Dan Harary
Dan Harary
Author

Flirting with Fame

Starting in 1972 when he became, at the age of 15, the Stage Manager and Lighting Director at the Sunshine Inn rock concert hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey (the venue where Bruce Springsteen began his career,) Dan Harary has met, worked with and/or interacted with many dozens of the most famous movie, TV, pop and rock music stars in the world. Besides knowing Springsteen in the early 70’s before Bruce was famous, Dan also attended Boston University in the late 70’s along with Howard Stern, and befriended Jerry Seinfeld in 1981, becoming Jerry’s “very first fan.” As an Entertainment Industry Publicist for over 40 years, Dan has met everyone from Tom Hanks to Meryl Streep, Michael Jackson to Sting, Kirk Douglas to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Spielberg to Jerry Springer, Roger Daltrey to Ann-Margret, Jack Black to Sid Caesar, and Richie Havens to Gene Simmons. Dan’s countless “close encounters of the celebrity kind” are sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and quite often cringe-inducing. But no matter what, Dan’s novel adventures, both along the East Coast and in Hollywood, are all either intriguing, entertaining or just plain strange! 

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“I first met Dan on the set of my TV show ‘New Lassie’ back in 1989, and he and I become friends very quickly. He was a terrific publicist and generated a great deal of media coverage for our series. I enjoyed his book ‘Flirting With Fame’ because he is so open and honest about his encounters and adventures with celebrities – some very funny, some odd and some even hard to believe – but all told from an ‘everyman’s’ point of view. Dan quite often found himself in rather bizarre circumstances while interacting with famous people – like having a staring contest with Barbra Streisand, twice; or smoking a joint in silence with Jill Clayburgh in Central Park; or talking with Billy Crystal about Chinese food at Sid Caesar’s funeral, or introducing his mother to Mel Brooks and finding out they both went to the same high school. In this book, Dan successfully encapsulates his 50 years of ‘celebrity close encounters’ into 220 pages all while serving the reader as a skillful narrator. I wish him only the best of luck with his new career as an author!”

Dee Wallace, Actress, Teacher, Healer, Star of “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial”

“I don’t think too many Hollywood professionals other than Dan Harary would be so painfully open and brutally honest about some of his strange mis-adventures during his long showbiz career – like the perils of pissing off Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sally Field, Jerry Seinfeld, and Kirsten Dunst’s mother, or insulting Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel and Julia-Louis Dreyfus, or accidentally catching actress Karen Black naked in the shower, or hitting on Rene Russo while on a date with another woman, or meeting his hero Sylvester Stallone while urinating! Are all of his stories one-hundred percent true?  Well, he is a publicist after all! But to anyone looking to connect with his inner Zelig, and to any fan of the entertainment industry during the past half century, I’d say that Dan’s book ‘Flirting with Fame’ can guarantee the reader a truly unique – and fabulous - ride.”

Marc Summers, TV Host, Producer 

“Dan Harary was an excellent publicist when we worked together on the ‘New Gidget’ TV series in the mid ‘80s. I always enjoyed his company and when he told me he was now an author I was delighted to see that he’d branched out beyond his PR duties. His book ‘Flirting With Fame’ was very entertaining and I laughed out loud several times while reading it. Who else but Dan would forget Meryl Streep’s name while talking face-to-face WITH MERYL STREEP HERSELF? He shares countless tales, all written in an engaging way, of how his life often accidentally crossed paths with celebrities from every area of showbusiness. His stories convey to the reader a sense of his almost disbelief that he was even interacting with them in the first place! Dan’s stories are charming and humorous – he is the ultimate Hollywood ‘fan’ and I am proud of his new accomplishments as an author.”

Caryn Richman, Actress, Teacher, Spokeswoman

"Dan Harary is the Leonard Zelig of Hollywood, the Forrest Gump of show business. Wherever there is a celebrity, he'll invariably be close by. Whether this is due to his persistent stalking or simple coincidence is a legitimate question. What's undeniable is Dan's colorful ability to spin a great story. His book is a treasure trove of golden star anecdotes from 50 years of his truly unique life."

Ray Richmond, Longtime Hollywood Journalist and Author, "Betty White: 100 Remarkable Moments in an Extraordinary Life"

“Folks from out of town tend to assume that greater Los Angeles is simply teeming with famous people everywhere you look. Not true - unless you’re Dan Harary. While some of his title flirtations were professional in nature, even off-duty Dan seemed to attract celebrities like a metal detector finds buried treasure – encounters he relates with great brio and a delightfully self-effacing sense of humor. Some anecdotes are uproarious, others surprisingly touching.”

Ron Mulligan, Writer/Editor & Former CBS TV Executive

"Like Dan himself, this book is funny, captivating, surprising, enlightening, eloquent, touching, brutally honest and eminently enjoyable. Chronicling a career that has seen this talented author regularly interact with an unbelievably diverse range of film, television, music and theatrical luminaries, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves the entertainment industry. I read it straight through in a few hours.”

Peter Berk, Author/PR Executive

 
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50 Years of Celebrity Close Encounters

From 1972 to the present day, Dan Harary has met, worked with, and/or had "Close Encounters" with hundreds of celebrities from the worlds of film, TV, pop music, rock music and live theater. In the photo gallery below, Dan can be seen with a broad assortment of these celebs - please click on each photo to enlarge.

 Flirting with Fame: In the News