmy Buffet
Working at Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion in its first year (1993) was quite a trip. I knew it was going to be just a four-month job, but I never thought it would have been as great as it was. I got to "work" every show that year (18 I think) and one of these was Jimmy Buffet. During the show I was up on the lawn partying with some friends and afterwards the staff had drinks with Jimmy in the GMs office. Jimmy was a very cool cat to see and meet.		 Dionne Warwick
In 1988 I was on the NBC game show Win, Lose or Draw. One of the celebrity hosts was Dionne and while she seemed to be a nice lady, he overbite was the only thing I could see or think of. It was huge, like I could have put a soup can up in there. She was on the opposing team so I didn't like her anyway. (I won $2,200 that day).
Ron Rivers
Ron graduated from San Gorgonio HS two years after me with my brother and sister, Doug and Dianne. Doug was good friend's with Ron and helped tutor him in school. As a wrestler, he was CIF champion 3-out-4 years. As a reporter I saw him devastate people with his tree-trunk legs by picking them up and slamming them down on the mat at the CIF championships. In football, he was an outstanding running back. His senior year he ran for over 2,000 yards and led San G to the CIF championship game at Anaheim Stadium (we lost to Fontana HS by like 40 points). At 5-feet-8 and 207 lbs. he didn't look menacing. He was named CIF Player of the Year. After high school Ron didn't have the SATs to hit the big schools he wanted to go to. He really wanted USC and UCLA, but they weren't attracted. Ron went on to Fresno State where he set the school record for rushing with a record 3,743 yards. Payback came in the 1992 Freedom Bowl -- Fresno vs. No. 23 USC. The school that didn't want him couldn't stop him. Rivers gained 104 yards and scored a touchdown in the Bulldog's stunning 24-7 dismantling of the Trojans, who were favored by eight points. Drafted by the Detroit Lions, he served as backup to the great Barry Sanders. Always a backup, Ron's NFL career lasted seven years taking from Detroit to Atlanta and ended in Pittsburgh where he was waived in the preseason. In his career he ran for 794 yards, caught 268 more and had four touchdowns. His 4.3 average yards per carry were impressive - he'd be in the Top 10 today. I hope he surfaces again. His low running style made him a one-of-a-kind player. 		Colin Quinn
During college at Cal State San Bernardino, I was the station manager of the campus radio station KSSB. I was asked by someone at the Student Union to welcome Colin to campus and facilitate his time there for a stand up show. At the time Colin was relatively unknown having just finished his tenure at MTV's Remote Control. I told him earlier in the day that I would meet him at Jack in the Box down the street from the University and when I did he followed me to school where I gave a quick tour of campus and showed him the stage. Then he did some voice overs for me at the station. With two hours still to kill for the show, coupled with his non-desire to just hang out on campus, I took him back to my apartment where Colin, me, and my two roommates Jeff and Greg hung out and visited with him. He didn't want a drink which at the time was odd to me. He recorded our answering machine message, too. Later I took him to back campus for the show and introduced his act. Colin later went on to be a big star recording "Back to Cali" and as a cast member of "Saturday Night Live" for a few years. He probably doesn't remember this at all.		 Don Henley
On another Blockbuster concert day, Don Henley appeared on his solo tour. I was up in the VIP ticket booth helping out when Stage Manager Nick Kotos called me on the walkie-talkie. Nick is a 6-foot-8 giant of a man who smoked three packs a day and puts the fear of God into those who cross him. However he was very cool and let me hang around and help out. He used to be the Tour Manager for Rush and Billy Joel which I thought was impressive. Anyway, he called me down to his office and asked me to go out on the stage and let the crowd of 10,000 know that Don would be coming out soon (they were already running 15 minutes past showtime). Nervously I went out on stage to do this. I was also told not to touch the microphone because it had already been sized for the taller Henley. It went like this: "HEYYYYY. HOW'S EVERYONE DOING OUT THERE? (CHEERING) DID YOU COME HERE TO ROCK N ROLL? (MORE CHEERING) WELL ALLRIGHT! DON ASKED ME TO COME OUT HERE AND LET YOU KNOW THAT HE'D BE OUT HERE IN A FEW MINUTES (BOOOING) SO RELAX AND GET READY FOR A KICK ASS SHOW (CHEERING)". About then I heard someone yell "you suck!" from down near the front. I left the stage and Nick congratulated me and I went back to work. It really was awesome.
Jim J. Bullock
I appeared on Win, Lose, or Draw for the second time in 1989 and Jim was the celebrity for the men's side. This time around they changed the format of the show and used two contestants with one celeb per team (as opposed to two celebs and one contestant the last time I was there) and it was the worst thing they could have done. Actually if I had a better teammate then I would have won, but the one I got was an idiot and I couldn't carry the whole team! Regardless we lost and I took home only $400. Jim was this loopy weird guy who I knew from "Too Close for Comfort". I really never thought of him as gay then, but looking back he was as fruity as Hawaiian Punch. He kept doing odd improv things that host Vicki Lawrence didn't expect, and it showed. Still, the experience of being on TV is really awesome.		 Anne-Marie Johnson
Anne was the celeb on the same show as Bullock. At the time she was appearing on "What's Happening, Now?" playing Rog's wife. She also appeared as a Ho in Keenan-Ivory Wayans "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka". On WLD, she really didn't make an impression, except she was a nice person.		 Tony Meola
On May 13, 1989 I was stringing for The San Bernardino Sun was assigned to cover the World Cup qualifying matchup of USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago in Torrance, CA. Soccer wasn't very popular then (it's better now) and there was maybe 1,000 people there. Having grown up playing soccer I was excited to be working this story. Steve Trittschuh scored for the US and they tied, 1-1 and after the game I went into the locker room for interviews. Scared because this was my first time interview pro athletes, I kind of just stood back and wrote down quotes from other reporters questions. I did however ask a few questions to Tony and he answered them kindly. I have no idea if he knew I was just a 19-year-old novice, but he was very cordial. The US went on to qualify for the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy, but lost all three games.
Pat Riley
In 1989, Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley came to the Cal State campus to speak about his latest book "The Winner Within" on a paid jaunt from the university. The Sun sent me to cover it and he gave an interview to the local press before the spoke. Cool smooth guy. Being such a huge Laker fan this was a true honor. That guy is tall, too.		 Ralph Saenz
This guy is a serious rocker. As the former frontman for LA Guns in the 1980s he now leads the early-Van Halen cover band Atomic Punks. These cats sound so much like David Lee Roth Van Halen you'd swear that you were back in 1982. Ralph plays the part of David Lee by dressing, acting and sounding just like the legend. Having seen this band at 'Canes in Mission Bay, I can personally attest to their sound and authenticity. If you are any kind of Van Halen fan, you have to see these guys at least once. They come to San Diego all the time, so keep any eye out for them. I met Ralph after one show and gave him props and got an autographed picture. He's the real deal.		 Cathy Rigby
Cathy was on WLD the first time and was a very nice lady. I knew she was an Olympic athlete in gymnastics ('68 and '72), but mostly from her tampon commercials. In 1970, she became the first American gymnast, male or female, to win a medal at the World Championships. She was only 17.
Rod Stewart
I am no fan of Rod, but while at Blockbuster he was the season's opening act and first ever for the new Pavilion. He had an asthma attack before the show and I was summoned to let him use my inhaler (i have asthma, duh, and carry that around EVERYWHERE I go). Needless to say I washed it thoroughly. Wierd dude.		 Dan Fouts
I meet Dan briefly while doing stats for a Chargers game. If you don't already know - Dan was quarterback of the San Diego Chargers (1973-88) and was only the third player in NFL history to pass for more than 40,000 yards, finishing his career with 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns passing. He was inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1993. That day he was doing the color commentary getting ready to begin his stint with ABC's Monday Night Football. Dan was very cordial and shook my hand upon meeting him. It was an honor and privilege to meet the great athlete, Dan Fouts.		 Sinbad
Before Sinbad was a household name and just a stand-up comic in 1988, he was on WLD with me. He was intelligent and kept the whole studio cracking up with his jokes and antics. He definitely helped me win.
Trevor Hoffman
After the Chargers/Chiefs game in 2001, Anna and I went to get a beer at Randy Everett's tailgating spot and while wating for Randy to arrive, Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman sat down next to us and was waiting for Randy, too. I guess Trevor has driven by before and Randy always invites him, but today he decided to come by and get a beer. There were about 15 of us around and no one else noticed him. He was very cool and down to earth. He chatted with us for about 20 minutes and gave a kid some advice, gave everyone a high-five and then went on his way. For the next 24-hours we were talking about this meeting. I didn't say much because I was pretty drunk and intimidated by his stature. Hey I didn't want to look dumb or say something that would make him leave prematurely! He's just a regular guy who makes $3 million a year more than I do.		 Vicki Lawrence
Vicki was the host for both of my trips to WLD and she was a very cool and funny lady. She kept the show rolling despite Bullock's silliness and made it a lot of fun. My brother Doug and I used to watch "Mama's Family" at home so we knew who she was. The first time on the show she made a point to recognize my TKE fraternity pin point out my frat brothers in the audience where they all got on TV.		 Thomas M. Ford
Tommy was best known for his character on the "Martin" show in the early 90's and has had several movie and TV appearances since. He was in San Bernardino for a play in 1993 while I was at the Radisson and I remember that he was always dressed up and pimped out. Even when he was just chillin he dressed well. Nice guy but was pretty quiet and didn't say much to us at the front desk.
Sean Rooks
Back in 1989, I was chillin and nursing my 18th beer at the Cal State dorms with some friends playing video games late one evening. There was a knock at the door and it was a couple of girls wanting to see if there was a party going on (it was earlier) and behind them walked in Sean Rooks. At the time Sean was playing for the Arizona Cardinals. He was a giant 6-8 and had to duck under the door to come in. He had this huge head! I knew who he was right away from high school where I used to watch his Fontana team beat up on San Gorgonio. We all said hello and just marvelled at the giant man towering over the whole room. Since there was no party, they left. Sean has went on to the pros spending time with Dallas, Minnesota, the Lakers (where he got a championship ring - bling bling), and now with the Clippers where he will never get a ring. 		Bill Walton
At the San Diego Sports Arena stop for the Rolling Stones in 2002, Anna and I were waiting for friends inside the front door and who should walk in but Bill Walton, the UCLA Bruin and NBA hall-of-famer! I yelled out "Hey Bill!" and he strolled on over and said hello as he headed into the show. I saw him again later waiting in line for beer, but he didn't look like he wanted to be bothered.		 Leslie Easterbrook
Leslie may be best know as Callahan, the big-breasted drill instructor, in the "Police Academy" movies, but, she created the role of Rhonda Lee on the TV series "Lavern and Shirley", as well. Rhonda was the girl's flamboyant next door neighbor when the show moved to Hollywood. While I was working the front desk as the Radisson in San Bernardino she came in to stay for a while while performing in a play in town. She was a very nice person and treated the staff with the utmost respect.
Home Plate
OK there wasn't anybody famous in this one. I just added it because I don't know of any other people who have actually been on the field at Qualcomm Stadium and stood on home plate. After doing stats one night for a San Diego State football game, Brett Lowder took me downstairs by the Chargers locker room and we went on to the field so he could talk to someone. I found myself right at home plate, jumped on it and took a moment to think about all of the great baseball players who have crossed it at one time or another. This may not matter to some folks, but I enjoyed it.

Notable TV moments
(These are times that I appeared on television)
  1. In 1985 when Monday Night Baseball was still around, Chris Judy and I went to an Angels/Royals game with tickets behind home plate. I taped the game at home, so at some point we went down to the first row and sat down. Waving and looking stupid, we hammed it up for the cameras. Then the usher made us go back to our seats. Later that night we watched it. Freakin hilarious were two goofy kids on national television.
  2. Both episodes of Win, Lose or Draw. It was awesome to watch the winning one, terrible to watch the losing one. I wish I still had copies of them but some one taped Days of our Lives over it. Once I was at the Red Onion in Riverside and they were playing videos on the TVs and they actually showed the one of my first trip to WLD. Someone told the DJ and he announced to the crowd that I was right there in the club. Totally surreal.
  3. Padres game in 1999. A group of us went to the Padres game, including Chris Tims. He had lost a bet and his price was to be shirtless and keep the inning box score on his fat belly. The TV cameras found him late in the game and we were all on the stadiums big screen. Then my cell phone rang and Jeff Parker called to tell me we were on TV. Since they always replay the game on Channel 4 after it's played, Anna and I went home and sure enough. There was fat Cedar looking like an idiot. Definitely good times.

Contact Me