Being in journalism for over three decades, you tend to run into celebrities, especially in the New York Metro area. Some encounters are fun, some, not as much (see future post on Lawrence Taylor) In 2006, I met Academy Award winning actor Joe Pesci as he attended his annual Pesci's Celebrity Skins Game at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, NJ.
This was also an annual assignment I enjoyed shooting because, well, it was June and I got to hang out on a golf course all day with A-list celebs like Pesci, Mark Wahlberg, Angie Everhart etc. I got a few images of Pesci warming up, hitting some drives for the cameras. Then I ran down the hill to get a different angle. As I was shooting, I noticed he was chipping and not driving as I heard a thump….thump…thump in my general direction. I looked away from my viewfinder to see Pesci taking a dead eye in my direction as he was chipping.
It was a great day, as a charity even, everyone is on their best behavior. Pesci always worked the crowd like a pro. Long story short, he never did hit me, (not sure if that was by design or not) and I quickly grabbed up a souvenir ball from that day to tell the story 14 years later.
