The Wall Street Journal said it's a plot worthy of Tinseltown:
Mr. Jermyn now has a clothing label named after him. Since it was introduced last month, "The Crazy Robertson" brand of T-shirts and sweatshirts, created by a trio of 23-year-olds, has flown off the shelves at Kitson, a haunt of tabloid stars like Paris Hilton. The clothes feature stylized images of Mr. Jermyn, including one design -- available on a $98 hoodie -- that has a graphic of him dancing and the phrase "No Money, No Problems" on the back.What many people don't know is that Mr. Jermyn suffers from schizophrenia and according to his sister, refuses to take the medication needed to treat his illness.
In another homeless success story... Tho top novel National Book Award winner for 2007 is Tree of Smoke, that USA Today calls a “dark novel about the calamities of the Vietnam War. "Reading it feels like a careening journey into our national subconscious," the judges said.
Well, the “subconscious” of the media elites anyway.
Tree of Smoke author Denis Johnson was a drugged-out street-person in the ‘60’s, hardly a background qualifying him to pass judgment on the troops who served in Vietnam, or to be taken seriously by anyone with any sense, or sense of decency.
Democracy Project has more on the high flying author.
So what part of the profits are these enterprising 23 year olds putting in escrow for the care of this homeless man? Nothing I/m sure. Use his image and forget him. He's a public figure right?
ReplyDeleteSo, the real-life version of Zonker Harris wrote a book about the war in Vietnam. I can't wait to see the cartoon strips.
ReplyDeleteValerie
Interesting but sad story. I went to a couple of sites to read more about him and it looks like he once led a very promising life.
ReplyDeleteWho am I to judge though, perhaps he's very happy. I think all of us at one time or another wish that we could just let go of the "cares of the world".
Is that a Kucinich campaign worker looking at himself in the window?
ReplyDeleteAnn--
ReplyDeleteI see Mr. Jermyn on an almost daily basis. He is a fascinating man. There is no doubt that the man is two different things: 1) an incredibly driven individual, and 2) mentally ill.
He literally spends all day dancing. During the summer on skates, other times of the year simply jamming to the tunes on his juke box. He watches his reflection in the windows of the storefronts on Robertson in LA. He has amazing stamina and an obviously strong work ethic.
He is in good physical shape--especially for a homeless man, because he basically pretends to be Michael Jackson for hours on end.
He is a tragic figure. If only he had help and a different focus his obsession, he could be a productive member of society. As it is, when I see him, I usually glance over at his stuffed-to-the-brim shopping cart parked in a near-by alley and feel very sorry for the guy.
BTW, he must drive the shop keepers whose windows he uses absolutely insane. Businesses seem to go in and out pretty quickly on the block he uses for his home. I would guess that few patrons would want to walk by the crazy dancing guy to go into a store. Kitson is just a block away. If they are making money off of this poor man's likeness, the least they can do is let the guy use their shop window, instead of their neighbors'