http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/austin/austin/upload/2012/03/austin_icon_leslie_cochran_die/M5X00058_9.JPG

Austin icon Leslie Cochran dies at age 60
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/austin/entries/2012/03/08/austin_icon_leslie_cochran_die.html?cxntfid=blogs_all_ablog_austin
By Patrick Beach | Thursday, March 8, 2012, 02:02 PM

An Austin icon is dead, and Austin just got a lot less weird.

Leslie Cochran — the city’s flesh-flashing, cross-dressing, attention-loving, frequently homeless mascot, unofficial ambassador and sometimes mayoral candidate — died at 1 a.m. at Christopher House, an inpatient hospice, his sister Alice Masterson said. He was 60.

Cochran had been admitted to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center last month after being found unconscious in a South Austin parking lot. The cause of death was believed to be complications from a brain injury, according to his friend and power of attorney Valerie Romness.

Cochran died “peacefully and comfortably” in the company of family and friends, Romness said.

Usually dressed in ankle-snapping ladies’ heels and a thong, Cochran was a fixture in Austin, particularly downtown, the Sixth St. entertainment district and South Austin. He became known around the world as a key example of the city’s populace embracing and celebrating its freaks. Albert Leslie Cochran eventually ascended to the highest rank of celebrity, joining the few known by one name only.

Mayor Lee Leffingwell was expected to proclaim Thursday and every March 8 forward Leslie Day in Austin. Friends and fans planned to gather at City Hall at 6 p.m. and parade to Sixth Street beginning at 7:30. Romness encouraged attendees to wear boas and tiaras.

Cochran’s colorful life will be celebrated in a service at 2 p.m. Sunday near the Fannie Davis Gazebo on the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail north of the South First Street and Riverside Drive intersection. Romness said attendees at both events will be encouraged to write messages to Cochran; at the Sunday service those messages will be released in biodegradable balloons.

Proving that Austin is still plenty weird, there’s already talk of a statue in Cochran’s honor. No doubt he’ll look fabulous.

Masterson said she and her family are planning a more traditional — and dignified — observance of her brother’s passing, in keeping with their Roman Catholic upbringing. A public visitation is planned for Friday night; Cochran’s funeral mass and burial will be private.

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:(

http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/full/533950934.jpg&key=320212&Expires=1331290258&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIYVGSUJFNRFZBBTA&Signature=dkx~xYMm4dCk1sHMIofE-SJQW5mjnCkYAl52-fMpRelKsG5BspUL0dK19RPTh8WxoMPOZ5Mli8cSEVVL-uipt0T7B6-hw8yTsnGJPJwsWgmJfMG8kn5S4B6vc1wW4IpBIIOCZL0BhRf9pzxGGRM4UL6XFWBm3e88Cca-RiwQxIc_

Sad. :(


We have our own similar offbeat mascot, a guy named Don Schrader.

Even the New York Times has decided covered this.


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/03/10/us/JP-AUSTIN/JP-AUSTIN-popup.jpg

Austin, Proud of Eccentricity, Loses a Favorite
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: March 9, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/us/austin-proud-of-eccentricity-loses-a-favorite.html

Every city has its characters, but other places tend to tolerate them with a smirk or a sneer. In Austin, Tex., it’s more of an embrace.

Which helps to explain the strong emotion that flowed through town this week when news spread of the death of Albert Leslie Cochran, 60, a bearded, cross-dressing, often homeless Austinite who was also an occasional candidate for mayor.

Wearing a cheerleader’s uniform, a tutu or a simple thong, accessorized with a feather boa or tiara, Mr. Cochran was an eye-catching figure in a city where eccentricity is nothing special. A popular bumper sticker, “Keep Austin Weird,” is the rallying cry of a place that resists the civic homogenization that can turn every town into pretty much every other town. “When people see the bumper sticker, they think of Leslie,” said Debbie Russell, a local activist and friend.

As the city braced for the tumult of the annual South by Southwest festival, Mayor Lee Leffingwell proclaimed March 8 “Leslie Cochran Day,” issuing an official proclamation calling him “an icon in the Keep Austin Weird scene” who provided “an indelible image” in the memories of many Austin visitors and tourists over the years.

Signs of Leslie were everywhere. Local bookstores sell the Leslie dress-up refrigerator magnet set, with outfits like a leopard-print dress, cheerleader uniform and an especially unfortunate miniskirt. There is an iPhone app, inevitably named iLeslie, featuring recordings of Leslie-isms that include a roguishly seductive “House the homeless — take me home” and “It was my favorite tooth, until I lost it.” The creators funneled part of the profits to Mr. Cochran.

Mr. Cochran ran unsuccessfully for mayor three times. Mike Clark-Madison, then the city editor for The Austin Chronicle, an alternative weekly, said Mr. Cochran showed up for a mayoral campaign interview in 2003 wearing a women’s business suit. “He looked like a stewardess from the golden age of air travel.”

During the session, Mr. Cochran talked about problems ahead for a city that was creative and fun, but growing so fast that it could become big and bland. “He was talking about issues we are still talking about today, nearly a decade later, as Austin has grappled with change,” Mr. Clark-Madison said.

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I saw that. I was surprised to see that on the front page of the New York Times website, and not just in the Texas section.

He would've gotten a kick out of that. =)

I'm sad that I never got to meet him. I visited this city plenty of times since first discovering it in 2006. I'd heard the stories, and I wandered around Sixth Street trying to catch a glimpse. Then I finally move here in August, and he goes to the great beyond.

He will be missed. It's also sad that he never made it back to Colorado which was the same day that he went to the hospital. :(