Woody playing Chess

 

July 10, 2005

Woody Harrelson set up shop at the Saint Paul Hotel while shooting the movie, Prairie Home Companion, at the Fitzgerald Theater. 

One day while walking through the lobby he approached me with a request. “John, can you find a person to play chess with me.”  I agreed to try and find someone.  As he walked away I realized I had no idea the kind of a player he was, I had to guess.  Checking around the hotel I determined no one played chess.  With the internet recently available to search for questions like this I typed in Chess Players.  The list was varied, everything from local chess clubs, to how to play.  One query was a segment, done by a local television station, about a young player in Eagan named John Bartholomew, the top young player in the country,  Going to the phone book, I located a Bartholomew listed in Eagan.  Calling the number, luckily I got an answer from a lady.  Asking her if John lived there she said yes. Explaining the request she put me in touch with him.  After a short discussion he agreed this would be something he'd be interested in, so I gave him the hotel  phone number, telling him to contact Woody, personally.  Hanging up, I felt I had taken care of the request very nicely,  John would have a chance to play with a famous actor, and Woody would be able to play a very good opponent. 

 
That weekend they played.  Asking Woody how the game went,  he said, “John beat me the first game, but at the end he replaced the pieces to where I made my mistake and told me how I should have proceeded. “  They enjoyed each others company enough to set up another meeting where John helped him improve his game. 
 

The next week Woody handed me an envelope with my name on it.  I was pleased with what was inside.

 About 3 years later, I had an opportunity to drive John Ratzenberger around Minneapolis. He played the character “Cliff Claven”,  in the sitcom “Cheers”  While in the car I told him, Woody’s story about playing chess, since they both were in the cast together. To my surprise he told me he taught Woody how to play chess.  This was one of those unique moments where episodes will circle around and become even more significant.  I was a character in the life of 2 famous people.