In 1990, I was 6 years old and about to meet my new love. It wasn’t Andy Belden, the boy with the golden blonde hair of an East Coast-Zach Morris, who I had a crush on from 1st to 3rd grade. It was Brian Hackett, the character played by born-in-1961 actor, Steven Weber.
Throughout my childhood I became obsessed with TV. Lots of TV, to be exact. One of the shows that I focused my attention on was, of course, Wings. I loved it so much I didn’t even mind that Lowell left because he went on to Ned & Stacey (co-starring with a pre-Will & Grace Debra Messing) – probably because I also loved that show.
I watched most of it in first run until it ended in 1997 and I watched it whenever I was home sick from school on “USam” on the USA Network. I’m still pretty weirded out that everyone accepts Tony Shaloub’s “fake non-Italian” accent and though I’m a brunette and there IS a war going on, I will forever love Helen Chapel.
Long before I fell in love with Chandler Bing or Pacey Witter or even Nick Miller on New Girl, I only had eyes for the Original Sarcastic Slacker Boyfriend: Brian Hackett. * cue cartoon birds chirping and soft music playing.* Brian Hackett was my one true love: shoulder-length wavy hair, awesome shirt choices, sarcastic to the last. He flew planes. All of high school I would spend trying to find MY Brian Hackett (turns out my Brian Hackett wore tie-dye and hemp necklaces but you win some, you lose some.)
Let’s fast forward to 2013 – I’m now 28, married to a non-Brian Hackett type (luckily) and living and working in Los Angeles. Turns out, a lot of famous people live here. And, turns out, you run into famous people even more when you work at a late-night talk show hosted by Kathy Griffin. One day, we were in a big meeting with all the producers and the people who book the show, talking about upcoming bookings on the show and who was confirmed, who was pending, who was ignoring our calls. I was – admittedly – zoning out a little bit until I heard his name.
Steven. Weber.
Now, I had spent this entire meeting sitting on the floor, not speaking (I was not important enough for a chair), just absorbing everything until this moment. This is what happened:
ERIN: Steven Weber?
BOSS: Yes.
ERIN: Wait. But – IS HE CONFIRMED??
BOSS: Yes. He’s confirmed. (turns back to everyone else)
ERIN: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.
BOSS: So anyway…
The following weeks leading up to what I will now refer to as “The Steven Weber Show” was intense. How was I supposed to focus on what we would do on these shows that DIDN’T have Steven Weber on them?! Whenever Steven Weber came up at work my other co-workers were like, “okay, cool, let’s move on” and all I wanted to do was talk about my huge crush on him and Wings and Studio 60 and “remember when he was on SVU? And Party Down?”
No one understood. “How are there no Wings fans?,” I thought to myself while discussing Kate Walsh also being booked for “The Steven Weber Show” – sure, I loved her on Grey’s Anatomy too, but let’s get her and Steven Weber to gossip about Tim Daly instead!
But then the day of “The Steven Weber Show” came.
I’d like to point out that I am very professional (usually) and except for when I whispered to Melora Hardin “I love Jan!” as she was leaving Who Wants to be a Millionaire or being forced to take a picture with Tim Gunn after he guest-hosted – I usually don’t take photos or profess my love to any of the celebrities I run into through my job.
Enter Steven Weber.
I thought, okay, I haven’t asked to be introduced to anyone, maybe I could just see if I could say hi to Steven Weber before the show. I ran into Jane Lynch in the bathroom on the night of the premiere episode so this would be just like that, but like, on purpose! So I asked the talent department to get me in and they said, sure, we’ll do it before the show. Great, I have plenty of time to focus on my work and just say “Hey, Steven Weber” (my future pop country hit) right before we’re on the air.
Around this time I was kind of running around and waiting for an elevator – chatting loudly when suddenly the elevator doors open and BLAM. Steven Weber. Right in front of me being escorted into the studio.
Now, in all my time thinking about having Steven Weber on the show I never really considered what my reaction would be. I’m normally pretty calm about meeting celebrities and have never been this starstruck except for when I saw Jeff Goldblum at a bar and dramatically put my wedding ring in my husband’s shirt pocket. (But that’s another story.) Immediately upon laying my eyeballs on Steven Weber I turned bright red and couldn’t speak.
I went about my business and then, sure enough, there was word he had a moment of free time and “if I was going to meet him it was going to be now.” Oh boy. Luckily I’m already The Girl Who Turned Bright Red When She Walked Past Steven Weber so hopefully I wouldn’t become The Girl Who Barfed On Steven Weber Before a Live Show.
We walked down the hallway to his dressing room and I, being the mature adult I am, stood to the side of his doorway, hiding. Again, this is what went down.
TALENT PRODUCER: Hey, Steven, one of our producers is actually a really big fan of yours, do you mind if she says hi to you?
STEVEN WEBER: Oh, sure, where is she?
ERIN: [peeking her head around the doorframe, You Can’t Do That on Television-style] Oh, I’m here. Hi.
STEVEN WEBER: You’re the fan?
ERIN: [turning bright red again] Uh, yeah, yeah I am.
STEVEN WEBER: [laughing] Why? What’s the matter with you?
ERIN: Oh – ha ha – nothing. I just always loved Wings…and Studio 60 and um, you’re great.
STEVEN WEBER: Wow. Well, very nice to meet you.
[He shook my hand here and got very close to me.]
ERIN: …
[Dead.]
I was so awkward, he was so nice and touched and confused that I cared about who he was. And I wish there was a support group for people in their 20s and 30s who are obsessed with Steven Weber and Wings because that seems to be the demo.
I’m now in the midst of a Wings rewatch and it’s going swimmingly, of course, but every time I see Brian Hackett I get those same butterflies and those same waves of embarrassment.
[Image via Rob Young // Flickr]
