Tipster Armin Rosen alerts Bwog to some tragic news. Dr. Phil, a night-shift employee at Appletree and the subject of this Blue and White profile has passed away. He was 56 years old.
Dr. Phil is responsible for beginning Appletree’s movie rental program in 1992, but he may be most famous for his impressive vintage Columbia postcard collection, which he proudly displayed throughout the market, or perhaps for his preference for wearing a lab coat. However you knew him, he will be missed.
9 Comments
@wow He was a really unique guy, definitely a character. I’m really shocked to hear about this. RIP.
@How Sad I spent the night thinking how sad this is. I wonder what happened?
@Emily Does anyone know how he died? This must have been so sudden, as I had the good fortune of being able to introduce him to my visiting parents less than a month ago as one of my beloved neighborhood fixtures. I was very startled just now to go in and find a detail-less memorial announcement at Appletree.
He was a savvy, fun, incredibly kind man who helped me toward the Excedrin when I’d been drinking too heavily, recommended me videos when I’d needed a specific kind of pick-me-up, and given me a sense of neighborhood identity during my difficult adjustment to Columbia as a Master’s student stuck in the middle of a huge sea of competition and expectations. Rest in peace, Dr. Phil. You are truly, truly missed.
@CU08 Oh no! That’s so sad! I saw him all the time (the white labcoat was rather distinctive). He was really nice. Something about him…he just always made me happy when I saw him, because he always seemed happy, even if it was after midnight and his store was being overrun by the odd sorts of people you find in grocery stores after midnight.
@... wow! a beacon in the darkness for the jews, graduate students, gs folk and residents of north morningside faced with the realities of ann arbor, new york. he was a character, not one i knew well, but one who clearly had carved out his own slice of the universe serving to only make it more interesting… certainly not one that struck me as unhealthy or on the brink… rest in peace dr… rest in peace.
@alexw He was a good man.
@Johnson Aye! Dr. Phil will be missed.
@link owww fix me — i don’t work!!!
@Juli Thanks, fixed