Mr. Butch, the street icon, dies in a scooter accident

[Ian David]

Mr. Butch, shown above on Harvard Avenue in November, had lived on the streets in Boston for about 30 years.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Mr. Butch, the dreadlocked, homeless man who was an icon in Kenmore Square and Allston, was killed today in a scooter accident, friends and family said.

Boston police said there had been a fatal accident just after 7:30 a.m. on Cambridge Street in Allston, but did not release the name of the victim. Mr. Butch's sister, Jeannette Madison of Worcester, said she had been notified of her brother's death.

Mr. Butch’s real name was Harold Madison Jr. The 56-year-old had been the subject of YouTube videos, a MySpace tribute page, and a Wikipedia entry. He was so popular that The Boston Phoenix wrote in April that it was considering changing the criteria for its "Readers' Pick: Neighborhood Character" category because Mr. Butch won so regularly.

"He's been in so many local movies, videos, in the Phoenix -- he's like an icon of the neighborhood," said Erin Scott, manager of New England Comics on Harvard Avenue in Allston.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/07/mr_butch_the_st.html


See also:

Mr. Butch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harold Madison, Jr. more widely-known as Mr. Butch, and formerly known as the "King of Kenmore Square", was a homeless man living on the streets of Boston. Over the course of three decades, he gained significant notoriety among Boston's college students and within its rock scene.

In the mid- to late-1970s, Butch would often be seen on the streets near the Berklee College of Music, playing a Fender Stratocaster guitar, with an open tuning that allowed him to play chords with a single finger. His wild dreadlock hairstyle and choice of guitar invited comparisons to Jimi Hendrix.

During the Eighties, Mr. Butch's fame among the local music scene grew, and he was given gigs at The Underground in Allston and The Rathskellar in Kenmore Square (both now defunct). It was around this time that he began to be featured in The Noise, a local music fanzine published by T Max, and was featured in many of their advertisements. Mr. Butch is mentioned in the liner notes to local hardcore punk compilation Bands That Could Be God, which featured, among others, Deep Wound (pre-Dinosaur Jr.), as the man to whom the compilation would be dedicated had he been on God's other side. Mr Butch is also featured in the art work for the CD compilation I've Got My Friends. It features a combination of Boston and San Francisco punk bands, including The Unseen, Dropkick Murphys, The Outlets, The Ducky Boys, Swingin' Utters, The Working Stiffs, and Showcase Showdown.

In the late 1990s, the Boston University campus police, extending their authority over Kenmore Square, exiled Mr. Butch to Allston, a neighborhood of Boston west of the Square. Butch sought refuge where he could find it, sleeping in friends' homes and occasionally in ATM lobbies. He often plays his guitar and penny whistle. He prefers Miller High Life if he can have a choice of beer.

Mr. Butch was involved in a serious scooter accident on July 12, 2007 and was admitted to the intensive care unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital with a broken neck, where he later died.<1> Memorial services are to be held at Ritual Arts in Allston on July 16th at 8:00pm.


Mr. Butch - Allston, Ma. c. 1983 photo: Bill Swersey

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Butch


I'm going to miss Mister Butch.

When I was in college, some students used to pay him to escort their girlfriends safely home at night.

Not only was I saddened to hear of his passing, I was also startled to learn that this man has been homeless for so long.

[Rockholm]

1. Used to see him all the time in front of The Rat

RIP.

[AllieB]

2. Me too! At all ages shows when I was a kid.

:cry:

He was a character.

[Kat45]

3. I remember seeing him in Kenmore Square a lot

I always wondered how old he was; turns out he's just a few years older than me. RIP Mr. Butch.