By Linda Dahlstrom, health editor
Andy Warhol. David Guest. Donald Trump. The "Cat Woman" Jocelyn Wildenstein.
With a bar that high for quirky-looking characters, New Yorkers aren't easily shocked. Many people escape to New York to express their individuality.
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Update with the ‘Blue Man’Feb. 6: Paul Karason talks about the friendly reactions he received from New Yorkers, his test results and returning to “normal” life.
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So it's no surprise that the city's latest darling is Paul Karason, aka the Blue Man.
"You rock!," said one visor-wearing middle-aged maven who saw him on the street, a moment captured by video for the “Today” show.
Karason's skin turned permanently and decidedly blue about a decade ago after he tried treating a skin condition on his face with a silver preparation. He's also been drinking colloidal silver, which is liquid in a silver suspension, for about 14 years, he says. Over time, it's collected in his skin and turned him blueberry.
In January, he appeared on the "Today Show" with Matt Lauer and Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who encouraged him to see a doctor to find out how his internal organs are faring. He did just that, visiting Dr. Seth Uretsky at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. He got a clean bill of health. Mostly. The good doctor reserved final judgment until the heavy metal tests come back.
What surprised the reclusive Karason, who says he doesn't trust doctors, is that he liked Uretsky. Even more astonishing to him was how much New Yorkers are embracing him as a celebrity.
"I'm drawing these little crowds everywhere I go!" he said. “… The people are very positive.”
His fiancée, Jackie Northup says, "He's come out. He's not such an introvert anymore. ... He loves New York!"
Karason said he plans to return home to the Fresno area of California and look for a job. They’d moved to Northern California from Oregon a while back hoping to blend in. (“He hasn’t gone out so much at home,” Northup says.)
But instead, maybe he should consider moving to the Big Apple where he can bask in his newfound celebrity.
As the song goes, These little town blues, are melting away. I’ll make a brand new start of it in old New York.
