A tribute, as only the Mummers know
how
The
Goodtimers Comic Club will remember one of its own this year.
By
Natalie Pompilio
Inquirer
Staff Writer
No one knew the Mummers like Al Heller.
He knew the history, the trivia, the
secrets. He could rattle off the rules and the reasons for them. Each New
Year's Day, as his Goodtimers Comic Club reached the judging stand, the
cowboy-hatted Heller would step into the spotlight, announcing his entries,
providing a play-by-play as they performed, sometimes singing and stepping
along.
"There's no way you could replace Al
at the stand. He loved it. He loved every Mummer, every club," Jim
Dotzenroth, the Goodtimers' director, said. "He was amazing."
Heller, 60, a retired pharmacist, died of
heart failure in August, but he will not be forgotten during this year's
parade: The 1,000-plus members of the Goodtimers are dedicating their 2006
strut to him.
They will remember him as more than a
Mummer historian who offered advice - or an answer to Mummers trivia - to
anyone who sought it. They also will remember the man who helped pay for
members' funerals and hospice care, who aided people searching for jobs or
places to live, and who welcomed all to the clubhouse he owned on Third Street
near Snyder Avenue.
"He was unbelievable," Dotzenroth
said. "He was probably the most generous person you'll ever meet."
On New Year's Day, the Goodtimers will
memorialize Heller by having a black-and-white-wearing wench place a pair of
golden slippers, facing south, in front of the Broad Street judging stand.
Other clubs will put his photo on their
cars or his name on their umbrellas. One Goodtimers' brigade, the Two Street
Stompers, will honor two members who died this year - Heller and Francis
Hilsee, 66, of Philadelphia - with its theme "Saints Resurrected."
"This is our way of remembering them
and letting people know we're sad, but we also know the Mummers is all about
fun and tradition and celebration," Stephen Young, the Stompers'
cocaptain, said. "Even though they're not here, they're shining down on us
and they'll march with us forever."
Heller grew up on "Two Street" -
as Second Street is known in Mummerdom - and began strutting as a child. He
founded the Goodtimers and also, at different times, was with the Murray Comic
Club, directed the Phillip Hammond Club, and served as secretary of the
Philadelphia New Year's Shooters and Mummers Association.
Heller believed in and fought for Mummers
traditions. When the city wanted to curtail the wench brigades, he argued
against it. When the parade was temporarily moved to Market Street, he fought
to bring it back to Broad.
But he was also willing to change with the
times: For years, he led his brigade in the traditional tuxedo and top hat.
More recently, he had shifted to a rawhide jacket and cowboy hat.
"As much as things have been changing
over the years, he was the liaison with the city," said Al Butikis, a
member of the Goodtimers' board. "He knew just about everybody, and he was
the voice of reason."
Mummer artist Mark Szpyrka said Heller
always had great ideas about costumes. On his Web site, Szpyrka features a
Heller quote, "Be big, three-dimensional and [use] lots of glitter."
"He said, 'The judges love glitter.
They want everything to spark and shine.' Even if you're a comic, which he
was," Szpyrka said.
Even when he was hospitalized this summer,
Heller fretted over his beloved parade. During one of Dotzenroth's visits,
Heller lay in bed making to-do lists.
"The last thing he said to me was,
'Promise me the club will go out New Year's Day,' " Dotzenroth recalled.
"I said, 'Don't worry, Al. Don't worry.' And the next day he was
gone."
Contact staff writer Natalie Pompilio
at 215-854-2813 or npompilio@phillynews.com.