That’s awesome. Sir Lawrence was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, actors of all time.
I’d pay for his groceries and thank him.
Some of our greats are real down to Earth when we meet them in casual ordinary settings.
Friend and I got on an elevator in Manhattan back in the 2000s. Walter ‘Fritz’ Mondale was alone with his wife and one other in the cab. I looked down not wishing to disturb his privacy. Friend and I were both Reagan supporters, but friend couldn’t resist, out of respect, he reached his hand out and said, “Glad to see you Mr. Vice-President. Of course, former VP. I shook his hand as well.
It’s difficult to know what to do. These people deserve privacy.
A Mondale story from an unimpeachable source who was present and who shall remain nameless:
After leaving the vice presidency, Walter Mondale joined a lobbying law firm in DC. There was a bank branch on the lobby level of the building, and many of the people who worked in the building did their banking there for convenience. Shortly after joining the firm, Mondale was in the bank. He stepped up to the teller's window, presented a check and asked for cash.
The teller asked him for ID. This flummoxed him. I suppose at that point he still had a driver and it had been years since he had driven himself. It's possible that he didn't even have a driver's license. Anyhow, he was asked for ID and he looked stricken. One of the bank managers, however, had had an eye on him since he walked in, and the manager came flying across the lobby: "cash the check! cash the check!! cash the check!!!!!!!!" Mondale got ribbed about the incident for years to come. Always took it like a sport and got a good laugh about it.