Has any OptiBoarder made glasses for famous in the news poeple ? Now and then........

[Chris Ryser]

I made my 3 year opticians apprentiship in a well known, upper echelon retail optical store and lab in Lausanne Switzerland in the mid 1950s.
The lab in the back of the store was triangular, had 2 ceramic edgers that were belt driven, an AO diamond cutter, a gas soldering device, a gas Bunsen burner to heat the then only available nitrate plastic frames. (You should have seen them go up flames sometimes). As of my second year I did most of the lab work.

We had as regular customers a many famous poeple getting their glasses there while living or visiting Switzerland.

I just name one of them on this first post. It was Charlie Chaplin and his last wife Oona O'Neill, they were both pleasant people. She was to young (21) to need glasses. A frequent visitor to the store, he used to buy frames with Kryptok and single vision glass lenses, no PALs known then.

Born born in Walworth, London, England on April 26th, 1889 Chaplin died of natural causes on December 25, 1977 at his home in Vevey, Switzerland. In 1978, Chaplin's corpse was stolen from its grave and was not recovered for three months; he was re-buried in a vault surrounded by cement.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000122/bio

[Speed]

Can't top that. I made lenses for Aunt Bee (Frances Bauvear, don't think that's spelled correctly.) That was in a lab and i did not meet her. Made a bunch (6 or 8 pair) for Ann Margret when her play was in town. She bought them from my wife at the MDs office where she worked. They invited us to deliver them to her dressing room. We met some other famous people back stage. (Roger and Ann provided us with tickets, so close I'd never been able to buy those seats.) Her and Roger are very kind people. I saw the play again in New Orleans. It was playing the same time as the OLA convention. They send pictures and DVDs now and then. They sent a signed copy of her book. It's kind of funny getting mail from 90210.

[Craig]

Jack Nicklaus and got to deliver them to his home. Many no-name CEO's and assorted rich people, but this is the slow coast of Florida.

[Roy R. Ferguson]

We made glasses for Tammy and Jim Baker just before he was shipped off to jail. Does that count?

[Fezz]

I made a few pair for...............Wait...................Myself!:poop:

[DragonLensmanWV]

Closest I came was making glasses for our Governor, who had the distinction of being (in his two terms far apart) the youngest Governor we've had and also the oldest Governor we've had, Cecil Underwood.

[optilady1]

I dispensed to the guy who played "Bernie" on the commercials for the Bernie's appliance stores here in Connecticut. And on my day off at the LC one of the Backstreet Boys came in to get a pair of glasses, and my manager just had to get a photo of the two of them together. (Manager was a middle-aged man)

[Diane]

Made some for Tim Conway. Funny man.

Diane

[MasterCrafter]

I made glasses for the following people.

Aretha Franklin - made several pair.. she never came into store.. had her "people" bring back a couple dozen frames to try on and picked her favorite
Mitch Albom - Author of book "tuesdays with Morrie"
Tommy "hit Man" Hearns - Famous boxer
Ray Parker JR - ghost busters theme
Dave Bing - Mayor of Detroit and Hall of Fame basketball player
Isiah Thomas - Hall of fame basket ball player
Cher - Our lab did work for a hollywood store
Elton John - Custom set of Cazal's
Chuck Norris - Attended our grand opening of one of our locations
Men in Black 2 - made several pairs for the guys on the movie

There was some more but i can't remember at the moment lol

[Striderswife]

This is a fun thread. We're not breaking any privacy laws, are we??

A little over 10 years ago, I fit Bob Stoops, head football coach of the OU Sooners, for glasses. He's way taller than I thought he'd be!

[Chris Ryser]

Many no-name CEO's and assorted rich people, but this is the slow coast of Florida.

Craig........................is that why I am so slow during the winter in Naples ? Specially after my by-pass and aortic valve replacement 15 month ago ?

Have to come and see you again next year and have one of you coffees.

[Jacqui]

George Bush Sr. when he was speaking in Cheyenne, Wy in about 1990

[PhillyEyes]

I make Steve Buschemi's glasses.... tho he's only wearing a simple reading rx....

[Chris Ryser]

March 10,1946 (Sunday)

In a ceremonywitnessed by 100,000 followers at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay, the Aga Khan,leader of British India's Shia Ismaili Muslim population,received his weight in diamonds—248 pounds—in diamonds, in honor of his 60years (Diamond Anniversary) on the throne. For his golden anniversary in 1936,he had received his weight (238 lb.) in gold

In my 2nd year as apprentice my salary was 40.00 Swiss Francs per month. On day some person came in the store with a broken gold filled frame. He asked that we deliver the finished to the Aga Kahn on the 7th floor of the Lausanne Palace Hotel
It was my job to do all the soldering on the new resistance electric machine on which I had become really good. I soldered the rims back to the bridge.. The boss told me to do the delivery and to take a pair of pliers along and collect SF 5.50 for the job.
When I got there I realized that the whole 7th floor was fully rented by the Aga kahn entourage. I was brought to his suite and he waved with his fingers for me to come close. I handed over the glasses, he put them on the nose and said adjust adjust. I was glad to have the pliers and did a good job. He never said thank you, but waved his male secretary with his fingers and commanded "pay him". I went back to the man and he gave a hundred franc note. Of course I had no change and said so. The Aga Kahn waved with one hand and said "keep it and go.".

On the way back Ibought a chocolat for 1 franc that gave me the change to pay the store the SF5.50 and had a tip of more than 2x my monthly salary. It still is the largest tip I ever received in my lifetime right up to now.

Next morning it was all over the news that the Aga Kahn had an argument with management who didnot want to follow his commands. He purchased the hotel overnight for many millions and fired the management the same day.

[sharpstick777]

When Apple Computer was small, my boss made a few sets of Apple shaped lenses in drilled rimless. Although Apple ususally goes physco for such infringements of its image, Steve Jobs picked up a pair and ordered a few hundred pairs for the company.

I did a pair for an Orthopedic Surgeon. He was wasn't famous, but he moonlighted as "cut man" for a champion boxer. It was cool seeing glasses I made in a full page picture in Sports Illustrated as he was working on the boxer ringside (Willie Jorran I think).

I did have one patient who was a huge billion dollar developer in Seattle, and I never met him. His assistant would come in and pick out frames, we would guess on the seg height, and we would make up a few pairs at a time with just his PD. He was Plano in distance from Lasik, so he really was spending about $5K a year in readers and suns. No adjustments, but no complaints. We did many Maui Jims, he would have multiple pairs so he always had one ready in his boats or cars.

Al Davis, former owner of the Oakland Raiders, another patient I never met. His assistant would come in and buy silver frames. I used to order a collection of silver and black eyewear that looked cool. The assistant would come in and pick out 15-20 pairs he liked, mostly suns. I did the frames, but I had a feeling he went to Costco for the lenses, and I heard he used to give most of the frames away as gifts. It was a lot of money for about 15 minutes of work.

But my favorite is Cal Worthington. Cal used to own a ton of car dealerships all over the West Coast . He was famous for his commercials that featured his dog "spot" that was never a dog. "Go see Cal!" The first time Cal came in he was wearing western clothes, eye liner, and is a skinny 6ft 7 inches tall. He was also driving a Dodge Neon??? Nice guy though, but if I was that rich I wouldn't be driving a Neon. His wife said he never spoiled himself except with horses.

[Lee Prewitt]

I made some glasses for Francis Ford Coppolla (shop did) and I personally made some suns for Ken Griffey Sr. That was a thrill for me as I grew up watching the Big Red Machine.

[AustinEyewear]

Ya - a couple of famous people, can't remember their names though

[PhillyEyes]

that is amazing Chris!

[EVEC]

OK let's see...while in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, I did glasses for about 15 movies made there. Started w/ The Man w/ One Red Shoe w/ Tom Hanks, et al and ended w/ Chances Are w/ Cubil Sheppard and Robt. Downey, Jr. Used the first set of anti-reflection lenses used in a movie... a small budget Hip Hop movie. Lots of senators, congressmen, and other DC big wigs including George Bush when he was VP under Reagan. More names...most of the Kennedy clan, Jackson Browne, Marilou Henner, Tony Bennett, Martina Navatilova(made her first pair of Anti reflection Zeiss lenses to play in), Madonna, Mary Wilson, Lily Tomlin, Robert Duvall, Dennis Quaid, most of the Washington Redskins and the owner at that time, the list goes on, but if I drop anymore names, the sidewalk is likely to crack! The 8 years I spent in Georgetown was fun for sure!

[kaypaula]

Back when they were filming Edward Scissorhands in Wesely Chapel (outside of Tampa) in the early 90's? .. late 80's... some production assistants came in and bought about 20 pair of Rayban's for the crew and some of the cast. Well, that's my rub with fame. Not much. Oh well. Sure wish Depp had made an apperance :)))))

[finefocus]

I would like to have the money I was never paid for glasses for Reggie Jackson. When he was still with the A's, I'd get paid. He would stop in, order 10 or 12 pair, all identical, all glass photogrey. I told him some fastball was going to shatter his glasses in his face, but he swore nobody would ever get him like that. After he went to the Yankees, he would still come in off-season, and have me bill the club. He and Georgie would have a p****** contest over my bill, and it wasn't always paid.

[THE MEB]

Only a couple of brushes with greatness in my 37 year career. In my second week as a dispensing Optician I was forced to adjust Woody Haye's glasses, came in on a Monday during his "volatile period" his frames all askew. I was the only one not with a patient so I had to help him, so afraid I would break them, but things turned out well and got a pat on the head and a Nice job young man comment. Otherwise, I found a pair of temples for Miller Barber in 1976 when he was in Akron for the Firestone tourney. The only other local prominent person you may have heard of that I made several pairs of glasses for was Mylan Puskar, he contributed so much money to WVU that they named the stadium after him. Oh, I also make glasses for Bill Stuart, the fired football coach of WVU last year, not a nicer man I have ever met.

[igirl]

Remember in Jurasic Park when the guy is eaten by the dinosaur a later they find the ringing phone and mangled pair of sunglasses in the dinosaur poop? We sold the prop department the sunglasses. Does that count?

[sharpstick777]

This is a fun thread. We're not breaking any privacy laws, are we??

A little over 10 years ago, I fit Bob Stoops, head football coach of the OU Sooners, for glasses. He's way taller than I thought he'd be!

Only if we say they were perscription glasses :)

[sharpstick777]

Remember in Jurasic Park when the guy is eaten by the dinosaur a later they find the ringing phone and mangled pair of sunglasses in the dinosaur poop? We sold the prop department the sunglasses. Does that count?

Yup, I'd vote for you.