Rita Wilson wounded her “ego” when she “faceplanted” at a Led Zeppelin concert when she was 16.
Rita Wilson wounded her “ego” when she “faceplanted” at a Led Zeppelin concert.
The 70-year-old singer-and-actress – who has two sons with husband Tom Hanks – saw the Stairway to Heaven rockers when she was 16 years old and recalled feeling “so excited” about getting to the venue. She sprinted there, only to fall victim to her impractical footwear.
Asked about the first concert she attended, she told The Times newspaper: “Led Zeppelin at the Forum in Los Angeles in 1973. I was 16 and went with two girlfriends.
“My mum had made my outfit: Hawaiian-print bell-bottom trousers and a crop top. I wore cork-soled wedge sandals.
“We were so excited that we started running from the car park towards the venue, and you just do not run in wedge sandals. I faceplanted on the pavement.
“Anything that looked cool went straight out of the window. Nothing was damaged except my ego, and the concert was incredible.”
One of Rita’s earliest celebrity encounters was with The Monkees’ Mike Nesmith, but her souvenir of the encounter was defaced by her sister.
Discussing the first famous person she met, she said: “Mike Nesmith from the Monkees. The Monkeemobile was built near my house, so I’d often stop by to see if any of the band were around. One day Mike was there, so I ran home to get a picture for him to sign.
“My sister wanted it dedicated to her, but I insisted on having it signed to me, only for her to change it when I got home.”
Despite her high-profile marriage, Rita and Tom are frequent visitors to their local cinema because they adore the “powerful” experience of sharing a moment with other people.
She said: “I was eight when I saw The Sound of Music with my family at a cinema on Hollywood Boulevard. It was a great film.
“Going to the cinema there was an experience in itself. They called them movie palaces, with the ornate architecture, red velvet seats, carpeted aisles and the smell of popcorn.
“Tom [Hanks] and I still go often. We recently saw The Odyssey. Imax was sold out, so we went to a regular screening.
“There’s something powerful about watching a film with a crowd, laughing together and sharing that experience.”
Rita Wilson ‘faceplanted’ at Led Zeppelin concert and wounded her ‘ego’
