In the New York area, almost everyone knows Yolanda Vega, who announces the lottery numbers.
When I lived back in Houston, everyone knew the furniture guy from TV. It’s been 10 years, so I’ve forgetten his name.
The local car dealers are like that everywhere. When I was growing up it was Jolly John Pulcifer. (“If you’re not happy, I’m not Jolly.”)
Around here we’ve got Billy Fucillo and Tom Park. ("It’s huuuuuuge!)
I saw Tom Park as the side man for another car dealer in Orlando. Does he just travel around the country doing car ads?
Jim McIngvale, “Mattress Mack” of Gallery Furniture. He will save…you…money!
Everyone in Richmond knows Dirt Woman.
I’m Yolaaaaanda Vega, here with tonight’s Pick 4!
Boston is development a superstar homeless man, The Chili Guy.. A lot of the sound clips are just snippets of the longer ones. The full clips have “uncut” after them. Numbers 19 and 126 are a good sampler but there are many more.
Frank Chu.
He has a Wikipedia entry, fansites, a FAQ with the Chronicle, and his own Flickr Pool.
Not to mention a nightclub named in his honor, and a formerly primo spot on Google Street View.
Not many in the New York metropolitan area will know the name of Dr. Jerry Carroll, unless there’s over 30 and you explain it’s the Crazy Eddie guy.
There area lot of musicians who are very widely known in Texas – guys like Townes Van Zandt and Joe Ely – who remain pretty obscure elsewhere.
We have James Spann as the most well known meteorologist in the city. He gained a tiny amount of national publicity from an article he wrote questioning the accepted scientific position on global warming. It wasn’t very good.
Apart from that, he’s a decent guy and seems to have something of an uncanny ability to remember the geography\streets\landmarks of a the northern 2/3 of the state. When he’s doing severe weather coverage, it’s not uncommon to hear him mention very specific details about an area down to business names. My brother in law drives for UPS and says that he’s never heard James make a mistake about landmarks.
Rockport, MA has Dog-Walking Opera Guy and Captain Steve.
On a national level, Johnny Carson said one reason he loved Wimbledon was because he was almost unknown in England (up until the late 80s/early 90s when The Tonight Show started airing there). He was a superstar here but could walk the streets in most countries outside of North America and only be recognized by American tourists.
I was going to say that LA weather personality Fritz Coleman probably counted, but I have the vaguest recollection that he had a national TV show at one time.
I guess I’ll go with mattress moguls Larry and Irwin of Sit 'n Sleep commercial fame: “Sit 'n Sleep will beat anyone’s advertised price, or your mattress is FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” I seriously doubt there’s an Angelino out there unfamiliar with that slogan.
I saw a Joe Ely, Lucinda Williams, Jimmy Dale Gilmore triple bill here in Richmond that was one of the best musical experiences of my life.
In Peoria we have a homeless man named Willie York who paints his face and walks around in various states of undress, sometimes with dead animals wrapped around him. He’s an odd bird.
He’s got a fan club though, here: musical-saw.com is for sale | HugeDomains
Everyone in Peoria knows Willie York.
Continuing the New York trend (I’m in VT now, but spent four years in the Capital District,) there’s Justin Resnick and his mattress outlets. One of my college friends did a documentary on him as his senior capstone project.
They know about her in Buffalo, too. (Many locals thought the lottery was fixed, because the big payouts always seemed to go to someone in Brooklyn.)
Or, if you stay up late, “Rick” of “Rick’s Furniture”. High dollar entertainment, some of his commercials are. I had actually forgotten about Mattress Mack specifically til you said that.
Here in the itty-bitty “Golden Isles” everyone knows Carl Gregory, the car dealer. “Friends and neighbors, we’re selling cars like candy bars!” He has a voice that paints a very accurate picture of an old, chunky Southern guy with jowls.
Also the attorney, Victoria Renee Weiss, formerly known as R Dean Weiss. This town is just not progressive enough for a man with grown children to have a sex change operation without it causing a fuss like you wouldn’t believe.
Becky, Queen of Carpet. Thrill to the sight of her riding an oriental rug past the Gateway Arch.
Dave Sinclair the most laid-back car dealer ever to do his own commercials. “Thank you and here’s my address.”
Legendary appliance dealer Steve Mizerany. Retired now, but unforgettable to two generations.
For non-commercial celebrities we have Beatle Bob who manages somehow to make every live gig in the area, no matter how obscure the performer or tiny the club.
Everyone knew the, “Stinky People,” in Green River, Wyoming.
Baltimorons of a certain age who followed the Birds in the late 70’s and 80’s (i.e. the last time they were any good) certainly would recognize the name Wild Bill Hagy.
Just to clue others in, Hagy was our local goof at the ball park who led the masses in the requisite ball game cheers and who subsequently rose to the status of minor local celebrity. His legend lives on such that two nights ago, they had “Wild Bill Hagy T-Shirt Night” at Camden Yards.