My Celebrity Encounters Part 1: Adam Curry

In the interest of ripping things off my office wall, scanning them, and then telling a story about them, I present this: My Celebrity Encounters, The Beginning: Adam Curry

It was March 12, 1997, my 20th birthday and my very first day ever in New York City. I was here because my boyfriend, who was 19, was being recruited by new media companies, a common scenario at the time (he had been a Bulletin Board System owner, a self-described 'hacker', and someone with a poster depicting a robot sex scene from the movie "The Lawnmower Man" on his bedroom ceiling since early adolescence. Therefore, he was being recruited by new media companies in 1997.)

M's first interview was in a loft office in SoHo (natch) and it was freezing and I was afraid to stand out on the street with all the scary New York people, so I went up with him and waited in the lobby while he went off to his interview. I was reading magazines and chatting with the receptionist when a tall guy walked by. A tall guy who looked vaguely familiar.

"Oh my god, is that THAT MTV GUY?" I said excitedly to the receptionist.

"Adam Curry? Yeah, he owns the company" she replied, amused but indulgent.

I was SO EXCITED. I was THAT PERSON, that person who sees a famous person for the first time and, even though she doesn't even know his name (we didn't have cable when I was a kid), immediately MUST MEET HIM because HE HAS BEEN ON TELEVISION. We laugh at these people now, but whatever, we all were them at one point in our lives. Unless you're Gwyneth Paltrow, and you're not, you were once that person.

"Do you think I could get his autograph?" I asked the receptionist. "It's my 20th birthday!"

She smiled and said "I'm sure he would just love it" and went to get him. Adam came right out with the 8' x 10" glossy you see above and very graciously signed it and wished me a happy birthday. After he went back to his office, I stared at my new treasure and imagined showing it to my friends back home (which I would later do). They were never going to believe that on my very first day in New York City I met a celebrity!

A few minutes passed, and I started to feel uncool, like I'd made a faux pas. I had to speak up. Just then, my boyfriend came out of his interview, ready to head to the next one at Razorfish or wherever. Before we left, I furrowed my brow, bit my lip and addressed the friendly receptionist: "Um, can you do me a favor? Can you not tell Adam Curry that I didn't know his name?"

She smiled and assured me that my secret was safe with her.

Comments

[Adam Curry]

I'm shattered :)

AC

[lindsay robertson]

Whether that comment is real or not, it definitely completes some sort of meta circle of life that my first reaction was "OMG!!!!"

[jerell]

Hi Lindsay. I'm 22 years old and I remember the "olden" times of MTV (before the Sweet Sixteens and Pimp My Rides). Adam Curry was one of my favorite VJ's. He was like the poor man's Rob Lowe.

Runner ups, Martha Quinn and Kennedy.