So I kind of knew him

Dwier Brown. I kind of knew him once. That is, I spoke with him in passing every once in awhile when he would stop at the office where I worked. I saw him in several plays at the university; he was great. But I’m sure he couldn’t pick me out of a lineup.

Do you not know who Dwier Brown is? If not, you’re probably not alone. But if you were female and paying attention in the early 1980s when The Thorn Birds (*swoon*) miniseries was on TV, you’d remember him as the totally cute and tragically sweet character of Stewie Cleary.

Then he hit the bigtime as Kevin Costner’s dad in Field of Dreams. Little Dwier Brown, from Ashland College in Ohio. Who knew?

Over the years, I’ve seen him on some TV shows, as well as some commercials. I’d say he’s made a decent living for himself in Hollywood. How cool is that? (Although my hope is that if he sees this post, he won’t go all postal on me for getting his resume wrong, like, um….He Who Must Not Be Named.)

But while I’m dropping famous names, here are a few more.

~ I once sang on the same program as Tom Netherton from the old Lawrence Welk show. No joke. Heh.

~ When playing a club in Mansfield, Ohio years ago, in walked Jonathan Harris — the original Dr. Smith from the 60s TV show Lost in Space.

~ When then-Vice President Dan Quayle came to town back in 1988, I was asked to sing the National Anthem at his honorary dinner. He shook my hand afterward; he has gorgeous blue eyes.

I know I can’t hold a candle to Ross’s close encounters (I must confess the almost-knocking-over-Dick-Clark experience made me laugh out loud — priceless), but hey, a girl does what she can.

Fink, schmoozin’ with the (erstwhile) stars

Photo credit: imdb.com

3 thoughts on “So I kind of knew him

  1. Stein

    With Spring Training in full swing, I’m really glad you posted something like this. Field of Dreams is the best movie to watch to get in the mood for baseball season. This guy played such a minor role in the film that it’s hard to get the gist of whether or not the guy can really act, but I’ll just take your word on it. I was more of a fan of Ray Liotta, the guy who portrayed Shoeless Joe. As for personal meetings…. I met Eugene Reusseau, famous Sax guy. I’ve also met Hugh Downs, Brandon Phillips, and even ran into Z (Ilgauskus) at a Target near Cleveland.

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  2. Ross

    Well that post went in a much different direction. From the start, with the B&W photo in my periphery, I was certain a tragic overdose story was on the way. While Lawrence Welk reminds me of hideously drab nights at my grandparents’ place in Minnesota, the Dan Quayle Tayle was very impressive!

    My close encounters are absurd. Keep in mind I went to UCLA, I should have a hundred, instead I have Big Guy. My wife, on the other hand, worked publicity for Levi Strauss for years, served as a prelim judge at Miss USA 2003 or 2004, and she counts among her ex-boyfriends a certain cancer-surviving champion cyclist- before he hit the big time.

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    1. Rat Fink Post author

      Ha! So Mrs. Ross is famouser than you! No wonder she got such a kick out of me calling you “famous” in an email all those months ago. :-)

      Nah, happy to report that as far as I know, Dwier is still young, alive and kicking (since we’re the same age, I had to throw in the “young” part).

      And the Quayle thing…he was *so* nice. Just a real genuine guy, it seemed to me. He didn’t have to get up from his seat on the dais and intercept me before I stepped down, but he did. He grabbed my hand in both of his and said something very complimentary — smiled and looked me right in the eyes. It was a cool experience.

      Reply

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