The 7 best celebrity spottings in Dayton in 2017

2017, you had us at Robert Redford shooting a movie in downtown Dayton.

Celebrities just couldn’t stay away from the Gem City in 2017.

Below is a rundown of our seven favorite celebrity sightings.

Let us know if we’ve forgotten your favorite!

>> New Year’s Eve Guide: The best places in and around Dayton to ring in 2018

>> More than a dozen celebrities spotted in Dayton 

7 🌠  ALTON BROWN EATS DAYTON 

The Food Network’s Alton Brown whipped Dayton foodies into a frenzy by simply eating.

Brown, a TV personality best known for Good Eats, Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen, was in Dayton on Oct. 24 for his stage show, "Eat Your Science,"  at the Schuster Center.

>> These were Alton Brown’s must-try eats when he was in Dayton

He sampled some of our best grub.

>> Food Network star calls Dayton sandwich ‘amazing,’ owner says 

>> 8 places that Alton Brown SHOULD have gone while he was in Dayton

6 🌠  MARK ZUCKERBERG SWINGS BY DAYTON 

One of the most powerful men in the world visited Dayton, and it was a secret from most until he was gone.

>> RELATED: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg visits Dayton to talk opioid epidemic

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and founder,  talked to local officials about the opioid epidemic that has devastated families here and beyond.

He posted about the experience on his official Facebook page.

I just sat down with people recovering from opioid addiction and people helping them get treatment in Dayton, Ohio. The...

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday, April 29, 2017

🌠 CATHY GUISEWITE LOVES DAYTON 

The woman behind one of the nation’s most successful comic strips is a big fan of her hometown.

"Cathy" creator Cathy Guisewite said she cherished this city while accepting her spot in the Dayton Region's Walk of Fame.

The Dayton native said she started bawling her eyes out as her plane landed at Dayton International Airport.

"There was a feeling of coming home that is very powerful," Cathy Guisewite, the famed creator of the "Cathy" comic strip, told us.

“I don’t think I ever could have done what I did in my life If I didn't have my start here.”

>> Emmy-award winner: ‘I am proud and grateful beyond words to be from Dayton’

Guisewite was inducted with a list of Dayton notables that included Oscar Boonshoft and Marjorie Boonshoft; Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis Sr.; David L. Hobson;  Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and actress Allison Janney.

4  🌠 DAVE CHAPPELLE BRINGS GAYLE TO YELLOW SPRINGS 

One of the Dayton area’s worst-kept secrets is that Dave Chappelle lives on a farm near Yellow Springs.

Chappelle shared that fact with the world when he showed “CBS This Morning” host Gayle King around the Greene County village in March.

It wasn’t the first time King was spotted in Yellow Springs.

>> Dave Chappelle on Yellow Springs: "I have time to think about things" 

If you recall, King was among the celebrities spotted in Yellow Springs in October 2016 for the first night of “Dave Chappelle's Juke Joint” parties.

>> MORE: Why Bradley Cooper, Naomi Campbell, Gayle King and Q-Tip visited Dave Chappelle in Yellow Springs

As far as we can tell, 2018 has been a big year for Chappelle.

He won an Emmy, his first, for hosting "Saturday Night Live" following Donald Trump's election and he is up for a Grammy in the Best Comedy Album category for "The Age Of Spin" and "Deep In The Heart Of Texas."

“Equanimity,” the third of three comedy specials for Netflix, is set to be released on New Year’s Eve

>> Dave Chappelle: ‘You are poor; (Donald Trump) is fighting for me

3 🌠 ALLISON JANNEY JOINS DAYTON'S WALK 

Hometown girl Allison Janney won our hearts all over again when she came to town to be inducted into the Dayton Region's Walk of Fame.

>> RELATED:  ‘I am proud and grateful beyond words to be from Dayton,’ Emmy-winner says

Janney shared her love for Ashley's Pastry Shop's Sand Tarts during an interview with us.

>> RELATED: Why Allison Janney loves these Oakwood cookie

Raised in Oakwood, Janney is the co-star of CBS’ “Mom.”

She is perhaps best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the NBC series “The West Wing,” for which she received four Emmy awards and four Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards.

She told us she’d put the Walk of Fame award with her other trophies.

>> Famous Dayton actress reacts to big Golden Globe nomination for role in Tonya Harding film 

The former Miami Valley School student and star of stage and screen thanked her parents and a long list of Dayton people and institutions for influencing her and supporting her during her walk of fame acceptance speech.

“I feel incredibly grateful, and I will never forget being cemented into the fabric of Dayton, Ohio,” she said.

>> Allison Janney: “Dayton spawns great people” 

🌠 A TIP FROM CHRISSY TEIGEN 

It is not exactly unusual for John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen to bop around the area.

He’s from Springfield and still has ties to the community, after all.

But the tip Tiegen, a model and the co-host of  “Lip Sync Battle,” left for a Centerville waitress was pretty fantastic.

Teigen, a huge fan of of Outback Steakhouse’s Bloomin’ Onion, dropped a $1,000 tip on waitress Mikayla Scott.

>> RELATED: You won’t believe the tip Chrissy Teigen dropped on this Centerville waitress

>> RELATED: Here’s what Chrissy Teigen said about her $1K tip to Centerville waitress 

1 🌠 ROBERT REDFORD, DANNY GLOVER AND THE GANG 

Hollywood icon Robert Redford literally shut down part of downtown Dayton when he brought the production of his upcoming movie "Old Man and the Gun" to downtown Dayton last spring.

Cars seemingly plucked from the 1970s took over Second Street near Liberty Tower as part of a chase and several other scenes.

>> RELATED: When Robert Redford took over downtown Dayton

Danny Glover was spotted out and about in the area, and Redford was spotted with Tom Waits at the Oakwood Club, 2414 Fair Hills Ave.

>> RELATED: Guess where Robert Redford and Tom Waits ate when they were in town?

1970s have hit downtown Dayton thanks to the Robert Redford, Danny Glover and Casey Affleck movie being filmed right now. Dayton, Ohio - City Government FilmDayton http://on.dayton.com/2oFJ9nk

Posted by Amelia Robinson on Monday, May 1, 2017

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