Joseph Gitnig
Joseph Leslie Gitnig (January 26, 1930 – February 23, 2025), also known as Pegasus, was an American street entertainer and poet.[1][2] He was best known for his free performances for children in Central Park in New York City in the 1970s.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Gitnig was born in Philadelphia in 1930.[1] After high school, he studied at the Philadelphia Museum of School of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[1]
In 1953, Gitnig moved to New York and took evening classes at the Jefferson School of Social Science.[1] His poems were published in the Brooklyn Heights Press and San Francisco Progress.[1]
Career
[edit]Gitnig began street performances in 1962, assuming various costumes.[1] In 1969, Gitnig sought unsuccessfully to see Mayor John V. Lindsay about getting paid for his work as a clown.[3]
By 1971, he was known as Pegasus, and became a familiar sight at Central Park Zoo in his court jester costume and mismatched shoes.[1] For a period in 1976, he complained about competition from newcomers Rosie and Herbert, whose bells and whistles distracted his audience from his relatively quiet pantomime act.[4] His main income was from performing at private parties for children, as well as tips from street performances, from which he earned $3,000 a year.[5][1]
In March 1977, Pegasus made national headlines after he returned to the seal pool at Central Park Zoo to perform, despite being arrested and issued with a police summons.[6][7] He was charged with violating a New York Parks Department regulation, which had been interpreted as requiring licenses for performers in the city's parks, although no other performer had ever been similarly charged.[5] He was arrested a second time in May 1977.[5] Gitnig was represented by Arthur Eisenberg of the New York Civil Liberties Union, who argued that the First Amendment protected the rights of performers in the park as free speech.[5][1] Later that year, the Parks Department reversed its position and agreed to drop all charges against Pegasus.[5]
Personal life and death
[edit]In 1982, Gitnig married Martine "Tineke" Bertrums, a flight attendant with KLM, and moved to the Netherlands two years later.[8][2] His book with Roeline van Berchum, Unicorns in the Afternoon. Poetry of promise, was published in 2024.[2] He died of kidney failure in Tilburg, on February 23, 2025, at the age of 95.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Roberts, Sam (March 1, 2025). "Joseph Gitnig, Central Park Minstrel Known as Pegasus, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ a b c Toorians, Lauran (February 17, 2024). "Paradijsvogel Pegasus belandde vanuit New York in Tilburg". Brabant Cultureel (in Dutch). Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Clown Lets Children Get Into the Act". The New York Times. December 25, 1974. ProQuest 1201755865. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Vaughan, Causewell (June 21, 1976). "War of Clowns Ain't Funny". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Spiegel, Claire (October 27, 1977). "Happy Day in Court for Woeful Clown". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Stathos, Harry (March 28, 1977). "Clown in Park Blows Bubbles at the Law". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rock 'n' Roll Doesn't Hurt". Florence Morning News. South Carolina. Associated Press. March 29, 1977. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kates, Brian (December 21, 1982). "Pegasus on bridal path, poverty clips wings". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.