What happens when a 357-pound Jewish guy in Alabama attempts a 100-day fast atop a 30-foot pole? That may sound like the opening line of an elaborate joke, but for one obese race car driver and restaurant owner in Alabama, it was a serious publicity stunt in 1949. It was centered around a bizarre trend known as polesitting. As you've probably guessed, it didn't end well. This is the fascinating story of Alabama's own Percy Coplon*.
*Coplon's name was sometimes spelled Copelon or Copelan. On his gravestone, it was spelled Copelon, but most newspaper articles spelled it as Coplon. I have used that spelling for this article.
Born in the late 1800's to a Jewish family in Russia, his family immigrated to America when Percy was very young. His father was a mechanic and opened a successful automotive repair business in Birmingham. Percy followed in his father's footsteps and became a mechanic. He also became a race car driver at the popular Birmingham International Raceway at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in Birmingham. The photo of Percy below in his racecar (far right) is from the Birmingham News dated 1920.
Percy was a loveable guy with a colorful personality. He was also a guy with a severe weight problem. His obesity became worse and worse over the years - especially after he entered the restaurant business. Percy was the co-owner of the "Ice Cave" near Tarrant City on Pinson Pike, described in newspaper articles as a "restaurant and juke joint."
By the time Percy was 53, he had ballooned to a whopping 357 pounds on his short frame of approximately 5 feet. Percy, always a showman and promoter, made lemonade out of the lemons that life had handed him. He billed himself as the "original 5 x 5 man" being 60 inches tall and 60 inches around the waist.
When Percy decided to drop some weight, he made big plans. Although he claimed that he was conducting the experiment "in the interest of science," it was obvious that Percy planned it as a huge publicity stunt. He decided to endure a 100 day fast while staying in a small 6 ft x 6ft cabin that was welded securely atop a 30 ft. pole. The stunt began at his home near Tarrant and was then moved to his Ice Cave Restaurant. He climbed up to the perch and exited for restroom breaks with a ladder. The whacky endurance stunt was well known in that era as "polesitting."
Polesitting was a fad that took America by storm in the late 1920s. It was a test of endurance - with a person sitting for as long as possible atop a flagpole or signpole, sometimes on a small platform. Started by stunt actor and former sailor Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, it became a favorite activity for advertising and publicity stunts across the country. In Alabama, for unknown reasons, polesitting was extremely popular. In fact, the world record was eventually set in Gadsden, Alabama, by Peggy (Townsend) Clark in 1964. Peggy endured 217 days of polesitting.
As expected, the press showed up when Percy Coplon began his fasting and polesitting stunt, and he made headlines across the country. Coplon always welcomed the press, he only asked that they not discuss food.
Percy Coplon's polesitting stunt went remarkably well....until the very end. By day 92 of his 100 day fast, Percy had dropped his weight to 245 pounds. He came down from his perch complaining of dizziness and decided to stay down that night. Around midnight, he collapsed in his home and passed away. Upon his death, his story made more headlines than ever around the country. The man whose personality was larger than life, was laid to rest in the Knesseth-Israel Cemetery in Birmingham.
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