Chicagoist: Is Gene Lee Not Dead?

jefframone

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:18:22 -0600

Oooh, listen to Perry White over here.

been hecht

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:12:12 -0600

so the -ist sees a myspace post and 'reports' it as news? who did you call to confirm the death? police? morgue? hospitals? friends? "we thought [he] died in December"? "we thought"? you're able to report what you think as fact? that's some pretty sloppy work going on. stick to the food and drink reviews and some pop culture commentary, chicagoist, and leave the reporting to professionals. wouldn't want you to continue to embarass yourselves.

CL

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:47:46 -0600

well that's fucked up. Was dancing in hotpants not enough? I never saw him as any sort of "artist".....more as just a street performer. Eh, whatever.

ggcubes

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:02:54 -0600

I heard about his "death" back in December - soon thereafter two of his friends confirmed it was all an attention getting hoax. which I find to be completely and insanely lame

jefframone

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:31:33 -0600

I contacted the photographer to find out when the photo was taken. He said that he snapped at as Gene was quickly zipping by on his skateboard on February 13, 2008!! He's totally hoaxed us all. But why? Read about it on my blog: supersensibleperceptions.com

red_jen

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:44:59 -0600

well, there has never been proof of his death other than a myspace bulletin. not the most accurate of sources.

Spook

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:36:41 -0600

Gene was the only cool thing left in Wicker Park, well Myopic Books is still around, but that's about it

leavitt

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:11:49 -0600

Bombast, I disagree. Why, because he wears underwear in public and dances. Long live Gene.

bombast

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:55:19 -0600

Yeah, from what I understand, that dude is seriously fucked up (not just mentally unstable but a narcissistic asshole), and the whole death thing was a hoax on his part. I never thought he was this cool, artsy, eccentric guy but a guy whose "art" or schtick was sort of this "I want/need attention and make people think of me as some sort of wonderful character." In reality, his schtick becomes old really fast, and when he realizes that people can see right through him, he pulls this kind of crap.

glenporter

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:50:38 -0600

I'm sure your right MissRobyn, I know many friends of his and they all assured me it was a hoax from the very begining.

MissRobyn

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:05:27 -0600

Don't know about him being in NY... but Jean Le is currently alive and well and living in Oakland, CA. He's been spotted and talked to by two people. The death thing was a hoax.

Prescott Carlson

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:55:19 -0600

This would be a joke by whom? The New York Times? I don't exactly see them engaging in an April Fools gag involving a somewhat obscure Chicagoan. The facial expression in this pic compared to the NYT one would certainly add to the "conspiracy". And come on, the muscular thighs, the knee socks, the skateboard? I want to believe.

The Meteorologist

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:17:07 -0600

Like Spook I really hope this is not a joke. I used to see Gene around my neighborhood and for some reason that picture made me a little sad.

chgoeditor

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:52:53 -0600

Two weeks ago would be mid-March. The article says the pic was taken 6 weeks ago. But there is one picture in the photostream that shows Gene Lee wearing very similar (cleaner?) shoes.

Margaret Lyons

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:42:04 -0600

The picture's from two six weeks ago.

Christopher Rogers

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:39:04 -0600

Writing in from the Bay Area, I can safely tell you that there is no shortage of happily strange-lookin' folks scooting around on skateboards. The article/picture could be from a while ago, though... who knows... had he been in Berkeley before he passed away?

JayDeeMv2

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:32:02 -0600

That sure as hell looks like him...

Spook

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:54:50 -0600

I would hope that this isn't a joke.

Prescott Carlson

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:32:13 -0600

Gene Lee: "April Fools!"