Many famous people live in or visit Hawaii. Here are a few stories of how their paths happened to cross those of local residents.

Michael Jackson

Denise Darval-Chang wrote, “I, along with three friends, met Michael Jackson on Jan. 24, 1988, at the Kahala Resort, where a friend worked. We had just finished paddling and were enjoying a barbecue when my friend mentioned that Michael Jackson was scheduled for a ‘sunset’ sail.

“We decided to go to the hotel. It was a windy day and not good conditions for a catamaran sail.

“After about 15 minutes, lo and behold, Michael Jackson appeared walking down to the beach with a young boy and a Caucasian woman.

“We ran up to him, and he asked, ‘Are you the lifeguards?’ We were not lifeguards, but we were so excited we just replied, ‘Yes.’

“I asked if we could take a picture with him, and he said, ‘OK.’ I handed my old Kodak camera to the haole lady, not knowing who she was, and she took our picture.

“I asked her who the boy was. She said he was from the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The lady I handed the camera to, I was later told, was actress Teri Garr! Her top films include ‘Tootsie,’ ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘Young Frankenstein.’ They were in Hawaii for a Pepsi convention, as was Michael J. Fox.

“At the time, Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album was a big hit. In the photo he is dressed in a red long-sleeve shirt, black pants, a belt with ‘MJ’ on the buckle and a red cap. The young boy was dressed just like Michael.

“Michael and I shook hands. He had long fingers and he had a nice, sweet cologne. He was very polite. I was surprised there was no security personnel with him. It was a day I will never forget.”

Norman Lear, Rob Reiner and Carl Reiner

The great television producer Norman Lear died in December at the age of 101. Former director at Hawaii Production Center/KGMB Rob Hearn had a story that touched on Lear’s iconic TV show “All in the Family.”

The story also involves Dick Van Dyke, who just turned 98, Carl Reiner and his son Rob Reiner. Carl Reiner (1922-2020) produced the original “Dick Van Dyke Show” from 1961 to 1966. Reiner said Van Dyke was the most talented performer he ever knew.

His son, Rob, was an actor in Norman Lear’s “All in the Family.” He directed “When Harry Met Sally,” “A Few Good Men” and several other films.

In 1971, CBS offered Dick Van Dyke a new TV show. He agreed but only if it would be filmed in Carefree, Ariz., just north of Phoenix, where he lived. CBS agreed and built a studio there.

Rob Hearn said that when he was going to college at Arizona State University, he was offered an internship on the “New Dick Van Dyke Show.” It was on TV until 1974.

“One night, Carl Reiner was directing. Coincidentally, it was at the exact same time that ‘All in the Family’ was premiering on Network television: Jan. 12, 1971.

“Rob Reiner played Archie Bunker’s (Carroll O’Connor) son-in-law in ‘All in the Family,’ and Carl was completely distracted. He couldn’t direct. He had to excuse himself to go watch his son on a TV in the control room.

“There was a live audience present, so Dick Van Dyke and his co-stars, Marty Brill and Fannie Flagg, entertained them for a half-hour while Carl watched ‘All in the Family.’

“Fast-forward about 22 years,” Hearn continued. “I was directing ‘Bodies in Motion’ with Gilad here in Hawaii.” It was an aerobic workout show that had beautiful Hawaii backgrounds. It aired on ESPN from 1985 to 1996.

“We got a call from Rob Reiner’s people, who were shooting the movie ‘North’ on Kauai with Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood.

“They wanted Gilad to play a background workout cameo. Gilad and I went to Kauai. When I was introduced to Rob Reiner, I said, ‘I was working on the “New Dick Van Dyke” show the night “All in the Family” premiered. Your dad was directing.

“He turned back to the camera but he couldn’t concentrate, kind of like his dad. He turned to me and said, ‘OK, you’ve got my attention.’

“I told him about how distracted his dad, Carl, was and that he had to walk away from the set to watch the show.”

“Rob Reiner looked at me and said, ‘Your story makes me love my dad even more than I already do.’”

Shirley Temple

Many Hawaii residents know that the child actress Shirley Temple visited Hawaii in 1935. Over 10,000 greeted her at Aloha Tower when her ship, the Lurline, docked. Duke Kahanamoku put her family in his car and took them to the Royal Hawaiian hotel.

A few days later she visited Iolani Palace. A crowd of about 16,000 came to see her. One of my readers, Willson Moore, 95, was there and remembered it.

“I was a docent at Iolani Palace for many years and was there in 1935.” Shirley Temple sang “On the Good Ship Lollipop” four times, one from each of the four sides of the palace to the crowd below. It was from her 1934 film “Bright Eyes.”

“I was up on my father’s shoulders and clearly remember her on the makai second-­story palace lanai. Gov. Poindexter introduced her to the multitude of her fans.

“The late Shirley Temple was born in April 1928, thus that July day she was age 7. I was born November of the same year, so I was age 6-1/2.

“I had great fun during the hundreds of Iolani Palace tours I led in my decade as a docent, describing my eyewitness account of this ‘older woman’ on that same lanai as we passed it indoors on my upstairs tour of the palace.”

Tip O’Neill

Wendell Hosea told me he met an interesting VIP in the early 1980s. “I attended a 5 o’clock Saturday night Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. I sat three­-quarters of the way back, where the pews were less filled.

“During the early portion of the services, an elderly man asked to sit in the same pew. I agreed. While I was praying and not seeing who he was, he told me a quick joke. I laughed. He continued to tell a litany of humorous ad-libs. It caught me off guard since this was in a church. I was about to admonish him.

“I turned to look at him and saw that the elderly person was Tip O’Neill, then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. After services were over, he invited me to a dinner he was attending. He had the use of then Mayor Dianne Feinstein’s limo for the weekend. I accepted. That evening was filled with Tip O’Neill great stories.

“Years later in 2016, I was in Washington, D.C., visiting Sen. Brian Schatz’s office. Two of his interns gave me a tour of the Capitol buildings.

“While in the basement walking past the U.S. Senate print shop, Sen. Dianne Feinstein came out of the print shop. She introduced herself. I mentioned my fond memories of riding in her mayor’s limo with Speaker O’Neill. Sen. Feinstein was gracious and chuckled that Mr. O’Neill could be a rascal.

“Every visit in later years to St. Mary’s Cathedral brings me smiles and vivid memories.”

Readers? Did you meet someone famous? If so, send me an email and tell me about it.

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Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.