Celebrities and Pool

sde said:
Mark Kendall, lead guitarist for the rock band Great White. He played in a weekly tourney while the band was here in Grand Rapids, some where around 1996. As i recall he played weak 7 APA speed and finished in the $$.

Steve

Mark is a little better player than you think. He was a Hard Times regular for years. Real nice guy too.
 
James (Jimmy) Caan used to be a regular at Ye Billiard Den in Hollywood. I used to play him with the seven ball, and manage to eek out a win here and there.

Peter Falk, Telly Savalas and Don Adams frequented the place as well. Phil Spector (the guy on trial now) was a good friend of Ed Kelly's and would come down from time to time to "back" a big game. I once saw him throw 25K on the table in the 60's. That was serious cheese back then.

I first met Don Johnson in there before he became famous. He was with his buddy Sean Walsh (Arizona Sean). His young girlfriend was a dazzler too, Michelle Phieffer.

Speaking of celebs from the past, Fred Astaire was probably the best, capable of 70-80 ball runs at 14.1. The former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Walter Alston played equally as well. He once had a television interview set in his home poolroom, where he claimed to have run over 100 balls several times. I don't think he was exaggerating either. It wasn't his style to boast.

And in the golden era of Pool during the 1920's, there was a young hustler named Leo Durocher. He was so good at Pool, that he considered giving up baseball for the green felt. Sanity prevailed though and he had a nice run as a player and manager for the next 50 years.

When I was hanging around New York many years ago, I played a few times with Jerry "The Actor". He could play too. Jerry Orbach loved Pool. He even came to some of the big tournamants in L.A. back in the 80's and 90's. He sat on the podium next to me at the Peter Vitalie Invitational in 1987. I looked at him and asked him if he remembered me. He looked back at me blankly. I said I played you a few times at Guys And Dolls in New York 20 years ago. His face lit up and he smiled and we had a good laugh.

Hey, David Brenner should be on here as well. He was a partner in Amsterdam Billiards in New York.
 
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bignasty said:
thanks joe we are doing ok for being 2 1/2 weeks old! hey check your pms!

I checked my PMs, but there's nothing there.
Just one from someone else, but I answered it.
 
jay helfert said:
I saw Joe hit a few the other night. He gets down on the ball good. Good fundamentals. Like so many of us here, he just needs more time on the tables. I suspect his plate is full with other matters though.

Joe, my advice (even though you didn't ask) is try to hit balls for an hour or so each day at home. You would be surprised how much difference it would make in your game. And when you have an off day, try to put in a long session. I mean 6-8 hours with a good sparring partner.

I know you are friends with Max Eberle, and he is a great guy, but he may not be the best sparring partner for you. You need to play someone closer to your speed. And there are lots of guys like that at HB. I live a ways from there in the Redondo Beach area, but I would come up that way from time to time to hit some with you.

Nice to see you anyway.

Thanks, Jay. Good advice. I'm trying to hit them more and more these days. An hour a day would do me wonders.
I picked up one of those Diamond IPT tables for my house, so i've got no excuse now. I hear what you're saying about Max, but I like the pressure, and I enjoy watching him run out from everywhere. He's a talented dude.
Most of the time I spar with a buddy of mine, and he's terrible :)

When i've been playing lately after about 5 or 6 hours I really start to feel it again. It takes a while for me to get loose though. I'm sure in a few more months things will feel closer to normal again.

It was fun hitting balls with you, man. I would love to do that again sometime.
 
Joe Rogan said:
Thanks, Jay. Good advice. I'm trying to hit them more and more these days. An hour a day would do me wonders.
I picked up one of those Diamond IPT tables for my house, so i've got no excuse now. I hear what you're saying about Max, but I like the pressure, and I enjoy watching him run out from everywhere. He's a talented dude.
Most of the time I spar with a buddy of mine, and he's terrible :)

When i've been playing lately after about 5 or 6 hours I really start to feel it again. It takes a while for me to get loose though. I'm sure in a few more months things will feel closer to normal again.

It was fun hitting balls with you, man. I would love to do that again sometime.

This is totally not pool related but that bit you did about working out (the one where you and your buddy were going to work out in the basement while your mother was upstairs) was one of the funniest bits I have ever heard in my life. I think the bit was titled "Getting Pumped" or something like that.

By the way, don't you own a Padgett cue? Like many of us from Southern California (although I live in Arizona now), Tim is a friend of mine. Between my wife and I we have 4 cues of his. I believe that, at one time, he told me he built a cue for you.
 
Are you sh1tting me?! Rogan, I'm a huge fan! Of your comedy, your life philosophy, your MMA interests, and your outing of Ned Mencia! I actually post on the UG too! Sorry, I have no idea of what's going on in ATL, but just wanted to drop in and say "whaddup!". Do me a favor, smack Goldie next time you see him. He's a terrible host! Damn near approaching Maro Ranauo (sp?) status. Just loves to hear his own voice. Best thing in the world, during PPV's is when he says something stupid, waiting for you to follow it up, and you just look at him like "nigga what?!". No offense, again, just a fan. You, me, the UG, and Alex Jones against the world, beyatches!!! Also heard you got a new whip...what model? 911? P.Patrick
 
I thought that

Wilt Chamberlain used to play (inbetween women, that is). And I thought
Bill Walten liked to play now and then.
 
A little tidbit of information that all of you may not be aware of. In 1996 CJ Wiley and I produced a PCA tournament (The Million Dollar Challenge) at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.

The final three matches were taped for television, and doing the commentary was Tony Annigoni and JOE ROGAN! I was on a headset and could hear their conversation while the matches were being played. Let me tell you, these two were terrific. Informative, insightful and very funny! They had a nice banter going on between them as well. Kind of like Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten on The World Poker Tour.

Unfortunately the shows never aired. To this day, I wish I had a copy of these great shows. Featured players included Earl (naturally), Dave Matlock and the eventual winner Allen Hopkins. I believe Oliver Ortmann was the fourth player. Damn Alzheimers.
 
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pwd72s said:
Is it true that Nora Jones looks for a pool hall on her concert stops?

I believe so, yes, I remember she did a short interview on MTV or something like that, and they interviewed her in a pool hall, I think that it was Amsterdam Billiards in NYC, but I'm not 100% sure, because it was late last year, and of course, I was at the pool hall, shooting some banks at the time, and so, I didn't catch much about the interview at the time :)

Willie
 
jay helfert said:
What about The Pool Room that Kim and Johnny just took ownership on? I heard that is a very nice place as well. Is it close to downtown?

No it is not really close to downtown and I am not sure what the action status will be with the changes? It is is actually my favorite room but a little harder to get too if your not familar with the Atl.
Mr. Cues, always has action and players like Stevie Moore, Paul Song and Cliff Joyner usually hanging out if they are not at a tournament...
Considering Joe is probably not going to get anywhere till close to midnight, and if you just want to play with your friend, The Independent still might be the easiest and safest bet.
It is in Midtown, by the way, I did not find it via google but it is just above the Landmark Mitown Art Theaters, 931 Monroe Dr Ne, Atlanta, GA 30308.
Which is just off Ponce, behind the new Trader Joes on Monroe.
 
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are pool enthusiasts. Matt Damon in "Rounders" was great, I've always thought that Damon and Affleck could do a pool movie some justice. Both of them do actually shoot pool. In their Project Greenlight endeavor -- http://projectgreenlight.liveplanet.com/index.asp -- their offices had a pool table room in it. So you know they have a little bit of passion for the game. :p

Here's a little snippet of how Project Greenlight was founded, which interestingly is related to how Matt and Ben got started in acting in the first place: It's the Hollywood Cinderella story. Two childhood friends share an apartment in Los Angeles, struggling to break into acting. Unknown after years of hard work and tired of bit parts, they write their own script and star in it. Not only do they get recognized, they become famous and win an Oscar for Best Screenplay. A dream? Hardly. It's the true story of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And it is this fairy tale come true that inspired them to team up with American Pie producer Chris Moore, and Miramax Film and Television, to create a contest and community that would open the industry to aspiring writers who need a big break to jump start their dreams.

Hey, if somebody can come up with a pool movie andsubmit it to Project Greenlight, it might be a shoe-in considering Damon and Affleck both like pool. :D

I had heard that Keither Sutherland plays pool and also was known to be a stakehorse for players from time to time. He enjoyed sweating the action. ;)

The Mission Impossible actor, whose name escapes me, also frequented Hollywood Billiards, as did the Columbo guy, which was already mentioned. :p

David Letterman and the late Jerry Orbach both enjoyed pocket billiards.

Willie Nelson's step-father owned a pool room in Texas, which is where he developed his like for the game. I was told by somebody who played him that he has a pretty decent stroke! :cool:

Can't leave out the late Jackie Gleason, growing up in NYC and developing his game from being a rack boy in a pool room.

That's about all I can think of for now! :)

JAM
 
half fast bankr said:
Do me a favor, smack Goldie next time you see him. He's a terrible host! Damn near approaching Maro Ranauo (sp?) status. Just loves to hear his own voice.


if u think that mike goldberg is bad u should listen to bill goldberg, now he is horrible, mike may not be an expert on mma but that's not really his job, he's there to compliment joe as an announcer and he does a pretty good job of it, i get tired of seeing people complaining about his announcing, it's funny how from time to time you'll even find people bashing joe's commentary and he's the perfect guy for it, mauro ranallo is like mike goldberg on steroids and he does an awesome job, i wish the ufc would of picked him up
________
 
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sde said:
Mark Kendall, lead guitarist for the rock band Great White. He played in a weekly tourney while the band was here in Grand Rapids, some where around 1996. As i recall he played weak 7 APA speed and finished in the $$.

Steve
I used to play in tournaments with Mark at Tommy Baker's pool hall in Fontana, Ca. around '93 or so. Pretty solid player, liked to gamble as well.
 
thebigdog said:
I used to play in tournaments with Mark at Tommy Baker's pool hall in Fontana, Ca. around '93 or so. Pretty solid player, liked to gamble as well.

Mark and I got to be pretty good friends but I lost contact with him several years after moving to Phoenix. If any of you are still in contact with him, please send me a PM. I'd like to give you my phone number to pass along to him.
 
thebigdog said:
I used to play in tournaments with Mark at Tommy Baker's pool hall in Fontana, Ca. around '93 or so. Pretty solid player, liked to gamble as well.

I wonder if he was with Great White when they had that big fire a couple of years ago, where almost 100 people died. He must have been. Haven't seen or heard from him since.
 
Jimmy M. said:
This is totally not pool related but that bit you did about working out (the one where you and your buddy were going to work out in the basement while your mother was upstairs) was one of the funniest bits I have ever heard in my life. I think the bit was titled "Getting Pumped" or something like that.

By the way, don't you own a Padgett cue? Like many of us from Southern California (although I live in Arizona now), Tim is a friend of mine. Between my wife and I we have 4 cues of his. I believe that, at one time, he told me he built a cue for you.

Yeah, I actually own 2 padgetts. I heard that Tim isn't making cues any more, is that true? If you talk to him, please tell him I said hi!
Thanks about the comedy bit, that was fun to make :)
 
half fast bankr said:
Are you sh1tting me?! Rogan, I'm a huge fan! Of your comedy, your life philosophy, your MMA interests, and your outing of Ned Mencia! I actually post on the UG too! Sorry, I have no idea of what's going on in ATL, but just wanted to drop in and say "whaddup!". Do me a favor, smack Goldie next time you see him. He's a terrible host! Damn near approaching Maro Ranauo (sp?) status. Just loves to hear his own voice. Best thing in the world, during PPV's is when he says something stupid, waiting for you to follow it up, and you just look at him like "nigga what?!". No offense, again, just a fan. You, me, the UG, and Alex Jones against the world, beyatches!!! Also heard you got a new whip...what model? 911? P.Patrick

Thanks, brother. I really appreciate it :)

Goldie is a great guy, he's just a professional sportscaster, and that's the job. It would really suck if I had to do his job, believe me. We have good chemistry though. He's a really cool person, he just doesn't know much about MMA.
 
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