CELEB SIGHTINGS 69

This is the sixty-ninth Celeb Sightings column here on INAM, but, almost shockingly, my sixty-eighth one was published…in 2020! Just six days before the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown began!

Karen Salkin and James Tupper. Photo by Laura Saul.

So, of course, there were no sightings of anybody for a couple of years after that. And once the world got slowly going again, and I began being out and about again, I didn’t really recognize many celebs at the time because…we were all covering our faces! And then, quite honestly, with soooo much else to write about all the time, I just forgot about this popular feature of this e-zine!

But for the past few months, readers and followers have been asking me to get back to it already. So here it finally is—just about five years since my last one, starting a few months ago:

Haley Joel Osment.

11/17/24 There were many celebs at the opening night of the musical La Cage Aux Folles at the Pasadena Playhouse, but the only one I was interested in was The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment. I was thrilled to chat with him for a bit during intermission. He seemed genuinely grateful when I told him how absolutely brilliant he was in that old-ish film, and at such a young age. Then, at the post-show mingle-sesh, I noticed newly-married musical couple, Dear Evan Hansen’s Ben Platt and The Good Doctor’s Noah Galvin. Noah was actually Ben’s understudy in the Broadway musical!  How interesting is that?! (Here’s the link to my review of La Cage: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-la-cage-aux-folles.)

Kenny Ortega. Photo by Karen Salkin.

12/6/24 Being fans of choreographer-extraordinaire Kenny Ortega, who worked with Michael Jackson on what turned out to be his final project, This Is It, Mr. X and I both noticed him as soon as we entered the downstairs lobby of The Wallis to see the latest offering from the excellent dance company BodyTraffic. Kenny was using a cane a bit, so everyone seemed to be going up to him in his seat to pay a bit of tribute. (In case you’re curious about that company’s show, here’s the link to to my review: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/dance-bodytraffics-this-song-reminds-me-of-you-at-the-wallis.)

Karen Salkin and Ray Buktenica. Photo by Karen Salkin.

12/13/24 At intermission of opening night of Once Upon a Mattress at the Ahmanson, a glowing fan excitedly called me over to point-out Ray Buktenica of Rhoda, House Calls, and Life Goes On fame. And as she was gushing over his still-handsome self, we both noticed adorbs Vincent Rodriguez from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. So I was showing her a picture he had taken of the two of us at an event a few years ago. I still had that pic on my phone in my hand as I was walking back into the theatre, when who should be holding the door for me other than…Vincent himself! I showed him the pic and am happy to report that he remembered taking it! I wish we had shot a new one to share with you, but I was just thinking of seeing more of Sutton Foster, (who was starring in the musical,) in Act II. (My full review of Once Upon a Mattress is right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-once-upon-a-mattress.)

Erik Estrada being overjoyed to see Karen Salkin. Photo by Roz Wolf.

1/3/25  The Wow Creations Gifting Suite before the Golden Globes featured a trio of old school celebs, which was fun. First up was my old pal, Erik Estrada, from the old TV show CHiPs, who was entertaining the masses, (and teaching my friend and me where to look for the best selfies!) There was also the mom from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Dee Wallace, rocking a new cute, spiky, gray hairdo. And then, on my way out, I spied the “cuchi-cuchi girl” herself, Charo. She still has the legs of a twenty-year-old! (You can read all about our interactions in-depth right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/gifting-suite-wow-creations-pre-golden-globes-gifting-suite-2025.)

1/25/25 I saw one of my old celeb crushes, James Tupper, of Men In Trees and Big Little Lies fame, on stage at the Odyssey in WLA. Even better than his performance was seeing him in the lobby after the play, greeting friends and fans, (which I am now in both categories!) I had met him a mere fifteen years before, and then we talked on the phone for a long time the week before, and when he saw me, he gave me a giant smile and a warm manly hug. (Here’s the link to my review of that play: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/the-seagull.) [Note: Photo of James and Karen is the first one in this article.]

2/1/25 Grammy-nominated singer Johnny Gill, looking as sexy and soulful as he did in New Edition, at GBK’s Grammys event in Beverly Hills. GBK always has a bunch of celeb guests, but Johnny was the only one I was interested in seeing there that day. (If you missed all the scoops on the event, here’s that link: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/gifting-lounge-gbk-brand-bars-2025-critics-choice-grammy-fire-relief-lounge.) [Note: Photo of Johnny, by Karen Salkin, is the one at the top of this page.]

From the top: Nina Herzog, Karen Salkin, and Vincent Rodriguez. Photo by Vincent Rodriguez.

2/13/25  What a fun time was had by all on opening night of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown LA! Many celebs showed-up, especially musical ones. The first one I spied was ninety-year-old Broadway stalwart Millicent Martin, looking beautiful. But my fave was the aforementioned, (four paragraphs above,) Vincent Rodriguez, who played Josh, the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s love interest. Just as I was showing my friend, Nina, a picture on this very e-zine that Vincent had taken of the two of us when we first met a few years ago, (the same one I had shown to that fan at Once Upon a Mattress,) he showed up and sat right in front of us! And insisted on taking another selfie this time! How can you not love that guy?! (And, oh, I reviewed Old Friends, too, of course, right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/theatre-stephen-sondheims-old-friends.)

That’s it for now, but now that we’re back on track with this INAM feature, there will be plenty more Celeb Sightings coming up. This is Oscars Week, after all! And I will be live-tweeting many of my thoughts about that top awards show on Sunday, @MajorCelebrity. So if you don’t already follow me there, this would be a good time to do it. Just sayin’.