Silent 'Piano Man'


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LONDON (Reuters) - A smartly dressed man found wandering in a soaking wet suit near an English beach has baffled police and care workers after he refused to say a word and then gave a virtuoso piano performance.

The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent on April 8 and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent.

It was only after he was given a pen and paper that care-givers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano.

He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours.

However, despite his picture being posted on the National Missing Persons Helpline's (NMPH) Web site, no one has come forward to identify him.

"Very little is known about him as he has not been speaking with staff at the hospital where he is being cared for, but he has a talent for playing classical piano," an NMPH spokesman said in a statement. Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe.

The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown. :blink:

http://today.reuters.com/news/

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Right, a few extra bits :)

1: They've had loads of calls from the public, and have repeatedly been given two possible names, at this time they have decided not to reveal what these names are.

2: He was later asked to draw the flag for his country, he drew an X on the flag, they believe he could be from Finland or Sweden.

3: All the tags on his clothing were removed, this is frequently the case when people try to hide their nationality.

Just the extra few bits I've seen on the News / Read in the paper.

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May 18, 2005. 07:43 AM

Street mime identifies mystery 'Piano Man'

Pole says he worked streets of Nice with him

ROME (AP) ? A Polish immigrant in Rome has identified the "Piano Man" ? a man found in England weeks ago who refuses to talk but plays the piano ? as a French street musician, police said Wednesday.

Mario Russo, a spokesman for Rome police, said a 33-year-old Polish mime artist believes the man is Steven Villa Masson, who used to perform with him in the streets of Nice, France.

"He said he's known the man for five years as they worked together in Place de la Justice, in Nice," Russo said.

The immigrant approached police officers stationed at Rome's Trevi Fountain after reading the story of the mysterious man in a newspaper, Russo said.

The tall, blond-haired man, who is in his 20s or early 30s, has not said a word since he was found, distressed and dressed in a dripping wet suit, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent county, southeast England, on April 7.

When hospital staff gave him writing materials, he drew detailed pictures of a grand piano and, when shown the piano in the hospital chapel, sat down and played for two hours, causing staff to nickname him "Piano Man."

Russo said police are transmitting the Pole's statement to Interpol, which is now investigating the case.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=968332188492

050517_piano_man_250.jpg

A patient known only as ?piano man? is pictured in the grounds of Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, England. The man was found wandering aimlessly on April 7 and he has refused to communicate, except through music. When given paper by staff, he produced a sketch of a grand piano, below.
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May 18, 2005. 07:43 AM

Street mime identifies mystery 'Piano Man'

Pole says he worked streets of Nice with him

585938847[/snapback]

I thought mimes couldn't talk!

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The plot thickens...

May 19, 2005. 05:39 PM

UK papers report 'Piano Man' a Canadian eccentric

SUE LEEMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON - A British newspaper reported today that Steven Villa Massone - the man a Polish mime identified as the mysterious `Piano Man' being cared for in an English hospital - has been tracked down in southern France.

The West Kent National Health Trust, which is caring for the man, said 700 people have called and more than 150 have sent emails offering clues about the identity of the man, who has not spoken since he was found, distressed and soaking wet, on the Isle of Sheppey April 7.

Social workers said a tip from a Polish mime living in Italy, who said the man is a French street musician, has not led to anything. Dariusz Dydymski had said he was "99 per cent certain" the pianist was Massone, with whom he had worked in the French resort of Nice.

But Britain's Independent newspaper reported Thursday that it had tracked down Massone in Nice.

"I found out this morning when I saw in the Italian papers that he had said that man was me," the Independent quoted Massone as saying. "I didn't understand what had happened and suddenly I had lots of calls asking if I was the pianist."

Reports that surfaced in British newspapers Thursday speculating that the man could be a Canadian eccentric have also not been verified.

Social worker Michael Camp, who is caring for the mystery pianist, said as many as 300 possible identities were being investigated, both in Britain and overseas, but he declined to give details.

"These have to be kept highly confidential," he said. "Names are being bandied about. It's not very helpful.

"It's a long process and I understand why, in the absence of any information from us, people in the media are coming up with things."

The man, who remains in a psychiatric unit in Dartford, England, is still drawing pictures and writing music of his own, Camp said.

"I don't think this is somebody who was living a normal life until April 7 and suffered a trauma," he said. "I think it's somebody who has been tipped over the edge."

Hospital officials released photograph Monday of the man, who is tall and thin with blond hair and believed to be in his 20s or early 30s.

He drew intricate pictures of pianos for staff at the Medway Maritime Hospital at Gillingham, where he was first taken, and performed snippets of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the music of John Lennon on the chapel piano.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=968332188492

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2: He was later asked to draw the flag for his country' date=' he drew an X on the flag, they believe he could be from Finland or Sweden.

[/quote']

If by "X" you mean "cross" or "X" then Finland and Sweden are just 2 from the dozens of countries that have either a "cross" or a "X" in its flag.

3: All the tags on his clothing were removed' date=' this is frequently the case when people try to hide their nationality.

[/quote']

Actually, that means nothing.

I used to remove all the tags from my clothes, because I didn't liked it and felt unconfortable. Neurotic people often do it too.

We also remove (most of)* our tags in the university's traje.

* Depends on the university.

I thought mimes couldn't talk!

Only during labor hours, due to a new rule from the Mime Labor Union.

Almost 2 months have passed and still we don't know who the guy is. (~_~)

Edited by tiagosilva29
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:huh: LONDON, England -- British police and social workers say they are no closer to finding out the identity of the mysterious so-called "Piano Man" despite claims he is a classically-trained Czech musician called Tomas Strnad.

Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper published pictures of Strnad as a teenage keyboard player which they said showed "an uncanny resemblance" to the mystery man.

"Piano Man" stunned carers with a four-hour virtuoso piano performance after he was found wandering aimlessly near a beach on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, southern England, more than seven weeks ago.

He was wearing a waterlogged dinner suit and tie, from which all the labels had been cut out.

He had apparently lost his memory has not spoken a word since.

On Sunday the Mail on Sunday newspaper quoted Klaudius Kryspin, a fellow member of the Prague tribute band Ropotamo 20 years ago, as saying: "When I saw the picture I know it was Tomas."

"Piano Man" recently had an upright piano installed in his room at the secure north Kent mental health unit where he is being held and doctors have been considering using music and art therapy to try and communicate with him.

More than 1,100 people worldwide have contacted a special help line set up to try and identify the man and 250 possible names and a number of different nationalities have been suggested.

source:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/05/29...oman/index.html

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