CELEB SIGHTINGS 73
My previous Celeb Sightings column was published here at the end of January. And then, because I stayed in the house for the entire two and a half weeks of the Olympics, I saw nobody at all in February. No friends, no strangers, and definitely no celebrities!
Al Pacino, not sitting across from me at the play, but a week later, looking just a bit less disheveled, and still holding onto those earphones.
But I got back into full swing in March, and have kept it up until right now, so here we are, beginning with perhaps the biggest celebrity sighting ever!
3/7/26 Al Pacino!!! At a tiny theatre in Hollywood. And not even on Opening Night! He sat there seemingly by himself, but when he got up to leave, (before the rest of us, by the way,) an older blonde woman next to him seemed to be tagging along. He never once laughed during the play, (neither did I,) and he held on to his white corded earpiece for most of the two hours. He looked like just some dirty, homeless, old man. So I had erroneously thought he was some weird critic or the like. Oysh. (There’s a bit more about the Pacino experience right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-dads-leg-at-the-hudson-theatre-with-a-major-celeb-sighting.)
Chris Noth. Photo by Karen Salkin.
3/13/26 Who says Friday the 13th is unlucky? My friend and I spied Chris Noth, (whom I had never seen anywhere before, even in the celeb havens of New York and LA,) at the Wow Oscars Gifting Suite in Universal City! (You can read everything about the Suite right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/gifting-suite-wow-creations-2026-oscars-gifting-suite.)
3/14/26 Johnny Ray Gill, one of the regulars on the TV show Cross on Amazon Prime, at The Travel Lounge held on the roof of the L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills. (Here’s the link to my article about that entire event: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/gifting-suite-the-2026-pre-oscars-travel-lounge.)
3/24/26 Multi-award-winning actress, Sandra Oh, at the Opening Night of Kim’s Convenience, in one of the first few rows of the orchestra in the Ahmanson. My guess is that she was there to support her fellow Canadian-Korean actors. (Here’s the link to my glowing review of that play: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-kims-convenience.)
Jon Voight signing autographs. Photo by Karen Salkin.
4/5/26 Old school Emmy Award-winning actress Leigh Taylor-Young at a cute little theatre in Venice. She was actually in the play, and, after not seeing each other in over a quarter of a century, (she and the head of my improv troupe were roommates in a luxurious house in the hills back then,) we were both happy to catch-up a bit after the show. Even as an octogenarian, she’s just about as beautiful as she was when she started-out as an ingenue! I mean it. I think she’s my idol now. (You can read my review of that play here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-the-best-boarding-house-in-delaware.)
5/12/26 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jon Voight at the Opening Night Gala for the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival in Beverly Hills. Jon probably arrived inside the theatre a tad late because, as my friend and I were coming down the street around the corner from the entrance, we noticed him being swarmed by fans and photogs! (There’s more about how I know Jon in the third paragraph of this article: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/upcoming-event-los-angeles-jewish-film-festival-2026-preview.) [Note: That’s Arnold, speaking at the Gala, at the top of this page. Photo by Roz Wolf.]
Henry Haber and Karen Salkin. Photo by Karen Salkin.
5/17/26 Henry Haber, the new young guy on Matlock this past season, on the patio of the Pasadena Playhouse on Opening Night of Brigadoon. While not quite a celebrity yet, I predict he will be soon, with his handsome face and hilarious characterization! And he’s as darling in life as he is on screen, which was so fun to discover. (Here’s the link to my full review of the old school musical: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-brigadoon.)
5/23/26 Prolific TV actor, Russell Hornsby, at the Opening Night of Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. He seemed to know a lot of people there, and I was glad to see that he finally removed his fedora for the second half! (You can read my full happy review of the musical here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-aint-misbehavin-2.)
Russell Horsby. Photo by Karen Salkin.
5/27/26 Priscilla Barnes of Three’s Company fame, washing our hands next to each other in the luxurious ladies room at the Mark Taper Forum on opening night of Primary Trust. I had been feeling bad for decades that, when I was doing my TV show Karen’s Restaurant Revue, Priscilla had come up to me at a giant party to tell me she was a fan, but I didn’t get to really thank her because Tony Danza was in the middle of telling me the very same thing! Always wanting to be polite, I never leave one convo for another, so she left before I was able to chat with her. And now I was happy to finally get to apologize to her here. But guess what? She didn’t remember the incident at all!!! Whew. I’ve felt awful for all those years for no reason. (BTW—You can read my review of the play right here, which will explain my recommendation of it!: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-primary-trust)
