The Cadillac Man is a homeless, 56-year-old New Yorker who won't reveal his real name. Executive Editor Mark Warren of Esquire befriended the Cadillac Man and decided to publish part of the memoirs the Cadillac Man had been writing, which appeared in the May issue of the magazine. Now, the Cadillac Man is being courted for a book deal. Meanwhile, he's still living on the streets.
"I write every day. I'm writing a book that I've been working on for about two years," Cadillac said, sitting on a chair beside his "Cadillac Mobile," a shopping cart crammed with sweaters and paperbacks.
"My book will be published some day and people will learn from it. Maybe treat us differently," he said. "It's strictly autobiographical, and it's about my life out on the streets."
Cadillac grew up in Hell's Kitchen and was married once, fathering three daughters. In the late '80s, he lost his job managing the Pepsi bottling plant in Long Island City, and his life veered out of control. He started drinking, telling lies. His family cut him off and he found himself sleeping in alleys. He says his daughters and ex-wife will not talk to him today.
He took the name "Cadillac Man" after claiming he was hit by a handful of Cadillac sedans a few years ago. He refuses to go by anything else.
"I just want to remain Cadillac. My past is dead," he said recently beneath a 33rd Street bridge in Astoria, where he has lived for the past four years.
susannah_breslin
I'm lost
June 2005
JUL 27, 2005 11:38 AM