--- description: In a strange bit at the Oscars, a busload of tourists unloaded at the Dolby Theater and a Chicagoan named Gary stole the show. title: Watch Gary From Chicago Steal the Show at the Oscars image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte09b780b652d3f31/6988bc10196cf463a603f05f/gary-chicago-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [awards](/tag/awards/) ## awards Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch a Guy Named Gary From Chicago Steal the Show at the Oscars  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 27, 2017 4:20 AM CUT  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 27, 2017 4:20 AM CUT In an [Oscars](http://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/ "undefined") gag reminiscent of [Ellen DeGeneres](http://time.com/11337/review-pizza-night-at-ellen-degeneres-2014-oscars/ "undefined")‘ 2014 pizza takeout bit, Jimmy Kimmel unloaded a sightseeing bus full of unsuspecting tourists into the Dolby Theatre Sunday night, thrusting them [without warning](http://people.com/awards/inside-the-hollywood-bus-tour-oscar-gag-the-customers-really-had-no-idea/ "undefined") 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](http://time.com/4607836/denzel-washington-on-jimmy-fallon/ "undefined"); 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](https://twitter.com/OliveTheCats/status/836056534123593729 "undefined") 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: > [](https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/836057191253684224) Some applauded him for soaking up the moment, as one must: > [](https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/836055849072209920) Others enjoyed his frankness under pressure: > [](https://twitter.com/serpentstark/status/836054290200420353) And still others predicted a scramble to tell Gary’s life story in a moving profile: > [](https://twitter.com/kpfallon/status/836053666817839104) Some hoped, on Gary’s behalf, that he had charged his phone the night before: > [](https://twitter.com/RoFlo/status/836053590775070721) And some, thanks to him, have this year’s Halloween costume all planned out: > [](https://twitter.com/samsanders/status/836053510953267202) Vickie got some attention, too—particularly from those wondering just what Ryan Gosling might have whispered softly in her ear: > [](https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/836063464221179904) > [](https://twitter.com/jwoodham/status/836055295109410817) > [](https://twitter.com/TheHazelHayes/status/836057361324335105) > [](https://twitter.com/DeathStarPR/status/836058705015652352) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4683377/oscars-2017-gary-alan-cole-chicago/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4683377/oscars-2017-gary-alan-cole-chicago/"},"headline":"Watch a Guy Named Gary From Chicago Steal the Show at the Oscars","datePublished":"2017-02-27T04:20:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:52.498Z","description":"In a strange bit at the Oscars, a busload of tourists unloaded at the Dolby Theater and a Chicagoan named Gary stole the show.","url":"https://time.com/4683377/oscars-2017-gary-alan-cole-chicago/","keywords":["awards","Jimmy Kimmel","Oscars 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte09b780b652d3f31/6988bc10196cf463a603f05f/gary-chicago-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte09b780b652d3f31/6988bc10196cf463a603f05f/gary-chicago-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"89th Academy Awards - Oscars Awards Show","caption":"Mahershala Ali poses with \"Gary from Chicago\" during the 89th Academy Awards, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.","creditText":"Lucy Nicholson—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4683377/oscars-2017-gary-alan-cole-chicago/","name":"Watch a Guy Named Gary From Chicago Steal the Show at the Oscars"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"In a strange bit at the Oscars, a busload of tourists unloaded at the Dolby Theater and a Chicagoan named Gary stole the show.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4683377/oscars-2017-gary-alan-cole-chicago/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4683377/oscars-2017-gary-alan-cole-chicago/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```