Who could pass up a party for Fluffy the Bouncer?
Throw in the fact that Fluffy’s other job–as the Ticket-Taker Guy at Morristown’s Clearview Cinemas–has won him more than 10,000 fans on Facebook, and you have the makings for a really BIG 5-0 celebration on Sept. 28 at the Dark Horse Lounge.
Since 1993, Eric Glover Sr. has greeted moviegoers with an imaginary ticket-stamping that ends with a resounding Ding!
“I would say I’ve done it at least a million times by now,” said Eric, who became Fluffy thanks to a t-shirt that proclaimed: “I’m not fat, I’m just fluffy!”
The ticket routine has survived countless double-takes and a change of ownership at the movie complex, where Fluffy has become a star attraction.
He got the idea while waiting in a checkout line at Shop-Rite, where a scanner made a rapid series of noises that caught his ear.
The routine was unveiled before a showing of Jurassic Park. His first victim was a “pretty brunette lady.” There was some stage fright on his part…until the brunette started laughing. The rest, as they say, is history.
Now, the 1980 Morristown High School graduate is eagerly awaiting his 50th birthday bash at the Horse, where his karaoke renditions of The Candy Man (made famous by Sammy Davis Jr.) and Riders on the Storm (the Doors) have become legendary.
“I’m praying it will be a pretty good turnout. I’ve passed out 2,000 flyers,” Fluffy said.
Dark Horse Manager Mike Walsh has some pleasant surprises lined up for the evening.
“He’s a great guy. He makes everyone smile. People come just to see him,” said Mike.
Mike’s girlfriend, Abbey Mohr, calls the Ticket-Taker Guy “a Morristown icon.”
“He would give everyone the shirt off his back,” Abbey said.
Fluffy probably would be more formidable as a political candidate than as a bouncer; he cannot amble anywhere in town without eliciting ear-to-ear grins of recognition from passersby.
He thanks God for getting him this far. Back in 2002, the brakes gave out on his old Cadillac and he smashed into a tree in East Orange. His latest Caddy, a 1987 model, is on life support, too.
Fluffy’s late mother, a dietician, worried about her son’s weight.
“I used to be much bigger years ago,” Fluffy said, comparing himself to Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert.
But he has shaved off 100 pounds and now tips the scales at a mere 350.
He said The Candy Man was a favorite of his late father, who made components for the space shuttle at Marotta Scientific Controls in Boonton. Fluffy’s older sister, Jacquelyn, turned him onto the Doors when he was a boy.
“The music was better back then. The message was in the music,” he said, singing from The Candy Man:
…cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good.
Fluffy was raised in Morristown, as the middle child in a family of seven kids. He is divorced with three grown children, and has worked at Headquarters Plaza for 28 years, either as a ticket-taker or a security guard.
The response he gets wherever he goes–even in the Rockaway Mall–tells him he is doing something right.
“It makes me want to cry, that so many people love me like that,” Fluffy said. “I feel profusely honored.”
THE TICKET-TAKER GUY’S FAVORITE MOVIES:
Forrest Gump
Dirty Dancing
Full Metal Jacket
Coming to America
Cadillac Records
We are so sorry that we can’t come to Fluffy’s BD Party, but our hearts will be there. I thank him for making us laugh and surprising my grandchildren (and us too) with his gimmicks each time we come to the movies.
I shall remember him and his birthday next time we come to the movies!!
Happy 50th Big Guy