Meet ‘Aunt Mary Pat,’ Delco’s new sensation
Fans can’t seem to get enough of Delco’s newest Internet sensation
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » It was standing room only inside Della Polla’s Italian Cucina Family Tavern on a recent Friday night. The crowd, which was spilling out the doors into the MacDade Boulevard parking lot, was there to see Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino, Delco’s newest social media sensation who has gained almost 30,000 Facebook followers and 6,000 Instagram followers in barely more two months. The scene is the same no matter where “Aunt Mary Pat” appears. They come to hear her talk about her job at the Acme, her visits to Wawa for her Cokes and smokes, her vents with relatives and co-workers, and some other little adventures in and around Delaware County and the Philly area.
The whole Aunt Mary Pat phenomenon started on the Monday following the Philadelphia Eagles’ historic Super Bowl LII win. Local comedian Troy David Hendrickson called his mother, an avid “Iggles” fan, to rehash the excitement of the victory. His mom was inside Modell’s searching for Super Bowl attire when she got the call.
“You have to know my mom to appreciate my Aunt Mary Pat character,” Hendrickson said. “My mother is unintentionally funny.”
After the conversation with mom, and inspired by the image of his mom in the sporting good store, fighting the T-shirt buying crowd, Hendrickson donned a wig, lipstick and some false eyelashes and posted a video on his Facebook page. The comedian confessed that even he was flabbergasted at what happened next. The views and shares just kept growing and growing in number. So he did what any good entertainer would do if a comic routine of theirs went viral. He made more comic videos of his Aunt Mary Pat character and kept posting. He’s now up to about one per day.
Each video posted garnered anywhere from 50,000 to more 300,000 views and countless shares. The short videos usually start with the classic opening, “Hey youse guys! Hope youse are doing good … Aunt Mary Pat here.” The subject content ranges from an Easter Egg hunt, referring a friend for a job, having a hangover, missing the “Iggles” victory parade and people spreading flu germs, to surviving the Nor’easter, using the self check-out with expired coupons at the supermarket, and all kinds of other everyday scenarios.
Hendrickson, 29, lives in Wilmington, Del., with partner Danny Bonacore and his two children, Liam, 12, and Bella, 5. Unlike his alter-ego who always has a pack of smokes and alcohol in hand, Hendrickson doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks.
“I’m very close with my parents and brother and sister,” Hendrickson said in a recent interview. “My parents are my best friends. We talk every day. My whole family came to Della Polla’s to see me perform.”
The comedian has the Delco accent and mannerisms nailed, he says, because he worked in Delaware County all through his 20s. After leaving Columbia College in Chicago where he was studying film, Hendrickson took a job at Chuck E. Cheese, Springfield, and began supplementing his income as “Miss Troy,” a female impersonator, throughout the Philadelphia and Wilmington areas. He also worked at Goodwill stores in Ridley Township, Chichester and Chadds Ford. Hendrickson currently works in a clerical position for the state of Delaware.
“My mom grew up in Delco and her family still lives there and in Chester County,” Hendrickson explained. I never realized she was so ‘Delco’ until I started working in the county. I immediately recognized where she got her accent, her expressions and her mannerisms. My mom thinks this whole character is crazy. She just doesn’t get it and doesn’t think Aunt Mary Pat is anything like her. But, trust me, it’s her!”
The Aunt Mary Pat character will resonate with anyone with Philly-area roots. The character laces monologues with her signature “Hey, Hun” phrase and talks about drinking “wooder” and eating hoagies. People of all ages can’t seem to get enough of Hendrickson’s alter-ego Aunt Mary Pat. He created the character, assigning Ridley Park as her town of residence, the Acme as her work place, Wawa as her favorite pit stop, and giving the character specific friends and relatives, likes and dislikes. He adopted the name “Mary Pat” from a line in the movie, “Pretty Woman.”
“I’m not transgender and I am not making a parody of someone who is transgender. In real life, I don’t try to be a girl,” Hendrickson said, after mentioning some of the not-sokind remarks he has seen here and there on Facebook about his character. “About 99 percent of my feedback is positive, but there will always be those who are hateful. Aunt Mary Pat is solely about having a little fun and absolutely nothing more.”
Hendrickson said that he has done comedy for about three years now and has always focused on improv and imitations because he enjoys that genre of comedy the most.
Since the Aunt Mary Pat character exploded in February, Hendrickson has been flooded with offers and opportunities. The popular internet media company BuzzFeed ran one of his snow day videos. He recently shot a commercial promoting the Mike Mulholland real estate team with Long & Foster in Folsom. On Sunday night, he hosted the 2SP Brewing Company’s Inaugural Delco Spelling Bee at Teresa’s Café & Next Door Bar in Wayne. The spelling bee was advertised to feature five Delco celebrities, including 93.3FM WMMR’s Preston and Steve Show’s Casey Boy, competing to spell words only used in Delco. Proceeds benefitted The HEADstrong Foundation. Hendrickson has more
events planned in conjunction with 2SP Brewing Company in Aston. He also has upcoming guest appearances on a Delco Live Podcast and DelcoDelphia sports radio.
Two weeks ago, Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino was the featured draw of an Alzheimer’s fundraiser at Punchline Philly. Tickets for“Sunday Funday Brunch” at Redz Bar on April 22 and an Aunt Mary Pat Live! Show at Toll Man Joe’s on Oregon Avenue, both in Philadelphia, are selling briskly, if not sold out by now, he said. Aunt Mary Pat will also make a guest experience at Sam Oropeza’s fight at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia on May 18. Hendrickson said his calendar is almost full for the next two months and counting and fans can check out his Facebook page for all future events.
“I can not believe how much people love Aunt Mary Pat,” Hendrickson stated. “My year is definitely turning out differently so far than I thought it would.” Hendrickson said that he gets about 100 messages per day from fans through his “Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino” Facebook Page or through email at fantastictroy@icloud. com. He stated that he answers every single one of them. His biggest fan base seems to be women, ages 1845, in the Philly/Delco area, he said.
“I am especially touched when I get videos of little kids impersonating me,” Hendrickson laughed. “This whole Aunt Mary Pat thing tickles me because so many people enjoy it and I love doing it. It’s all about just having fun and making someone’s day a little better by making them smile!”
Hendrickson said he also feels good by the volume of messages that he gets from people who have moved away from the Delaware County and Philadelphia area.
“They say to me that they don’t want anything or need anything, but just wanted to reach out to thank me for reminding them of home,” he said. “They get really homesick and they find comfort in watching Aunt Mary Pat on YouTube and Facebook.”
What’s next up for Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino, Delco’s funniest aunt?
“I’m going to make more videos, do some more comedy and keep talking about anything topical,” Hendrickson stated. “I may start to venture Aunt Mary Pat out into public, take her to the next level, maybe go to Acme or Wawa, just to make people laugh and have a good time. That’s really what Aunt Mary Pat is all about! This world is full of so much hatred and negativity. If I can help in any way to make people laugh a little or just have a better day, then I think that’s just so awesome! Do you know what I mean, hun?”