…and I’ll bet we’ll be together for a million more. Those words, so sweetly sung by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, signalled that the next 22 minutes would be consumed by one of the funniest and most intelligent sitcoms of the 80’s. And the fact that the quintessential parents from Family Ties, otherwise known as Steven and Elyse Keaton, otherwise known as Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney (now just Baxter since the days of becoming a lesbian), were going to be present at the Chicago Celebrity Show on Saturday, September 25, 2010, was enough to tip the scales – if they needed tipping – on whether I was going to attend the show.
Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter were sitting together with no crowd whatsoever around them. My sister Denise and I approached Gross first, and were immediately engulfed in his warm and friendly demeanor. When we told him where we from, he remarked that of course the Keatons were from Columbus as was Denise. He told us that he was also visiting family while in Chicago. Denise also claims that he made eyes at her when he found out that she was my sister. I tried to put it out of my mind that he had been a cop killer in the TV film In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders. My Dad always got a kick out of that fact.
I caught Meredith Baxter before she sat down so that I could get both a joint picture with them, and an individual shot with each. They weren’t all that cheap, charging $30 apiece for the signature/photo combo – but it was well worth it to be in the presence of two of my favorite TV parents.
Celebrities of the September 2010 Chicago collector show will continue…
The final photo: Elyse and Steven Keaton with their youngest son, Andrew?
Michael and Meredith still look great!
Dave Chasteen
October 27th, 2010