“Well, they tell me of a pieman in the sky
Waiting for me when I die…”
With the tears of a mournful clown, we are saddened to report that Pieman Mike passed away a few months ago. While people remember Mike Braunthal primarily as the Pieman, he was also a musician, a poet, a professional gardener, and a generous friend.
Today, we’re celebrating his life with the premiere of a video clip that showcased his music talents, as he assembled a performance of a special song that was designed to be part of a documentary project I’m quite attached to.
Yes, it’s THAT special song written by Richard Berry and performed by PieMan Mike and the Palo Alto Jazz Band!!
Mike had this thing where he loved to get his face splattered by whipping cream pies thrown by beautiful women. He labelled himself “pie-sexual.” He first felt excited about such things when he was a young kid watching some films by the Three Stooges. It all seemed a bit goofy to me, but who was I to judge?.
“Pie-berspace”, coined by Mike, was a unique cream-splattered world promoted with t-shirts, buttons, video and swag for his supporters. By the fortitude of his promotional skills, he even got mentioned in the “Encyclopedia Of Unusual Sex Practices.”
Championing his involuntary baldness, Mike had a distinctive “avant-garde” look that he took to the stage, performing improvised pie throws in the middle of rock ’n’ roll shows, doing occasional photo spreads in fashion magazines and even some acting in a few independent short films. Herb Caen – San Francisco’s legendary newspaper columnist would sometimes mention Mike’s escapades.
Speaking of which, here’s another short video we created – starring Mike and produced by yours truly. This particular film is entitled “Downo – the World’s Most Depressing Clown“. This is also being premiered online for the very first time.
WARNING: the language in this film is a bit nasty and not fit for young ones.
Rest in peace, Mike Braunthal
May 16, 1952 – July 5, 2025.
We’re going to miss you, my friend.
– E.P. of LouieLouie.net
(* with big thanks to the late Jimmy Cliff for the inspiration of the first words on this little obituary for our friend.)
Reference Links:
Pieman.com (his official webpage – even thou he never used a computer)|
Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices (Wikipedia)
Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices (AbeBooks)