Fame is morally
neutral -- Edward R. Murrow
These
are some of the famous, infamous or otherwise very notable people I've met:
A: Lt. Zenji
Abe (Imperial
Japanese Navy dive bomb pilot), Dr. Patch Adams (clown/physician), Anwar
ul-haq Ahady (Afghanistan
finance minister), Akebono/Chad
Rowan (Yokozuna sumo wrestler), HSH Hereditary
Prince Albert (Monaco sovereign monarch), Mohammed Ali
(heavyweight boxing champ), Adm. Thad Allen
(U.S. Coast Guard commandant), Emperor Akihito
(Japan), Prince Akishino (Japan), Raul Anguiano
(critical realist painter/muralist)*, Kofi Annan (U.N. secretary
general), Joan
Armatrading (guitarist/singer), Richard Armitage
(U.S. deputy secretary of state), Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo (Philippines president), Taro Aso
(Japan foreign minister), Azumazeki/Jesse Kuhaulua
(sumo stable master).
B: Howard Baker
(ambassador/U.S. senator), Lucille
Ball (comedienne)*, Pete Barbutti (musician/comedian), Yolana
& Ron Bard (psychics), Wolf Blitzer
(CNN journalist), Hans Blix (IAEA director
general/WMDC chairman), Louis Boccardi
(AP President/Pulitzer Prize board chairman), John Bolton (U.S. ambassador to
U.N.), Danny Bonaduce (actor), Debby
Boone (pop singer), Hilary Bowker (ABC/CNN
journalist), Tom
Bradley (Los Angeles mayor)*, John Bredar (Emmy Award
winning documentary producer/director), Jerry Brown
(California governor), Richard
Bryan (Nevada governor/U.S. senator), George H.W. Bush
(U.S. president), Richard
C. Bush III (American Institute in
Taiwan chairman), Robert Byrd (U.S.
senator).
C: Howard Cannon (U.S.
senator)*, Andrew
Card (U.S. transportation secretary/White House chief of staff), Mariah Carey (pop singer), Stokely Carmichael (SNCC chairman/Black Panther Party
leader)*, Jimmy
Carter (U.S. president), Jean Castarède (Armagnac
Castarède president/CNC
contrôle d'état), Marilyn
Chambers (porn actress), Charo (actress/flamenco guitarist), Michael Chertoff (U.S. DHS
Secretary), Fujio Cho (Toyota president), Reese Cleghorn (American
Journalism Review president emeritus), Bill Clinton
(U.S. president), William
Cohen (U.S. senator/defense secretary), Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. (San Miguel
chairman/Philippines presidential candidate), Adm. Thomas Collins
(U.S. Coast Guard commandant), Howard
Cosell (ABC
sportscaster)*, Walter
Cronkite (CBS News anchorman), Thomas
Curley (Associated Press president).
D: William Daley (U.S.
commerce secretary), Miriam Defensor Santiago (Philippines senator), David
Dellinger (anti-war activist)*, Bo Derek (actress), Yi Ding (actress), Sam Donaldson
(ABC News journalist).
E: Miyeegombyn
Enkhbold (
F: Juan Flavier (Philippines health secretary/senate president
pro-tempore), Thomas
Foley (ambassador/U.S. House speaker), George Foreman
(heavyweight boxing champ), Smokey Forester
(Peabody Award winning documentary
producer/director), Gary Foster
(film producer), Abraham Foxman (ADL
chairman/national director).
G: Carlos
Ghosn (Nissan/Renault
CEO), Mickey Gilbert
(actor/stuntman), Dizzy
Gillespie (jazz trumpeter)*, Savion
Glover (tap dancer), Robert
Goebbels (Luxembourg economy minister), Oscar
Goodman (criminal defense lawyer/Las Vegas mayor), Katharine
Graham (Washington Post publisher)*, Jack N. Green (cinematographer),
Dr. Sanjay
Gupta (CNN journalist), Carlos Gutierrez
(U.S. commerce secretary), H.H.
Tenzin Gyatso (The XIVth Dalai
Lama/Nobel Peace Prize winner).
H:
Jim Hartz
(NBC Today Show
co-host), Ryutaro Hashimoto (Japan prime minister)*, HRH Prince Hassan
bin Talal (Jordan), Sparkle Hayter
(mystery novelist/comedienne), Chic
Hecht (ambassador/U.S. Senator)*, Christie Hefner (Playboy CEO), John Hendricks
(Discovery Channel founder), Hirotaro Higuchi (Asahi Breweries
chairman), Hiroshima
(jazz quintet), Takafumi Horie
(entrepreneur), Morohiro Hosokawa (Japan prime minister).
I:
Kazuo Ichiriki (Kahoku Shimpo owner/Yokozuna Deliberation Council chairman), Nobuyuki Idei
(Sony president), Keiko Ihara (F3 racing driver), Takashi
Imai (Keidanren chairman/Nippon Steel chairman), Kuniko
Inoguchi (ambassador/Japan gender equality &
social affairs minister), Antonio
Inoki (wrestler/Japanese politician), Hideki Irabu (pro baseball pitcher), Bill Ireton
(Warner
Entertainment Japan chairman), Hideo Ishihara (Goldman Sachs Japan chairman)*, Rokuro Ishikawa (Kajima
chairman)*, Juzo
Itami (Japanese film director)*.
J: Rev. Jesse Jackson (civil
rights activist/U.S. presidential candidate), Lt. Gen. JFR Jacob (Goa and Punjab governor), Pierre Jeanniot (IATA
director general/UQAM chancellor).
K: Haruki Kadokawa (Japanese film producer/director), Peter
Kalischer (CBS
News correspondent)*, Shizuka
Kamei (Japan construction minister), Isao Kaneko (JAL Group chairman/IATA chairman), Mickey
Kantor (U.S. commerce secretary/Morgan Stanley senior advisor), Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan
president), Nancy
Landon Kassebaum (U.S. senator), Koichi Kato (LDP secretary-general), Tokiko Kato (folk
singer/actress), Yutaka Kawashima (ambassador/Japan vice foreign minister), Nannerl Keohane (Duke University president), Gohar
Ayub Khan (Pakistan foreign minister), Seyyed Mohamad
Khatami (Iran president), Princess Kiko
(Japan), Alan
King (comedian), Don
King (boxing promoter), Larry King
(CNN talk show host), Shinichi
Kitajima (ambassador/Japan vice foreign
minister), Ralph Klein
(Calgary mayor/Alberta premier), Yotaro
Kobayashi (Fuji Xerox
chairman), Yuriko Koike
(Japan environment minister), Junichiro Koizumi (Japan prime minister), Alpha
Oumar Konare (Mali
president/African
Union Commission chairman), Tetsuo Kondo (Japan labor minister/INES president), Yohei Kono (Japan foreign
minister/LDP president), Andrea
Koppel (CNN journalist), Bill Kovach (journalist/author),
Nicholas Kristof (New York
Times columnist/Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist), Akira Kurosawa
(Japanese film director)*, Aleksander Kwasniewski (Poland president), Fumio Kyuma (Japan defense minister).
L: Ellen Laipson
(Stimson Center
president/CEO), Stephen Lang
(actor), Paul Laxalt (Nevada governor/U.S. senator)*, Geraldine Laybourne (Oxygen Media CEO), Mike Leavitt (Utah
governor/HHS
Secretary), Marvin Levy (governor, Academy of Motion Picture Arts
& Sciences), Jerry
Lewis (comedian), Joe
Louis (heavyweight boxing champ)*, Annette Lu
(Taiwan vice president).
M: Ma
Ying-jeou (Taiwan president), Gabriella Martinelli
(film producer), Crown
Princess Masako (Japan), Matisyahu (Chassidic reggae singer), Akio Matsuzaki (Morinaga chairman/father-in-law
of Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe), Michael
Maxakuli (world backgammon champion)*, Ed
McAlister (WAZA
president), Meat Loaf (rock musician/actor),
Angela Merkel
(Germany chancellor), Andrew
McCarthy (actor), Eugene
McCarthy (U.S. senator)*, Empress Michiko (Japan), Herbert S.
Miller (The Mills
Corporation CEO), Norman Mineta (U.S. transportation secretary), Kevin Mitnick
(computer hacker), Hiroshi Mitsuzaka (Japan finance minister), Kiichi
Miyazawa* (Japan prime minister), Shigeru
Mizuki (manga artist), Walter
Mondale (U.S. vice president), Mino Monta (Japanese TV presenter), Monk
Montgomery (jazz bassist)*, Airto Moreira (Brazilian jazz
percussionist), Minoru Mori
(real estate tycoon), Yoshiro Mori
(Japan prime minister), Pat
Morita (actor)*, Manouchehr Mottaki (Iran
foreign minister), David Mulford (U.S. ambassador to India), Brian
Mulroney (Canadian prime minister), Carl Mydans (Life
magazine photojournalist)*, David
Mylrea (stuntman).
N: Ralph Nader
(consumer activist), Hidenao Nakagawa (Japan chief cabinet secretary/LDP secretary-general), Shoichi Nakagawa (Japan trade minister), Yasuhiro Nakasone
(Japan prime minister), Crown
Prince Naruhito (Japan), Shri Kamal Nath (India commerce
minister), Sol Negrin (cinematographer), Andrew
Neil (Sunday Times
editor/BBC presenter), Binyamin Netanyahu
(Israel prime minister), Wayne
Newton (singer), William
Niskanen (Cato
Institute chairman), Seiko Noda (Japan
communications minister), Claudia Nolte
(Germany family affairs minister), Ken Norton (heavyweight
boxing champ).
O: Mike O'Callaghan (Nevada
governor)*, Makoto
Oda (author/activist), Toshiaki
Ogasawara (Japan Times
publisher/Nifco chairman), Sadako
Ogata (ambassador/UNHCR high
commissioner/JICA president), Chikage Ogi (actress/Japan
transport minister), Hiroshi
Okuda (Toyota chairman), Ehud Olmert (Jerusalem
mayor/Israel prime minister), Lisa
Ono (bossa nova musician), Robert "Skipp" Orr (Boeing Japan president), Yoshiko Otaka/Ri
Koran/Shirley Yamaguchi (Manchurian singer/actress & Japanese
politician), Tamayo Otsuki (comedienne), Ichiro Ozawa (Japan
home affairs minister/DPJ
president).
P: Helmut Panke
(BMW chairman), Pink Lady
(Japanese pop music duo), Thierry
Porte (Shinsei Bank president/CEO), Gen. Colin Powell
(U.S. secretary of state), Flora Purim
(Brazilian jazz singer).
Q: Coco
Quisumbing (CNBC
Asia newscaster/Manila Times
columnist)
R: Fidel Ramos (Philippines
president), Dan
Rather (CBS News anchorman), Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo (IMF managing director), Lou Rawls (singer)*, Harry Reid (U.S. senate majority
leader), Ramon
Revilla Sr. (actor/Philippines senator), Bill Richardson (New
Mexico governor/ambassador to U.N), Matt Robson
(New Zealand corrections minister), John D.
Rockefeller IV (U.S. senator), Alberto Romulo (Philippines foreign minister), Bob
Rose (Nevada Lt. governor/supreme court chief justice).
S: Yoshihiko
Saeki (JETRO president), Ichiro
Saita (Kyodo
News president)* Bob Sapp
(athlete), Shinji Sato (Japan trade minister), Nikolay Saveliev (Russia Maritime Security Service chief), Princess Sayako (Japan), Klaus
Schwab (World Economic Forum
founder), Susan
Schwab, (U.S. trade representative), Hussein al-Shahristani (Iraqi oil minister), Marlena
Shaw (jazz vocalist), Jerry
Sherlock (movie producer), Ven. Eido Shimano (Roshi)(Zen
Studies Society abbot),Shonen Knife (Japanese pop music trio), Siegfried & Roy
(magicians), Lew Simons (Pulitzer
Prize winning journalist), Frank Sinatra (singer)*,
H.H. Gaj Singh II (Maharaja of Jodhpur),
Manmohan Singh
(India prime minister), Ryan
Slater (actor), Eleanor
Smeal (feminist), Red Smith
(Pulitzer Prize winning sportswriter/Baseball
Hall of Fame inductee)*, Rodney Smith & Adam Schatz (Shut/Zoo York founders), Kendra Shank (jazz vocalist), Stephen
Solarz (U.S. congressman), George Soros
(billionaire financial speculator), Sammy Sosa (pro baseball NL MVP), Tony Spilotro
(Mafia enforcer)*, David
Stern (NBA commissioner), Marty Stouffer (wildlife
documentary producer/director), John
Strickland (HSBC chairman), Masayuki Suo
(Japanese film director/producer).
T: Junko Tabei (first woman to scale The Seven Summits), Robert A. Taft II (Ohio governor), Tsutomu Takebe (Japan agriculture minister), Irene Tanaka (stuntwoman), Makiko Tanaka (Japan foreign minister), Jerry Tarkanian (NCAA champion basketball coach), Lyonpo Jigme Yoser Thinley (Bhutan prime minister), Helen Thomas (UPI White House bureau chief), John Tower (U.S. senator)*, John Travolta (actor), Kiyomi Tsujimoto (Peace Boat founder/Japan lower house member, SDP), Seiji Tsutsumi (author/Saison Group chairman), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize winner).
U: Junichi Ujiie (Nomura
Securities president/Tokyo
Stock Exchange board of directors)
V: Michael
Vatis (founder/director, National Infrastructure
Protection Center), Ann Veneman (U.S. agriculture secretary).
W: Wang Yi
(ambassador/China vice foreign minister), Tamisuke
Watanuki (Japan speaker of the lower house, LDP/NPP), James G. Watt (U.S.
interior secretary), Joe
Williams (jazz vocalist)*, Jonathan Winters
(comedian), Wolfman Jack (disc jockey)*, Paul
Wolfowitz (World
Bank president), Richard Wooldridge (International
Herald Tribune president), Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright (U.S. Forces Japan/5th
Air Force commander), Sheryl WuDunn (author/Pulitzer
Prize winning journalist).
X:
Y: Ichita
Yamamoto (Japan foreign affairs state secretary, LDP), Taku
Yamasaki (Japan construction minister/defense agency
chief/secretary-general, LDP),
Michael Yamashita (National Geographic
photographer), Michelle
Yeoh (actress), Banana Yoshimoto
(novelist), Cassie Yukawa
(classical pianist).
Z: Frank
Zamacona (Emmy
Award winning documentary producer/director), Michael Zielenziger (author/journalist).
* denotes deceased
(note: some of the dignitaries did not hold the position for which they are best known at the time I met them).
|
My subjective Hall of Fame of those I've met: Charismatic:
Gen. Colin Powell/Ma Ying-jeou (tie) Conversationalist:
Crown Princess Masako Coolest:
Wolfman Jack Crankiest:
Jonathan Winters Creative:
Akira Kurosawa Dangerous:
Tony Spilotro Ditziest:
Debby Boone Eccentric:
Tamayo Otsuki Enthusiastic:
Juan Flavier Friendliest:
Bo Derek/Princess Sayako (tie) Holistic:
Dalai Lama Humblest
(relative to power or fame): Prince Albert Laid-back:
Dizzy Gillespie Leadership:
Adm. Thad Allen/Carlos Ghosn (tie) Over-rated:
Nobuyuki Idei Self-confident:
Binyamin Netanyahu Shyest:
Akebono Smartest:
Sadako Ogata Surliest:
Frank Sinatra |
Fame
footnote: This list emanates from
questions I've had during interviews when I've been asked to recall the most
famous or most remarkable person I've ever met.
I am always hard pressed to answer this question. I also have difficulty
recalling my personal edition of "who's who," as most
encounters with notable are brief, as is the nature of my profession. I figured
I'd better put together such a list for reference while I still enjoy use of my
mental faculties.
Despite
the thrill of making my first on-camera appearance as a kid in the audience of WKRC-TV's Skipper Ryle
Show, I had no talent as a musician, actor or athlete that merited much
likelihood of fame for myself. While I've always had a strong interest in
politics I am probably too principled and too much of a libertarian to make me
fit for elected office. In my own profession the pinnacle of success is
considered to be the coveted position as a network television anchor. I did a bit of anchoring in local
broadcasting but always have found being in the field, rather than the studio,
more fulfilling.
There
is also something about the romance of radio that I prefer over
television. Radio is almost a lost art
-- where the emphasis is on creating a soundscape to
convey information and emotion. TV makes an unparalleled impression visually
but I wonder if radio does not convey information more deeply. I really had to
question the depth of television news after acquaintances would repeatedly tell
me they had seen me on TV and would comment on the necktie I was wearing on
camera or something else trivial. But when I would ask them what was the story
I was reporting, they rarely could remember. Indeed, style over substance.
I had
interests in both broadcasting and journalism as far back as I can
remember. As a youngster, I aspired to
be a baseball announcer or a newspaper reporter. I literally started knocking
on doors of radio and TV stations as a teen, but only after getting
rebuffed by the local newspapers, which had the gumption not to hire a kid with
no experience, except at the school paper.
I have been an interviewee in several
American-produced documentaries about Japan and have produced a few
documentaries, as well. I also field produced an electronic press kit (aka "The Making of..." video) on location in
China's Sichuan province for the Warner Bros. feature The Amazing Panda Adventure.
I have also had fleeting scenes in a
couple of American TV dramas, as an extra -- playing a reporter -- including
the acclaimed series Vega$.
More interestingly, a non-speaking character portrayed me as a young radio
reporter during a courthouse scene in the 1995 Martin Scorsese movie Casino. Those are
the few slivers of claims to any fame for myself.
My current work allows me to communicate
with tens of millions of people on a daily basis and, on their behalf, to
question the powerful, such as those listed above on this page. Perhaps the
ultimate achievement (whether one is famous or anonymous) is best captured by
the words of novelist Thomas Wolfe: You
have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in
money, compliments, or publicity.