My connections to people I admire, particularly celebrities of the 1940s and 1950s, is difficult to establish given the famous people I've met.

Back in the late '90s/early '00s I regularly visited Los Angeles, where I met Tori Spelling outside a nightclub - her dad Aaron Spelling being a big cheese in TV land. At the time I secretly loved 90210, so I was thrilled to meet any member of the cast!

I met Danny Glover in a party at the Hollywood Athletic Club (the site of the Emmy Awards), where a friend worked as a bartender. I can only presume that he would have met or worked with some of the black celebs I admire, like Muhammad Ali, Sidney Poitier and Barack Obama.

Lastly, I was approached in a Mexican Restaurant in Santa Monica one night by a lady who was interested in my Australian accent. Her name was Portia De Rossi, and she's now married to Ellen De Generes, which opens up the field considerably.

But how many degrees of separation there are between this motley group of celebrities and people like Grace Kelly, Gary Cooper, Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, etc. I do not know. 

There are just too many to name after that........

My favorite connection: My friend Dan Moyer wrote a biography of Jack Webb (Jack had died before he started this project) in the process meeting lots of actors.Hollywood people including Dan Aykroyd, who played Joe Friday in the Dragnet movie. Aykroyd's co-star was Tom Hanks. Hanks played Mr, Rogers in a movie a few years ago. One of my students (at that time) was in the Mr. Rogers movie with Hanks.

So it loops around. Everyone knows everyone!

Guess I can link myself to Lincoln like JB (who I also met at Motor City Comicon in Novi in the 1990's).

Mind boggling.

A local journalist (I know someone who knows her) recent published a book called "The Long and Winding Phone" about interviews she'd done with people who know/knew the Beatles and associated acts, such as Peter Asher, May Pang, Chris O'Dell, Pattie and Jenny Boyd, Pete Best, and Denny Laine. Degrees of separation are short indeed!

Grrr... ok Mr Smart Guy, try this:

John Byrne ---> Cleopatra in under 6 degrees. Where's your M(ess)ia now, eh? :)