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Fans lining up, hoping for glimpse of George
Monday, March 24, 2008 12:56 PM EDT Print this story | Email this story
It didn't take long for fans to begin lining up in front of the Washington Opera House Monday morning in anticipation of seeing George Clooney and Renee Zellweger walk the red carpet for the premier of Clooney's movie "Leatherheads."

The first arrivals of the morning were best friends Karen Edwards and Roxanna Stanton who took their places at around 9:30 a.m. Edwards lives in Edgewood and Stanton live in Loveland, Ohio, but the women grew up in Lewis County and have known each other for 29 years. Stanton brought her 10-year-old son Avery with her for the festivities.

According to Edwards, the women arrived in Maysville Sunday night to make sure they snagged a front row space early in the morning in hopes of seeing Clooney for a moment to help Edwards celebrate her birthday. To capture Clooney's attention, Edwards made a sign saying "George, It's my birthday."

"I hope he'll stand with her to get a photograph and autograph," Stanton said.

"A hug would be nice," Edwards said with a big smile and laugh.

Edwards and Stanton joked about the fact they have never done anything "so crazy" in their lives, but admitted they are big fans of Clooney and wanted to be part of such a special event in Maysville. Stanton said her son is on spring break and thought he might want to spend the day with friends instead of traveling to Maysville, but he wanted to be in on the action as well.


"This is a once in a lifetime event," Stanton said, as she looked at the activity going on around her.

Armed with nothing more than purses, cameras, signs and blankets to stay warm, the trio watched carefully to make sure they were front and center at the barricade line for the best possible view of Clooney and Zellweger walking the red carpet.

Edwards said attending the premiere was a highlight of her life for the past three years after an automobile accident left her seriously injured and unable to work. Edwards held up a picture of herself in front of the Clooneys' home in Augusta, saying that was the closest she thought she would ever come to seeing George Clooney in person.

"He's just a down home boy that's made it big ... he's a wonderful actor, he has a great sense of humor and he's handsome," Edwards said of the reasons why she's such a big fan.

"I'm going to stand right here ... I'm not going to lose my spot," said Edwards.

Also in the crowd was Debbie Roberts, who took a vacation day from work to attend the premiere and secure her spot on the front line. Roberts was talking with friends on her cell phone, giving them tips on when to arrive, what was going on at the moment and where she would be standing.


Roberts said she took the day off work because she thought "it would be an interesting day to watch it all come together" since red carpet premieres don't happen every day, especially in small communities like Maysville.

"It's not that often it comes to your backyard," Roberts said with a smile.

Roberts arrived around 10 a.m., with some of her friends joining her around noon and the others after work; all together she expected to have five or six people in her group to watch everything from the arrival of ticket holders to the first screening to the celebrity arrivals at 7 p.m.

The area around the Washington Opera House was busy all day, with news teams arriving from Cincinnati and Lexington, as well as others who weren't as easy to identify.

The advance security team for Gov. Steve Beshear arrived around 10:45 a.m., meeting with officials from Universal, the city of Maysville and the Washington Opera House in preparation for the governor's arrival later in the evening. Assistant Police Chief Maj. Ron Rice was on hand to help coordinate where the celebrities would arrive, where news trucks and vans were to park and other public safety details with Universal officials.

All around the area, city of Maysville employees worked setting up tents, picket fence barricades along the sidewalks leading to the Opera House, street barricades to block off traffic and taking care of other last minute details to make the evening a success.

Contact Marla Toncray at marla.toncray@lee.net or 606-564-9091 Ext. 275.

Reader Comments

Comments are limited to 200 words or less.

Dale wrote on Mar 25, 2008 12:41 AM:

" Great crowd, and a friendly crowd which is very important in a group of this size. My Wife, Jenny and I arrived around 6 PM, and the first person we saw walking up the street was Dad, Nick Clooney. Just an awesome gentleman, he stopped, talked with us, and was happy to pose for a couple photos. We walked around the block to the Opera House, and waited to get our glimpse of fame. Shortly after 7 PM, George Clooney arrived and really worked the crowd, displaying that famous sense of humor and charm that seperates him from the rest! Renee arrived shortly after, and took the time to walk the block, both left and right of the Opera House. She took her time with the fans, talked, signed posters, and posed for photos. We had a GREAT experience, just another event Jenny and I shared, and will always have that fun Maysville evening in our mind. "

Peanut Gallery wrote on Mar 24, 2008 11:45 PM:

" Just got home to Augusta! What a memory! Thank so much for a great time "

Whitney wrote on Mar 24, 2008 8:58 PM:

" it was an amazing experience, i had a blast even though it was cold, it was worth it, i got autographs and my friends got a teeshirt :] "

SHARON BELLOWS wrote on Mar 24, 2008 8:32 PM:

" This is really awesome for Maysville. We are very lucky to be a part of this spectacular event. I didn't get to make it down town tonite because I had to work late but boy I wanted to be there. I had the priviledge of meeting
George Clooney at Caproni's several years ago, and he is everything they claim he is, very down to earth with a great sense of humor and looks very sexy in his jeans. Thank you George and the Clooney family for all you have done for Maysville. "


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