Top 5 Bay Area Characters
The Bay is infamous for and is proud of its oddballs, misfits, and characters. In an area that expounds the ideals of free speech and keeping an open mind, there is never a dull moment. So we’re here to pay tribute to these lovable eccentrics.
1. Frank Chu
As everybody’s favorite outspoken “aliens-are-coming” diatriber, Frank Chu tops our list as the Bay Area’s most recognizable and zany celebrity. Chu, awarded best protestor by The Guardian and best pathological citizen by SF Weekly, has called for the impeachment of several presidents and is especially rancorous toward former President Bill Clinton, whom he holds personally responsible for withholding payments for a TV show he starred in from another galaxy. Chu, with his ubiquitous picket sign, will forever be remembered in the Bay Area as best-dressed wanderer and rabble-rouser.
2. Silver People
A trip to Pier 39 or Fisherman’s Wharf wouldn’t be the same without those break-dancing automatons painted head-to-toe in a silver sheen that can blind unprepared visitors (and probably the hordes of pigeons scouring the pavement for dropped Boudin breadcrumbs). These buskers can stand as still as statues and almost never break character. But they’re not Buckingham Palace guards—not only can these guys do a mean robot, they’ve also been spotted chasing down pretty girls.
3. Tamale Lady
A list of local celebrities wouldn’t be complete without San Francisco's beloved Tamale Lady. Her real name is Virginia Ramos, but we all know and love her as our midnight savior who saunters into Mission District bars toting $1 tamales in what you might call a “cooler with wheels,” but we call a treasure chest. You can hear her siren's call in the distance as she yells with a smile "tamales?" People jump to their feet abandoning conversations mid-sentence to line up for one of her tasty corn-wrapped treats. And whether you get the black bean, beef, or cheese, we guarantee that $1 tamales from a cooler at midnight in the Mission District have never tasted so good. Oh, and if you're enough of a fan, you can even sport your very own "Tamale Lady" T-shirt.
4. Berkeley Tree-sitters
Tree-sitters aren’t just hobbits riding Ents, they’re bonafide (and overly-stereotyped) Berkeley hippies who really care about trees—really. After UC Berkeley announced it would be clearing an oak grove to make room for a new athletics building, these guys climbed up and refused to come down. The battle lasted for 649 days and culminated in the arrest of four tree-sitters who surrendered and came down from the 80-foot redwood after the university and one of the tree-sitters, “Huck,” came to an accord.
5. Bush Man (SF)
David Johnson, San Francisco’s resident boogieman donned “Bush Man” is known to all who have visited the city. By scaring unsuspecting victims by jumping from behind a eucalyptus tree branch he always carries around, Bush Man has been making money since the 1980s to feed his “one big bush and two small branches” at home. Even though some have probably suffered cardiac arrest from the Bushman’s antics, there’s no denying that he’s one of the Bay Area’s most notorious characters.
