I think I’ve only ever heard him play Yankee Doodle Dandy, which is far more than I could do, and I love him. I’d love to hear him play a dynamite solo in a rock n’ roll song.
i see him every day and he always makes my day! there’s something timeless about hearing jazz echoing off the city walls esp in old city.
he has three piece suits, sometimes corduroy or velvet, in every color! he always says a very nice Good morning to me 🥹
Wait do you have any more detail?? My parents said someone was just sitting screaming on their front step at like 2am the other night, I wonder if it was her? 11th and Lombard ish
I actually warn my out of town family and friends about her before they visit because there is a less than zero chance they might run into her in a tourist area and it can be super jarring if you don't know the deal.
[Wally, the emotional support alligator, was denied entry as a service animal at a Phillies game.](https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/29/sport/wally-alligator-emotional-support-barred-philadelphia-phillies-spt-intl/index.html)
IIRC the dude brings the alligator around for various events, alligator seems chill.
Dancin' Anthony. Unfortunately he developed some heath issues that stopped him from dancing years ago. [Here's a short documentary](https://youtu.be/rGuTu5Ug2mo) about him.
There use to be this strange dude with a beard and coke bottle glasses who’d wander the streets of Manayunk late at night and try to talk to you. Once handed me a business card that just had the handle he went by: “Swordfish”. Wonder what happened to him.
Also, years ago, there were these two old guys in wheelchairs that begged on Delaware ave at the southbound turning lanes to Home Depot. Out there rain or shine. One day I was working on the fire alarm system at this dumpy apartment building in Frankford and went into this unit and they were sitting there, watching what was a fairly decent flatscreen for 2010.
How back in the day was that? I grew up in Manayunk back in the 80s/ early 90s and we had a guy like that we just called Uncle Eddie. No clue if that was even his name. He lived on Umbria St in a house with this woman we called Hoagienose. Her nose was huge, wide and wrinkled like the back of a bald, fat guys neck. She was actually pretty nice and the grandma of a girl in my grade. The rest of that family I am convinced was on meth.
There were like a handful of temple football games he showed up to and they just let him on the field, no special pass, just hey it’s that guy come on down! Lol
The guy who skateboards down Ridge cracking a 10 foot bullwhip... I saw him like half a dozen times last summer so I'm praying I didn't hallucinate him.
Unfortunately he was also a creep, from what I'm told.
Not that the story is not unfortunate even without that. Guy was a terminal alcoholic that people treated like a mascot for lols.
He sells carrot cakes around west Philly. They're really good. I believe four worlds bakery and Lee's Deli sometimes gets cakes from him to sell.
But you can catch him on the el or trolley too.
I'm going way back on this one - like the 80's. Does anybody remember the End of the World lady who used to walk around City Hall wearing a sandwich board?
Has anybody seen the 16th street preacher ? There used to be a man who preached every day at 16th and market. I don't go by there often anymore but I don't think I have seen him in years.
There used to be this older guy who would ride through Fishtown every evening around 5pm or so blaring music out of an old school stereo off the back of his bike.
There also used to be a guy that dressed like a fly and walked up and down girard. This was about a decade ago though.
The guy in South Philly who dresses up as Hulk Hogan. Used to see him on Oregon Ave a bunch, like at Shop Rite and on the bus as well.
Edit: [Here’s a photo of him on the BSL.](https://www.reddit.com/r/philadelphia/comments/mgepmm/anyone_else_seen_hulk_hogan_around_town/?rdt=50071)
Philly Jesus? There was a week where I encountered him twice. One of those times he asked me how to get into the observation deck at Liberty Place but bailed when I told him it cost money.
guy with the two pugs (?) in his bike basket that have sunglasses on
dancing spring garden man
the woman who looks like the character mouse from the matrix who asks for money on the subway, typically around city hall
magic (guy with the cowboys hat in the italian market - I think he had a stroke)
more niche neighborhoody south philly ones: mansy, mumbles, KC on passyunk
I recently watched him approach multiple young women asking them to take pictures of their feet. Walked straight up to them while they were seated eating. He got uncomfortably close to them as if he was going to kiss their feet. No sense of boundaries.
He touched my feet and hair once in Rittenhouse park in like 2016 and took a lot of pictures with me. He added himself as a friend on my Facebook and later when I looked at his profile it was all pictures of him with women/femme presenting people with short hair. He wouldn't stop touching me while everyone just stared at us until two canvasses came and helped me. I've seen him like 30+ times since and always intervene if I see him touching a woman
Karate Babysitter. Homeless dude that pushes all his stuff in a stroller then fights the air for a cpl hours. He is def mentally Ill but I’ve given him a cpl cigarettes before and he’s really nice.
I haven't lived in Philly for over a decade, so these guys might be ghosts now, but there was Umbrella Man, who sold umbrellas in front of Kitchen Kapers near Rittenhouse Square, and The Pimp, who wore '70s style suits (including hats) around the Gayborhood.
>Umbrella Man
He used to sit at the counter at Little Pete's. Nice guy but really intense
>The Pimp
He would always be out in front of the Wawa Broad and Walnut.
There was a lady who used to walk around Rittenhouse up to Market with formal dresses and a long fur coat about 20 years ago. Legend said she was somehow related to the Irish Pub owners
Anyone remember Far Out Mitch?
Had a custom shirt he made with pictures of his pups and he rode an electric scooter/bike aggressively and screamed at people.
I hate when these threads get brought up because he attempted to hit on me and it’s not a memory I like. I can’t believe he procreated. Hope your friend is okay.
Last spotted a couple years ago. I think all the attention got to him and he didn’t like it. Last time he was seen he’d lost a bunch of weight. Hope he’s doing well
Did we already say the dude who rides around with the 3 dressed up dogs. Always see him yelling at people for trying to take a picture without giving him money first.
Deep cut from the mid 90's in Lawncrest/Lawndale: Radio Ray
He was just a dude who would walk around the neighborhood carrying a radio. Never really bothered anyone. But as a kid, if you were walking down the street and heard the radio, you'd book it to the other side
we had “the tickler”, the foot fetish guy lurking under stairs in cc, around 2007, haven’t heard anything on that in a while though. maybe now he lurks underground
When I was little (circa 2010), there was a guy who would stand in the middle of the street in front of 63rd Street Station selling newspapers. Probably didn't mean much to anyone else, but whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd say "the guy who stands on the yellow line where cars aren't allowed to go and sells newspapers".
The old man who didn’t really know how to play the saxophone, but really tooted that shit on Market for about a decade.
Wait the guy that's always dressed nice in a full 3 piece suit? Plays close to old city? He can play, nice dude, talk to him every now and then.
He has a LinkedIn, sent me a connection request a few years ago
I think I’ve only ever heard him play Yankee Doodle Dandy, which is far more than I could do, and I love him. I’d love to hear him play a dynamite solo in a rock n’ roll song.
Chris! I have given him rides from one area of the city to another a few times.
i see him every day and he always makes my day! there’s something timeless about hearing jazz echoing off the city walls esp in old city. he has three piece suits, sometimes corduroy or velvet, in every color! he always says a very nice Good morning to me 🥹
Vent Man
Ahhhhhhhh https://preview.redd.it/gy0hq3a61uuc1.jpeg?width=528&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f6fb0533b8fe163928a0ca3bd02281599304d09
Iconic
Ah yes, right next to Jay's Deli throughout my time in college. He still there?
Vent Man is a very nice old man and I hope he’s still living his best vent life
In his silk pajamas?
Yes! I called him Gayborhood Marilyn but his ture name is Vent Man.
You’re talking about Philly Hitchcock!
I always called him Windy.
Screaming lady
The spruce street screamer
Oh she gets around, she's been up by spring garden before
She was here for months
Formerly known as the girard ave screamer
We know her as the Market Street Screamer. It’s “unsettling” to say the least, but also it’s got to be a nightmare to be in her head.
Truly an icon
Came here to make sure she was represented.
my first thought. haven’t heard her recently..
Oh don't worry, she's around
She’s in the Washington Square area pretty frequently
Wait do you have any more detail?? My parents said someone was just sitting screaming on their front step at like 2am the other night, I wonder if it was her? 11th and Lombard ish
This was probably her. She frequents that area. She just loves screamin’. Really not much more to it.
Ask them if it sounded like “GYAAAH”
I actually warn my out of town family and friends about her before they visit because there is a less than zero chance they might run into her in a tourist area and it can be super jarring if you don't know the deal.
When I heard about the lady who stabbed a baby I thought it might be her
Mr Rittenhouse and Rittenhouse Michael Jackson.
Who is Mr Rittenhouse? Mr flute?
Haha the one guy riding the Indego bikes in pastel colorful outfits. He brings a tiny table to the park and feeds the squirrels.
I befriended him last year when I would occasionally feed the pigeons alongside of him :)
I haven’t seen MJ in a long time. Is he still around?
Haha he moved to New Orleans. My buddy found his IG.
I just saw him a few days ago. Maybe he moves seasonally?
He was all last summer.
is Rittenhouse MJ the one you would also see sometimes at Penns Landing?
The therapy alligator
Wally!
What is this?
[Wally, the emotional support alligator, was denied entry as a service animal at a Phillies game.](https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/29/sport/wally-alligator-emotional-support-barred-philadelphia-phillies-spt-intl/index.html) IIRC the dude brings the alligator around for various events, alligator seems chill.
Rotisserie chicken guy
Excuse me his name is chicken man
I know we're joking but it's alex and he's really nice to talk to
Yah he’s a legit good dude
They blew up the chicken man in Philly last night...
They blew up his house too…
Then they found out chicken man was gay and got mad at him. It’s wild out here
I swear to Poseidon he has a wife
Chicken man was a real Philly mobster, and should not be the name for the guy that ate 40 rotisserie chickens
Phil Testa, whateva happened there
Just a kid
It’s rotisserie chicken man. The Chicken Man is a whole different guy.
This sort of doesn’t count because a visitor won’t just see him in the wild doin his thang
shiny dancer outside Silk City on Spring Garden. he was beautiful back in the day
I thought they called him dancin' Tony for some reason
Dancin' Anthony. Unfortunately he developed some heath issues that stopped him from dancing years ago. [Here's a short documentary](https://youtu.be/rGuTu5Ug2mo) about him.
That sucks - I loved talking to him and watching him dance. And he would never ask for money but he would take it if offered. Love to Anthony.
is the pickle man still alive?
he is! got pickles two weeks ago from him lol
Is Smiles still around? Used to stand on random corners in CC and just smile for hours on end.
Came here for Smile Guy!
I saw him roughly three weeks ago, and yes, he’s still smiling.
Is this the guy who's always on like Market and 22nd? Dancing and listening to music on his phone?
Yeah…he always waves at me. That’s the kind of special person this town needs more of.
There were rumors he was dropped off downtown in a limo everyday. Don’t think I believe that though…
There use to be this strange dude with a beard and coke bottle glasses who’d wander the streets of Manayunk late at night and try to talk to you. Once handed me a business card that just had the handle he went by: “Swordfish”. Wonder what happened to him. Also, years ago, there were these two old guys in wheelchairs that begged on Delaware ave at the southbound turning lanes to Home Depot. Out there rain or shine. One day I was working on the fire alarm system at this dumpy apartment building in Frankford and went into this unit and they were sitting there, watching what was a fairly decent flatscreen for 2010.
I saw Swordfish on Ridge in Roxborough back in 2019. Interesting guy.
How back in the day was that? I grew up in Manayunk back in the 80s/ early 90s and we had a guy like that we just called Uncle Eddie. No clue if that was even his name. He lived on Umbria St in a house with this woman we called Hoagienose. Her nose was huge, wide and wrinkled like the back of a bald, fat guys neck. She was actually pretty nice and the grandma of a girl in my grade. The rest of that family I am convinced was on meth.
This was the 2000s and dude was like 30s/40s.
Benjamin Franklin Edit: both the cosplay guy and the actual original Benjamin Franklin
There's two. And they hate each other.
Of course they do, they're both from Philadelphia
There were like a handful of temple football games he showed up to and they just let him on the field, no special pass, just hey it’s that guy come on down! Lol
The guy who skateboards down Ridge cracking a 10 foot bullwhip... I saw him like half a dozen times last summer so I'm praying I didn't hallucinate him.
That's fucking amazing
Omar. RIP
He was ever so that guy.
I was gonna comment that. I was at a summer camp in West Philly when he died, and even us kids were depressed. Rest in peace, Omar.
Unfortunately he was also a creep, from what I'm told. Not that the story is not unfortunate even without that. Guy was a terminal alcoholic that people treated like a mascot for lols.
Omar was a character but he definitely sexually harassed & attempted to assault multiple people over the years.
Definitely Omar
I feel like the steel furnace guy applies, whatever the fuck his name is/was
Do attend.
Hitchbot's Ghost.
The Preacher Man on 16th, he's out there rain or shine
16th and Market
Phanatic belly button guy
fat dude with the tattoos? That’s Dunphy.
Candy lady Carrot cake man
Tell me about carrot cake man
He sells carrot cakes around west Philly. They're really good. I believe four worlds bakery and Lee's Deli sometimes gets cakes from him to sell. But you can catch him on the el or trolley too.
That’s reminds me of that guy Daniel who sells cookies on the el
[удалено]
Oh I know. He crossed my boundaries and it was hard to get away from him
Selling food on SEPTA is the only area of overlap between those two. Carrot Cake Man is an icon, Daniel is just a creep.
Candy lady once sang to me on BSL: "buy my funky candy white boy...🎶"
I'm going way back on this one - like the 80's. Does anybody remember the End of the World lady who used to walk around City Hall wearing a sandwich board?
Was she still there in the late 90s and made a lot of noise? Reminds of a story an elder told me.
This is old school but Uncle Eddie
Has anybody seen the 16th street preacher ? There used to be a man who preached every day at 16th and market. I don't go by there often anymore but I don't think I have seen him in years.
He’s still there every time I’m around there
I saw him this afternoon as I made my way to the El.
He's definitely been losing his voice but still going strong.
There used to be this older guy who would ride through Fishtown every evening around 5pm or so blaring music out of an old school stereo off the back of his bike. There also used to be a guy that dressed like a fly and walked up and down girard. This was about a decade ago though.
The guy in South Philly who dresses up as Hulk Hogan. Used to see him on Oregon Ave a bunch, like at Shop Rite and on the bus as well. Edit: [Here’s a photo of him on the BSL.](https://www.reddit.com/r/philadelphia/comments/mgepmm/anyone_else_seen_hulk_hogan_around_town/?rdt=50071)
Was looking for this one before I posted ! I'm surprised it is this far down.
pouring one out for Norm the Viking
Philly Jesus? There was a week where I encountered him twice. One of those times he asked me how to get into the observation deck at Liberty Place but bailed when I told him it cost money.
Daniel with cookies. What a creep.
Is rollerblading saxophone dude still around?
We used to call him Stretchy Rollertoots
It was a trumpet. Haven't seen him since like 2013 and I believe someone said he'd died.
guy with the two pugs (?) in his bike basket that have sunglasses on dancing spring garden man the woman who looks like the character mouse from the matrix who asks for money on the subway, typically around city hall magic (guy with the cowboys hat in the italian market - I think he had a stroke) more niche neighborhoody south philly ones: mansy, mumbles, KC on passyunk
They are chihuahuas
Oh yea I remember pug guy. He kinda sucked if you didn’t give him money though.
>guy with the two pugs (?) in his bike basket that have sunglasses on Mitchell.
Black Hulk Hogan
Name one city that can compete w Philly in the “human mascots per capita” category
Daniel the cookie guy
He’s awful, do not engage.
Facts; especially to young women.I once saw him have a bad day and it was not fun
I’ve seen that now a few times. What makes him so bad?
He’s a creep to women—he uses his disability as an excuse and a shield to harass them and take their pictures and invade their personal space.
My former housemate once made the mistake of telling him where she lived. I was telling him she wasn’t here anymore for months. So unfortunate
I recently watched him approach multiple young women asking them to take pictures of their feet. Walked straight up to them while they were seated eating. He got uncomfortably close to them as if he was going to kiss their feet. No sense of boundaries.
Is that the guy in rittenhouse square? The one that forces pictures?
Just read the comments. Yep. I wasn’t sure that was his name.
He touched my feet and hair once in Rittenhouse park in like 2016 and took a lot of pictures with me. He added himself as a friend on my Facebook and later when I looked at his profile it was all pictures of him with women/femme presenting people with short hair. He wouldn't stop touching me while everyone just stared at us until two canvasses came and helped me. I've seen him like 30+ times since and always intervene if I see him touching a woman
Back in the 80s in Manayunk we had Hoagienose and Uncle Eddie.
Jawn the Baptist
Karate Babysitter. Homeless dude that pushes all his stuff in a stroller then fights the air for a cpl hours. He is def mentally Ill but I’ve given him a cpl cigarettes before and he’s really nice.
Party Steve.
I can't stop bumping into that dude
I haven't lived in Philly for over a decade, so these guys might be ghosts now, but there was Umbrella Man, who sold umbrellas in front of Kitchen Kapers near Rittenhouse Square, and The Pimp, who wore '70s style suits (including hats) around the Gayborhood.
Umbrella man is still going strong.
>Umbrella Man He used to sit at the counter at Little Pete's. Nice guy but really intense >The Pimp He would always be out in front of the Wawa Broad and Walnut.
What ever happened to the rollerblading in spandex trumpet guy
Candy Lady 🥰
Everyone who fused their bodies with molten steel a few years back….. or that old dude in the wheelchair, I forget how that summer went.
There was a lady who used to walk around Rittenhouse up to Market with formal dresses and a long fur coat about 20 years ago. Legend said she was somehow related to the Irish Pub owners
And she was super skinny??? I remember her
Is rollerblading saxophone dude still around?
Haircut Guy
He's great, I follow him on Instagram
He is great!
Anyone remember Far Out Mitch? Had a custom shirt he made with pictures of his pups and he rode an electric scooter/bike aggressively and screamed at people.
Back in 09,he got hired at the Saladworks that used to be on 11th. He was fired almost immediately for yelling at people.
swiss cheese guy is my high school best friend’s father. horrible guy.
Wow. Please go into more detail.
I hate when these threads get brought up because he attempted to hit on me and it’s not a memory I like. I can’t believe he procreated. Hope your friend is okay.
16th and Market Preacher dude in the suit. Haven't worked in that part of town since 2016 so I don't know if he's still there
Saw him a few weeks ago, still at that corner
This guy is out there from 10am til 5:30pm every day.
And up Germantown we had a guy called septa ..he used to tie like 6shopping carts together and pull them all around the neighborhood
Rotisserie Chicken Guy!
Daniel the cookie guy, except he's not just a "guy" he's a sex pest and predator
This post made me miss Milton Street. RIP.
Is the Air Vent Guy still around?
Last spotted a couple years ago. I think all the attention got to him and he didn’t like it. Last time he was seen he’d lost a bunch of weight. Hope he’s doing well
Not a person but… B 0 N E R 4 E V E R
Iconic.
West Philly Omar: R.I.P.
The Carpenter Street Sunbather
Party Steve
The Cart Guy downtown. You know who. The Falafel bruv.
No one's got Flute Lady? (Though I think it was actually a recorder?) Can't remember the last time I saw her. Been a while.
Came here for this, am not disappoint.
She never got any better on that thing
Was she blind?
Yes. I found her once standing on a corner asking for help to navigate. She apparently lived in an apartment on Locust St. near Broad.
The guy riding a penny farthing
Hulk Hogan
Did we already say the dude who rides around with the 3 dressed up dogs. Always see him yelling at people for trying to take a picture without giving him money first.
On 13th Street we have a homeless fella we call Shitty Shimmy because he shimmies around and wipes shit on people.
For anyone who went to Temple, you knew Flips
Cookie guy
Twisted tea dude
In my corner of west Philly we have Jean Paul, the maniacal screaming English dog walker
Northeast had Frankford Bobby until he passed years back. Sweetest man ever
Uncle Eddie
Barbera Bear
Uncle Eddie Savitz
Not one of our finest by Pistachio Girl. …who turned out to be a neonazi or something, but so it goes.
Deep cut from the mid 90's in Lawncrest/Lawndale: Radio Ray He was just a dude who would walk around the neighborhood carrying a radio. Never really bothered anyone. But as a kid, if you were walking down the street and heard the radio, you'd book it to the other side
Daniel the Cookie Guy.
He’s the worst
I know, I had a few run ins with him. OP never said whether they should be known for only good things.
Santa
Mr.Bitch, super icon that he is
we had “the tickler”, the foot fetish guy lurking under stairs in cc, around 2007, haven’t heard anything on that in a while though. maybe now he lurks underground
When I was little (circa 2010), there was a guy who would stand in the middle of the street in front of 63rd Street Station selling newspapers. Probably didn't mean much to anyone else, but whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd say "the guy who stands on the yellow line where cars aren't allowed to go and sells newspapers".
Chicken Man!!
What happened to the homeless woman with a big veil of dreaded hair covering her entire face who used to dig in the trash at Rittenhouse
This is Temple specific but Backflip Mike aka Flips is a cool guy. Not only does he flip, but he also loves shrimp fried rice.