April 6, 2004
Robert John Burck, Naked Cowboy
The Basics
Age and occupation. How long have you lived here, where did you come from, and where do you live now?
Naked Cowboy is 33. Occuptation: Most Celebrated Entertainer of All Time. I come from Cincinnati, Ohio and have been living in New York for 5 years.
Cowboy Up and Away He Goes...
1. You've been quoted as saying "I live exclusively in my own reality." I'm curious, do you actually realize you're playing a guitar in Times Square while wearing nothing but tighty-whiteys and cowboy boots?
Do you realize that remaining in my reality keeps the world's attention on me? What does that say about my reality? (Ed.- I didn't and I don't know...)
2. How well are you received in the deep south? For example, do you ever get the opportunity to make appearances at chili cook-offs or college football tailgates?
All men, women, and children worldwide love the Naked Cowboy but since becoming NYC's third-rated tourist attraction, following the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, I have the super-human responsibility to be in Times Square every day.
3. Who do you "owe it all to" and is it all about the music?
I owe it all to myself, and it's all about me!
Proust-Krucoff Questionnaire
Please share a personal (and hopefully interesting) NYC taxi story.
In the beginning, I had to go 30 blocks in NYC, as the Naked Cowboy (in underwear, boots and hat only) and nobody would pick me up. Now they fight over me. Every taxi driver waves to me as they drive past.
Who do you consider to be the greatest New Yorker of all-time?
The Naked Cowboy.
Of all the movies made about (or highly associated with) New York, what role would you have liked to be cast in?
Joe Buck, from Midnight Cowboy.
If you could change one thing about New York, what would it be?
I would replace the top of the Empire State Building with a mold of my arm and fist.
What's the most expensive item in your wardrobe?
The only item: my underwear.
More info than you could ever imagine about the Naked Cowboy is available on his website at NakedCowboy.com.
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i like the naked cowboy because he took an idea and really ran with it. i respect someone who knows how to take something to a logical extreme.
"I have the super-human responsibility to be in Times Square every day."
Except when he's not. We ran into him in the middle of Bourbon Street in New Orleans last February, the week before Mardi Gras. He was entertaining the tourists in his usual fashion, and when we asked him if he shouldn't be back at Times Square, he said he was on vacation.
When I came to New York last summer to look for an apartment, I was staying in a hotel near Times Square. One of the first things I saw when I left in the morning to find my new home was The Naked Cowboy rocking out in Times Square, and I knew, like Mary Tyler Moore, I was going to make it after all. Keep strutting, Naked Cowboy!
It's true - the Naked Cowboy lives and breathes the Naked Cowboy brand. He should come out with his own line of undewear.
one thing i would change about new york: the naked cowboy.
krucoff, where is the question about how he handles the cold weather in his underwear? shrinkage and all...
This guy is a joke. Just the kind of crap I'd expect from the mouth of someone who attracts tourists and other morons.
his website is hilarious!
"I had a bare empty apartment, with mirrors on every wall. I owned a spoon, a knife, a fork, a bed, a guitar and thirty-six pairs of underwear. I have an overwhelming fascination with being the center of attention. What would you have done? - N.C."
and tien, i agree, no hard-hitting questions about winter weather. krucoff, where has the edgy reporter in you fled to? come back! come back!
i know, i know but truthfully it was something i wanted to block from my mind. winter, that is.
nakedcowboy=narcisstic jerk. even if he makes thousands of $$$ a day and spreads love to the heartland.
I have a friend who ran into TNC in the Viacom bldg parking lot where he was changing out of his warmup suit at the back of his 2002 5 series BMW.
Hey its a living..
I used to think he was okay, you know, for the tourists and all that, until I read this interview. I, I, I ... me, me, me: What a narcistic himbo.
wait, did jake say that Naked Cowboy takes it 'to a logical extreme'? Extreme, yes. Logical, well, no.
who would've thought a guy who plays guitar in his underwear everyday in times square would be a self-absorbed asshole? i know, weird.
trent, you have a point.
Whats worse: That he thinks he's the greatest new Yorker of all time or that he refers to himself in the 3rd person.
i applaud his courage & conviction.
he's kind of like the Angelyne of New York City, except he actually *does* something!
and i also saw him in New Orleans during Carnival, and have one word to say: SHRINKAGE!
Does he remind anyone else of The ROCK? He def. has that WWF vibe to him....
I'm a New Yorker born and raised and I've never this dude in Times Square or anywhere else.
I do like the body.