Okay, I’ll admit it – that title was uncalled-for. Especially considering that of all of the celebrities I met that Saturday, February 16, 2007, figure-skating champion Tonya Harding was one of the nicest. But of course, it should come as little surprise that she was also one of the most notorious. In fact, my meeting with her was less than a month before her widely publicized calls to the authorities stating that she was seeing armed intruders who were trying to hide rifles on her property. Apparently, this was a supposed reaction to legitimate, prescription drugs.
But on this day, Tonya sat quietly alone at a table with an array of nice photos for sale at the standard $20 price. She had little business and I smiled casually at her and said ‘hi’ each time I circled the room. When Bob and I finally did stop by to purchase a photo, she was more than cordial and extremely down-to-earth. So much so in fact that it was nearly on the tip of my tongue to ask her out to dinner – just for the sheer novelty! Obviously she was kind enough to let us pose for pictures with her as well. Don’t believe everything your read – not all stars are difficult and rude snobs. And ignore that headline of mine – what a cheap shot!
Autographs and celebrity encounters from Hollywood ’07 wil continue…
Really great to read a positive write-up of an encounter with Tonya – so many people just believe what they read in the media and assume she’s some sort of nasty, calculating psychopath who will break their knees as soon as bat an eyelid. People who meet her in person routinely say how they are blown away by how polite and personable she is and how completely different she is to what they expected.
I see that you’ve also met Heather Langenkamp, who did an excellent impersonation of Nancy Kerrigan in the TV movie “Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story”. So I guess you can say you’ve met both Tonya and “Nancy”!
You may be interested in visiting our Tonya site which has lots of information about her. We also have a Tonya mailing list that you can subscribe to called “The Portlandian” that will keep you up to date with all the Tonya news – although it’s not official we are in close contact with her management so we get all the inside info about what she’s up to.
Terry Hall
Head of Special Duties Section
Portland Ice Skating Society – New Zealand’s Tonya Harding fan club
http://www.pdxiss.org
Terry Hall
August 19th, 2017
I found her to be very nice too, when I met her in Chicago not long after your encounter. She was also very nice to my, then teenaged, sister, saying some very sweet things about her. I wish her well!
Dave Chasteen
August 26th, 2017