WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Wilmington’s Troy Hendrickson took what he calls “a leap of faith” when he quit his day job so he can focus on busting his mom’s chops full-time.
If you’ve been on Facebook since the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, you’ve probably seen a video of Hendrickson as his comedic alter ego named Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino.
The Facebook page for the foul-mouthed, chain-smoking character has garnered 30,000 likes since February with one video about Wawa racking up 210,000 views.
Anyone who’s met Hendrickson’s loving, but tough-talking Delaware County-born, Prices Corner-raised mother Susan knows Aunt Mary Pat is based on her.
There’s the thick Delco accent, an affinity for Fireball whiskey shots, a devotion to the Eagles and, of course, what has become the character’s blunt catchphrase: “Stop being such a friggin’ a—hole.”
So just how big has Aunt Mary Pat become?
Hendrickson just announced a still-growing 13-date schedule of appearances at bars, restaurants and music venues across the region where fans buy Aunt Mary Pat iPhone cases and other merchandise, drawn in by the videos at facebook.com/auntmarypat.
During the past the past three whirlwind months, he’s landed in the pages of both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Delaware County Daily Times, which featured him under an “’Aunt Mary Pat’ Delco’s newest Internet sensation” headline.
The demand for her time has grown so much that the 29-year-old Cab Calloway School of the Arts graduate just put in his notice with the state Department of Labor, where he works doing case management and also quit a part-time bartending job.
It’s a stunning switch since it’s only been a few months since Hendrickson made a decision before the Super Bowl to buckle down as he approached his 30th birthday, going to Wilmington University full-time to get his degree while juggling a 9-to-5 job.
“Then I posted a stupid video and my world turned upside down,” says Hendrickson. You can also find him performing in drag as Miss Troy at Wilmington’s Crimson Moon and other spots in the area.
He jokes that the other drag performers are still shaking their heads, surprised that a slapdash character has brought him so much notoriety.
“They make fun of me and say things like, ’Of course the thing that takes off is you unshaven with some wonky eyelashes and a (crappy) wig.’”
Most of his videos, which run about two minutes long, begin the same. It’s Hendrickson with a five o’clock shadow in a bad blonde wig and neon pink lipstick looking at the camera with a cigarette in his Wilmington dining room.
“Hey youse guys,” he always starts.
With her trademark smeared mascara, Aunt Mary Pat then launches into riffs about many of the things that make this region unique: the Iggles, Acme (pronounced Ac-a-me), Wawa, Sunday gravy (not sauce!) and more.
If you open his refrigerator, you’ll find some of the props he’s used in the past and will definitely use again: a bottle of Fireball and a surely-stale-by-now Wawa hoagie.
“I think it’s genius,” says Pike Creek fan Kyle McMahon, who attended one of Hendrickson’s first appearances last month, an event at Delaware City’s Roe & Co., a DIY workshop. “She reminds me of an aunt that I could have - someone there at Christmas in Delco drinking shots of Fireball. It’s so realistic even though it’s exaggerated.”
If you want to see Aunt Mary Pat live, there’s only one Delaware appearance currently on the books. It’s June 9 at Bootless Stageworks in Wilmington. The 9:30 p.m. show costs $10. He’s currently in talks with Catherine Rooney’s to bring his act there as well. Other nearby shows include Timothy’s in West Chester on June 3 and Duffer’s Tavern in Glen Mills on June 8.
So how did all of this ridiculousness begin?
Since acting, comedy and video-making are things he’s been doing since his Cab Calloway days, he decided to hit record on his iPhone the day after the Eagles beat the New England Patriots and shoot a quick video for Facebook.
The bolt of inspiration came when he called his mother after the game ended. He assumed she would be at a loud bar, but it was eerily quiet on the other line. She was already in line at Modell’s to buy championship gear.
“I was like, ’Oh my God, I have to make a video to make fun of her,’” says Hendrickson, who lives near Silverbrook Cemetery with his partner, Danny Bonacore, and his two children, Liam, 12, and Bella, 5. (You’ll see Bonacore, an art teacher, at Hendrickson’s shows selling the merchandise he designs.)
Minutes later, Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino was born. And, yes, the last name DiSabatino was picked due to the ubiquitous DiSabatino Construction signs across Delaware. The “Mary Pat” part comes from a line in the film “Pretty Woman.”
“Hey youse guys, hope you’re all doin’ good after the big game. Wasn’t it excitin’?” he said in his first video as Aunt Mary Pat before launching into a story about stopping at a Wawa for a Coke and meeting an employee who wasn’t an Eagles fan. “Youse guys at Wawa need to be more supportive of the Iggles. That’s our namesake. That’s what this country is all about now.”
With Eagles fans already overflowing with emotions - many of whom made sentimental dedications to deceased family members who never got to experience a Super Bowl win - Hendrickson’s double shot of local jokes paired with the euphoria of the win was online catnip.
And while the videos are silly, they have led to tender moments.
“People come up and confide in me about how much this character has helped them laugh, whether it’s cancer patients or people who just lost a husband for a child,” says Susan.
The family of one woman who died of cancer wrote to them, saying the videos kept her in good spirits.
“They said she laughed until the day she died because of those videos,” Susan said.
Susan was not happy when she first laid eyes on Aunt Mary Pat. She called Hendrickson immediately after she saw it online, lacing into him with the same words Hendrickson uses to make Aunt Mary Pat come alive:
“I know that whole video is about me, you friggin’ a—hole!”
But as the popularity of the character has grown - complete with strangers stopping Hendrickson in stores and on the street - her feelings about it have thawed. Now, she eats up the attention and beams as she watches him make a name for himself, even if it’s through mocking her buoyant personality.
When she arrived at a recent event and saw a line of people waiting to get in, tears filled her eyes.
“He deserves this. He’s been trying so hard, you know?” she says. “Who knew that making fun of mom would take off like this?”
For the record, she does curse, gulp Fireball and call everyone “hun,” but she’s not a smoker, even though her raspy voice sounds like she’s been plowing through packs for years.
Also for the record, Aunt Mary Pat’s wardrobe, which mostly consists of Eagles, Sixers and Flyers jerseys, are straight from Susan’s closet.
With her big personality, there will never be a lack of inspiration for Hendrickson, who seems like he is now constantly harvesting new material while hanging out with his mom.
He says she had an Aunt Mary Pat moment at a recent drag show - something that could easily be used in a future video.
She whispered to him, asking how she should refer to some of the performers, confused about their sex.
“Mom, they’re non-binary. They don’t identify as either one,” he told her before she sweetly replied, “Oh good, I didn’t know so I just called them hun.”
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Information from: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., http://www.delawareonline.com
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