dennis_couvillion Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 A couple of years ago, after I'd gone back into photography, I was roaming the French Quarte with my newly acquired M6 looking for anything interesting. At one of the many beer and daquiri bars, with the ubiquitous video poker machines, I spied a guy in full clown drag playing video poker with a bucket of quarters. There was something disturbingly funny about the scene. The harshly-lit bar reminded me of the inside of some Stephen King-inspired spacecraft, but the ballons in the doorway added an incongruous celebratory element. I thought to myself that all the scene needed was the guy holding a cigarette (and maybe a glass of Jack Daniels), with a hooker looking over his shoulder. At any rate, for whatever reason, the picture always gets laughs when I show it to friends. This morning I opened the newspaper and saw an article, accompanied by his photograph, saying that he had died in Boston. His name was Perry Rlickman, a/k/a Perri the Hobo, and he was quite a character. Apparently the "disturbed clown" routine was not a big reach. Here is a link to the article, along with another article I found about him: http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/obits- 5/1049029801134960.xml?nola http://www.eccentricneworleans.com/perri_the_hobo.htm Did any of you in Boston know him? Dennis :>(<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j m shaw Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Dennis, I lived in the French Quarter and mid city for many years, and often saw Perri doing his balloon act in Jackson square, also making his whistling sound at the pretty ladies. He was very much a part of the city. Will be sad not to see him when I return. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_michel Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 i saw him often in harvard square. he seemed like a gentle guy. a hobo, maybe, but his passing has been marked (and apparently mourned) to a greater extent than many a tycoon. go figure. what's the quote: "a thousand people die and it's a disaster, one person dies and it's a tragedy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis_couvillion Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 Roger: Did you read the articles? Some pretty funny stuff in the second one. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markci Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 <i>17 pounds</i> of pot? Holy cripes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_smith4 Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 I have this picture of a clown I took in Harvard Square in December. No clue if it's him or not... (Sorry for the ruff scan).<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis_couvillion Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 Grady: I would say that's the guy. If you look at the pictures in the second article, that's definitely the same guy. In the picture in the newspaper this morning he looked more like he did in the photo I took (although the sharpness and clarity of my pic ain't that hot... must be because I was using a CV lens instead of Leica glass.) :>) I love the part in the newspaper article that says: "He was loved by children... But Mr. Rlickman also was loud, often inebriated and sometimes belligerent." BTW, how long ago did you take that pic? Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis_couvillion Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 "BTW, how long ago did you take that pic?" Sorry, I see you took it in December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas_green1 Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 This strikes me as the real world manifestation of the All Time Mary Tyler Moore Classic Episode: "Chuckles Bites the Dust" "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime_botero Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 Aye, I knew him well. He spoke to me fondly of New Orleans and its people. He looked out for the less fortunate homeless folks of the area, quite noble. Perri the Hobo has left a huge void in Harvard Square. There will be a memorial service for him on the 16th of April at Leo's Place, a favorite eatery of his. I'm a bit torn up at the moment, let me get back to you. Jaime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime_botero Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 The Boston Globe OnlineBoston.com Obituaries [ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print version | Search archives ] Perri David Rlickman, performed clown act By Associated Press, 4/5/2003 He made children laugh and some grown-ups cringe, but Perri the Clown always did what a clown is supposed to do: he attracted attention. Perri David Rlickman, an itinerant street performer who delighted people with his whistling and balloon-making but also drew complaints about some of his other antics, was found dead in his Boston apartment on March 24. He was 51. Mr. Rlickman was the talk of Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, during recent summers. At first he was a big hit in the progressive resort town, especially with children. ''I can actually communicate with these kids through my whistling,'' he told the Cape Cod Times in a 2001 interview. In 2001, the town's police chief tried to revoke Mr. Rlickman's street performer's license after complaints that he made offensive remarks and was frequently drunk. The American Civil Liberties Union stepped in and negotiated another chance on the grounds that bad taste was no reason to deny him a livelihood. Boston police said foul play was not suspected in his death. An official from the state medical examiner's office did not immediately return a phone message yesterday seeking information on the cause of death. Mr. Rlickman, a native of Bluefield, W.Va., apparently migrated around Massachusetts, Florida, and other locations. Raffi Bezjian, owner of Leo's Diner in Cambridge's Harvard Square, where Mr. Rlickman stopped by three or four times a day when living in Boston, said there was another side to him. ''I had the opportunity to get to know him and I saw the other side of him, not being a clown,'' Bezjian said. ''He just had a really, really good heart. He cared about people.'' Mr. Rlickman was usually behind on what he owed the diner but kept careful track of what he'd eaten there and would pay off the debt when he had a few dollars and bus tables when things got busy, Bezjian said. Bezjian often saw him walking around Harvard Square talking to the homeless and handing out a few dollars. On the Friday before he died, Mr. Rlickman left as usual and asked when Bezjian would be by to open up Saturday morning. ''I said, `Why do you want to know?' just joking,'' Bezjian said. ''And he said, `I want to come by and annoy you.''' But Mr. Rlickman, who always told Bezjian when he was leaving town, didn't show up that Saturday, or again on Sunday. ''I miss that whistling, his nuisance,'' Bezjian said. ''We got a phone call late Monday afternoon that the clown is resting in peace.'' Bezjian plans to host a memorial later this month. This story ran on page B7 of the Boston Globe on 4/5/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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