Manny the Hippie (born Micah Papp in 1976) was a San Francisco Haight-Ashbury regular in 1996 when Late Show with David Letterman was being hosted from there and David Letterman "discovered" him on the street. Letterman interviewed Manny on the air and subsequently made him a national celebrity. [1]
He became a regular movie reviewer on the show and renowned for his slang, like "schwag" for bad, "dank" for good, "diggity dank" for excellent and "schwiggity schwag" for worst.
David Letterman sent him scouring the streets of San Francisco on reportages, and also dispatched him on newsbeats across the nation, for instance to Roswell . [2]
However, he was wanted in Xenia, Ohio for pot smoking, [3] and sentenced to spend eighteen months in jail in Ohio. At the last minute, Ohio authorities decided not to make arrangements for his return to Ohio, and he was instead granted bail in San Francisco in the amount of $5,000 and released to a crowd of fans. He thanked his attorney, Douglas L. Rappaport for his release, though he called him "John Rappaport." [4]
On his last Late Show Manny was given a stern and severe lecture by Letterman. While considering having him back on the show after his release, he said to Manny that if he ever got in trouble again "I don't know you."
During his stay in prison, he had plans to write a book. [5] Apparently those were thwarted by the need to constantly sign autographs for his fellow convicts and reply to fan mail. [6] Released after ten months, he returned to San Francisco.
Based upon his TV show fame he tried to launch a movie career, [7] and in 1998 he played a bit part as "Vegan GooBall" in the movie Around the Fire [8]
Manny is still a minor celebrity in San Francisco, busking on the streets and attending various pot legalization rallies.
References
- ^ Manny the Hippie Now Living the Dank Life Lodi News Sentinel, May 18, 1996
- ^ Little gray men: Roswell and the rise of a popular culture By Toby Smith. UNM Press, 2000.
- ^ ′Mannie the Hippie′ gets prison Toledo Blade, October 3, 1996
- ^ "Manny the Hippie Freed, Said He'll Face his Past". SF Gate. 28 August 1996. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Mannie the Hippie plans to write a book in prison Ocala Star-Banner, October 4, 1996
- ^ Manny the Hippie Back Home - He returns to S.F. after 10 months in Ohio jail SFGate, June 17, 1997
- ^ Mannie the Hippie wants to be star The Free Lance-Star, June 16, 1997
- ^ Around the Fire Internet Movie Database (IMDb)