Happy 39th birthday to Neil Patrick Harris!

I think it was in 2004 the first time I ever met Neil Patrick Harris.

We were at a DVD release party for the movie 9 to 5 and standing near each other waiting for Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda to take the stage at this really cool kind of exclusive event.

Neil was famous from Doogie Hauser MD but what had really impressed me was an interview he had done not long before that with Terry Gross on NPR all about his Broadway career.

He was so amazingly articulate and impressive that it completely changed my perception of him. I remember sitting inside my car parked outside my apartment in Park LaBrea listening to the interview in its entirety.

That’s what I talked to him about when I met him on this night in Hollywood that when we took this photo together. It’s a nice memory for me.

At the time, I was an entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News but had not yet launched my original LGBT-themed blog, Out In Hollywood, the precursor to Greg In Hollywood.

I also didn’t know Neil was gay and would have never guessed that he would go on to be featured in the blogs probably more than any other gay celebrity.

It wasn’t long after that that Neil turned his image in its head in the Harold and Kumar movie then landed How I Met Your Mother.

The rest is history.

He went on to have the coolest coming out in history by releasing an shame-free statement and simply getting on with his life and career.

Since then, so much has come his way. He and partner David Burtka became the father of twins, Neil won two Emmys, he’s hosted three Tony Awards and an Emmy telecast, done two more Harold & Kumar movies and several other films, is in his eighth season of How I Met Your Mother and also starred in Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.

Can’t wait to see what he does next!