Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Lost Memphis Tony's Pizza Man — Mystery Solved?
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 10:55 AM
- Is this fellow Tony?
Several readers thought it was a promotion for a pizza parlor in Memphis, and suggested Pasquale's, Shakey's, Coletta's, and others. I didn't think that was right.
Then other readers — among them peterwertz, bp1952, and pwgriffith (hmmm, something tells me that is NOT their real names) — thought it came from the old Tony's Pizza on Central, a building now occupied by Central Barbecue.
I wasn't able to prove, or disprove, their theories. Until now. Looking through some old newspapers yesterday, as I seem to do Monday through Friday, and most Saturdays and Sundays, I noticed a 1968 ad for Tony's Pizza, shown below. You'll have to click on it to enlarge it, but I think you'll agree that there is a definite resemblance. The fiberglass guy wears eyeglasses, while the Tony's guy doesn't, but the chef's hat and the moustache are pretty similar, and the real giveaway, if you ask me, are the checkered pants.
So, I think the little fellow came from Tony's. What do YOU think?
- Tony's Pizza ad from 1968
Comments (7)
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You'd be green, too, if you had eaten as many pizzas as this guy, over the years. It's also possible that the odd color is the result of sitting outside in a sunny backyard for a couple of decades. And it's also possible that all this is completely wrong, and we still don't know what, or who, the hell this really is.
He sure looks familiar to me, and I vaguely remember seeing him in front of the Tony's on Central, so you may be right, Vance.
It might be just an ordinary chef and doesnt have anything to do with pizza. This green statue may be carrying a rectangular serving tray and not a rectangular pizza pan.
This statue most likely is a french cook because of the blue apron which means he is not a chef but is an apprentice. A chef wears white apron and not blue. Guess thats also why the statue is green because this cook is a rookie.
Working chefs and cooks wear pants with black-and-white checks to camouflages minor spills and soiling. Executive chefs wear solid black pants.
Anyway, long story short... chef uniforms whose origins are complicated and rambling
Tony's had the best meatball sandwiches. My wife and would stop and eat there on our way to back to her nursing school at Methodist Hospital.... However, it may be a statue of John Grasanti, after a little Hinnie Wine.
I never knew chef's uniforms could be so complicated, so I'm grateful to LTC for his explanation about all the colors.
But peterwertz, I'm pretty sure this is not John Grisanti (not Grasanti) because I knew "Big John" and he certainly never looked — or dressed — like this strange fellow.
The general consensus is that this was a promotion for Tony's Pizza, whether it's technically accurate or not.
