Hmm, do I smell catfish on the grill?
Was initially stunned yesterday to discover that the well-endowed Tennessee mountain man who heated up the internet back in the day -- aptly named Large Tony -- had supposedly died in 2023, just two months shy of his 48th birthday.
Although I know I'm just one of many people who has a long history with whoever was behind this persona that was simultaneously revealing (those photos!) and anonymous, I'm kind of reeling from this news, however belated.
Yesterday he popped into my head, so I shot him an email, like we would do from time to time, only for it to bounce back. I then sent him this DM (on the erstwhile Twitter) -- and I pray that I'm onto something.
I wrote:
You just popped into my head so I sent you an email -- only for it to bounce back. From there I checked on here and saw a notice saying you had died in 2023. How I hope this is not true, just a way for you to retire the Large Tony persona. But whatever the case may be, thank you for your kindness over the years. You’ve been a welcome online presence since the early days of blogging, and I hope you are at peace wherever you are today.
But then I started to see the whole "Large Tony" persona through 2026 eyes:
Did no one in the state of Tennessee ever recognize him and reveal his identity -- even now? How did this busy young man manage to find time to have a "special" online relationship with virtually every person I've ever encountered? (I now see that BosGuy wrote about it contemporaneously and that even Andy Cohen was sniffing around at the time too, apparently mentioning the death on his radio show.) And who posted that succinct update about his untimely death for his “fans”? Unless "The Attorney" (as he referred to his supposed long-term partner) somehow had full access to his accounts, which seems unlikely given that I don't think my own husband could get into mine, I'm having a hard time buying it.
Suddenly the whole thing is starting to give me a JT LeRoy vibe. (The slick black-and-white photo with the birth and death dates seems off, too.) I suspect I'm onto something here ... or perhaps thinking this way is just easier than accepting that his death could be true.
UPDATE: Apparently I wasn't the only one who had this hunch. Blobby even hits on a couple things I was thinking but didn't mention and knows about some aborted blogger "meet-ups" involving Tony, which I'm sure involved "cancer" or a "car crash"! Another person said he has a story for me, which I'm still waiting to hear.
I used to enjoy reading his musings. Bought the t-shirt. Wondered what happened when he stopped posting, but had no idea this had (or may have) happened. Someone I know would have been interesting to know better.
ReplyDeleteI had many phone conversations with him back in the day. I have no doubt that it was really him — and that the attorney was real. I think I even had enough details at one point to figure out who the attorney was. I had no idea about his passing. If so, that is really sad.
ReplyDeleteHi Ken - I was so sad when I heard about his passing. He was a talker and we had many long conversations on the phone. I did think it odd that after "The Attorney" (his way of referring to his longtime boyfriend) retired, the two never went anywhere. As far as I was aware, Tony never had been on a plane and lived in rural Eastern TN. Whether he was a real person or catfish, even in hindsight, I miss my conversations and if The Attorney is a real person, I feel for his loss.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, everyone was intrigued by him. Probably not as much if he had been ''Teeny Tony". There was a "Tony" for sure. Was he a house painter who lost his entire family, tried to merch his url, and remain invisible to all? Probably not. Good fictional character for sure - and you might have hit it on the head with JT LeRoy. Or Anna Delvey. HA!
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