flying puppies

Famous Parrot Named After Jim Carrey Movie on the Loose in New York

A small green parrot named Truman went missing near Brooklyn’s 16th Avenue and 75th Street on Monday, and his owner would very much appreciate it if everyone kept an eye out for him. “He’s so friendly and not people shy. He’d probably just land on your shoulder and if you put out your finger, he’d go to it,” said Michael Sazhin, who has performed on The Late Show, America’s Got Talent, and Steve Harvey with Truman’s colleague, Kili. Truman generally chills backstage in his capacity as an understudy.

Sazhin explained that Truman — whose upbringing and training have been chronicled on YouTube — takes his name from The Truman Show, the 1998 film in which Jim Carrey plays a guy who slowly realizes that his entire life has taken place on an elaborate set for the purposes of a widely viewed reality-TV show. As with the escape attempt that ultimately allows Carrey’s Truman to enter the real world, this is the first time Truman the bird has tried to run away. And, as in The Truman Show’s final scene, New York is supposed to get rainy and windy tonight.

But with no Ed Harris to turn off the bad weather if things get dangerous — and no door in the sky leading to a more authentic existence — it would be best if the bird were returned to his human soon. “The only way he knows how to get food is to do tricks and please people. I don’t know about his survival skills,” Sazhin told the New York Post. Truman’s tricks include the ability to shake his head, flap his wings, roll, and retrieve a ball, as well as say “hey, cutie” and “give me a kiss.” If you see a pigeon-size parrot with a “large beak, short tail and orange trim under his wings” doing those things, Sazhin advises, “Don’t try to catch him with a towel or a net. That’d freak him out. Just treat him like a pet, bring him inside and call me.” There’s a $1,000 reward for Truman’s safe return.

Famous Parrot on the Loose Somewhere