I was just watching the local news, and one of Austin’s best loved local celebrities has featured with his new line of fridge magnets (link is work safe, but the link to bookpeople might raise few eyebrows).
What eccentrics live in your home town?
I live in Chicago, so the list is pretty nearly endless.
However, I just found out that the very apartment unit I live in used to be rented by either the roadies for or the band itself: Insane Clown Posse (details vary depending on who you ask - the landlord said it was the roadies, but the older tenants say the band lived here, even if they weren’t on the lease). That definitely explains the weakened, creaky floorboards everywhere!
Stephen Colbert goes to my church. So does a character actor that I remember seeing on TV in the 70’s and 80’s, but except for church, otherwise haven’t seen for ages. I have no idea what his name is.
Meet Frank Chu, probably our favorite since Emperor Norton.
We have Baton Bob.
This is how I’m used to seeing him. More pictures on flickr.
Cleveland has Big Chuck and Little John . Out of towners just don’t understand it at all and usually give a big ol’ “WTF” 
.
We have Willow Bill, who makes things out of willow withes and is in love with one of the reporters at my newspaper (he made her a willow heart).
We also have a gentleman who has MS and drives a bike around with adverts attached to the back. It’s how he makes his living. He has pulled a big rig with his bike (no trucks attached, just the trailer itself), so he’s a pretty amazing guy. I cannot for the LIFE of me remember his name.
There’s more, but those two I remember offhand. We’re very protective of our quirky local celebrities here - we may tease about either of them offhand, but if an out-of-towner starts to make fun of them we jump in to their defense. It’s really weird.
Oh, also, Darrell Rasner (The New York Yankees) went to high school with me. His cousin Jake Rasner (The Chicago White Sox) is also a graduate of my high school.
~Tasha
We have this guy . He’s been living out of town recently, but we expect him back soon.
We also have him . He ran for Lt. Governor on a platform of abolishing the office of Lt. Governor. My husband sees him at the Home Depot in Seekonk all the time.
RI is a funny place - you see the local celebs doing ordinary stuff all the time.
Around Minneapolis and St. Paul we have Fancy Ray. Here’s a recent news story about him – his MySpace page is such an eyesore I had to spare you.
We’ve also got Miss Richfield 1981, portrayed in drag by Russ King.
Quite a few:
- a columnist for The New Yorker who also writes the occasional non-fiction book as well
- Joe Klein, the columnist for Time, who wrote the novel Primary Colors as “anonymous” before he was found out
- the fellow who wrote the book An Underground Education - a book all Dopers shoudl know and love, given it’s treasure trove of trivia
- A number of big wigs at the NY Times and other publishing places. I am pretty sure the head of Conde Nast lives in the nicer part of our town (i.e., not near me!)
- a local reporter known in NYC for being one of the “Consumer Advocate” reporters - “someone did you wrong in a business transaction - tell our guy!”
Living in a suburb of NYC will do that - but our town in particular seemed chock full of writers and publishing types…
L.A.? I don’t think any celebrities live here.
I’ve heard rumors of a few in my neighborhood, but I don’t believe them.
Yeah, if you’re talking LA or Chicago, clearly you need to narrow it down to your neighborhood or something. I live outside NYC, but only focused on my little bedroom community, where I see the folks I mention grabbing coffee at the local shop all the time…
Eccentrics? I live in a State Capital. **Eccentric ** is just another word for Legislature.
I went to school with (and disliked) the pipsqueak who tried to unionize McDonalds
Dang, I was just coming here to mention Leslie and I see he’s the motivation for starting the thread. 
When I was in San Diego a couple of years ago, I saw a guy roller-blading on the beach sidewalk wearing a captain’s hat, a card board boat, a thong, and waves painted on his naked butt cheeks. Definitely a Leslie-esque character and I understand he’s famous there tho’ I don’t know his name.
We have Eminem, Barry Sanders, and going back a ways, Madonna.
Nope - no celebrities here.
Denny Hastert is my congressman.
I don’t know who may live around here, but when I was in Orange Park, FL, there were a couple nearby. Slim Whitman was reported to live in Middleburg, which was just south on Rt 21. I never saw him, but some friends claimed they encountered him in the Winn-Dixie.
To the east of Middleburg is Penney Farms, home of the Penney Retirement Community, which is home to the retired Munchkin Coroner from the Wizard of Oz. He is frequently featured in the local news.
Warren Buffet lives a couple of miles from me. Gerald Ford and Marlon Brando were born not far from my old neigborhood