Michael Mackie » Brush With Greatness

Steven Cojocaru

M2 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:59:48 +0000

Celebrity fashionista, stylist and maven Steven Cojocaru is a hoot. I interviewed the Canadian clotheshorse and managed to lose control of the segment after about 12 seconds. The thing about Cojo is he’s wildly inappropriate and irreverent all the time. I had to ratchet up the obnoxious factor just to appear like I wasn’t in a coma. Mercifully, I got props from him on my outfit. A very smart Armani suit … with a turquoise striped shirt and tie. Later in the evening at a fundraiser, the former Entertainment Tonight correspondent and I gabbed like two bitchy schoolgirls. My boss asked if this was the first time we’d ever met. I said, “Yep”. “Well, you two act like you’ve known each other for years … it’s kinda creepy actually,” said my boss.

Throughout the course of the night, I must have had dozens of pictures taken with him. “I have had more pictures taken with you … than with my own mother!” Cojo joked. It’s funny … because it’s probably true.

Def Leppard

M2 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:09:09 +0000

Do you wanna get rocked? Boy, I did … especially after meeting Def Leppard. SingerJoe Elliot and drummer Rick Allen could not have been nicer, more congenial or more British. Chatty, engaging and cracking jokes the entire time. Once they hit the stage, though – all bets were off. They whipped the crowd in to a fevered frenzy for nearly two hours. They still sound amazing … with those pumped-up harmonies and layered guitar riffs. By the end, I was tired for them. And may I remind you, the group founded in 1977. They have kept on rockin’ in the free world for nearly 35 years … and in the music world that’s, like, four centuries.

Steve Wilkos

M2 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:41:59 +0000

Talk show host Steve Wilkos swung by our ad agency recently for a meet-and-greet. He’s just like you’d picture him on TV … larger than life, full of bravado and ready to punch you in the throat if you give him lip. The funny thing about his visit is that my co-workers were giddy and giggly the whole time he was here. It was like dealing with skittish schoolgirls. Speaking of, I nearly punched THEM in the throat. I still have “STEVE! STEVE! STEVE! STEVE!” ringing in my ears. We played our “Top 5 Steve Moments” for him … and he gave a brief play-by-play (or sometimes a punch-by-punch) synopsis of the show in question. He looks as threatening and intimidating as you would think … until he flashes his megawatt smile. No wonder he was so popular on “The Jerry Springer Show”. He’s still a little scary if you ask me. I would not want to be on his bald, er, bad side.

Craig Robinson

M2 — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Got the chance to hobnob with Craig Robinson from “The Office” at the 2011 GLAAD Media Awards in LA. He’s just as goofy and irreverent as you’d think – given his background in improvisation. Before I started the interview he seemed mesmerized by my hair … and at one point I thought he was going to run his hands through it. Or maybe pick nits out of it. He got my jokes and I got his. There’s some definite good karma surrounding this cat. He lit up everyone on the red carpet that night.

“Who dressed you?” I asked. “And you had better say, ‘A gay.’” He laughed, “I dressed myself. Do I look okay? Wait, am I gay?” That even got a laugh from the nearby publicist. Craig … you’re my idol.

Lindsay Wagner

M2 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:33:08 +0000

I’ve interviewed a bazillion famous people over the years. And I’m usually unflappable. However, Lindsay Wagner left me totally flapped. “The Bionic Woman” was an icon and Lindsay was a childhood idol of mine. I simply could not believe I had the good fortune to be in her presence. When Lindsay walked in to the studio, I started hyperventilating. That’s never happened before. I can’t tell if I was giddy, nervous or wildly manic – likely all three. Lindsay could not have been more pleasant (or more patient) when I started rambling within 20 seconds of meeting her. I didn’t just ramble, mind you. I was sweating and talking uncontrollably at the same time – you know, like crazy people do.

Fortunately, Lindsay is firmly in touch with her holistic side (and, uh, dealing with crazy fans). She pulled me off to the side so we could have a “moment”. We did some breathing, some chanting and hit some quick-trigger pressure points that had me calm, cool and collected before airtime. Sound weird? It was – but it worked and the segment managed to go off without a hitch. The interview was definitely the highlight of my pop culture career. And meeting her was bliss to the millionth … er, six millionth degree.

Ellie Kemper

M2 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 05:56:15 +0000

Ellie Kemper (who plays goofball secretary Erin Hatton on NBC’s “The Office) is quirky, affable and giggly. Come to think of it, she’s just like her character. And I got the chance to hang with her backstage during the 2010 Mid-America Emmy Awards in her hometown of St. Louis. She was the emcee of the evening’s festivities. Of course, the highlight of the night is when she announced, “And the Emmy goes to … Michael Mackie!” Behind-the-scenes we talked about my recent stroke and the fact I love “The Office” with every fiber of my being. It’s one of my can’t-miss shows. (Well, actually – I always miss it. I obsessively DVR it and watch it later.) Kemper reminded me “us redheads gotta stick together”. (That’s what she said! No, seriously – that’s what she said.) Truer words have never been spoken. She’s my kindred spirit in ginger humor.

Gary Sinise

M2 — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:30:08 +0000

Little known fact, Emmy-award winning actor Gary Sinise is a giver. Other than Bono and maybe Angelina Jolie, there’s not another celebrity out there who does nearly as much charity work as Sinise. Not only is he wildly philanthropic, he puts his money where his heart is. I got to hang out while Sinise and his band – the aptly named Lt. Dan Band – rocked Kansas City. He started the band as a way to entertain the troops overseas. They do an eclectic mix of covers – everything from Jimi Hendrix to Kelly Clarkson. When not starring on “CSI:NY”, Sinise can often be found doing USO shows to support the troops. He does between 50-100 shows a year. He’s become the Bob Hope of our generation.

This is the second time I’ve met Sinise. The first time was back in 2002 when he was pimping out some horrid sci-fi movie, “Imposter”. Poor guy wanted to talk about anything BUT his movie. So we struck up a conversation about charity work. Of course, Sinise is best known for his portrayal of Lt. Dan in “Forrest Gump” – which plays endlessly ad nausea on cable TV. I mentioned to him that I’ve been to every Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant in the continental United States. I couldn’t tell if Sinise was impressed or appalled. Although he did mention his favorite Bubba Gump was in Hawaii – the only restaurant I’ve failed to visit. Go figure.

Mo Rocca

M2 — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:25:53 +0000

Mo Rocca is a funny Mo … uh, Fo. He’s sarcastic and snarky, but always with a twinkle in his eye. You can tell he takes great delight in asking off-the-wall, quirky questions. And he’s a phenomenal storyteller … often crafting intricate, humorous confections sprinkled with bon mots. I ran in to him recently at the 2010 Erma Bombeck Writer Conference. Mo was definitely in his element at the conference surrounded by other humorists and satirists. None of them tried to trump his ace. I think the authors realized they had met their match.

Every time Mo would walk around, he was just another face in the crowd. Either the menopausal set doesn’t know who he is … or they don’t care. I was a “Rocca Stalker”. I introduced myself at lunch and batted my eyelashes in a veiled attempt to get on his good side. I’m a firm believer that you can stand by funny people and glean insight in to their brilliance. I call it gaining moxie by proxy.

Rockin’ Robin Roberts

M2 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:39:51 +0000

Robin Roberts and I have a lot in common. We’re both in TV. We’re both strong black women. We’re both over 6′1″. And we’re both friends with Jeremy Hubbard – who kindly got me on the set of “Good Morning America”. Robin is someone I want to have over for dinner sometime. Yes, she’s that cool. You’ll note in this picture I’m slouching a bit. In the first pic we took, I’m sitting so posture-perfect it looks like I’m wearing a back brace. Robin immediately commented on it. So I relaxed a bit (and subsequently took the stick out of my ass). When I have her over for dinner – and it WILL happen – I’ll make sure everyone slouches accordingly.

Dee Snider

M2 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:09:07 +0000

Dee Snider is a rocker to be reckoned with! When I met him, he was about as nice as they come – considering his large, looming presence. He’s like a polite Prince of Darkness. (Sorry to disappoint your pre-conceived notions.) My favorite part of the interview was before we started. He wanted to make sure his “crazy hair” wasn’t out of control. Uh, it looked pretty tame in comparison to the 400lb. coif he used to sport in his heyday. He was a total professional – knocking out his lines in less than 20 minutes. It would have been under 15 minutes, but I wanted to get a picture. Sue me.