Willie James McCurdy

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Willie James McCurdy (born c. 1942) is a former restaurant and store worker and outsider artist.

McCurdy graduated from Western-Olin High School in 1961. He worked for a while at Jackie Robinson's Chock Full O' Nuts restaurant in New York before returning to Birmingham. Since then he worked at restaurants and hardware stores for decades. He currently lives on Social Security and is often hospitalized.

McCurdy paid below-market rent to occupy a house owned by Warren Bailey at the corner of 18th Street and 25th Court North from July 1990 to fall 2013. His ambitious decorating scheme incorporating large collections of found objects made it impossible for Bailey to keep the house maintained. After a hospital stay, he moved to another of Bailey's properties so that the former house could be demolished.

References

  • Gray, Jeremy (January 15, 2014) "'I never run out of ideas': Boarded up Birmingham house decorated with discarded toys, life's work." The Birmingham News
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