RIP Leslie Cochran
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- dbloc
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Albert Leslie Cochran, the thong-wearing street person who became the living embodiment of the city's "Keep Austin Weird" slogan, died Thursday morning after more than two years of declining health.
He was 60.
Cochran had been hospitalized since Feb. 16 and in hospice care for the past week. Friends said he had never fully recovered from a head injury from the fall he suffered in October 2009.
"Leslie lived outside the box," said friend Christine Ann, a South Austin merchant. "He exemplified that, but also spoke ... passionately that we not take ourselves too seriously. And Leslie, of course, never did."
Leslie in social media
Facebook page
Love for Leslie blog
The Austin City Council on Thursday will observe a moment of silence in Cochran's memory during its morning meeting. The council is expected to declare an official "Leslie" day in the future.Cochran's life on the streets began while in his 30s after suffering a major head injury from a motorcycle accident in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
He was an Austin fixture for more than two decades. For years, he patrolled the area of Congress Avenue and Sixth Street, often pushing an oversized cart containing his belongings and adorned with hand-crafted signs and slogans.
Later, he moved his unofficial headquarters to South First Street. Yet as ubiquitous as he was, much of Austin knew little about Cochran or how he acquired his now-familiar name and reputation.
"He’s highly intelligent, and sometimes highly intelligent people are strange," Cochran's sister, Alice Cochran Masterson of Florida, said in an October 2009 interview. "My father had an extremely high IQ, and he kind of inherited that high IQ. And he has a good heart."
Cochran was born June 24, 1951, the oldest boy in a family of six children. He grew up in Dade County, Fla., and had an identical twin brother who died at birth, his sister said.
Masterson said in the 2009 interview that her brother was a brilliant boy, but always spoke with a strong stutter -- something he dealt with throughout childhood and early adulthood, Masterson said.
"He never could speak clearly," she said. "He grew up stuttering."
After high school, Cochran attended the University of Florida-Tallahassee for two years, Masterson said.
The young Cochran was a free spirit who had served in the Naval Reserve, drove trucks on the West Coast and lived for a time in Colorado. He worked as disc jockey. And he was married for a brief period.
Cochran had an affinity for Western movies and TV shows and had once been known as "Trapper," a nickname he was given because he would cure the meat and tan the hides of road-kill game.
He bounced around the country for several years before settling in Austin, where he became known simply as "Leslie." The persona included wearing lacy bras, boas and glittering thongs. Many of his handmade signs advocated for the rights of Austin's homeless.
Three times Cochran's name appeared on the ballot for Austin mayor -- and once he finished as high as second.
He even appeared on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," where he was interviewed as one of Austin's many characters. He was wearing a thong -- on national television.
Friends said life for Cochran changed after the 2009 incident that put him in the hospital.
On Oct. 3 of that year, he was seen acting oddly on the sidewalk less than an hour after midnight. Then, Cochran apparently fell in front of a taxi. When EMS arrived, medics said he was already unconscious. He underwent brain surgery and remained under care for several weeks.
Just before re-entering the hospital last month, Cochran spoke of returning to Colorado. He said Austin no longer appreciated his presence. Friends attributed the sentiment to Cochran's declining health.
But, they added, Austin will not soon forget Cochran's influence on the city.
"He will be remembered as the icon of weird, the ambassador of weirdness, if you will," said friend Christine Ann. "As an Austin icon."
- mg330
One of my friends sent me this earlier today.
We actually met him during Spring Break of our senior year in high school, in 1996. We lived in Dallas Ft. Worth and went to Austin with friends to hang out, then down to New Braunfels to stay in my parents motorhome for a few days, hike, swim, etc.
This was pretty much only the second road trip I'd ever taken with friends, so it was awesome to be in Austin without parents, just doing whatever, and skateboarding. We met Leslie at a parking lot across from Mr. Gattis pizza on MLK by the campus. My friend Jeremy had his video camera and we made this awesome video/interview with him. I'm sure he still has it somewhere, I'd love to see it.
- fooler0
this is the only street person I know of from Austin...
- mg330
dbloc - I look at that photo above and all the oddity of meeting him years ago just comes right back. This was most likely the first "crazy" person we ever met as teenagers. The stuffed bra, the hair, the hells, it was all pretty wild. :)
- dbloc0
is he wearing a bluetooth?
- bliznutty0
RIP - this guy seemed pretty 'weird'.. cool
- teh0
yeah i would have just changed my last name to Cockring.
- robotron3k0
I used to love watching him in his thong bikini sitting infront of the Starbucks window on Congress Ave. I'm guessing it was pretty hard to swallow down your coffee.
- dirtydesign0
meth is a hell of a drug