Jack Karlson, the man behind the iconic “succulent Chinese meal” meme, has passed away at the age of 82.
According to The Guardian, Jack Karlson died surrounded by family at 6.31PM on Wednesday (August 7). “He walked a full and colorful path and, despite the troubles thrown at him, he lived by his motto – to keep on laughing,” his family said in a statement.
Karlson’s niece, Kim Edwards, revealed that her uncle had just turned 82 last week, and had spent the last few weeks of his life in hospital.
“He had a few attempts to escape and pulled his cords out a couple of times and asked us many time to sneak in his pipe,” she said. “He was battling many ailments but what got him in the end was SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome).”
The late man, who was a professional painter, became an icon years after the footage of his 1991 arrest outside the China Sea Restaurant in Brisbane went viral.
In the viral video, which was uploaded online in 2009, Karlson bellowed “Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest” as he was being arrested and pushed into a police car.
“Have a look at the headlock here. See that chap over there?” he continued, before yelling at a cop: “Get your hand off my p***s! Get your hand off my p***s! This is the bloke who got me on the p***s before.”
He could then be seen shouting: “What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?” at several police officers.
Whether Karlson is his real name is still unknown. According to The Guardian, the man was a small-time crook and serial prison escaper who had many aliases.
He was accused of using a stolen credit card but has always maintained that it was a case of mistaken identity, per The Independent.
Karlson spoke about the arrest in an interview in May 2021, explaining what was behind the “democracy manifest” line, telling 7News: “We’re supposed to be living in a democracy, and here they are dragging me out of a restaurant, halfway through a succulent Chinese meal. Well, I thought, ‘Gentleman, this is democracy manifest.'”
He said that when he saw the cameras outside the restaurant, he saw it as a chance to proclaim his “innocence: to the world.
“Because they’ve dragged me out, thinking I was some sort of international gangster, when I knew that I wasn’t,” he continued. “So here’s a chance, for the camera, for the people of Australia, to let democracy manifest itself gloriously, and that’s why I carried on like that.
“Of course, I had been somewhat influenced by the juice of the great grape,” he added.
The donations from the GoFundMe that was previously set up for the late man after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June and needed surgery for cataracts will now go towards his funeral expenses.
“This money will now go towards his funeral. As a final send off we gave Uncle a last taste of red wine through his drip just before it was removed. We are still deciding what we want to do in regards to the funeral. We will post updates on the GoFundMe page,” Kim said, per News.com.au.
Karslon’s memory will live on forever as a documentary about his life, titled The Man Who Ate a Succulent Chinese Meal, is set for release in 2025.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.