Pink Moan

July 23rd, 2008 by Gnat

I got tipped off by a friend to this “killer” Radar magazine article shortly after it was posted online. The first paragraph of the story pretty much sums it up:

“In the late ’90s, pop-culture historian Bill Geerhart had a little too much time on his hands and a surfeit of stamps. So, for his own entertainment, the then-unemployed thirtysomething launched a letter-writing campaign to some of the most powerful and infamous figures in the country, posing as a curious 10-year-old named Billy.”

Thus you get the Billy Letters. Geerhart pens hilarious notes to everyone from Charles Manson to Clarence Thomas to Larry Flynt. To me, the Billy Letters are almost like pieces of Dada-infused happenings, but occurring over a number of years rather than minutes. The replies little “Billy” gets are wonderfully diverse. Check out serial killer Richard Ramirez’s custom letterhead:

Wow, it looks like Ramirez fancies himself a rockstar rather than a brutal killer. But I guess those two are probably the same thing in his (pathetic) mind. Speaking of rockstars, here’s an autographed glossy pic Billy received in response to a letter he sent to then Fed Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan:

Now THAT looks like a guy who knows how to party. Anyways, read the article. If nothing else it’ll give you a few laughs and help you avoid doing any real work for a little while longer.