I n an Oscars gag reminiscent of Ellen DeGeneres ‘ 2014 pizza takeout bit, Jimmy Kimmel unloaded a sightseeing bus full of unsuspecting tourists into the Dolby Theatre Sunday night, thrusting them without warning in front of everyone who’s anyone in Hollywood and millions of viewers at home. At the front of the pack was Chicagoan Gary Alan Cole—and Gary was ready for the spotlight.
Wearing a Hollywood sweatshirt and black baseball cap, Gary introduced himself to Kimmel and quickly pulled out his phone to start snapping pics of the front-row celebs. He was joined, we soon learned, by his fiancée Vickie, who could hardly contain her excitement at breathing the same air as her all-time favorite actor Denzel Washington ; Washington gamely performed a brief, impromptu wedding ceremony for the pair.
Oscars 2017: See Celebrities Hit the Red Carpet Taraji P. Henson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images John Legend and Chrissy Teigen on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Janelle Monáe on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Karlie Kloss on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Naomie Harris on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Emma Stone on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Ryan Gosling on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. George Pimentel—Getty Images Dakota Johnson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Viola Davis on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images Casey Affleck on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Ruth Negga on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Lester Cohen—Getty Images Priyanka Chopra on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Jessica Beil on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Max Martin, Justin Timberlake and Karl Johan Schuster on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Charlize Theron on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Nicole Kidman on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Scarlett Johansson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert and Ashton Sanders on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images Mahershala Ali on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Brie Larson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Luz Towns-Miranda and Lin-Manuel Miranda on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Tyler Golden—ABC/Getty Images Dev Patel on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Halle Berry on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. George Pimentel—Getty Images Viggo Mortensen on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Ava DuVernay on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Felicity Jones on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Trudie Styler and Sting on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Hailee Steinfeld on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Luciana Barroso and Matt Damon on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Kirsten Dunst on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Barry Jenkins on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Salma Hayek on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—Getty Images Andrew Garfield on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Jackie Chan on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Olivia Culpo on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Terrence Howard on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Auli'i Cravalho on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Kerri Higuchi and John Cho on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Teresa Palmer on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Isabelle Huppert on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Tarell Alvin, right, and guest on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Leslie Mann on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Ginnifer Goodwin on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Sunny Pawar on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Allison Schroeder on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Pauletta Washington and Denzel Washington on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Lucas Hedges on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Lester Cohen—Getty Images Riz Ahmed on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. George Pimentel—Getty Images Octavia Spencer on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images Susan Geston and Jeff Bridges on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Michelle Williams on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Laura Dern on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Olivia Hamilton and Damien Chazelle on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Alicia Vikander on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Sofia Boutella arrives on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. / AFP / VALERIE MACON (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images) Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images As Gary, Vickie and the rest of the crew rubbed Mahershala Ali’s Oscar and kissed the hands of nominees Nicole Kidman and Octavia Spencer, Kimmel noted to Gary, “I feel like you’re ignoring the white celebrities.” To which Gary matter-of-factly responded, “Yes, I am.”
The bit had a few critics—particularly after Kimmel made fun of one of the tourist’s names for being unfamiliar and difficult for him to pronounce. But Gary, who was hardly at fault for the segment’s existence, was quickly embraced. In the grand tradition of memes, which have granted the likes of Ken Bone instant celebrity, the Internet began fawning over Gary from Chicago almost immediately.
The official Chicago Bulls Twitter account invited Gary to a game:
Some applauded him for soaking up the moment, as one must:
Others enjoyed his frankness under pressure:
And still others predicted a scramble to tell Gary’s life story in a moving profile:
Some hoped, on Gary’s behalf, that he had charged his phone the night before:
And some, thanks to him, have this year’s Halloween costume all planned out:
Vickie got some attention, too—particularly from those wondering just what Ryan Gosling might have whispered softly in her ear: