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Poppa Neutrino, born William David Pearlman, (October 15, 1933[1] in Fresno, California[2] – January 23, 2011[3] in New Orleans, Louisiana) was a musician, raft builder and "free spirit" who lived his life outside expected norms.[4] He has been called a modern primitive, a nomad, a permanent dropout, raftbuilder and musician.[4]
Poppa Neutrino | |
|---|---|
| Born | William David Pearlman October 15, 1933 Fresno, California, United States |
| Died | January 23, 2011 (aged 77) New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | David Pearlman, William Maloney |
| Occupation(s) | raftbuilder musician, and founder of the oWL PaRTY |
| Spouse | Betsy Terrell |
| Website | , |
Inspired by a documentary he saw when he was twelve years old, in which Australian aborigines periodically burnt their homes and walked away naked, free to start a new life, he taught "triadic thinking" and empowerment to people trapped by the concept of job and rent.[5] Thus Poppa Neutrino built his own homes out of discarded materials on free space (public waterways) and supported himself as a street musician.[6] He changed his name at the age of 52 after surviving a severe illness.[4]
Neutrino built several rafts out of donated and recycled materials on which he lived and sailed. In 1997-98 Poppa Neutrino sailed one of his homemade junk rafts, Son of Town Hall, from North America to Europe, becoming the second person to sail a raft across the Atlantic and the first to do so on a raft made from trash.[7] Betsy Terrell, his wife, was the captain and navigator on the crossing.
In 2008 Poppa Neutrino moved to Burlington, Vermont to build another raft, this time on Lake Champlain.[8] In 2010, he planned a circumnavigation of the globe, leaving Burlington, Vermont to head first south to Florida with three sailors and their three dogs aboard a new craft, a 37-foot trimaran complete with two outboards, a heated pilot house and four cabins. However, on November 9 their raft was driven onto rocks on Thompson's Point, Charlotte, Vermont. Poppa Neutrino and his fellow rafters were rescued from Lake Champlain.[9]
Neutrino died on January 23, 2011, in a hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, of heart failure.[10] Neutrino's jazz funeral was attended by dozens wearing bright costumes.[11]
Married "several times," he had four children, as well as step- and adopted children.[4]
Poppa Neutrino's life and travels have been the subject of articles and books, including two by Alec Wilkinson[12][13] and a documentary film.[14]
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