The Rock rocks Nashville woman's world at premiere
March 16, 2004
The Rock was no match for a Nashville child-care worker on Monday.
As he began addressing an audience in one of two Opry Mills theaters screening his film Walking Tall, Beverly Bender threw him slightly off by yelling, with feeling, ''You are so good-looking.''
''Uh oh, we've got a live one,'' The Rock said to the audience.
Beverly, 41, didn't stop there. After he finished his presentation, the lights went down and she yelled to him, ''Wait, you have to sign my poster.''
Beverly — who had a tendency to end every sentence with ''I LOVE that man!'' — had converted a blue poster into a laminated collage of Rock photos dating to his infancy. She had made a framed autographed 8x10 photo of him into a large necklace charm.
The Rock, who spent about 40 minutes signing autographs on his way into the theater, scampered to her front-row seat and signed the poster as the movie's opening rolled.
''I hugged him and whispered, 'I love you,' '' Beverly later said, right before running off to try to find him at the after party. (P.S.: Considering the embrace, she did not bathe when she got home Monday night.)
How did Beverly get into the private screening alongside notables like Titans linebacker Peter Sirmon, actor David Keith and country singer Mark Wills? She stood near the foot of the red carpet, and ''I kept screaming when the limos came, 'It's The Rock!' '' A man finally walked up and gave her a ticket.